We recently connected with Rachel Jay and have shared our conversation below.

Rachel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I became a full time freelance musician in June of 2022. My journey to this point started when I was introduced to San Diego’s open mic community in 2018. At that time, I had been singing for most of my life, but my songwriting and guitar skills needed some refining. I started attending open mics once a week, and found myself more inspired than ever to write and learn new songs.

All the while, I was making my living working restaurant jobs. After being laid off during the Covid-19 pandemic, I held myself afloat with a nannying job and occasional music gigs. Eventually, I reached a point where this was not sustaining me. Out of reluctance to settle for another job that didn’t relate to my music endeavors, I decided to take a shot at becoming a full-time musician.

I applied for the booking agency, Acoustic Spot, after hearing about them through a few of my friends who are working musicians. To my delight, I was accepted. I quickly began working enough performance gigs to support myself financially. Today, my work consists of performing as a solo singer and guitarist at corporate events, weddings, restaurants, resorts, listening rooms and house shows. I find all these opportunities through word of mouth, talent agencies, and self promotion.

The key to making it happen was putting myself in situations where I could be seen, even when I didn’t feel totally prepared or worthy. I still feel like an imposter at times, but I take comfort in knowing that things have worked out quite well so far.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My affinity for music started at a young age, heavily influenced by the artistic interests of my family. My sister and I both took a liking to singing, and our parents supported our interests by enrolling us in musical theatre productions and private lessons.

In my teen years, I enjoyed writing poetry. which eventually turned into songwriting. I can recall discovering Amy Winehouse and being incredibly inspired by the power and vulnerability within her voice and lyrics. This is when I began my journey as a songwriter. At 15 years old, I used the few basic guitar chords I knew and all the wisdom I could summon to create a song I felt proud of. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but I loved doing it.

Today, most of my paid work consists of playing a mix of cover and original songs as background music for various events and venues. While I feel very lucky to be able to play music for a living, I am eagerly pursuing my ultimate goal which is to make a living as a singer-songwriter.

Writing and performing my original music has granted me some of the most meaningful experiences of my life. All it takes is one beautiful and connected performance to make up for months of playing in crowded and disconnected spaces, dozens of failed songwriting attempts, and all the self-doubt which accrues from those experiences. Those magical moments reveal my North Star–the thing that brings me back home to myself whenever I’m lost in the chaos of life.

I love to create songs that reflect my true emotion and experience–I want them to be as honest and meaningful as possible. With that intention, I hope my music provides some value for those who choose to listen.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The mission of my pursuits as a musician has changed a lot since I was young. As a kid, I wanted to be a singer simply because it seemed like such a glamorous thing to be. While I’m sure some of that fantasy keeps me dreaming to this day, my mission has been developing into something different over the years.

It’s hard for me to precisely define my mission—it’s likely to change or become more specific in the future. For now, I want to create music that is honest and pleasurable for me. I hope that being true to what I like will have a positive impact on whoever it’s meant to reach. If my music helps people to feel seen and understood, process their emotions, or have any positive impact whatsoever, that feels like a mission accomplished to me.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There are a couple rewarding aspects of being an artist which come to mind. For starters, both my performance jobs and my aspirations to be a singer-songwriter require me to consistently improve my skills and exercise my creative muscles. The avoidant part of me doesn’t always like this, but I know it’s good for me, so I’m grateful.

Additionally, singing and songwriting can be such a therapeutic and fulfilling experience for me. Nothing makes me feel more accomplished than creating a song I’m proud of, plus I usually get to process some emotions at the same time!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.racheljaymusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/racheljdk/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/racheljdk/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/racheljdk

Image Credits
Melisande Martin Brian M. Pix Huy K. Nguyen