We were lucky to catch up with Tamara Mack recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tamara, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

When you have the courage to live authentically as yourself, you’ll inevitably be misunderstood. My authentic self deviates “so far” from the social script laid out for me as a woman, that being misunderstood is just a part of life. Humans have this innate desire to categorize everything around them, including other humans. I’m not excluded from others’ curiosity to classify.

If I earned a dollar for every time someone called me “sir”, or directly asked me to declare my gender or sexuality, I’d be a millionaire. Regretfully, that’s not the way the world works. Over the years, I’ve learned not to be upset about the money. All the money in the world couldn’t keep them from making assumptions.

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 start as a vocalist/band leader was non-traditional at best. I like to describe it as a happy accident. My first attempt at singing was during a night out in college with friends at a karaoke bar. Aside from having a great time, at that point nothing about it left me feeling compelled to pursue singing as a career. Fast forward one decade later, a colleague invites me to karaoke and I agree to go for nostalgia’s sake.

I fell in love with the karaoke community and began to regularly sing at a weekly show with my friends. After a year, I became so immersed that I even started working as a relief KJ a few times a month. People were incredibly complimentary of my voice and my friends were constantly hounding me about joining a band since we lived in a city full of musicians.

They must’ve prayed that the universe would send me someone who could change my mind, because it wasn’t too long before I’d cross paths with a drummer seeking a vocalist. He invited me to a jam session and the chemistry between players was so great, that we decided to start a band. The rest, as they say, is history.

The music became a vehicle for self expression where my artistry and womanhood intersect. Through it, I’ve experienced an incredible amount of personal growth, learning how to become more confident and comfortable in who I truly am. I’m beyond grateful for the empowerment it brings. Empowered women empower other women. It has been such a joy to hear feedback from women who who feel inspired by our performances.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Just 10 days before the last gig of the year and the band’s first anniversary, there was a disagreement between myself and some key players that ultimately led to the departure of all but one musician. In the blink of an eye, 75% of the band was gone and the eight-piece band became a duo.

Despite being a novice with a limited knowledge of how to articulate my technical needs to accompanists, I refused to give up. With the support of my mentors, I was able to recruit players for the gig rather than having to forfeit. It took an additional 8 months following the band breakup for me to find musicians who would work with me consistently so I could continue building my brand.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

March 2020, the entire world went on lockdown as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and everyone was left reeling. The band was forced to put everything on pause, including the final recording session for the debut EP. The fear of losing our momentum grew as the projected “end” of the pandemic escalated from a few months into year-end and potentially even longer.

Upon realizing that we wouldn’t likely be able to see one another or our supporters in-person for an entire year, we immediately shifted our efforts to the web. Weekly in-person rehearsals became online business meetings to discuss strategy and content development for our social channels. Songwriting sessions transformed into digital file shares between each band member to be aggregated into single tracks. We began developing online content that would allow us to connect to our audience beyond the music.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mackdaddymusic.com

Image Credits
Images 1-3: VSOP photography Images 4-5: Ori5 Productions