We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Veronica Stich a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Veronica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.

Nothing. Ha ha. It’s true though. They were pretty screwed up. My mother was abusive and repeatedly told me I had the “Devil” inside me, and my father was a perv. But, he had good taste in music, so I guess that helped. A lot of the music I listened to was discovered on my own-as they were bands influenced by the music of my parents’ time. My dad would see the album covers and say, “Those guys look like women,” and yet he was into Bowie, Kraftwerk and Queen. Kinda funny. It was my grandmother Diane who provided most of the guidance in my life. She was very encouraging and would listen to me teach myself to play her piano for hours and hours at a time. She was very loving and provided everything to me that my parents just wouldn’t–advice, family history, attention, and most importantly, real love.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

After years of performing as a “front person,” with several bands, I finally decided to create my own solo project, Death Loves Veronica. I guess it’s best described as dark electronic or post-industrial. I started out in a punk band at 15. To this day I have no idea how we were allowed to perform in bars, but it was always a lot of fun until the cops arrived–the SWAT team once, but that’s a story for a different day. I shifted into a deathrock act at 19. It was the early 90s. We did a lot of professional studio work and ended up on an album with some of the artists I had looked up to. But at 25, as motherhood came along, I decided to focus on my two children, Abby and Luke. They and my husband mean the world to me. We’ve been through some tough times together. But after divorcing my husband, finding myself as a musician again (with the help of my best friend Jaime), and then remarrying him years later, things have been better than I would have ever expected.
Jaime was essential in giving me that boost I needed, and was lacking, in my music-production education. He helped fill in the gaps I needed to know. While recording my fist Death Loves Veronica demos at his studio, I didn’t even realize I was learning how to do it all myself. Eventually, I invested in building my own professional studio. Soon after, labels started contacting me. I’m currently proud to be on Cold Transmission out of Germany.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

When people send fan email telling me how my music got them through a tough time, I’m on the verge of tears. I know that feeling very well. Music gets me through darker times in my life. I have, and am under the care of doctors for, OCD. It’s a HUGE neurological issue to deal with and can consume your life. I’m glad I was finally diagnosed properly and have found the right people to get me through it. Creating music gets me through it also.

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

I didn’t feel very encouraged by my parents growing up and went through a great deal of religious confusion as a child and teen. Both of my parents were of different religions. My grandmother would repeatedly tell me that my background was actually Jewish, which I didn’t understand. It wasn’t until she passed away that I started to purchase the books she told me to read about my family. I was in awe and shaken by the fact that many of my direct relatives were burned at the stake for practicing Judaism in secret. This, and the dark history I discovered, researched, and was a part of, made every “horrible” event in my own life seem like nothing compared to theirs. The bravery and dedication of so many Jewish people inspires me. Taking on my Jewish roots has changed my entire life. Why let thousands of years of history, people striving to keep their beliefs alive, disappear? I just couldn’t do that to my family. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.veronicastichofficial.com/
• Instagram: @veronica_stich_official
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deathlovesveronica/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRSzZ_G7jxPO5jVz7eJVgcA

Image Credits
DJ Eternal, Chris Stich, Michael Gorman Photography