Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Jarvis.
Hi Jessica, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember. There are family videos and recordings of me singing at as young as two and a half years old. My father is a musician, so music was something I always grew up with.
As I grew older, my mom noticed my creative tendencies and helped support me as I experimented in dance, theatre, and music lessons. At 11 years old, I started piano lessons to lay the music theory foundation for voice lessons, which I started at 14. Today, I’m a classically trained vocalist with my B.S. in Music Business and a minor in Music Technology, with experience singing in a variety of different genres, from classical, musical theatre, and jazz to pop, rock, country, gospel, and beyond.
I’ve participated in a number of recording projects and have been songwriting since I was in middle school. I enjoy producing music and collaborating with friends in original music and cover-related projects. A year ago, I studied for a semester in Nashville, TN which only greater propelled me into experimenting in the recording and live performance spaces.
I’m in the earlier stages of starting my band and am working on releasing some of my first pieces of music as an artist on all streaming services. In the meantime, I work from home in marketing and as a freelance AV technician to help fund my musical passions, with hopes of pursuing a career full-time as a singer, songwriter, and recording artist.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Smooth? Not at all. Being an artist is hard because the reality of it is that 99% of the time, you’re on your own. That’s why it’s so important to surround yourself, as an artist, with friends, family, and other creatives who can help you turn your dreams into a reality. At the end of the day, it’s you. If you don’t make a decision to get up and write, nothing will be written. If you don’t text someone and start planning a collab, it’s not going to happen. As an artist, you’re your own boss and often the only one who’s actually going to encourage you to keep going, which is so hard when you consider most artists are their own worst critics.
Sure, many people can argue that the challenges an artist encounters may be financial, scheduling-oriented, or caused by a lack of resources, but in my experience (although those other challenges are completely true as well), the hardest part is overcoming the mental battles- ideas that “I’m not good enough, ” or, “my art isn’t good enough, perfect enough, etc.” When it comes down to it, one of the biggest realizations I’ve had to come to is that my art shouldn’t be for anyone else other than me. It sounds really selfish, but to a degree, if I can’t at least do it for my betterment, how can I expect other people to get on board? I know that I shouldn’t do it with the intention of earning anyone’s approval or validation (because that’s never a healthy mindset to get into), so I should at least do it for the sake of my own heart, mind, work ethic, and encouragement. Being an artist means reminding yourself day after day that you CAN do it, despite all of the issues of this world, which is where I find myself every day.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a singer-songwriter and recording artist. I specialize in vocal performance in music, but also play the piano and some guitar. I’m known for singing, but really love anything pertaining to the voice, including voice acting, which is something I’d love to get into on the side. Most importantly, though, I’m most proud of making music that uplifts others.
What’s been so uplifting in my career as an artist is the unusually positive response I’ve had to my art, and I’d have to be honest in admitting how proud that makes me. You don’t always know how people are going to react to your art, and when it’s something that comes from the inner depths of your heart and mind, it’s like putting your first-born child on a stage, saying, “Here, strangers! Hope you think she’s cute.” and hoping for the best. That’s what makes criticisms so hard in this space because music can come from such a vulnerable place, but this is also what greatly enhances the value of those types of appreciations.
I think what sets me apart from many artists is that I try to avoid making music just for other people because of the toxic mindset that can create. That’s a big argument in the creative space: who are you *really* making your art for? However, I would say that seeing how the stories I tell can resonate with real-world experiences people have or how certain melodies of mine can just get stuck in someone’s head really makes me feel like I’m making a difference in this world. I want to make music that people can have fun listening to or that reaches a deep place of relatability. I think creating something that brings people to that place of relatability makes the world seem much smaller and more tolerable, and if you can have fun with it, the stresses of this world seem to feel more manageable. I know that making music like this is therapeutic to me in this manner, so my hope is that people will feel the same.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The future is unknown, but I see myself having released a full album. Of course, many singles and maybe a few EPs would have been released by then, but I’d love to release a full album. I’d love to be touring the entire state of Florida and be performing out-of-state by then.
In my personal life, I know that I’m hoping to have a house of my own in the next few years. I’d love to had a full-blown studio out of my home and rehearsing space for my band instead of recording out of my apartment and rehearsing elsewhere. I’d love to be producing music out of my home and collaborating with artists across the US.
Aside from my art, I know life will go on. I could have kids, I could have a house, I could move- who’s to say? One thing’s for sure: I’m flexible. As long as I’m creating, I’m content with whatever life has for me. This mindset wasn’t developed overnight, though. It’s taken me some time to even get this far, but there’s peace that I’ve found in this understanding. The more flexible I can be, the less stressful life is.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @JessicaJarvisMusic
- Facebook: Facebook.com/JessicaJarvisMusic
- Youtube: YouTube.com/JessicaJarvisMusic
- Other: https://linktr.ee/JessicaJarvisMusic
