We recently had the chance to connect with Priscilla Ahn and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Priscilla , thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Playing tennis. I could play for 4+ hours every day until my body fell apart. It’s the one place I can go where I don’t think about anything else but the ball. The whole world melts away. On top of that, it’s a great workout! And tennis is filled with errors and lost points, so I’m constantly trying to get better, which I feel like is good for my aging brain!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a singer-songwriter who’s been living in Laurel Canyon for the past 19 years. When I was 22 years old, I was lucky enough to sign a record deal with Blue Note Records and travel the world with some amazing artists. One of the highlights of my career was writing and performing music for a Studio Ghibli film entitled “When Marnie Was There”. I would say I’m pretty much a full-time mom to my two boys now, but still writing and recording in my spare time. I’ve been working on some ambient and lofi collaborations and am currently recording a covers album.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
During the Covid pandemic I took an online class that met every week on zoom with a small group of artists and creators. It was part of my journey in discovering what I wanted to BE in this world. We learned some history, tried some new meditations and had a few exercise assignments. One assignment that really changed my life, was identifying my own psychographic (what I valued, what I feared, what I was attracted to or repulsed by, etc). It’s what advertisers and politicians use to gain more “followers” basically. We had to specifically look at the psychographic that we were repelled by and spend some time with that type of person and see what happens. Of course what I realized was that I could find a connection with anyone, no matter what their views were, or what kind of music they liked, or if they were into the complete opposite stuff as me. At the end of the day, we’re all just human beings. We all are filled with our own kinds of kindnesses, worries, fears, life troubles, and joys. I used to be a lot more introverted and not super social. But this exercise kind of opened up my whole world and I finally feel like I have a solid community of friends and family around me.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Absolutely, I moved to LA when I was 19. I had a little bit of money saved up that I lived off of for the first year while I played open mics almost every night, hoping to get a bigger, possibly paying, show. Eventually my money ran out and I got a job working as a waitress during the breakfast and lunch shifts. I was miserable. I was a terrible waitress and having all that face time with people coming in for their business meetings left me feeling empty and exhausted. I realized I was too tired to work on my music anymore and I thought maybe LA wasn’t going to work out for me after all. During a New Year’s party, I was telling a close friend about my decision to move back to Pennsylvania and go to college (probably to become a teacher), and I was so shocked to hear him say “No! You can’t do that. You have to persevere.” He wouldn’t let up about it, all night. He kept telling me “You have to persevere. You have to persevere”. Finally I said, “Ok! I’ll give it another few months!” I quit my waitressing job and ate frozen vegetables to save what little money I had. And about two months later, I met another singer-songwriter, Joshua Radin, at The Hotel Cafe. He asked me to sing with him for some shows, and soon after he landed a record deal with Columbia and took me on the road. For the first time in my life, I was making some real money doing music! During this time, I also met my manager, who introduced me to percussionist and producer, Joey Waronker, who produced my first EP. Shortly after this, my old pal from Philadelphia, Amos Lee, passed my EP on to his label, Blue Note Records, and I was flying to NYC to play a showcase for the late Bruce Lundvall, and the rest is history. I think back to this time often, and remind myself how lucky I was to have this friend to change my mind and encourage me to persevere. My life would have been so different if I didn’t stick around in LA for a few more months.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
Taking my shoes off inside the house! I don’t know if this is considered a real cultural “value” exactly, but it is something I grew up with and will continue to do and make other people do until the day I die.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
Probably wasting time on social media. It really is such a time suck. I love when I find the occasional gem in there, like something that inspired me creatively or just made me laugh. I can pretty much do without the rest of it. Recently I went on a writing trip in the desert and cut myself off from phone, email, and social media. It was shocking how many times I’d suddenly realize I was looking at my phone and a social media app was open! The amount of time I can waste on there while my kids are growing up right in front of me! I’ve definitely cut back recently and suddenly my days slow down and feel so much richer. So if I only had 10 years left, I’d cut that out immediately and focus on living life to my fullest with my family and friends.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.priscillaahn.world
- Instagram: @PriscillaAhn
- Facebook: @PriscillaAhn
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/priscillaahn
- Other: Music can be found on iTunes and Spotify
Image Credits
Jason Watanabe, Max Wanger
