Today we’d like to introduce you to Sabrina Winter.
Sabrina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My story is probably a lot different than many of my fellow musicians because I’m both a musician AND an accountant… which typically don’t go together! I grew up in Denver, Colorado and started playing guitar at 11 years old. The original plan was to pursue music as a career and I had made my mind up before starting high school. To make that dream into a reality, I went to a performing arts high school called the Denver School of the Arts, where I was a “guitar major” and learned jazz, classical, and rock guitar.
After high school, I had a change of heart and decided to go to business school and got my BSBA in accounting. This career change shocked a lot of my friends and family to say the least! The major reason that I changed my career path from music after high school was because I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to financially sustain myself as a musician, which is a very real concern among musicians. To make a living as a full-time musician, you have to be extremely resourceful sometimes, and at 18 years old, I wasn’t ready to take on that risk. So, I hung up the guitar and went to business school.
Music didn’t leave my life for very long though. After leaving a couple of the bands I was a part of, I stayed in touch with the Denver music scene by being a guitar tech for the band, Love Stallion (which I am now the bassist for! We will get there). In fall of 2018, I got the call from Aaron Hart, lead vocalist of Love Stallion, to fill in for their current bassist at the time to open for Steel Panther at The Fillmore Auditorium in Denver. I hadn’t been on stage in two years at that point, but I knew I couldn’t pass that opportunity up. My first show back on stage in two years was to a crowd of 2,000+ people!
I became a full-time member of the band after the Fillmore gig, and the band quickly gained traction from there. We went on to play at Red Rocks during the summer of 2019, which was a moment beyond my WILDEST dreams and I still can’t believe it actually happened! I was just finishing up my degree that summer and I just knew that I had to pursue music again. In my mind, I was all in and there was no way that I could NOT go for it anymore.
I decided to move to Los Angeles just a month and a half after the Red Rocks show. It was a really spontaneous decision, which shocked everyone in my life yet again! I decided to move to L.A. to push myself as a bass player and to just fully immerse myself into the music scene here and to get away from the career as an accountant I had pursued during college. However, after realizing that I had just spent the last four years of my life getting this degree, I (with the help from Aaron Hart) decided to combine my passion with music with my education and I started my own accounting practice, Rock ‘n’ Roll Accounting!
Has it been a smooth road?
Is there such thing as a smooth road? I think there are always challenges along the way in anything that involves a lot of change. Moving to L.A. was both exciting and one of the biggest challenges I have faced so far, but I love a good challenge! I’ve had so much personal and professional growth since I moved here. I had to relearn a lot of the musicianship I had lost during those few years that I stopped playing music and had to reacquaint myself into the culture of musicians after being trapped into the business/college world for four years. It was all a really big adjustment to make at once, and I am still not quite adjusted to this crazy city and the crazy life that comes with it!
I think the biggest challenge for me was jumping into SO many new things at once in L.A. and summoning the courage to just go for it. The absolute best thing I did about a month after I moved was beginning to play weekly at the Sunset Jam, which has become the center point for every opportunity I have gotten in L.A. since then. I have no idea where I would be without the community I have found at the Sunset Jam.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Rock ‘n’ Roll Accounting – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I started Rock ‘n’ Roll Accounting in December of 2019. My vision for the company was to bridge that gap between artist and business because as artists, it is essential to be business savvy too!
Currently, we specialize in taxes for self-employed people, primarily for artists, but we will work with anyone too. We also work with small businesses for bookkeeping and business consultation. We are known for giving a personal touch while looking at your finances. For example, when COVID-19 hit hard at tax season, we began helping people with unemployment questions and issues in connection with their taxes. I personally took a lot of care when it came to my client’s financial concerns during this time.
As a company, I’m proud that we are very niched and it feels like we are serving a need for artists that was lacking before. We want to make finances and taxes seem less scary to artists!
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
L.A. is a crazy city! In mostly a good way. I could probably go without the traffic and the awful parking though.
As for things to like, the weather is always beautiful, and it’s always exciting knowing I’m living in the entertainment capital of the world. My favorite part of L.A. is being surrounded by so many creative and driven people. The community of artists in L.A. is so special, I doubt there is anything quite like it in the world. The city makes you feel like you can reach new heights in your life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rocknrollaccounting.com/
- Phone: 720-381-8457
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rocknrollaccounting/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rocknrollaccounting/
Image Credit:
Mark Tepsic, Susan M Wolcott Photography, Sean Turner
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