Today we’d like to introduce you to Karissa Bone.
Hi Karissa, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The day I discovered songwriting, I was eight years old singing Hannah Montana in the living room in the suburbs of Saginaw. MI. I started writing songs on my children’s Yamaha acoustic guitar with the intention that Miley Cyrus would sing them. I was so far removed from the ‘music industry’ I didn’t even know what I was doing– I just loved writing and telling stories. Somehow, my crazy 8-year-old mind had it right all along, I was going to be a songwriter.
Following years of classical training on piano, I stumbled upon Interlochen Arts Camp. I attended their songwriting camp two years in a row and then decided to transfer to their boarding school for my last year of high school to major in songwriting. I remember making the decision about 4 days before the school year started. My parents took a chance and let me go– it changed everything. I was thrown into an environment any music kid could only dream of– academia in the morning, songwriting in the afternoon, and some form of performance/concert every night.
It turns out that move to Interlochen was the first of many. College was always in the cards for me and I ended up landing at the University of Michigan for my first year. From the moment I stepped foot on campus, I knew it wasn’t the place for me and the following year transferred to Berklee College of Music to study songwriting again. Although interrupted by covid and remote classes (I had about half of my college experience online), I met incredible people and had the chance to be mentored by Pat Pattison, Bonnie Hayes, and Kara DioGuardi– some of the best songwriting teachers in the country.
I’ve since moved out to LA to pursue songwriting and my own artist project full-time.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There was a period of time around covid where I was moving about every six months. I had transferred high schools, then transferred colleges, and then was sent home by covid. I had moved from Interlochen to Ann Arbor to two different places in Boston, back to my hometown, Ann Arbor, and two more places in Boston again. Having moved so much, I had completely lost any sense of community for years and was struggling with my mental health. It was a definitely a dark time for a lot of people. Everyone I knew was already dealing with their own shit, we just weren’t well enough to give each other the emotional support we needed. I definitely isolated myself a lot at the time, thinking if I channeled it all into songs it would eventually run out. I was wrong of course. The only thing that helps is time and perspective.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m both an artist and a songwriter, primarily in the Indie/Alt and Pop spaces. I’m the writer people call when they need to write something extremely personal or emotional. I love introspective and sad music and love writing it– I’ve always found that my favorite songs are the ones that gut my heart like a damn fish. I never shy away from brutally honest lyrics, unique concepts, and left-of-center melodies/choices. Recently, I wrote a song with Ben Kessler and Sean Cook called “Default,” which Ben just released on his latest EP. I came into the room with this concept that was like ‘I would change all of my default settings if it would make you want me.” Ben was super down with the idea and we spent hours making every line cut really deep. I wanted to leave people feeling a little hopeless with that song and Sean’s production and Ben’s voice absolutely nailed it.
On my own artist project, I’m really looking forward to releasing my next single in the coming month. “Horror Movie” is a duet with the very-talented Tom Siletto– it’s a touch of Phoebe Bridgers crossed with a little Jeremy Zucker and a bit of a classic ballad. We dug into all these horror tropes to paint the picture of a ‘titanic-like” friendship. You know they’re in love, but you also know the ship’s going down. Tom is an incredible artist in his own right, I co-wrote his last single “Place and Time,” so it was really special to collaborate on this song with him.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Make meaningful connections and meet as many people as you can. Even if it seems like meeting that writer for coffee might not get you anywhere, you don’t know who they know or who they might be able to connect you with. Always just be genuine and try to get to know people– listen more than you speak and ask more than you answer.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.karissabone.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itskarissabone/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXEej-TCalQ
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1PetI8qKDvDARxOWIl5wVr?si=bSHv0ZSbR1Sj6LqOKKRmcw
Image Credits
Photos by Lilian Anderson, Annie Wolfond, and Jack Doyle
