Life & Work with Cassandra Violet

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassandra Violet.

Cassandra, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
What a question! I started out playing the classical clarinet when I was a child and singing in choir, like a good band geek. I was in marching band for a year in high school before I realized how hard it was to walk and play at the same time. (It’s extremely difficult.) I went to college for creative writing and didn’t put two and two together and write a song until I was in my mid-twenties and went through a bad breakup. I also got my teaching credential with LAUSD and began to teach English in a few different schools before ending up in Boyle Heights at Roosevelt High School where I currently work. So, I essentially have a double life: I am a teacher by day and a musician by night.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
As an independent musician, it has been challenging financing my own projects and getting them out there myself. As many others can attest, it’s also very demanding (and inspiring!) to have a double life. There have been many occasions in which burned the candle at both ends, for example, I’ve gone out to a show the night before and had to teach the next day, and I thought to myself “this is very difficult.” I have questioned whether I am doing the right thing many times. This past year, the pandemic was incredibly rough for so many people, including the beautiful community where I work, Boyle Heights. My students are amazing and resilient. I will say teaching on Zoom not the most ideal way to communicate, but we do the best we can. It’s been a really difficult and rough year, but all in all, doing both things contributes to a very rich and varied and interesting life and I am grateful for everything.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a musician, songwriter and artist. I just released my debut album last month titled “Maybe It’s Not Too Late,” produced by Joe Berry of M83. I’ve had songs in the Netflix shows Ozark and Undercover and was recently featured on KCRW in Los Angeles. My songs inhabit worlds and tell stories with lush arrangements and acoustic harmonies. Sometimes the stories are my own and sometimes, they are from other people’s perspectives whose worlds I want to inhabit. I have anxiety and my songs help me process my feelings. My whole album investigates the question: is happiness possible in a world that forever changed?

What does success mean to you?
Obviously, success is completely subjective for everyone. For me, both of the jobs I have as a teacher and musician depend on connecting with people. So, the way I evaluate at success is whether I can authentically reach the maximum amount of people possible, and either: 1. Reflect how they are feeling back to them so they can find comfort in that (with music) or 2. Empower young people to gain confidence so they can tell their own stories (teaching). So basically, how many people can I really connect with and reach? If that’s even two people, then I consider that a success and I am achieving my purpose in the world.

Contact Info:

• Email: cvioletmusic@gmail.com
• Website: cassandraviolet.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/cassandra_violet
• Facebook: facebook.com/cassandraviolet
• Twitter: @cassandrasongs
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtqw2lc9KXaDMeC5CoYC5dA
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/cassandraviolet

Image Credits:
All images by Anna Azarov except me in flower field (Jayden Becker) and me in fringe red cowboy tube top (Alexandra Herstik)