Today we’d like to introduce you to Caly Bevier.
Hi Caly, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Hmmm, let’s make a long story medium… So I grew up singing all day every day. I would sing Annie tunes all around the house. I would also make up songs and let the melody and lyrics flow out of me. At the time, I really had no clue I was writing songs. It was just something that I was always doing. I look back, and I realize how not putting any pressure on those lil songs in my life helped me now when I actually sit down and write songs. Professionally, writing and recording songs didn’t come into my life until I was 17. I grew up in Grand Rapids, Ohio and have always had a small-town heart with big-city dreams, but I never knew how I was going to capture those dreams and make them a reality.
When I was 15, I was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer. It was a rare pediatric form and I had a 60% chance of surviving. After going through a few months of chemotherapy, I am now in remission. While going through my battle, I recorded a cover of Rachel Platten’s Fight Song because it was a song that really helped me get through the tough days. A mother of another child who was fighting at the hospital asked me to come to her son’s benefit to sing Fight Song for him. His name was Thane, and he is watching over us now. The video of me singing to him captured the hearts of thousands and quickly went viral. From there I was invited to be on the Ellen DeGeneres show and also to audition for America’s Got Talent. And at the audition, I received Simon Cowell’s first-ever golden buzzer, which is an honor to receive from one of them, in my opinion at the time, harshest judges. My whole life changed from that moment on. I moved to Los Angeles not long after the season of America’s Got Talent that I was on (season 11). I started to learn how to write and record music with professionals. It was something that I had never done before and honestly never thought it would be something in my day-to-day reality.
And it has been almost eight years since I moved here and I have been finding myself as an overall human being and also as an artist. I have been working on crafting my own original sound, and I have also been really thinking about what is important for me to say and share with the masses. I found that not boxing myself into one particular genre or look is super important. I feel like as humans, we are ever-changing, and that is OK to do. I’ve noticed when I stick with one sound, even for just a couple of months, I tend to get extremely antsy because I know that there are so many sounds that we are able to tap into. Why would I only want to play around with one? When it comes to my messaging in my music, I just want my listeners to feel comforted and realize it’s okay to be who you are at every stage of your growth and journey. Never hide yourself.
My biggest goal within the year of 2024 would be to add more visual experiences to my creations. I want whole worlds to be created around my stories! Oh, and I want to perform LIVE a lot more!!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think that some of the most traveled roads need repaved frequently. And a lot of people have tried going down this road and ended up stranded in the ditches. There’s always going to be potholes and obstacles along the way, but it’s how you interact with those roadblocks that matter. I find any hardship is a lesson, depending on how you are able to look at it. I think the hardest part has been getting people to understand that this isn’t just a little hobby and it’s not just for fun, but this is my whole entire life. This is my soul in three minutes. Even people who are in the industry are quick to take advantage and not appreciate what it takes for an independent artist to get to the next level these days. There is a large amount of people who want their music to be heard, and labels are no longer feeling the need to develop an artist when we have all of the tools in our hands to try to be seen. It is a non-stop career. And it’s my job to get to the next level. It’s my job to post on all the social media, which I’m sure you’ve heard before is not the most fun for the majority of creators. But if you go silent on your page for even a month, people will forget about you because there are people who post incessantly. So I have had to totally change my mindset around that. It’s my job to reach out to the bloggers and the playlists. It’s my job to put everything that I have into this, no matter how uncomfortable it can get.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
So I am a pop princess, I will say. I was raised on all the pops. Country pop, pop punk, pure pop music, etc… So when I create a new song it typically has a standard pop structure; verse-prechorus-chorus-verse-prechorus-chorus-bridge-chorus. Then, I am very much subconsciously influenced by early 2000s music and sounds. Sometimes I will reference songs that I am really into at the moment, and other times I just let the guitar or beat inspire a brand-new vibe. But like I said, a lot of times, even the songs that had no reference end up sounding very 2000s-inspired. When I am in the studio, I focus on everything but producing. I leave that one up to the producers!
Although I do have a good idea of the sounds I am going for in each song, and I always make sure to try to verbalize that the best I can to whoever I am working with. I have been practicing my songwriting since I moved here in 2016, and I feel like I get better with every song that I write. I am to the point in my journey that I like to be the main songwriter for all of my songs. I am also a singer first, so of course, I love the recording process. I was always a soprano in choir and used to singing the lead notes of songs. So, another craft that I have been working on that is a challenge for me are harmonies, but no matter how difficult it is to find the notes, I always find them. I think harmonies are so important to emphasize lines and help to fill out a song. I thrive the most in a cozy home studio where you can feel the human connections with everyone in the room, and the song seems to find its way to us. I just love to create and be cozy. That’s kind of my whole thing. Being comfortable in your skin and going for what you really want.
Another thing that I enjoy doing is singing for sporting matches. I am not really an avid sports fan, but there is something about being at a stadium for a game… the energy is astounding. I have sung the national anthem for numerous NFL games, as well as performing for halftime shows! I love to sing the NA for our Dodgers; this past summer was my 4th time singing for them!
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success for me is being able to actively forge the path you want for yourself. To be able to have the tools to create the life you want is so important, and a lot of the time people give up on their dreams because they don’t have them. So whenever I am actively creating something that I conjured up in my mind, I feel successful. I feel like I am on the right path. For me it’s not about the destination, it really is the journey. For all we truly know, we get this one life, so why not enjoy the WHOLE thing?
Pricing:
- Vocal Recording- $500
- Songwriting and Vocal Recording -$500 + Publishing Split
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calybev/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CalyBevier
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/calybev
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@calybev
Image Credits
Shawn Corchado
