Today we’d like to introduce you to Ingrid Griffin
Hi Ingrid, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’m a singer/songwriter, and I just graduated from USC’s Thornton School of Music. Moving from my hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, to Los Angeles for college was a dream come true.
My love of music comes from my parents. I grew up listening to my dad’s old record collection, and I fell in love with 70’s singer/songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Jackson Browne. My dad is a lifelong drummer, and he and I have always jammed together—most of the time I play acoustic guitar and he plays a percussion instrument called a cajón. About four years ago, my dad and I started busking at my hometown farmers’ market every week, and now we play music together at fairs, festivals, bars, and other venues!
Songwriting has always been a passion of mine. I actually just released my debut album, “It’s All Just Songwriting Material” as part of my USC senior capstone! The songs on the album are based on my own experiences—such as feeling out-of-place at college parties and going to crazy lengths to win back a past love.
For a lot of my childhood and adolescence, I thought I wanted to pursue musical theatre. I even started at USC as an Acting major. However, my love of performing on the theatrical stage has translated into performing musically at gigs. Recently, I got to perform at USC’s annual pep rally/concert “Conquest” and Los Angeles’ famous Hotel Cafe!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Moving from my hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, to Los Angeles to attend USC was a big adjustment. After returning home my first college party—where I felt completely awkward and out-of-place—I wrote a song called “Red Cup.” The song is all about those feelings of not quite fitting in. Fast-forward a year later, and I got to collaborate with a USC film student to make a music video for the song! We transformed my dorm room into an epic party scene to shoot the video.
Also, as an independent artist, I’m my own producer, roadie, record label, manager, guitarist, tour manager, and booking agent. However, I see this as an advantage, because it makes my music that much more authentic. I love being in control of every step of my album release process, and I’ve learned so much along the way. Being an indie artist isn’t cheap, so to fund my music, I started my own ACT Tutoring business. I now tutor students all over the country through Zoom for college admissions tests. I like that it uses a different part of my brain, so I can save my musical creativity for songwriting and gigging!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I describe my music as if “1970s Laurel Canyon troubadours met Taylor Swift in her country/pop ‘Fearless’ era.” I think one thing that sets me apart is that my music is very “do-it-yourself”—I wrote all twelve songs on my debut album, “It’s All Just Songwriting Material,” and self-produced nine of the twelve tracks! To market my debut album, I handed out homemade bracelets, fortune cookies with my song lyrics, and notebooks with my lyrics scattered across the pages. My mom helped a lot with that.
Another thing that makes me unique is that my dad doubles as my drummer! He has drummed in rock bands his whole life, and now he plays gigs with me on the weekends (aside from his day-job). He even drummed on several tracks on my debut album!
What I’m most proud of as an artist is my commitment to authenticity and kindness. I hope that listeners can relate to my lyrics, which are honest and from-the-heart. One of my main goals is to be a role model, especially for young women. I live by the lyrics of my song “Twentysomething,” which send an encouraging message to my listeners: “Those who crash and burn are those who started a flame, those who fall down are the ones who took a leap of faith.”
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I see a few shifts happening in the music industry in the next 5-10 years:
1) The first is AI. In my music industry classes at USC, we talked a lot about the impact of artificial intelligence on the music business. It’s an ongoing battle, but I hope that we can continue to protect artists from their voices and likeness being used in ways beyond their consent.
2) A positive shift in the music industry is the “country craze.” As a lifelong country music fan, it has been so cool to see amazing artist like Beyoncè, Post Malone, and Lana Del Rey releasing country music, and I think the country community should welcome anyone who embraces the genre. On a larger note, genre-bending as a whole is a massive trend right now—the best music occurs when difference influences combine to form something new and authentic.
3) A shift that I HOPE to see in the future is more value placed on artists and songwriters. This includes more fair compensation to rights holders of compositions and masters. Streaming services, I’m lookin’ at you!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/ingridgriffin
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ingrid.griffinnn/
- Facebook: https://fb.me/ingrid.griffin.music
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0_csZ7kuWut1M1vIzARw9g
- Soundcloud: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1yiqPWsY0U38Br7NjjmQED
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/0WzayG5DZHkeFVpUy18BKj?si=yiWKKueFQz-avUFG9v6XFA
Image Credits
Susie Gessert, Jen Richtarik
