Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Corday.
Hi Jennifer, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In elementary school, we were presented with options to pick out an instrument and for some reason, my little fourth grade self chose the cello– it was as big as I was! I attended music camp every summer, and played in the orchestra at school. My older brother played bass in the jazz band, and I thought that was pretty cool, but it was kind of a boys gig at that time. Still, I secretly played his bass at home, and ended up really loving it. I joined the jazz band in middle school and continued to play bass throughout high school and college, where we entered jazz festivals and toured.
My main love however was theatre– I loved being on stage, and I felt that was my true calling! I majored in theatre at Chapman University and looked for acting gigs in L.A. after graduating, but it was so hard to navigate– I would look for auditions in the newspapers, but it was hard to find strong female characters I could relate to, and the auditions were leading nowhere. I worked a day job at my family’s lighting store in Long Beach (Corday Lighting), trying to make ends meet and lived in a small apartment Downtown Long Beach.
I was living with my girlfriend Renea, who taught me to play guitar in college. I never really formally learned how to play guitar in theory, but I picked it up with my cello/bass background and a lot of practice. We started performing out as a duo called Butterfly Battlefield, and played coffee houses and pride festivals. We played a lot of Melissa Etheridge and Indigo Girls- so gay! LOL Indigo Girls was my favorite, and I am still a fan today of their great songs, melodies, harmonies, and lyrics.
This was just a side gig obviously, and I needed a real income, so I decided to secure my teaching credential and landed a job teaching English and Drama at Paramount High School. Teaching was incredibly rewarding and having the opportunity to run the theatre and direct shows was amazing! I wrote curriculum and secured grants and even worked as department chair. On a side note, as a young teacher, I was also assigned the role of cheerleading advisor– despite my objections– but I ended up learning a lot from the experience. Cheerleaders are high maintenance LOL but also a lot of fun! It was super rewarding teaching in the inner city and I absolutely loved making a difference. But it was also a difficult time at public schools in the 90s- we went through school shootings, riot lockdowns, and the 1992 LA riots. One day I saw one of my cheerleaders shot in the street right after school as I was simply walking out to my car. I ran out to help but she died right in front of me. It was a rough time.
Meanwhile, my passion to perform was nagging me. I knew I didn’t want to spend my whole life teaching, and that I had to follow my heart and pursue music. So I quit. People thought I was crazy. After five years of full-time teaching, I finally had a secure income! But I knew what I wanted to do. I was starting to perform out as a band and it was gaining momentum.
I was living with my partner Debbie at the time, and she was incredibly supportive and even acted as my business manager. I signed up to work as a substitute teacher while I built my music career. I subbed for over 10 years in many districts including Paramount, Long Beach, Garden Grove, and Orange. Subbing was a lot easier than teaching full time because you didn’t need lesson plans and could leave at the end of the day without work to take home. I had fun subbing and the students were always a blast– they knew me as Ms. Corday- the cool music lady in a band and I would give out stickers if they behaved. I still run into students today who remember me and I love that!
After a break-up I lived on my own and money was tight– I lived in a little back house behind a garage in Long Beach, with no insulation so it was incredibly hot AND cold, depending on the season, and there were cockroaches! But I loved my independence and was performing every weekend.
I slowly built a career out of music, released several award-winning albums, won numerous awards, toured the US and overseas, and got to a point where music was full-time. I met my partner Lisa at a basketball game and we now live together in Seal Beach. I am working on a new album and perform locally as well as across the US and overseas. I will be perfroming at the International Eressos Music Festival in Greece this September– (https://www.womensfestival.eu/) what an honor! Life is good!
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?
It is always hard financially to support yourself as an artist of any kind and that continues to be a struggle– it’s always and up and down roller coaster ride and challenging on your mental health.
I battle with depression, but I think that’s part of being an artist– the high highs and the low lows. Having expectations. Relentless rejection. Lots of alcohol and drug exposure. A never-ending drive to produce, grow, and create, despite never-ending obstacles with no one to ask for help can be an exercise of futile head-banging! You just have to keep moving and learn to manage the lifestyle. I google a lot LOL and am now working on carving out time for self-care.
It’s lonely being an artist. As much as there is popularity and applause, it’s just you at the end of the day, and even a very successful show can leave you physically and emotionally drained.
There is also a lot of alone time, full of stress, decision-making, disappointments and frustrations that the outside world doesn’t see. And you need someone to talk to. That gets you.
Having a supportive partner, or even just any support, from family and friends can make such a difference. I am so thankful for my partner Lisa and my dad Charlie, and for friends and fans, adoringly dubbed the “Corday Crew.”
Navigating the challenges of changing technology is also a huge undertaking. Things are constantly changing– from recording to distribution to advertising, it’s an ever-evolving world so you have to have the smarts and persistence to keep learning. I’m in an on-line Spotify class right now!
From recording on analog to digital to producing CDs to Napster to Spotify, to understanding YouTube monetization, Facebook Ads, Mailchimp and Text marketing, there is always a new learning curve.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Known as “The lesbian voice of So-Cal,” Corday is a spirited singer songwriter guitarist rock n roller with big hair and a big voice! I have also described the Corday musical experience as: Janis Joplin meets Brandi Carlile in a bar. Brandi drinks wine and Janis does shots. They both get tattoos and fall in love.
Basically, it’s a marriage of raspy high energy rock n roll with heartfelt relationship songs. (I’m a rocker, but a softy at heart)
Music has nothing to do with a sexual orientation, and I most love performing to diverse crowds of music-lovers! My music is so approachable to everyone that fans come in all shapes and sizes.
Back in the 90s, we used to separate gigs as “gay gigs” or “straight gigs” because they were in separate venues. But that’s just silly nowadays! Everyone is welcome everywhere and I am excited to see the fan base growing!
I perform with three guys in my band, all fantastic musicians, and we play wherever we can!
Besides my original career, there are several projects I spearhead-
The Magic 70s (themagic70s.com) is a tribute to the 70s we present in costume. I really love this decade and I don’t think a lot of bands cover these great tunes, so it’s really fun. We do songs by Fleetwood Mac, Doobies, Zeppelin, Boston, The Who, Foreigner, Abba, and more!
I also formed Yachty Girl and the Seamen (yachtygirlandtheseamen.com or yachtygirl.net) which covers the easy listening soft rock of the 70s! We wear nautical attire and it’s a blast. The crowd likes to sing along with these fun tunes from Hall & Oates, Toto, The Carpenters, Christopher Cross, America, Steely Dan and many more!
I also have Classic Rock Revolution which presents the classic rock of the 80s– I love belting out rockers from ACDC, Joan Jet, Bon Jovi, and Guns n Roses!
That said, I do have a very large and loyal lesbian fan base and enjoy the opportunities I have had to perform for the LGBTQ+ community in particular.
I have performed at Pride Festivals across the nation:
Los Angeles, Long Beach, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco, Denver, Salt Lake City, St Louis, Atlanta, Buffalo, and even in Prague!
Dinah Shore Weekend in Palm Springs, the biggest lesbian event in the world.
Many gay cruises including Olivia, Sweet, and Vacaya–
I will be performing in February on a VACAYA cruise to the Caribbean!
The Melissa Etheridge Cruise
Women On A Roll cruises down the Danube and the Rhine as well as Women On A Roll events throughout SoCal and on the East Coast. Even Catalina Island : )
Provincetown (aka P-Town) Women’s Week every October.
Womenfest in Key West
I have worked as a Music Supervisor in several films and had my music placed in many films.
Elena Undone, At Your Own Risk, Maybe Someday, Crazy Bitches, And Then Came Lola, Methhead, and many more.
I was an actor on the national Ride with Pride Uber commercial, and also had small acting roles in a few lesbian films including Crazy Bitches, and Maybe Someday which features my song “Home.”
I really enjoy producing music videos too and love to use my directing and acting background. I have hired some great directors, and done a few DIY music videos which are all beautiful little mini-movies and have received placement and awards at various film fests.
Making music videos is probably one of my favorite things to do because it marries my love of music and theatre/acting.
In the past few years, I have also started to do more promoting. I think it was just a natural evolution and something I pretty much was doing anyway– As an artist, I never just showed up and played, I do a lot of work around every show including designing flyers and ads, social media advertising, sending emails and newsletters, as well as bringing in a sound system, hiring band mates, bringing in people to eat and drink, and even create theme parties. I’ve always been into the business part of the music business anyway, so it is fun to produce and promote shows– it’s really just like throwing a party! I’ve promoted several Pride Parties and even kickball tournaments followed by live performances. It’s all about creating a sense of community. A few years ago I saw the need to create a new women’s weekend in Palm Springs that catered to the 40+ demographic and founded Desert Legends. It’s now in its 4th year and selling out every year! Admittedly, it is a tremendous amount of work and stress to produce big events, so I am now looking at shifting my focus to hiring professionals to assist with production so I can really concentrate on my music.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
-Being the high school mascot at Wilson HS in Long Beach.
-Making a movie I starred in called Supergirl– my dad shot it on 8mm film. My mom was the witch, my brother was the sea monster, my dad was the wizard, and me and my dog were the stars!
-my mom’s peach cobbler (we have the same birthday)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://corday.net
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/jennifercorday
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/jennifercorday
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/jennifercorday
- Other: Some other cover band projects: TheMagic70s.com YachtyGirl.net
Image Credits
Jen Rosenstein
Ziv Sade
Jeanine Hill
Dave Richmond
Mindy Smith
Stacy Mitchell
Lisa Bassi
