Meet Becky Lynn Blanca

Today we’d like to introduce you to Becky Lynn Blanca.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, and I began playing in bands in 2006. For a long time, I was solely a vocalist in the garage/soul outfit, Los Blancos, doing small gigs around town and eventually traveling overseas in 2016. I began playing ukulele in 2012 and collaborating with musicians who played more 1920’s/30’s jazz and blues.

With a newfound passion for these styles, I started Penny Matches, which features Dave Stuckey and members of California Feetwarmers. In 2019, I began touring and writing as a solo performer, with only myself and my banjo ukulele, Grampa. Me n Grampa have been all over Europe and Canada, playing with all kinds of magical folks along the way. Spring of this year, I spent a couple of weeks in New Orleans trying to dial in my abilities as a solo performer. I returned home the second week of March, and which was when we went into our first lockdown. I did my first live stream show that Monday evening and decided I would return at 1:00pm the following day. And every day thereafter. Thus the Sad Gurlz Klub Hour of Power was born. “Until we’re allowed back out!” I said optimistically, thinking we’d return to some level of normalcy by June/July. 144 days later, I whittled it down to a measly Monday-Friday occurrence from 1-2. I’ve recently been fortunate enough to have landed a full-time job. I work remotely and use my daily lunch hour for a Power Hour with no sign or intention of stopping any time soon.

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?
Performing for people and working to create a positive space as been as challenging as it is rewarding. Most days it comes naturally and is an absolute joy. Other days, life’s challenges can be absolutely devastating, but “the show must go on.” I feel beholden to the people who join me for an hour each day, and I can’t let them down. Mind you, not a single one of them would object, were I to take a personal day. The person pushing me lives inside my own head. But she knows that I always feel better at the end of Power Hour than I did at the beginning. Power Hour is meant to be a positive space. We talk about “one good thing” that’s happened to us every day, no matter how small. That doesn’t mean that bad things don’t happen or that we can’t grieve publicly. So, when I have these feelings, I bring them to Sad Gurlz Klub. I feel it out, maybe we discuss, maybe we don’t. But we always show up for each other. I am not the same person I was back in March. I couldn’t find one good thing within every single day before. But it’s been an incredibly empowering practice that has brought me an abundance of comfort in the darkest parts of this year.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I enjoy being a storyteller, a traveling raconteuse. Everything is either funny or sad. Sometimes it’s both. And if you think one isn’t the other, well, it is. I’m most proud of my ability to connect with people, and if I can get a giggle out of them, I’m over the moon. Nothing sets me apart. Everything sets me together.

What does success mean to you?
Success is joy. If you are happy, then you are free.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.BeckyLynnBlanca.com
• Instagram: @beckylynnblanca
• Facebook: Facebook.com/MissBeckyLynn
• Youtube: www.YouTube.com/c/BeckyLynnBlanca
• Bandcamp: www.BeckyLynnBlanca.Bandcamp.com

Image Credits
Photo #2 Credit: Gayle “Crusher” Espinoza Photo #4 Credit: Susie Delaney Photo #5 Credit: Nicole Geletka