Today we’d like to introduce you to Jes Marie.
Jes, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Hi VoyageLA! Thanks for having me 🙂
I’ve been singing ever since I can remember and started out taking professional voice lessons when I was four years old. I did musical theater and classical vocal competitions at first, but as I got older realized that country and pop music were where my heart was! I went to school at Berklee College of Music in Boston and after that moved to Los Angeles to pursue my goals. I perform all over LA at night and write and record during the day. I am so grateful to be here and absolutely love what I do!
Great, 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?
It has definitely not always been smooth sailing. When I first got to LA I had no job and no money. I was the definition of ‘starving artist,’ lol. Having enough money for food was a constant struggle and it was extremely stressful. I had no car to get around (which, as you know living in LA, is pretty impossible)! I took the buses and trains everywhere, and they would often show up late/not come at all, which was very scary for someone trying to make it to auditions and meetings!
I remember once waiting for a bus that never showed up, and I ended up running as fast as I could to get to the meeting (which thankfully was only 2 miles away). I was wearing jogging pants and running shoes to wait for the bus and had brought my clothes with me, so that helped. I showed up a bit sweaty but right in the knick of time. I had to change in a bathroom nearby, put my dress and heels on and freshen up the best I could, with the two minutes that I had right before the meeting started. It was a tight squeeze!! Things like that happened a lot and I would just try to deal with them the best that I could.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am a country/pop artist and also write and record music for TV/film in other genres. My favorite thing to do when I’m working on a new song is mesh different styles of music together. My country music is very pop-heavy with dance and electronic influences.
As an artist and performer, my purpose on this earth is to touch people through music and serve them in the best way I possibly can. Nothing gets me more excited then performing for a crowd and seeing someone’s face light up as they start dancing to the music. I love helping people to feel good. Spreading positivity in the world through music is something that I know I was meant to do for all my life.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I feel that being kind to others and wanting to help them is the most important quality to my success. It’s not about ‘me, me, me’ when you are an artist. It is really about the back and forth between your energy and the audience’s energy – you are giving them something and they are giving you something back. I feel it is my duty to help others and I enjoy doing so. In a live setting, it could be something as simple as having the audience clap their hands along to the beat of the song you are singing, or sway to the music. Group interactions make people feel not only connected to you and your energy, but also to each other. Everyone wants to feel included and to belong. Even if you are by yourself listening to a record, a song will make you feel something and you resonate with the song and the artist’s message and energy. My style as an artist is to make uplifting, positive music that spreads joy to anyone of any age, gender, background.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jesmarie.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/realjesmarie
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/realjesmarie
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/realjesmarie
- Yelp: https://www.youtube.com/jesmarie
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4C0SC2VLNYBF6TZDrSpar3?si=Lme1CXwrRCiBzFmtNHE7jA
Image Credit:
Gary Wang
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