Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Jean Anderson.
Laura Jean, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always loved to sing since I was a kid. I learned to sing in church and became obsessed with old records at a young age. It was always what made me happy. I grew up in a very conservative religious Mormon family and singing became my freedom, my escape. And then when I was 16 and picked up a guitar and started to write songs that became even more apparent. Writing songs was my way of rebellion, sticking up for what I believed in, expressing my true feelings, my secrets, my demons, my story, without punishment. But there was no one in my town of Olympia, Washington that was a role model of a musician who went on to pursue music and the only live music I was exposed to was either church music, old records or sneaking out to college grunge and punk shows. So I just thought it was out of the question to make music for a living.
But I graduated college and took a risk and moved down to LA to pursue music. I studied first at CalArts in Santa Clarita where I focused on classical music and composition but soon found myself surrounded by an amazing community of songwriters, where I fit in much more. The LA grind began there. From busking every day to make a living, taking every possible gig in dive bars or free events, working countless day jobs so I could write songs and playing every night of the week, I finally slowly worked my way through this wild wild LA world of music.
Last year I released my debut record “Lonesome No More” which felt so amazing after almost a decade of the grind. The record established my music as a stable of the LA music scene, garnering support from KCRW and LA Weekly proclaiming it as a “Timeless sound…a mysterious conception that sounds as it’s from another era.” As the record grew it garned support from NPR, Rolling Stone, Noisey, Salon, Fader, amongst others.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Haha definitely not a smooth road that’s for sure. I came to LA with no knowledge or foot into the music industry- I really had to learn it on my own from the ground up. My path has definitely proved to bring struggle- from constant health issues to barely living month to month, overworked on bad gigs and day jobs, heartbreak, and battling my religious upbringing. But I am grateful for my path. I am grateful for the struggle because it’s what makes me who I am. It’s easy to get down on ourselves for not being farther along in life or our pursuits and to compare ourselves to others (especially now that social media is at the forefront of our brains) but I really think that every single person has their own journey and it shapes their story and their path. In my case, it has shaped my music and I am so grateful for every little win because I know that I worked so hard for it and will never take advantage of it. It’s been a hard ride but I find pride in holding onto sharing my story in hopes that it can bring purpose and empathy to others.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am a musician, primarily singer-songwriter. I write songs, make records, play my music live. Like the nature of any art form, I dabble in other forms of music and gig in jazz groups, do session vocal work, teach music lessons and play piano and guitar for other groups.
I guess my specialty is my voice.
I’m most proud of my resilient moments and the priority to maintain purity and purpose within the work.
What were you like growing up?
I was definitely a wild child tomboy who was stubborn as hell and loved the outdoors, music and creating.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.laurajeanandersonmusic.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @laurajeanandersonmusic
- Facebook: @laurajeanandersonmusic
- Twitter: @LJAndersonmusic
Image Credit:
Photos by Kaia d’Albora except black and white one & car one is by Ellyn Jameson
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