Today we’d like to introduce you to Bonnie McIntosh.
Hi Bonnie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
According to my parents, I begged and pleaded for piano lessons when I was about 6 years old…I guess that’s where it all actually started. I grew up playing classical piano while sneaking out of the house going to rock shows and dreaming of being on a stage in front of a couple dozen of my friends. The idea of playing in an arena would have never computed in my brain at the time.
I moved to Los Angeles after high school for college, studying classical piano at Cal State LA and playing on the CSULA soccer team. While in college, I met some fellow musicians, and we started a band called Black Party Politics. I got bored with being a classical pianist, so I took apart my digital piano, painted it red, nailed the pedals to a piece of wood, and found a used Peavy amp. I dragged that setup to almost every dive bar, club or off-the-grid warehouse party in LA for 5 straight years.
Overall, I just fell in love with performing behind the keys. Once I discovered it was an actual career option, I transferred to Musicians Institute and learned everything I could about synthesis, programming, production and opened up my very narrow view on what a keyboard player could actually contribute to a show. I attended every keyboard audition I could find (whether I was qualified for them or not) no matter how big or small the artist was. I did my best to take every rejection as a lesson, which is much easier to say in hindsight. Realistically, rejection felt like rejection, and it sucked. The lesson came much later. Eventually, an opportunity presented itself and I landed my first major pop gig (Selena Gomez), my passion finally became my job, and I’ve been working steadily ever since.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think any musician who’s achieved their desired level of success would say that the road was smooth. However, with Instagram and TikTok becoming more popular tools when it comes to hiring band members, I guess it’s becoming easier, given that one viral video can launch an entire career. But when I started, none of that existed. Social media wasn’t a thing and for anyone to know you existed, they physically had to see you play in person. Getting the right person, in the right place, at the right time was a struggle in itself.
There was a point before I got my first big gig where I was unemployed trying to work anywhere I could find a piano. I couldn’t afford my own place, so I was doing a lot of couch-surfing and sleeping in my car. Eventually, I was able to get out of that situation and took any gig I could. I trained at a dueling piano bar for a little, found a bar where the owner would let me play and slip me cash under the table, teaching piano here and there, just trying anything I could to find a way to pay the bills and seeing what would stick.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a touring keyboard player through and through. Being a musician can mean so many different things depending on what your passion is (studio work, teaching, producing, etc.) but live shows and touring has always been my specialty. I love the energy on stage. I love to jump around interacting with the artist, my bandmates, and the crowd. While being a part of a high-energy rock band for so many years, I became a high-energy keyboard player by default, which ended up becoming the “thing” that set me apart from other keyboard players when I was starting out. I’d like to think I’ve brought that same energy to my career when I entered the pop world, in addition to my skills as a player.
When I think of what I’ve accomplished in my career, I would say that doing this as a full-time job for 10+ years and being able to support myself solely as a musician IS my greatest accomplishment. I went from being a broke, unemployed, couch-surfing 25-year-old performing in dive bars for free to paying off all my student loans before I was 30 with the money I made touring the world, performing in arenas. That’s a pretty big jump and one I’m definitely proud of.
What are your plans for the future?
Work-wise, I don’t like to discuss things before they happen. However, when I’m not touring, I’ve been shifting my focus into spending more time with my family rather than constantly working myself to the bone like I did when I was in my 20s. We only have so much time on this earth, so spending it with the people I love has only gotten higher on the priority list as I’ve gotten older. I got married about a year and a half ago and since my husband also tours, finding the balance between touring and home life is always a challenge and a constant work in progress.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @bonstarr
Image Credits:
1-2: (no credit: personal photos) 3-6: Elie 7-10 + cover photo: Jasmine Safaeian
