Today we’d like to introduce you to Miss Judy B.
Miss Judy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
When I was four years old my aunt put the movie Amadeus into the VCR, and that moment changed my life forever. I wanted to be a musician, an artist, a person of creative expression. My father is an accomplished and known painter and I always admired his many talents; my aunt, his sister, was also a creative who designed and made clothing. Then there was my grandmother, a hardworking Greek woman who made the best food on earth and could knit almost anything without a written pattern in a matter of days. I resonated with all of them. I felt it natural to want to be an artist, and ever since I was young, I believe that I always was. With art, you don’t have to grow up to be an artist, I truly believe that we are all born artists, and then we are pulled away from our artistic desires through the system that we have to pass through.
Society tells us that it is “frivolous, not realistic and that we will surely starve if you pick art as your metier. I did it anyway, rebelling against my family’s wishes who wanted me to become something sensible and respectable like a doctor or a lawyer. They were from Armenia where there were minimal opportunities, so they felt like they needed to be crafty in order to survive, and not a deliberate choice that they had the luxury to make. I rebelled against them, society, the norm. I never stopped creating. There was a time where I felt like I was “downloading” so many great ideas and potential projects every single day. I wished I had 10 of me and then an entire workshop of elves making my ideas come to life. Art came to me in different forms. First as an illustrator when I was very young, then as a painter, a fashion designer, street artist, and most recently as a musician, a singer, a songwriter, as well as a performer.
When I embraced music fully, I felt a divine breakthrough like I had never experienced before. A clear opening into a world that I knew deep down that I belonged to. My songwriting was my way of honoring thoughts that were coming from a sacred place, and I felt a calling to share them with the world. I found the clarity I had been searching for so long when I devoted my time to music. And even though it was hard to accept that I was starting at the beginning of this lifelong journey that I had desired to be on, I knew it would be the most wonderful gift that I could give to myself and to those around me. My decisions to live my life as a creative human have led me to have an extraordinary and colorful life, filled with magical moments that can only be described as fate, and for this I am grateful.
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?
Because my family was so discouraging and unsupportive about my art pursuits and career, I had underlying doubts that attributed to my lack of confidence and self-esteem. What kept me going was the feeling of deep joy when I would be “in the flow” of my work, and then to see the final outcome of a project felt like a trophy moment for me. I always had a sense about life not having any rules, and I firmly lived in this way. I knew what the mainstream and the norm was and I ran the other way because I didn’t see the passion and vigor in living life the way other people tell you to live it. I knew I was on a different journey.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Above all, I am a visual artist; even with my music, I see the image of what I am writing the song about and even see the music video playing in my head before I make it. When I made the big shift in my life from fashion design to music, I knew I would take fashion with me because it has always been a part of me. I knew that I would bring an element of style to how I looked on stage, in my videos, and the way I projected myself to the world. I also took my business experience from having my own clothing line to my music by taking big leaps into the unknown with a lot of moxie. You just gotta for it and then see what happens. Living this way made for faster learning. I’m proud of breaking through the “rules” that have been placed in every field I’ve stepped into. If I waited for “how it’s supposed to be done,” I would probably still be in school waiting for guidance from somebody else.
My favorite thing is to write a song that I know will impact someone in a deep and meaningful way and to make that song become the best that it can be. From beginning to end I am involved in every aspect of the song, including producing, styling, directing, and editing music videos, to marketing and promoting my music. I wear a lot of hats which makes me feel connected to what I am putting out into the world. Although, recently I hired someone who just happened to be my Gemini twin and she knew exactly what I was all about. She understood the genuine and kindness factor that I integrate into my work and she helped me with the workload that comes with marketing a song before, during, and after releasing it. I was very grateful for her help, and I knew I could trust her which is a rare thing to find.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out.
My advice for anyone starting out is to learn as much as you possibly can about the vision that you have in mind and then ask yourself if you are willing to do the work that it takes to see that vision come to life. There are so many people out there who are living and breathing their careers which brings about serious competition. This is true for any field. Ask yourself the hard questions? Are you willing to: dedicate long lonely hours playing your instrument? Write bad song after bad song? Take care of your voice? Push yourself when you start to feel comfortable? Find the courage to keep going after a bad performance?
Like so many people, I wish I had started sooner. We tend to put our dreams off because it feels good to hold onto that dream in our minds. It doesn’t feel good to feel like a failure when you can’t play guitar and sing at the same time, or play as perfectly as your idols, or have to learn how to read music and understand music theory. This is the major hurdle we all have to get over in order to see that the dream is possible. It’s different for everybody, but I think most of us who get into music all have the same dream of becoming a “rock star.” To this I say, if it brings you joy to reach this goal then go for it, even if you don’t reach it, because that path will lead to something incredible and more fulfilling than regretting that you never went for it in the first place.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.missjudybmusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missjudybmusicofficial/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/missjudybmusic
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/missjudybmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissJudyB
