Meet LIVM (Liam with a V)

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to LIVM (Liam with a V). We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi LIVM, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
Honestly, this has to be genetic, because apparently I was singing on the street corners of Quebec when I was 3. I was so confident everybody wanted to hear what I had to say or what I was singing. I’ve been that way ever since, with some advancement involved in fine tuning my craft and always being prepared for a performance. There was some hard learning involved; including, but not limited to: finding out not every person wants to hear me sing all the time. But my dad sang around the house all the time, so I thought it was normal to sing about as much as I talk. I think when I was 11, a switch flipped, but it didn’t turn off. It was one of those modern light panels and it lowered a little year by year. Now, even though a lot more rare, my girlfriend still yells at me when I sing because apparently I’m “one upping” her. I swear to her I’m just trying to sing along…

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My actual name is Liam O’Brien, my artist name is Liam with a V. Looks like LIVM, but still sounds like my actual first name. I moved to LA 5 years ago to pursue a performing artist career and I have put 30+ songs and 12+ music videos since. Wrote and released 12 songs and videos in a year which was extremely exciting, but I think the most exciting my life has ever been was the following year when we performed 10 shows in one year. Started with just me and my guitarist – sounded pretty awful at first, if we’re being completely honest. Then got a band together, we started to really click and were able to sell out the The Viper Room. So we got invited to The Troubadour twice, where we sold out both times. Those two nights were some of the best nights of my life. Songwriting is a bit more of a gradual excitement, where you see the vision, you sing it, you hear it 1000 times, you promote it, people get excited, you release it, more excitement, then you promote and pray it gets picked up by somebody who can really expose it. I had a YouTube music channel post a song of mine that has 4 million views, and while that feels amazing knowing my music touched so many people, it still doesn’t beat the rush of 500 people screaming and singing along in one room. That’s probably why I still do what I do in such a cut throat industry, years, tears, and 1000s of songs since starting the journey.

What’s new? A lot. After 5 years of pushing out content and working my ass off, the music industry finally bit back. I needed a mental break and to really think about what I want to do and what I want to create. Repeatedly posting reels and tiktoks of my song took a toll on me and probably my listeners, so I vow to never go back to that kind of promotion. However, I still plan to release music, play shows, and post. That will never stop. I’m not sure when the next songs are coming out, but when they do, they’ll be more me than ever before.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Patience, impatience, drive, love, hate – everything is necessary on the journey. Most important thing is to find balance. You don’t need to do it all always, you don’t need to please everyone always, you just need to be you always. Balance work, love, life, spending time with the people you care most about. Don’t get too caught up and just be yourself. The music industry will eat you up, don’t be too sensitive, but also don’t let people walk all over you. Find that balance and you’ll be at peace with the world around you.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Money. In the music industry, it’s no secret that money can take you to the next level. It’s one of the main reasons we all want to get signed by a label. Truth is they take a lot of your freedom and they take so much of your income, it doesn’t always feel like the right decision. But then how do we continue to pay the producer, pay for the visuals, pay for the promo, pay for the band, the rehearsals, the instruments, the gadgets, the clothes, the props, the list goes on. There’s no easy answer to this other than do as much of it yourself as you can. I’ve worked so well with others over the years, and people have bought into my vision and supported me without me having to pay them, and yet it still felt like I didn’t have enough money to support myself. So now I look at every project and think about how I can spend the least amount of money while still making something great. Or what show can I perform that will give me the money for that next project. The more I’m able to do myself – producing, marketing, etc. – the more money and freedom I keep for myself.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Benjamin Farren, Mathias Fau, Benjamin Danielson, Amanda Jaeger.

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