We recently connected with Bliss Bliss and have shared our conversation below.
Lang & Renee, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that’s a little hard to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Yeah, it’s an interesting topic. It’s one we’ve wrestled with through the years. I (Lang) think that a lot of music artists wrestle with the idea of feeling like they’re just copying other singers and musicians and that they’re being seen as imposters. When you’re truly going for it, trying to be an artist, you’ve either faced or are going to face the question at some point from family and friends, “When are you gonna get a real job?” That implies a bunch of stuff but a couple of things it says is that you’re not really that good and why are you trying to do something/be something that you’re not?
People in general don’t want to step out of the mold they’ve grown up in. Most of us prefer being accepted by everyone and that requires that we don’t step out and run the risk of failure and rejection. But the very nature of being an artist, a creative, means that we feel like we have something unique to offer the world and that then means, that we have to step out and ask people to fall in love with and purchase what we create. We run the risk of having what we do ridiculed and rejected and it’s human nature to not want to feel that pain.
I think the answer lies in separating what you do from who you are. Too many artists tie their sense of identity to what they do. People’s opinions can change like the weather; one minute they love you, the next, they don’t.
But if we artists can remind ourselves that we’re created with value that has nothing to do with what other people think of our talents and gifts, then we live with a sense of peace that’s not easily shaken.
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?
We are recording and performing artists and have been in the music industry in various roles for a long time.
As a quick history, Renee sang background vocals for pop artist Amy Grant for 10 years and then signed a record deal to the label owned by Amy’s managers. Along with singing and recording her own songs, Renee sang background vocals for other artists and producers in the studio and on the road.
Lang has played drums for a number of different artists in the contemporary christian, country and pop music industries both on the road and in the studio as well.
We came together to do BlissBliss because we loved a lot of the same music, as well as for relationship reasons. We knew we’d have to be together a lot more if we wanted to stay married; continuing to tour apart wasn’t gonna help that!
We were signed to an indie label in Nashville and scored the first #1 for the label on CHR radio, with our song, Fight For Peace.
We had a second song called When The World’s Asleep, that went to #6 on radio.
Through lots of ups and downs (maybe more downs than ups.. ha!) we have continued because we believe that our music is more than just a desire but a calling, so to speak;
it really is the driving force.
Our message is one of perseverance and restoration.
We believe that the world can be changed by people who are doing what they’re made for; designed for by God. Our offering just happens to be in the form of songs and stories.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Excellence, persistence and resilience. Prior to the time we both headed to Nashville to pursue our music dreams, we had each been in bands and were pretty passionate about seeing those dreams come to pass. We were fortunate to be around others who had that same passion but were also professional musicians, song writers, and producers. That alone raised the bar really high and the challenge was naturally there to want to bring our best to the table. Our experience has been that unless you apply yourself when there doesn’t seem to be any immediate reward, you will never move forward. If your passion doesn’t involve the actual work of your own talent development, understanding and application, it will never move out of the dreaming phase. Once someone works on fine tuning their talent/gift, then comes the patience phase; huge success doesn’t happen overnight and being resilient and flexible while in the process of waiting on doors to open, is crucial.
What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?
As an independent artist, focusing on just strengths isn’t enough to have long term success. It’s necessary to invest some time in learning about “the not so fun stuff”, the areas where you’re not gifted, and have a harder time understanding different aspects of the business, other than creativity and expression. Those areas include marketing and promotion, booking, publishing, etc. As an independent artist you’ll find yourself wearing many different hats in the pursuit of establishing yourself.
Our experience of being signed to a record deal and having been around the music industry gave us an inside look at what a label did for a signed artist. When I (Renee) was signed to my first record deal, all the responsibilities for the financing of my record projects, the marketing, promotion, publishing, etc, (the list goes on and on), was handled by the label. The music industry has changed enormously over the past 15-20 years and most artists aren’t signed to a label and are having to do everything on their own. Artists may not, (typically don’t), have the budget to hire all of the people needed to promote their music and that leaves the weight of responsibility on their shoulders, to learn about, develop and implement the knowledge in all of these different business areas. It’s a required skill now and that can feel insurmountable but for those of us who do the heavy lifting, it ends empowering us.
Contact Info:
- Website: blissbliss.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/blissblissmusic
- Facebook: Facebook.com/blissblissmusic
- Youtube: Youtube.com/blissblissmusic
- SoundCloud: SoundCloud.com/blissblissmusic
Image Credits
Keoni Keur Jose Guzman Colon Kyle Willis
