Meet Lisa Crawley

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lisa Crawley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Lisa, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
I think resilience is something that can be developed and learned in anyone. That being said, if you decide from a young age you want to be in the music/arts industry you’re going to be discovering pretty quickly that resilience is key to establishing and sustaining a career in the arts.

I was both equally a head-strong and highly sensitive kid who seemed to make a habit of putting myself out there from a young age. I was cutting out audition notices out of the paper for music and acting and applying for almost every gig (that an eight year old could apply for), and continued to do that throughout my teens and now as an adult have become more discerning in what I choose to do but hearing ‘no’ has been a consistent theme, and still is!

I’ve taken up a lot of opportunities over the years but for every one of those, there’s been a whole lot more no’s. I’ve had to work extremely hard at working on my thought patterns and behaviours in response to rejection, but my main takeaway is ‘this is hard, but what’s the alternative, do I give up?’, and then I say my own ‘no’ to that concept. Working hard and persevering does take it’s toll and has certainly affected my mental health, but makes the opportunities I create for myself and ones that are offered to me all the more meaningful.

It involves behaviors, thoughts, and actions that can be learned and developed in everyone. Resilience is about being adaptable. It’s about being flexible.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I’m a songwriter and musician originally from Auckland, New Zealand. I’ve previously based myself in Melbourne and London but LA is where I’ve been based for the last four years and will continue to be indefinitely. I love it here!

I’m a full time songwriter/musician who falls into the genre of indie pop, with folk, jazz and soul influences. Piano is my main instrument and also play a bit of bass, clarinet, recorder, omnichord and guitar. I often work in bands with other artists but my passion is songwriting. I’ve been fortunate to have songs placed in some excellent TV shows and also have acted in some TV shows and musicals.

I perform regularly in LA at venues such as the Hotel Cafe, The Dresden, Desert 5 Spot, Tramp Stamp Granny’s and anywhere else people will let me. I’ve had the privilege of writing and recording the majority of my music since being in LA with legendary producer/engineer Rob Kleiner, and will also be recording some new music soon with wonderful John Spiker.

My latest single is called ‘Boy Don’t Cry’ which is now available on all streaming services with some nostalgic music videos to accompany it.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
-Resilience (see the previous question about that one!) -Practising 10,000+ hours of honing your craft and being ready for the opportunities when they come up (and they will come up)
-Community: taking a genuine interest in others and making the time to support them on their journey, If we’re talking pecifically within the music industry – for me going to the source directly whether it be a venue, promoter or artist you want to work with, introducing yourself (scary but worthwhile) and following up with them not once, not twice, but numerous times (without getting to the point of being a stalker, haha).

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
I’m extremely lucky that I had parents that allowed me forge my own path and didn’t judge my decision to be an artist at any stage of my life. They would wait patiently in the car while I had music lessons (I think my Mum even joined me at recorder class when I was four!), spent hours and hours driving me to concerts, paid for dance lessons, auditions and came along to bar gigs so my high school were allowed to perform there. They are aware more than anyone of some of the struggles I’ve faced as an artist – both mentally and financially, however have never told me I was crazy or deluded while I chased/chase my dreams. I truly appreciate the sacrifice and support they’ve shown me (and still show me) over the years.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Parker Burr, Zara Feuerstein, Jake Creative, Dustin Genereux

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