Meet Natalie Stamper

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

Hi Natalie, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

My work ethic comes from gratitude. I’m thankful to play music for wonderful venues, and Cleveland has a great music scene! It truly is a labor of love.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Stamper Starr is acoustic duo featuring Natalie Stamper and Frankie Starr. We specialize in covering the greatest hits from all genres. Each gig is unique and we adjust accordingly.
If you come to see Stamper Starr, you’ll hear Blues, Jazz, Classic Country, Rock and 80s! We play everywhere in NE Ohio and you can see our events on
www.stamperstarr.com

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

1. The first and most important skill in any business is resourcefulness. We had a full band and hadn’t been together very long when Covid-19 appeared. We were gaining momentum quickly as a band, but restrictions stopped all of that. Frankie and I decided to do Facebook Live as a duo. This meant that we had to modify our songs which were mostly Blues. We quickly realized that most people didn’t want to listen to Blues for an hour on FB. We added some unusual songs and shortened our set. Every week, we’d have STAMPER STARR SUNDAY 7 at 7. Seven songs at 7pm. We made it work until things opened up again. From that adaptation, we formed our duo which became successful in a short amount of time. FUN FACT-We were the first live music gig in Cleveland when restrictions started to lift. Rumors that bands couldn’t or could play were all over social media. Everyone was fighting on social media (big surprise). I simply called the Health department and they confirmed that it was legal for us to play as long as we maintained space. Picking up the phone seems to be a dying art these days. Interestingly enough, I made a post on FB stating what I’d learned from the phone call. I thought that everyone would be happy to hear this but many wanted to argue. They argued and we played the gig. This leads me to the second most important skill….
2. Relationships are very important in business. I want the venue to do well because if the venue does well, they’ll be able to continue hiring live musicians! I’ve heard other musicians complain about making social media posts or saying that it wasn’t their responsibility to do anything besides play music. This is unrealistic, dated and backwards. The venue is the boss for the night. I’m going to do everything I can to provide great customer service. I’m not sure why this is difficult to understand. I know some world class musicians who can’t keep gigs because of their mentality. Live music is less prevalent than it was 10 years ago. Restaurants and bars don’t have to host live music. There is a decline in live music and musicians need to realize that it’s a group effort. Try your best.
3. Don’t be too loud!! There’s nothing worse in music than being too loud.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

My Dad taught me the essential skills that I possess for the management side of Stamper Starr and my previous bands. He told me that it didn’t matter how hard someone worked or how intelligent they were if they were unlikeable. That goes back to previous comments I made about having a positive attitude and making an effort for the venue.
He also told me to ask for what I wanted. His advice was to ask for exactly what I wanted, and I’d be told yes more often than not. He was correct. I should also mention that I inherited my pipes from him.
My dear ole Dad died in January 2021….

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