Meet Trisha Tamblyn

We recently connected with Trisha Tamblyn and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Trisha, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?
It’s no secret that being a woman in the entertainment industry is challenging. Specifically, it’s incredibly challenging to be a woman who is multi-faceted in the music industry. It seems as though people can only handle one version of me in their minds – I can be a singer OR a musician. I can be a manager OR a creative. I can be a producer OR an entrepreneur. The list goes on forever, unfortunately. However, I have found that I take an inordinate amount of joy in proving people wrong. I love getting criticism, because it gives me another challenge to overcome. I have become successful not because I ignore the haters – I am successful because I refuse to allow anything they say of me to be true. Nobody can say that I’m not a hard worker because I work hard – duh!

Now, that being said, the path to be taken seriously as a woman is incredibly rocky. My entire life, I’ve fought to be taken seriously in the music world. I have big eyes, a round face, and I sing – so a lot of other musicians write me off. While I don’t think it’s necessary to mention this, since the voice is a complex instrument in and of itself, I do play several other instruments as well. But because I am a woman and a singer, a lot of other people in this industry think that’s something less than.

One of my first bands I was in was led by a man that I won’t name, and I thought that we were friends. In the studio and rehearsal space, I was treated an as equal. However, once we started gigging, the bandleader informed me that he would be withholding my checks for a “necessary investment for the group”. I pressed a bit to find out what this investment was – turns out he was saving my money so the band could ‘invest’ in me getting a boob job. Apparently, he had been showing videos of our performances to his other male colleagues, and they all agreed that we would be more successful if I could “sex it up” because “what else is a singer for”. I was 18 when this happened.

I now teach other singers how powerful our instrument is. We command the stage, the room, and we get to tell the story. I have infinite respect for musicians of all calibers, make no mistake. But I will spend my life using my voice to teach others how powerful theirs is.

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?
To tie things up in a nice tidy bow, I am a musician, audio engineer, and entrepreneur. However, I am primarily a rock musician, and ‘tidy’ isn’t exactly what I’m going for. When I was in my first year of college, many people referred to me as “The Girl with the Hats”. I was a victim of the 2016 wide-brim fedora craze, and it was a dominating presence in my closet for years to come. While I don’t wear the fedoras anymore, I do still wear multiple figurative hats. I am an independent singer songwriter, and I released my debut album “Elixir” last year! I am also the lead singer in the most amazing band, “Creysi”. Seriously, these guys are some of the best musicians I have ever worked with and they’re also all genuinely close friends that I trust wholeheartedly. We just released our debut EP titled “SRJNT” a little over a month ago. We have a bunch of upcoming shows (and super secret releases), so be sure to check us out on creysiband.com!

While I love rock music with a passion, my heart is permanently in possession of jazz. I studied it at Lindenwood University, and it fuels all of my writing. Music theory is so unbelievably complex and wonderful – it has transformed my appreciation of music. If you love music, study classical theory, then study jazz theory. It will break your brain in the best ways! I teach private lessons for voice, guitar, piano, bass, ukulele, production, and theory, which is such a blessing. I love getting to pass on knowledge while also learning from my own students! This is just a fun fact, but I was actually the first person to complete the Jazz & Contemporary Music minor at Lindenwood – like, ever.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Learning how to advocate for yourself is not a taught skill – it’s something you gain from experience. 2. You are never going to be ready, you are only ever going to be willing.
3. Go to school. Make connections, get educated on everything you can.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?
My number one obstacle has unfortunately always been myself. In a mental capacity, I find that I hold myself to unreasonably high standards, and it is constantly weighing on me. The hardest part of that is being aware that I’m doing it, but unable to stop my mind from going down the spiral of all the things I should be/all the things that I am not. In a physical capacity, I have a brain condition that limits me. I was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation when I was 14, and had a decompression surgery just a short 3 weeks after diagnosis. I had a severe case, and while the surgery did help with some of the more intense symoptoms, I will never be cured of it, and am still considered to have a severe case. Singing is the thing I love more than anything else in this world – and it ironically causes me the most pain. I have to be extremely careful when preparing for a performance, as one misstep could lead to me being potentially immobilized. I have to make sure I get plenty of sleep, water, and proactive pain medication before I go onstage, and even then sometimes it’s a risk. However, I know that I am meant to sing throughout this life of mine, no matter what trials I have to go through!

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Taylour Moenster, Rey Garza Jr., Alyssa Click

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