A Lion Heart

When my older sister got a guitar for Christmas, I completely fell in love with it. I was only ten at the time, but I found myself playing it every day after school. I loved the way the strings felt on my fingertips. Nothing made me more excited than shredding to Iron Maiden or Blink 182. After teaching myself guitar for three years, I started taking classes. My parents saw that I was hungry for music and always helped me find new opportunities to learn and play.

When I first heard about GRAMMY Camp, I had no idea what it was or if I really wanted to go. I was shy growing up and felt awkward walking into music stores as a girl because all of the guys were showing off and soloing like crazy. I knew could play just as well as they could, but the feeling of having to prove myself was unsettling, so I just sat back and kept to myself.

GRAMMY Camp pulled my eyes open to the real world of music, a reality without gender stereotypes. For the first time, I saw true professionals in the industry discuss talent and potential – regardless of gender. People like Greg Chin and Keith Urban helped me gain confidence in myself as an artist and musician. Playing with Keith Urban as a GRAMMY Camper was the definitive moment in my life when I knew I wanted to play music forever. He spoke to me as a fellow musician, and that made me realize that I could turn my passion into my career.

After three GRAMMY Camps (in Los Angeles, New York, and Nashville), four NAMM Conventions, a performance in front of 6,000 people, more than one hundred originally written songs, and a professionally recorded CD, I can honestly say that I’m so grateful, blessed and happy to be working towards my dream. I am a singer/songwriter/musician, and I love being able to create sound and be a part of music every day.

I’ve always had confidence in my playing, but it was definitely hard walking into music stores. I’ve received a lot of sarcasm and condescension from some store employees, but one moment rings clear in my head.

I went in to look for a new Taylor Guitar, but as I was walking in I stopped at the electric guitar wall and saw a Gibson that I wanted to play. An employee was standing nearby and, in a tired tone, asked if I needed help. I said, “No, I’m just looking at the guitars.” He looked down at me, and in the most sarcastic tone said, “Oh, if you’re looking for a pink guitar, we’re all out.”

I immediately felt my face get hot because I was so upset. I wanted to say something back to him, but I felt like that would’ve been stooping down to his level. So I stayed quiet and just walked back out the door. It was humiliating and infuriating to be judged by my gender. He implied that a girl’s talent is limited to a pink guitar. How ignorant is that?

When I look for guitars or instruments, I search based on style, genre, technique, and quality. I don’t look for sparkles and pretty colors. If an instrument plays well, it plays well. If a musician plays well, he or she will play well.

Guitar playing, specifically, is male dominated, especially in small towns. So when I say I play guitar, people often give me a funny look like they don’t accept me as a serious musician. I overcame challenges like these with dedication and hard work. It sounds cliché but it’s the honest truth. I never cared if I was a girl in a male-dominated industry, I just knew I loved music and nothing was going to hold me back from that. Whenever I heard comments that I wasn’t good enough, I simply ignored it because of the recognition I had received from mentors, sponsors and supporters. I knew that I was “just as good as the boys.” In my experience, a lot of men who see extremely talented women in the music industry often say, “Man! She plays like a guy.”

In my opinion, girls who play really well play that way regardless of gender. Over the years, I’ve gained enough confidence in myself to be able to walk into music stores with my head held high, without fear of being scrutinized. I took me a long time to understand that the real music industry pays respect to talent and musicianship. And I’m happy to know that I will always play like a girl – because I am one.