HOLLY: ​Moving overseas is a huge shake up! What was the catalyst for making the move? 
NATALIA: I had always had an interest in Japanese culture from a young age, and I think I had always been preparing to move here one day.
That being said, I feel like Japan is a pretty easy place to live on your own. Everything is so convenient!

HOLLY: ​What opportunities have you had overseas that wouldn’t have been possible in your own country?
NATALIA: A lot of it has to do with the fact that I was living in a small town in the states, but living in Tokyo has made it so much easier to meet people in the same industry as I am. And being a foreigner, there is a really small community of other foreigners doing the same thing, so you meet a lot of people who can give you advice/help you out on a project/introduce you to more artists.
I’ve also been able to meet so many different types of people from all different walks of life. I don’t think my worldview would be the same if I had just stayed in Missouri forever.

HOLLY: How do you handle negativity? 
NATALIA: I’m at a point where I’m so focused on trying to stop being negative towards myself, that I don’t even notice other peoples opinions of me.
In the end I think we all have insecurities, and the things that people say don’t really have anything to do with me, it’s just about how those people feel about themselves on the inside. Knowing that people will talk regardless of what I’m doing really helps.

HOLLY: What has living abroad taught you about yourself?​​
NATALIA: Is this a real question??? like.. I could write a book about this. 
I guess I’ll just say the most cliche thing, but you can really do anything you put your mind to. 
There are ways to do ANYTHING. It’s just a matter of becoming somebody who doesn’t crumble when something doesn’t go perfectly. Like if you fail, get back up and try a different approach.

HOLLY: What is the #1 piece of advice you’d give to an aspiring artist who is thinking of moving overseas?

• NATALIA: When I first came to Japan, I was signed to a big record label, and I thought that it would bring me instant fame. I was obviously very wrong… Have a PLAN! 

What do you want to do here? How will you make it happen? How are you going to support yourself. 
I didn’t do this in my first 2 years here, and I was a mess. Around March of this year, I wrote down all of my goals and how to accomplish them, and I’ve done more in the past 8 months than in my first 2 years here. Having a plan and writing down your goals is so important.

Name: Leah Martin-Brown
Hometown: Burleigh Heads, Queensland, Australia
Current City: Los Angeles, California, USA
What you’re doing: Performing, writing and working hard in a rock and roll band.

HOLLY: ​Moving overseas is a huge shake up! What was the catalyst for making the move? 
LEAH: I was at a point in my life that I wasn't sure what I was going to do next with my music and didn't know how I was going to move to the next level. I received an email from an A&R company in Los Angeles offering me the opportunity to move there for a while and potentially build a professional career over in the US provided things worked out. Almost four years later and I am still here!

HOLLY: ​What opportunities have you had overseas that wouldn’t have been possible in your own country? 
LEAH: I have had the ability to work with some incredible people who would not have been accessible in Australia purely because they are based in the United States. I have been able to share the stage with some insane musicians who, again, would nearly impossible to access otherwise. 

Name: Kate Beck
Hometown: Los Angeles
Current City: Tokyo
What you’re doing: Playing shows around Tokyo, finishing up my EP, and session singing (and a little bit of lyric writing and narration) for commercial projects out here in Tokyo. 

KATE: First of all, thanks so much for having me Holly! I’m a big fan of yours and I love that you’re encouraging this community of female musicians! Unfortunately the music scene/industry here in Tokyo is very male-dominated, so I’m always so grateful to connect with other female musicians and lend support any way I can.
HOLLY: Thanks Kate! :) Thanks for jumping on board and doing this interview, I'm a big fan of your work and you inspire me loads!

HOLLY: ​Moving overseas is a huge shake up! What was the catalyst for making the move? 
Yes, moving overseas is a huge step! I became really interested in traveling and learning about other parts of the world as a teen back in California, and in University I studied World Religions (and music!) and got to go abroad a couple times. I just had this endless curiosity about how other people lived, so I became sure I wanted to spend some time after graduation living and working abroad. English teaching is a great way to do that, and I’m also ethnically half-Japanese, so I settled on teaching English in Japan. I taught on the JET program at a high school in Tokyo for 2 years. In the meantime I spent nights playing at open mics and eventually shows, joining an amazing community of expat and Japanese musicians in Tokyo, and in the last year have transitioned to doing music full-time. 

HOLLY: ​What opportunities have you had overseas that wouldn’t have been possible in your own country?
KATE: Well, on a personal level, I had so much less fear to put myself out there and play a lot of shows because I had less to loose, less people I knew watching me. Because I felt free to make mistakes, I took on challenges I’d probably never have dared face back home (for instance playing live shows regularly—always had crippling stage fright haha—or even stepping into a recording booth to record vocals for a commercial for the first time). I had a lot of room to grow and push myself without the fear of failure that I’m sure we all know too well.
 
Interestingly, there’s a market in Tokyo for Western pop songs for commercials, TV shows, etc, as well as English narration for those commercials or as educational material. There’s a smaller pool of English-speaking singers/narrators, so I’ve been lucky enough to slip into the recording industry here without the kind of competition I would have had in Los Angeles.

The third thing is definitely community—being “foreigners” and expats can be an isolating experience sometimes, so I think the music community I’ve found here (made up of lots of expats and also Japanese natives!, amateur to professional to just listener) sticks together with a strong sense of solidarity because of this. There’s so much love and genuine support amongst each other, playing shows together, promoting each other on their social media sites, going to see each other play live, wearing each other’s band shirts, etc. It's a really positive energy and has made 100% of a difference in my journey as a musician. 
​
HOLLY: How do you handle negativity? 
KATE: Luckily people here are pretty positive and at least polite, so I rarely get rude comments or outright negativity about my music, but sometimes being a musician feels like an uphill battle—lots of work that you don’t always see the fruits of. There are definitely moments of self-doubt, or I’ll have a bad show, or I’m stuck in writer’s block, or I haven’t had a gig in a while. I guess the best way to fight negativity is to find inspiration. For me, going to other musicians’ shows is hugely inspiring, just watching people do what they do on stage and also watching audiences being transported and getting lost together in the moment. I always leave shows or open mics feeling hugely inspired about the transcendent power of music, and it makes me forget about any negative thoughts, and resolve to work harder and push through any tough times.  

HOLLY: What has living abroad taught you about yourself?​​
KATE: I’ve learned how much I value where I come from! That sounds funny, but being so enchanted with the idea of different places probably made me take a lot of things about my home for granted. Being curious and open to new ideas and ways of life is so important, but so is knowing and appreciating where you came from, especially as an artist! 

HOLLY: What is the #1 piece of advice you’d give to an aspiring artist who is thinking of moving overseas?
KATE: Ah, so many things, but #1 is find a community where you’re going (assuming you make that leap! Which I hope you do if you want to!). Search for open mics or meetup groups, on google, ask around, however, and meet other musicians. I bet you’ll find support, encouragement, and a chance to learn the ropes from the people who’ve been doing it longer than you. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there as much as you can—play any chance you can and also go to other people’s shows, ask a lot of questions, watch and listen! 

Hands up if you've ever heard these statements (or said them yourself).

'I want to be a musician but I've got to have a back up plan.'
'My son is working hard at music but he'll have to have a back up plan of course.'
'A career in music is unrealistic.'
'I'm a poor musician'
'I'm DESTINED to be a struggling musician'

WHOA WHOA WHOA. Stop right there! Lets regroup. 

I'll be honest, I've had those statements drummed into me, and once even believed them myself on some level. 

But they're not true, and here's why:

An entrepreneur, tech student or even law student's ambitions are generally met with approval from others where as artistic pursuits are often met with discouragement, or fear. 

A lot of musicians are programmed from a young age to believe that there has to be a never ending struggle,  that you're somehow more authentic if you are a ‘struggling’ musician.

In reality - anyone who is chasing their dreams in any oversaturated industry is going to need a plan and a strategy. We're all in the same boat.

YOU DON'T NEED A BACK UP PLAN...
...but you do need a plan which takes every part of your life into consideration - your happiness, health and finances to think of a few. 

YOU DON'T NEED A BACK UP PLAN...
...but if in effect what you want to do is run your own business, you need to learn skills in that area, or have the resources to hire those that do. 

YOU DON'T NEED A BACK UP PLAN...
...because there are a lot of paths you can go down as a singer/songwriter/instrumentalist. It's important to work hard to be the best you can be, and be honest about your strengths and weaknesses. 

I hope at the very least I've given you a couple of things to consider when thinking about your musical future.

​Let me know what you think below! 

Keep dreaming, working hard to reach your goals, and enjoying life.
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