Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikki Speake.
Nikki, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I grew up in a very small Alabama town (Dadeville) singing in church, like any good Southern Baptist girl. There weren’t many outlets for performing and singing, so I eventually joined the FFA (yes, Future Farmers of America!) Quartet where I learned how to sing harmonies. We traveled around the state performing and competing alongside the dairy farmers and the forestry kids. When I was about 16, my grandparents and sister bought me a guitar, and I immediately began writing my own melancholy country and folk songs. After high school, I attended Auburn University, where I majored in graphic design. More importantly, Auburn is where I joined my first band! It was an all-girl punk band called Whistle Bait, where I mainly screamed and co-wrote songs with Katie Barrier (the Pine Hill Haints). Then I fronted my own psych-country band, Virgil Otis, and became the primary singer/songwriter. I was too young and naive to know what we had at the time, and felt the pressures of “getting a real job,” so I moved briefly to Seattle and then to Atlanta. I worked as a graphic designer, but eventually went to grad school at Georgia State to get a Master’s in Nutrition. For a solid decade I didn’t sing or play music, aside from a few open mics. It was something that always gnawed at me and depressed me, but finding new bandmates didn’t come as easily as it had before. I had almost given up, until about five years ago when I joined another all-female country-tinged band called Sioux City Sue (Kasey Price, Jennie Castillo), and luckily haven’t looked back. I currently have two-day jobs, several side projects, and three active bands: Midnight Larks (Sasha Valley, Pietro DiGennaro), Shantih Shantih (Anna Barattin, Julia Furgiuele, Anna Kramer), and once again my own country band, Nikki & the Phantom Callers (Anna Kramer, Aaron Mason, Russell Owens). I’m very busy!
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I’m primarily a singer/songwriter. In a lot of ways, I do it to make up for lost time. I do it so I won’t ever wake up another day regretting NOT doing it. I enjoy the challenge, and somewhere in the middle of the chaos and exhaustion I find real joy. I’m a little obsessed with melody and lyric writing; I’m constantly recording song ideas and jotting down lyrics. Also, songwriting is free therapy for me, and performing the songs I’ve written is my way of revisiting old feelings or tragedies and turning them into something new and empowering. I’m not always the best at expressing myself verbally, so I tend to put a lot of those thoughts onto paper. I can only write about what I know, so there’s no higher compliment than when some says my words touched them in a way that relates to their own life. I enjoy music that moves me, that comes across as authentic and sincere, no matter the genre or mood – I can only hope that is what people will take away from my music.
What do you know now that you wished you had learned earlier?
I have many things I wish I had known and still need to know, especially since I am making up for so much lost time. I wish I had gone to school for music business or law! When I was younger, I took for granted the business side of being an artist, naively thinking that all you needed to be was creative and the rest would fall into place. Of course, you have to practice and hone your skills, but you also have to treat yourself as your own small business. It’s a whole lot of work for something you’ll only do for 30 minutes to an hour at a time, so you really have to be passionate about it and dig in. It’s an emotional roller coaster, but over time it builds confidence and self-reliance. It has for me at least. Mainly, you don’t have to be perfect; I held myself back more than anyone because I was worried, I wouldn’t be good enough. Just put yourself out there, work through the awful stage fright or fear of rejection, and it will be a huge confidence builder. There will be people out there who believe in you and want to give you opportunities to help you succeed, just be gracious. Perfect is boring anyway.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
My bands play quite frequently in Atlanta! You can usually find us in East Atlanta at 529 or the Earl, or in Little 5 Points at the Star Bar. We also post videos on social media and YouTube from time to time. You can support us by coming out, or helping to spread the word of how great the local music scene is in our city!
Contact Info:
- Website: nikkiandthephantomcallers.com
- Email: nikkisphantomcallers@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lil_nikkisassafras/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NikkiandthePhant0mCallers/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhantomCallers
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/nikkiandthephantomcallers/
Image Credit:
Ryan Fleiser, Steve Wise, Jamie Hopper, Addison Hill, Alberto Rivera, Nikki Speake.
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