Today we’d like to introduce you to Kailey Shaffer.
Hi Kailey, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a small town–Bryan, Ohio. I first began playing piano when I was three years old, and soon after that started writing my own songs. At the age of seven, I began singing, and when I was ten I started playing a violin. Along with music, I was also a dancer for 16 years. Violin became my main focus all through high school and college. I went to college at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA where I graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor’s degree in Professional Music with an emphasis in performance, songwriting and recording. After graduating from Berklee, I moved to New York City to pursue a career in freelance violin. I spent a majority of my time in New York playing gigs and recording sessions and working various odd jobs, but ultimately knew I wanted to move to Los Angeles, CA eventually, as LA seemed to have more to offer in terms of what I truly wanted to pursue with my career.
I moved to Los Angeles in 2015 and ever since then, I’ve been pursuing my freelance career playing gigs, recording sessions, songwriting and music production. Some of my career highlights thus far include performing with Willie Nelson, Annie Lennox, Rod Stewart, and Lalah Hathaway. I’ve also done 100’s of recording sessions performing for various artists, video game music, and tv & film scoring. In addition to that, I co-wrote the Billboard Top 40 hit song “Chess Game” with artist Jasmine Crowe. I also write songs for various music libraries and tv & film placements, and I have two singles released on all platforms, titled “Attached” and “I Wonder”.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not! Being in the music industry is definitely not for the faint of heart. You constantly have to seek opportunities to work and get your name out. It comes with lots of ups and downs. One minute you can be riding so high after getting one of the biggest opportunities of your life, and the next, you might not know when your next opportunity is coming or how you’re going to pay your rent the next month. It just comes with the territory. As an artist, you are constantly reinventing yourself and what your career looks like, many times wondering if you’re going in the right direction or not. In today’s time, there are so many talented musicians out there, and you have to stay unique and current as it’s highly competitive, all while dealing with opinions and criticisms constantly of people saying your music or sound is “too this” or “not enough that”. You have moments questioning whether you’ll ever make it. When I was younger, I used to take other people’s criticisms of not liking my music or playing style very seriously and it definitely stopped me from going for certain opportunities out of the fear of judgment, but the more you face all of that head-on, the less you care about anyone’s opinion but your own. It just takes one person saying yes or liking your music to catapult your career.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in writing violin/string parts for various projects, be it an artist’s song or something for TV & Film. I also specialize in recording and performing with artists of multiple genres like pop, indie, singer-songwriter, rock, and folk to name a few. Sometimes when I record with other artists, I’m given specific parts to play, and other times I’m asked to write my own or improv depending on what the artist or producer is going for! In addition to that, I write songs for my artist project and also for other artists. I also write toplines for music libraries, and I produce music for my project, other artists and for sync placement opportunities.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Wow, such a hard question! I have so many favorite memories, but one that stands out was when I used to go to my grandparent’s beach house in North Carolina every summer with my parents. It was so beautiful and peaceful there, eating amazing seafood and chasing crabs on the beach every night! We also got to see baby turtles hatch multiple times which was so special.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/kaileyshaffer
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamkaileyshaffer/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/KaileyShafferMusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2sAsDOh1RkIcRBAI8gjX7j?si=ei2-DYcrRHmXeQ-poAaqGA
Image Credits:
Uchy Arechederra Brennan Spark
