Conversations with Kara Hesse

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kara Hesse.

Hi Kara, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born in Wichita, KS and split a lot of my childhood between there and the Colorado Rockies. I grew up listening to my family sing barbershop and my dad played just about everything he got his hands on. He played in a lot of bands over the years and I often attended the rehearsals because he couldn’t afford a babysitter – one in particular, I recall being drawn down to the steps of the rehearsal space listening to them run through Linda Rondstadt’s You’re No Good. The front woman’s uncanny resemblance of Cassandra Wong of Wayne’s World in her fully fringed white leather bodysuit was an immensely motivating catalyst for me. Apparently, I couldn’t imagine anything more fun than singing songs while wearing cool outfits.

I found my love for songwriting at the age of 14 after receiving a copy of Carole King’s ‘Tapestry’. My father encouraged me to learn every song on the record, then go write one. I cut 12 terrible songs later that year on a 4-track Tascam and converted them to burned CDs. I lavishly Sharpied flowers all over and sold them around the school for five bucks a pop. Songwriting quickly became a source of (free) therapy and exploration for me that has defined my everyday routine and evolutionary process.

My professional career started at the age of 15, cutting back up vocals for local artists out of Boulder. The engineer handed me a check and said “now you can officially call yourself a professional” and I found the studio a place of refuge ever since. I spent the next few years honing my craft, solely on piano at the time, and performing everywhere I could. I have a lot of fond memories of my dad sneaking me into the clubs and dive bars around Denver and getting to rub elbows with the seasoned blues cats in town.

I attended college at Berklee School of Music in Boston on a vocal scholarship and dropped out after a year of gleaning what I felt I needed. I took on odd jobs around Denver: a cashier, secretary for an insurance company, an intern for a few bands, waitress, nanny, voice over, brand ambassador, and a bartender at a swanky cigar bar where I’m pretty sure I eventually got fired for playing more requests on the piano than cutting cigars and pouring bourbon. That’s when I realized it was time to dedicate my life to music full-time.

At 22, I got picked up as a member of Denver’s classic rock radio station’s house band, the Groovehawgs and did a few summers of tours, opening for acts like BB King, Al Green and Buddy Guy at Red Rocks, until circumstances moved me to South Carolina, and then around the country for the next decade. In that time, I cut and self-released two records (‘Better By Morning’ and ‘Sojourner’) and several singles, landed a few TV placements with DirecTV and HBO, and even briefly found myself singing dual-lead in a Top 40 cover band. I continued to acquaint myself with every new music scene that I fell into, broke even on a few cross-country tours, and even had the incredible luck and pleasure of opening for Steve Miller Band in my hometown, Wichita.

I moved to Nashville at the top of ‘22 after a few years of extended visits, co-writing and doing songwriting rounds. Now I’m sitting on another record, working out a plan for its release and hoping to have a few singles out from it soon. Then it’ll be time to find myself a new band and hit the road again.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think this lifestyle often gets romanticized but I’d be lying if I said it’s been easy. Also, I’m not sure I would trust anyone who answers yes to this question. I imagine the struggles are similar for any pioneer or entrepreneur of any field; waking up every day with little to no blueprint, seeing projects linger or fall to the wayside because of lack of funding or marketing budget, managing musicians that play in ten other bands and not having consistency of sound because of their lack of availability, coordinating rehearsals with players that don’t want to practice, booking and managing tours without representation, finding affordable players who are willing or able to travel, navigating the world of social media, which was challenging enough before all the hackers, staying authentic in a world that buys likes and sells sex, having to learn how to be assertive without compromising a soft heart in an often ruthless field, and just simply being a woman in a male-dominated industry… but that’s a novel for another time. 😉 Okay, stepping off my soap box.

Life has kept me on the move over the last decade, from South Carolina to Washington, and California to Connecticut, every time I uprooted, I had to rebuild a base of listeners and budget can limit getting back to nurture those communities.

So smooth? No. But a road it is and a dirt one at that. It ain’t glamorous, that’s for sure. I’m no longer a great couch surfer 😉 These days, I prefer my amenities but I’m still a good hang. There’s something to be proud of in enduring the struggle and I think it’s where my best songs have come from. ‘Course I would never turn down a smooth ride on the freeway.. Come pick me up.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I think I’ve talked about myself enough but to distill it down, I write songs and I’ve led an original band for the last 10 years. I’m spearheading a foundation I’ve been planning for years that I’m hoping to launch soon called Awake the Dream, meant to provide children of low income families with opportunities to fulfill their wildest dreams. I also (accidentally) kickstarted a handmade wearable art business about 6 years ago, called Roadworn Handmade, that started out of boredom while on the road. It’s become a creative alternative when the songs aren’t flowing as well as a financial source for my musical projects. Keep an eye out.. I’ll be slinging my jewels at a few festivals around Nashville this fall.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is growth and perseverance. Success is doing one thing every day that scares the shit out of you. Success is finding yourself somewhere, scratching your head in awe that the stars aligned and somehow you made it there. Success is remaining authentic in a world overloaded with fabrication and staying humble in a world of ego. It’s that feeling of euphoria after finishing a song you’re proud of and seeing it move someone else that hears it. It’s having a great show ‘that’ night. It’s being lucky enough to break even on a tour. Success is being okay with going right back to playing some hotel bar for free in a town that doesn’t know you after playing for thousands, knowing more is to come. It’s having a good attitude, even when it gets hard.

I’ve gone from playing in the corner of a loud dive bar with Ms. Drunkypants waving a $1 bill demanding Freebird, to playing Red Rocks and sharing a chocolate-covered strawberry with BB King’s bass player. I’ve shared words with a stranger in a hotel bar, who told me “Keep in touch… You’re going places” only to find out later it was Richie Havens. I believe in manifestation; for an entire year, I went to bed and willed myself to dream of playing Red Rocks, then found myself on its stage less than a year later.

Success is getting smarter. I walked away from a gig as the ‘Vanna White’ for Erik Estrada’s casino game show because I chose integrity after realizing what the producer really wanted. I’ve learned some hard lessons about the industry and met many wolves in sheep’s clothing, but I recognize them much faster now. I bit the bullet for some incredible opportunities, but I’m proud to never have sacrificed my character to get there.

Success is loving your job. Some days I don’t, but at the end of the day, I still look at the peaks and valleys of this uncharted journey as a blessing, and I still get up every day with an open heart to write. I’m still that little girl at the top of the staircase, wondering what fringe piece I should wear to the gig tonight. Success comes and goes and appears in different ways depending on your perspective. I figure if you work hard, be kind and cool to those around you, and try to enjoy the ride with a childlike spirit, success is inevitable.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.KaraHesse.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karahesse/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karahessemusic
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/karahesse
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/KaraHesseOfficial
• Other: www.RoadwornHandmade.com

Image Credits
Cody Beebe, Shawn Perry, Jake Gravbrot