EP 41: Joyann Parker

Kristine Dizon: Hello, my name is Kristine Dizon and I'm the CEO and founder of The Modern Artists Project. Today, I'm with Joyann Parker, a Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter who believes in the power of music to uplift people during difficult times. Her album Out of the Dark was released in February 2021, which blends genres and builds upon the success of her debut album, Hard to Love, with her soulful voice and versatile musical style.

Parker combines blues rock, gospel, funk, pop, and rhythm and blues influences. Looking ahead, Parker is determined to overcome challenges and shares her message of healing and gratitude through her music. So, I know you have another album that has just been released. So, thank you, Joyann, for joining us today.


Joyann Parker: Thank you for having me.


KD: So I know I've talked about the things that you have done and currently do. What led you on this path to produce music and to be able to share it with people?


JP: Well, I've been a musician my whole life, since I can remember. I think I sang in church when I was two for the first time. So I really don't remember not doing music. I started piano when I was four. It's always been a part of my life, and I went to school for music. I went to college to be a band director, but I never really had a chance to be in a band or anything like that until about ten or eleven years ago. So, I was 34 years old. I was a little bit older than most people were when they started their first band. But as I got into starting to write and do that, be creative, and not just think about covers, I realized that was what I really enjoyed doing. I enjoyed connecting with people and sharing. The more I got into writing, the more I realized I enjoyed sharing my stories and trying to help people through the experiences that I had. I just really loved doing that. So, here I am.


KD: And I think that's amazing. And also, you mentioned that you had started your own band at 34. Could you tell us a little bit more about what led you on that path?


JP: Well, that was just a chance. I actually joined a band. I was singing in a contest, and I won. At the end of the show, a guy came over to me and said, 'Hey, my friend is starting a band.' I sang Aretha Franklin, so he heard me sing soul music. He said, 'My friend is starting a band, and they want to play that kind of music. Would you be interested inside?' I said, 'Well, I'll talk to him.' So, I got in the band. After that, as I said, I was doing that for a little bit, then I started writing, and now we end up here.

KD: No, that's amazing. And, it's funny because people often think about when you start something, especially if you're going to start your own band or projects, we typically start those when we're young. When you think of what you've mentioned about doing things you're passionate about and care about, and what you sing about. Could you tell us a little more about the different songs and the writing style that you incorporate?


JP: Well, I don't really have a go-to thing that I do. I mean, I answer this question a lot, and different people have different styles. I'm not a prolific writer; I don't sit down and write all day long like Jackson Browne or something. I just write as it comes to me, as I'm inspired. A lot of my stuff has been personal—there are personal stories in it. Some of it's about people I know or stories I've heard. It did start out in the blues genre, so it's more roots than blues now. But because it's in that genre, it's a very personal thing. Blues music is all about real-life situations and stories.

That's what I write about—real-life stuff. I always say I don't do baby songs; all of my songs are stories. I enjoy connecting to the lyrics in the song. So, I usually write when I'm inspired by something in my life. For example, on the new record, there's a song about being a stay-at-home mom and being annoyed with your children. It's all things that I know about and can write about easily.


KD: No, I think it's amazing—being able to connect that personal aspect of who you are. It's really interesting that you mention how the songs you write are things you can relate to, and being able to connect with that. When I saw your performance, what I really enjoyed was the fact that when you sang the words in your set, you really believed in it. That came across to me as something powerful because some people don't even write their own songs, let alone perform them. But the fact that you write and also perform your songs creates that connection.


JP: Yeah, even when I choose a cover song, I make sure I can believe in the lyrics, so I can genuinely connect with it when I sing. Singing is fun—I can sing anything and enjoy it. But for me to deliver it to an audience who's paying for a ticket, I want to give them that experience. I want to connect with the songs emotionally and move them. I want people at the show to be moved, and the only way I can do that is if I move myself.


KD: No, I think that's amazing. Because a lot of the time when we think about the market, the industry, there's so much going on, it's so saturated. With so many things happening, I feel like, in a sense, authenticity, and relatability are so important for audiences. At least on the classical side of things, where I'm classically trained, sometimes it's a matter of being able to speak that language. What's great is being able to hear you talk about these things, what's important for you, and how you want to connect with the audience. Now, one question I have is, when we think about the digital age, the industry is continually changing as we speak, with ways of connecting with people. Could you share your experiences about building your own audience?


JP: That is one of the things that people love the most is that I just share my real life. When I was homeschooling my kids, I started going live from the pickup line at school in my car because there's always crazy stuff going on there, and you're sitting there for at least half an hour. People would start tuning in and watching that, and that was years ago, before 2020. They still tell me, "I love when you used to go live from the school pickup line." I think it's just simple things like that. There was no pretense, no setup, just me in my car. I think that's what people really crave in this age where so much can be fake. Even when you see something and think it's real, it might still be fake nowadays. People are craving something genuine. My fan base really knows me. Years ago, I got over having to have some sort of image. I just let people in as much as I can while still keeping some privacy to myself. I let them in and be real with them, and people love that because I think they're craving that in this digital age.


KD: No, definitely. I can only imagine waiting in the pickup line and looking at every other vehicle in the line, looking up and it would just be better.


JP: People drive really badly in the pickup line, they drive really badly.


KD: And also, I feel like sometimes logic exits a little bit because all I want is to pick up my files and leave. 

JP: They're the only ones there, no one else is around it seems like.


KD: Exactly, but those small things really make a difference too. Just for the fact that when we think about this image that we present to your audience or to the public, they wanna be able to say, "Oh, she's just like me," or, "Oh, she goes through the same things that I do," or having a sense of humor about it despite it all.


JP: Yep, it's true.


KD: But when you think about the inspiration that you take and with having to share parts of that to your fans but also being able to keep some parts to yourself. Do you ever find ways or struggle in regards to balancing that fine line?


JP: Yes, definitely. And that's why I have had to take a step back. It can overwhelm you, definitely overwhelm you. and I also wanted to protect my kids, right? I didn't want to have them everywhere all the time either because the world is strange. But it can overwhelm you, especially when you are busy with your life like I am, not just a musician. I'm a mom, I'm doing all these other things. And so it does take some balance, and that's hard sometimes because I think that's another thing as we're talking about today's industry, the pressure is there to constantly be on, right, to constantly be promoting yourself, to constantly be pushing, pushing, pushing, and you can burn yourself out if you do that.


KD: Definitely. And I know for a fact that in a way I can relate to this just because when we think about social media or even the algorithms or how to market on a budget or even just market organically, you get the impressions and people are looking at our stuff or your stuff, type of thing in regards to being able to expand. Yeah, I mean, I could definitely see it. How do you balance that with all the different things that you do, especially with you mentioning your duties as a mother for your kids?


JP: I just had to stop worrying about it so much. I think I got as an independent artist because you don't have a team, right? I don't have a team of people behind me doing all the things. I got consumed with thinking I have to do this in order to get people to come to the show. I have to post this many times, and I just had to let that go and remember that I need to be present because I need to be good at these other things in order to be a good musician. I need to get rest and I need to be mentally sane. I have to do all these things in order to write, for example. I'm not gonna be good at any of the other things unless I'm balanced. So I did actually hire a social media person to help me with it because I am getting to the point where I can't handle all the stuff all the time. I had to farm that out a little bit, at least just for show promotions and things like that. So that will help I think. But I think it's mostly just letting go a little bit and being OK, just saying it's gonna happen, right? People are gonna come see me. They don't need to be bombarded with social media posts every 15 minutes because you're never gonna beat it. 
You don't know when they switch the algorithm, you don't know who is watching reels today or are they, what are they looking at today? I can't figure that out. So I just do what I do and trust that it's gonna work out.


KD: And I think, as artists and an independent artist too, being able to really put oneself out there, be it albums, shows, or anything related to the creative industries, it's so important to be proactive. I don't know about you, but at least when I went to school, no one really emphasized this. 

They always said, "Oh, you just got to be good at what you do, and that's enough, right? Your career will fall into your lap, and you're gonna be living happily ever after." I mean, think about that today. What types of advice would you give not just young professionals but professionals in general who are really striving to pursue their passion?


JP: Gosh, I don't know, I just got off a phone call with my partner actually about the next steps and measurable goals for this upcoming album. I don't know how everybody else feels. I mean, I am not a TikToker. I'm not going to get discovered on social media or anything like that. I'm not going to do The Voice. I'm not going to do American Idol. I'm not in it for quick fame. I think almost every overnight sensation, if you look back at their career, they've been doing it for 10 years, at least. I think it's just hard work.

First of all, you have to be happy. You have to be happy with what you're doing. You have to enjoy what you're doing. If I stop enjoying what I'm doing and I'm miserable, I might as well go work in a cubicle somewhere and go back to the office because, you know, it's pointless to me. So I'd say make sure that you're still enjoying yourself because that makes everything so much easier. All this hard work because it's hard work. I mean, it's hard work. I'm on the road all the time. I can't eat healthy when I want to. I'm sleeping in weird beds, I'm doing all this stuff, and then I come home and I have to vacuum my carpet. You know, it's like there's just a lot of work. So you gotta make sure that you're still enjoying it. So if you're not enjoying it, figure out what parts you're not enjoying. And like I did find a social media manager or you might have to pay somebody to take some of that off your plate. But it's worth your mental sanity. So make sure you're enjoying yourself. And just go do the thing. I mean, that's my best advice.

As I tell people, somebody just wrote to me a couple of weeks ago and she said she wanted to start, she was switching the kind of music that she wanted to play and she was gonna look to go out and play. Some people are telling me to record first and some people are telling me to play, go out and get gigs and I said, just go play that. I said, just go do the thing. You know, because there's no, I don't think there's any right way. It's kind of like having kids. You're never ready to have kids, right? You just have kids, you just decide I'm gonna have kids now and then you figure it out.

I think if you're an artist, just start putting your art out there because, especially for musicians, I'm classically trained too. I went to college for piano and the only way you learn to do it and get more comfortable doing it, and really think if you want to do it, is by doing it. You can sit at home and practice all day long and you can do things all right. But go out and just do it, get some gigs, go play, and the other stuff kind of follows. There's no magic, I don't think there's any magic thing anymore. I think you just gotta do it.


KD: And I think this is great because a lot of people have fear about just doing it. I don't know about you, but sometimes as I was growing up, I became more aware of how the world works. You see and observe other people, and you think, "Okay, these people are judging me." If I just do it, maybe I'm gonna make myself look like a fool. Have you ever encountered that as you started your own band and started putting out albums and things like that?


JP: Oh, every time you sing a new song that you wrote in front of people, it's really scary. It's really scary because you think you really like it, you think it's good, and then you go out and think, what if people don't clap? What if they don't like it? What if nobody buys my records? What if the reviewers hate it?

Every time, it never ends. I mean, I've got this new record out, and the reviewers are listening now, and I'm still sitting here going, what if they don't like it? You spent $20,000 making a record, and what if people don't listen to it? There's always that fear, but I haven't let it stop me from doing anything. I've struggled with anxiety in my life, and I tend to go back to that paralyzing state of just not doing anything, but that wasn't beneficial or healthy for me either. So I've learned that if I take the step, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but you learn from everything you do, whether everybody loves it or some people don't.

If you take it as a learning experience, you always grow no matter what. Honestly, that's not true. If you were always successful, you wouldn't grow. You grow from things that are not always your successes. That's when you have to analyze and go, "Okay, what do I change? Do I want to keep doing it this way? What's wrong? What can I do differently?" 

That's when you get better. I just told the guys the other night at a gig, I always want to be the weakest musician on the stage because that's when I grow, when I'm around other amazing people. That's always when I've gotten better, when I've been the weakest link, and then I go, wait a minute, I've got to get better.

I don't always want to be the teacher with people who are not as good as me. I love being around people who I think are better than me and more skilled because that's when I learn. They're mentoring me. So, yeah, I'm always scared. I'm always scared. I just don't let it stop me.


KD: I feel like that's really touching because a lot of the time, I don't know if you've seen this photo, but there's that iceberg, with everything submerged underneath and the success is like the tip of the iceberg. That's what people see. Whereas, the bottom part, they don't see the hours of writing, rehearsals, the arguments, or the different aspects of what it actually means to create art. 

In a lot of ways, I can really relate because, with anxiety, people sometimes don't realize that being a musician is very personal. It's not just about being able to play our instrument or sing our best songs. It's also about sharing who we are as people.

So, with what you just mentioned about being scared, I think it's courageous. A lot of the time, people think courage is just doing it like Superman, with no problem. But that doesn't mean it's the absence of fear. I think it's courageous that you still feel this and do it anyway because I can definitely relate. There are times when I'm just like, "Oh my gosh."



JP: Yep. It's like jumping off that high dive. You get out there and either let the fear paralyze you, or you go for it and have the time of your life. You do the thing and then you get done and go, "I can't believe I did it." In the meantime, you inspire a whole bunch of other people. That's what I tell in my story, right? I used to have anxiety and panic attacks while I was on stage, while I was singing. I've had so many people say, "And you still go do it?" Yeah, I still go do it. And I love it. When you get done, you go, "I did that. I just did that." People are inspired by you every time because art is inspirational.

I think that's one thing too, right? We forget, or maybe art isn't held to that. I struggle with a lot of people thinking it's not a real job. "Why don't you get a real job?" because they don't see all the stuff you do. I always say I don't get paid for the performance. I get paid for all the other stuff I do. That's what you're getting paid for. You're not getting paid for that performance. But people also can't live without art. If we took it away, there would be no color in the world. So, that's there too. It's a bit of a struggle to get people to understand what we're doing is actually work too. So, I don't know.

KD: I definitely agree with you. And there have been times, I don't know if this has happened to you, but I was talking to a really good friend of mine, and when you're at dinner parties or if you're out and people find out that you sing or play clarinet or play piano, they're like, "Hey, can you belt out a tune for us?" It's like, I'm not a monkey, you know? But alright, I'd be more than happy to spell one out for you. But, you know, if you can come to my next show, which is on Thursday.

JP: I have said that I'm not a monkey many times in my life. I'm not a performing monkey. It's an interesting thing, and I think when I get depressed and anxious, which is approximately every three weeks or so, and have a meltdown, I go, "I'm just gonna quit. I'm done with this." That's kind of what I think. I think I'm just gonna go get a job in an office someplace, so people respect me and think I'm doing real work, you know? But then there's always the opposite too. There are always people who are so encouraging and say, "You know, all the stories about how you've helped them through things and whatnot." So there is a balance. It's just when you get down, you only think of those ones, right? You say, "Oh, all the horrible things that happened." That's why you gotta write down those good things too. You gotta write down the good things and keep all the little notes that the kids give you and all the emails you get so you can go back and read them and remember.

KD: No, for sure. And that's the thing, that was part of what you just brought up. I mean, that was the big reason why I created The Modern Artist Project. The idea of actually encourage people that you can have a sustainable career in the creative industries, whether you're a musician, a writer, a poet, whether you do visual arts, or even cross-disciplinary things. Because it's exactly what you said, people don't view this as real, and I'm looking at this, I'm like, it's so real. Just imagine if the world was silent.

JP: Yeah, during COVID, we did have a lot of silence. I think, when performances were not able to happen and then people went, I think that really people went, oh, wow. This is, we don't like this very much, right? We don't like not being able to go out to a play or go see a movie or go watch a concert. So, you know, it was kind of a wake-up call for some people, I think, during that time when you couldn't do it. And when we got back out after that and we're doing live performances again, people were very, very happy. So that was, there were some positives about that. We kind of had to come back and go what's important, what's important in life and art is definitely very important. Life would be pretty gray without it.

KD: No, I agree with you 100%. And I know, it's just hearing you talk about all of these aspects is so inspiring to hear your journey of how you've overcome these things and the idea of being resilient and having grit because our industry can be really cruel at times. How have you, I'm just curious to know, like, how you overcame those things in regards to insecurities or when, at least for me, I have great months, sometimes steady months, sometimes not so great months, but I always anticipate those coming. So is there any advice that you would be willing to share with us?

JP: Well, I feel like being so God gave us gifts. He gave everybody gifts that they have. It's clear, right? Some people are great musicians, but some people are great leaders. My husband is a great organizer. He's totally different than me. He's a left-brain person. And so one of the things I had to realize was that God gave me these gifts and they're here for me to be a good steward of and give them away.

So they're not—I think I got hung up, but I get hung up on like me, me, me all the time. And so I had to realize that I have a job. Like, this is my job to do. I have to practice, and I have to take care of my voice, and I have to write, and I have to do all these things, but then giving it away is what you're really doing. And when I took the focus off of me and like all the things I had to do and went, "Oh, I'm giving this gift away. This is an actual gift that I have that helped me because now I know what my calling is now. I know why I'm here." So when you have the why, that helps you get through all those other things because you can always go back to, "No, I know why I'm here. I know what I'm doing here, and this is it." So all this other crap is gonna happen, and we'll just take it as it comes and I can dismiss some of it and take some of it as constructive and whatever. But I still know who I am and why I'm here and what I'm doing, and when you have that, then you can work through all that other stuff. 

KD: And being present too, you know, I feel like sometimes if we're not present and just kind of passively going through life, in a way that we're just doing the things without that sense of presence, of just being able to engage. I mean, those are so important, especially if you want to be producing good things and sharing.

JP: So it's, for me, it's a job, right? But it's not, it is a job but it's not right. It's who you are. So that also helps for me to remember that this is who I am.

KD: So, no, this is really great. I mean, when we think about that type of connection, you know, I know, at least for me, I always also write poetry. I'm working on composition too, just because those are the things that really interest me. And, you know, to connect with the idea of the singer-songwriter and being able to have that ability to express oneself through the process of writing about your different experiences and things like that in your songs and in the music you share with people, what are things that inspire you to share in your music?

JP: Well, I think again, just real things. So a lot of my early music was relationship-only based because I had not written about all the crappy relationships I had been in when I was younger. And so I processed through a lot of those old things. And yeah, just real life problems, right? Happiness, sadness, frustration, depression, anxiety, joy, I mean, just all real things that everybody goes through and every that way because then everybody relates to that because it's, they're simple things that people can go. Yeah, I get that. I, you know, a lot of times they don't even know what I'm singing about, but they can hear it in their own way, right? In their own context. And, you know, it's just really simple. My writing is very simple.

There's no higher meaning to most of it. I mean, you don't have to go. Hmm. I wonder, it's not obtuse. It's very much like, here it is. This is what I'm saying. It's very easy to understand. And yeah, so just real life stuff, just right out there.

KD: No. And I think that's important, you know, to know because I know a lot of people who sometimes write songs that they put words together and they sound nice and they rhyme sometimes. But being able to make that connection makes such a big difference now with our audience today. I don't know about you, but at least classical music is always changing, and sometimes with the fact that we have everything available on Spotify, iTunes, you know, on the digital platforms that we listen to music. I mean, I listen to iTunes and Spotify. How do you think, you know, does that affect our audiences? Like the actual physical presence of people at shows or things like that? Because if they know they can just go on the internet and just listen.

JP: It's hard. I don't really know if I have an answer to that at this point. All I can do is deliver something different, and it does, and I do right. If you come to see me live, it's a completely different experience. You just have to take your time and build that. It takes a long time because it's mostly independent. People are dependent only on grassroots, right? My fans tell other people who tell other people. Because the live experience is nothing like for me, I've gone to concerts where I go, "Well, I could have listened to this at home. I could have just put this out on Spotify. It would have been the same because it sounds exactly the same. It doesn't feel like I'm listening to a recording. There's nothing engaging me." So I feel like I could have just listened to the CD. What I want when I go to a live show is something different, right? Something put into the music that makes me go, "That was amazing." But again, if you're an independent person and you're not out doing a major tour with Taylor Swift or something like that where people are just gonna show up, you have to build that. You have to build that very organically, and it just takes a long time. But if you offer something different and something moving, people will come.

KD: No, for sure. And you know, this idea of organic trust-building, with what you mentioned, a lot of time, people engage. The best reviews are the ones that are word of mouth. People are saying, "Hey, this concert was really awesome. You should check it out and be there." Right. And then, they'll think about it and be like, "Yeah. Yeah. I should probably go."

The idea of being able to produce something different because I know, at least in the class, I can speak for classical music. A lot of time, people listen to the recording, right? And, you know, we both know, like the process, it's not, you know, you take parts here, good parts, outtakes. You have the bloopers. I don't know about you, but my engineer recorded my bloopers of me later, and I said, "Whoa, I said all of that," right.

How can we demonstrate something that's different like that, what a recording can't show? I mean, because I could definitely tell you, like, after I heard you live and I heard you on the recording, and I was like, "Yeah, that was different in a good way, in a good way." Just because the fact that you can't replace the physical presence of a human being in hearing their voice.

JP: Yeah. And, yeah, I don't know. You, when I always say, when people know, they know; they don't even know what it is. They just know, and I deliver that, so then they go, "whoa, I don't even know what just happened, but I'm gonna go get it in again." I mean, it's like every time, I do a Patsy Cline tribute as well.

And so, a lot of people who would not come to see my original band come to see the Patsy Cline show because they're older, right? They're in their eighties, a lot of them in their nineties even sometimes. And they come to hear that music, but then a lot of times they cross over and come to the other show. They don't even know if they're gonna like it, but they show up. And vice versa if they accidentally happen upon a Joyann Parker show.

And then they go, "Oh, you do the Patsy Cline tribute? Well, I'm gonna go to that." Sometimes they don't even like Patsy Cline, but they go because I'm singing it. So that's what you have to create. You have to get people. If they hear you and you're delivering that, they're gonna come back. And like I said, they don't even know. They just know they want to come back.

KD: You know what I say to people who don't like Patsy Cline?

JP: What's that?

KD: You don't have a soul.

JP: I can't say that to them, to their faces.

KD: But I can say it because I'm not the one singing it. No, this is good. I mean, when we think about those things, those differences, it's really interesting to reflect on those, and when we think about the change of social media, the internet, how that's shaped the industry too.

Now, if there was anything about the industry that you would change, you know, the industry as it is today, what would it be in regards to the pros and the cons of what we experience, right?
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JP: Well, the pros are that everybody can do it. You can have a studio in your basement, you can make a record these days. If you've got the equipment, everybody has access to it. So there are lots of people who are able to get out there. I mean, everybody can distribute their stuff. You decide you want to put a single out, go ahead, record it, distribute it. Everything is do-it-yourself. That's great. I love the do-it-yourself aspect because I probably wouldn't have done it if I would have had to wait for some access to that.

And then on the other side of that, it's completely a bunch of gatekeepers to the upper echelons, you know, I mean, in my genre, I've been operating in blues. It's gatekept, it's really hard to get past a certain place. And, you know, we were just talking about this the other day. It's like you can get to a certain level of like a club even, for example. You can play a 300-seat club and then where is there to go after that? Well, I don't know, there's not a lot in between. It's kind of like there and then they sell better. So it's hard to make that jump. There's a lot of people operating in this, a lot of great bands, a lot of great musicians operating in this lower level, they're doing it, touring on their own, doing all their own stuff. The DIY model, right? You can do it, go, do it, book your own shows, do the whole thing.

But to make that next level jump is really hard because agencies don't exist like they used to. There's not a lot of booking agencies out there anymore. There used to be tons. You can't just drop your record off at a radio station anymore. You know, you used to be able to go to a local radio station and have them play your record. Well, they're all owned by Clear Channel. You can't do that anymore. So, a lot of those things are gone, and access to that next level up has become very small.


KD: Yeah. And, you know, it's so crazy because a lot of the time, you hear the stories of artists like Elvis, how did he get his big break, or different artists who have gotten those breaks by bringing a record and then the kids starting to get crazy about it and then people wanting to buy it. The fact that we had these physical things that we could listen to, but now, we can listen to everything on our phone, on our laptop. We don't even have to go to the record store. I mean, they do exist, and I love even just vinyl records. I don't know if you've got tons of those, but like, even just listening to the quality of a vinyl record, you know, it just, it's not the fact that it's not perfect that it doesn't sound like, you know, but the fact that it has that extra je ne sais quoi in regards to hearing.


JP: So I don't know how you feel, but I kind of feel like it's got to come back around at some point because people are gonna get desperate again. I think they're getting there. That's why we talked about at the beginning of our conversation is that genuine, you know, somebody, they want something genuine, and mistakes are human.

And actually, you talk about not sounding perfect. That's part of the live experience. I mean, I screw up, I forgot my lyrics the other day. I was like, I swear, I wrote this song. I can't remember it right now. But that puts people there with you and they go, oh, she makes mistakes too. Oh, good. Okay, good. And they like that. They actually don't want you to do everything exactly like the record because then they see you as one of them too. And so I think it's got to come back around in some way. Actually, my guitar player and I were talking, he said, I know there's gotta be some really good, new, like, soul music out there, but I don't even know how to find it. And it's true. Where are you gonna go? You go on Spotify, you look at, where do you start? It's just a sea of all of this music and I know you don't even know where to look anymore because radio only plays the same things over and over again. You know, like you were saying, back then you would hear a new song, and it was like, "Who is that? Oh, my gosh. Wow." You'd hear all those stories about people who gave a DJ a record and they put it on, and it caused a sensation, like, "Who is that? Wow." There just isn't that anymore. There's so much hype around if there's anything new, you know about it for six months beforehand. You know, Taylor's supposed to go to New York coming up, and it's not a surprise anymore.

It's not really new. And I'm hoping it's gonna eventually because I feel like everything goes in a circle, right? Like nineties clothes are back in. I should have kept all my clothes. See, I mean, what goes around, comes around.

KD: No, I actually noticed that. I think I was at Target and I said, "Wait."


JP:  It's bad. I know.


KD: You know, I'm like, did I get put into a time machine and left the key, you know? Yeah, no, for sure. Because now, the thing is, I want to ask you, Joyann, about the process, right? About everything, you've learned pretty much on your own, just by doing it.

And I feel like, in a sense, that's the type of entrepreneurial spirit we have as artists. It's not just about the art. Sometimes people treat it as this holistic thing, you know, and accepting money for it is like, oh, you know, to market this. And a lot of times people say, oh, the M word, right? Marketing, not the other one. Yeah, that we sometimes forget that we can't just produce beautiful things and keep them to ourselves. If we don't share it with people, then no one will know it exists.

So in regards to that, I wanted to ask, how was the journey you went through in building your band, records, music, and your voice? What would you advise professionals or even amateurs or people who really want to do it, to make it a little easier in that process? Because it's a lot of work.


JP: I don't know if it's easy. I think one thing that I always had is a vision for what I wanted, where I wanted to go. So I never started out thinking, oh, I'm only at this level so I can have a kind of crappy website because I don't really have any shows yet. So, who cares? Never did that. I had an amazing website, always professional pictures done that I presented, the image of where I wanted to be instead of where I was. That's gonna help you because then you don't look like a little fish. You know, I'm doing right. I have no idea. I'm just getting started. So you gotta have a vision. You have to have a goal, and you gotta know what it is. People talk about goals, right? But you do, you have to have some. Where do you wanna be? Where do you want to go? You have to sit down and figure that out. If you're serious, there are a lot of people who are just weekend warriors and they don't care, right?

They just get what they get, and they don't have a fit, and it's fine. But if you really want to make a career and have it last, you have to know where you're going. Sometimes that changes, right? Like I've changed over the first five years. I realized what I did not want to do. And so that changed, and that's okay. Change is good, you know, you're growing, right? Your model is like only make it to a plateau and then you change. The change causes another bump, right? You're gonna go up. So it's important to recognize when you need to change because you don't want to start going down the other side of that arc.

So vision is really important. You might not know how to get where you want to go, but you have to start. You'll never find out unless you just get out there and start. I think everybody's path is different depending on how much they want to play, for example, right? Like, do you want to play a lot? Do you not want to play a lot? I like playing a lot, and I have, so I invented different ways for me to be able to do that.

I have a duo, I have the Patsy Cline show, I have the regular band, I do a gospel show—all those things I enjoy doing. I'm not doing them just to do them. I want to make sure that I enjoy doing them, and it's a passion of mine to do all those shows, but it's part of my vision. It brings people into the Joyann Parker family, and they get the same vision. I'm communicating authenticity, right? That authenticity in performance. They get moved emotionally. So they're getting me in all of those things. But you gotta know who you are and where you're going to do that, you're able to do that. So, I think that's really important, the rest of it. I don't know. You know, it kind of depends on the person, what they want to do, but I think that that really sets you up for success, and you can do that right away at the beginning.


KD: For sure. And, I know there's a lot of different tutorials online too in regards to like, how do you publish a book or how do you do XYZ? And, you know, a lot of the things I've noticed, at least with young people, is that they struggle a lot with those insecurities, you know, with what you mentioned. You gotta build a website, manifest the image, the idea of what you're wanting, but then, you're entitled to have the thoughts of where you are presently. And like a lot of young people struggle with that, in the sense that they feel like, oh, I'm in college, I'm still learning how to do my job. It's like writing or things like that. If you're a poet, then record your poems, one or two poems that you feel are your best. With what you mentioned, just doing it, recording songs. They may not be rich or have the best equipment, you could do it on your phone. At least in that, we're still getting things out there to people.


JP: That's what I meant before. Just do it, whatever you can do, just do it because nobody knows everything right away. I don't know anything. I had no idea what I was doing going out and do. I mean, I learned guitar basically on the stage with the band. I never played guitar. I started going to blues jams and I learned how to play guitar, and then just went, wait, I'm gonna start playing guitar in the shows, and I just learned that way.

And so, you know, there was a major chance of falling flat on my face all the time. But, it was what I could do. It was with the time I had, that's what I'm saying. Everybody's journey is different, right? I didn't have, I was raising two little kids. I didn't have time to sit and practice eight hours a day. So I did what I could and then I took it out and played, and so that was good for me. So you just, whatever it is for you, just start doing it. You know, that's the only way you're gonna ever do anything, just by starting.


KD: Oh, for sure. And I think, you know, I think this is really wonderful advice for our listeners, and I think we're gonna leave it off here. So Joyann, thank you for joining us today and for sharing your experience and thoughts with us. We look forward to continuing to see the amazing things that you do for our community.


JP: Thank you so much for having me.