Ever meet someone who is exactly the same person online as they are in person? You follow their tweets, check out their Facebook posts and frequent their blog...sincerely hoping that the person behind the screen is equally as cool and wise as they appear to be online.Introducing Kim Crowder, musician, former PR gal and writer. In an nutshell, her life rocks. She's recently decide to go against the grain by relocating, pursuing her dream and living on purpose. I admire her courageous spirit and wonder how many women are straddling the fence of comfort and purpose.
Keep an eye on her lovelies...I'm certain this is just the beginning of her journey of self discovery.
Q. Describe your personal style and personal brand:
A. Wow, this is a tough question since I don’t know that I’ve ever really thought about either of these in depth, LOL. In thinking about my personal style, it changes from time to time. The words I’ve heard people describe my style as most is funky and glam…I also like to be classy when it makes since, however, I usually throw on some wild colored lipstick, shoes or accessory, which is probably my way of keeping it edgy.
Q. What is your #1 passion and why?
A. Outside of God, definitely music, specifically singing. I’ve always loved music since I was a kid, and not just one genre. I studied classically in high school and college, was in school and church choirs growing up, sang in talent shows; I’ve done it all. It’s almost like with music, it’s God’s gift to me, so I really have no choice – it’s unavoidable.
Q. In a few words, why do you feel that it's important for musicians to embrace social media?
A. For one thing, it’s free publicity and promotions. You pretty much have the world at your fingertips without having to hire someone off the bat to do this for you, and with so many different social media outlets, you can tap into different demographics easily. Also, with the push back from music lovers and artists on large record labels, you find many artists creating their own path via social media. We saw this at this past year’s Grammy's when Esperanza Spalding and Arcade Fire won the big awards of the night. Both of their careers are largely based on their success through social media.
Q. How do you achieve work/life balance?
A. Ugh…I’ll have to confess that I haven’t been known to be the best at this. In my last corporate job, I had to really push myself to draw lines, especially with having a company Blackberry. I think fighting to overcome my “Superwoman complex” and coming to the realization that I can’t be everywhere all the time helped me to resolve that adults really can handle things if I pull away and allow them to; however, if I keep being there, they’ll continue to lean on me since that’s the precedence I’ve set for them. At one point, my old boss literally told me I needed to, “let go and let God,” LOL, so I took a vacation to Hawaii. Making sure I don’t neglect my hobbies and relationships are great buffers for creating balance as well.
Q. What's on your radar? What's next?
A. Well, I just made a major life change, which was moving out of Texas. I’ve lived in Houston just about my entire life and wanted to explore living in other parts of the country. For now, I am house sitting for my dad in a tiny town in VA while I plot my next move. The town is gorgeous with amazing views of the mountains, lots of greenery, cool breezes and friendly faces; really a slow, peaceful place. I currently write about music for the Houston Chronicle and CultureMap Houston, am catching up on writing on my blog melodiesofme.wordpress.com about jazz and my journey to pursue my dream of singing, hitting the books to brush up on my music theory and charting out my next path. I’m asking God for guidance, so I’ve got a feeling it’s gonna be good!
To keep up with Kim, follow her on Twitter at @kim_crowder and check out her blog at http://melodiesofme.wordpress.com.