We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Gramm and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think of risk as exciting, and what makes the end result feel rewarding. It’s a good feeling to know that something wasn’t guaranteed, but you made it happen anyways. Everything I’ve pursued has had some risk involved, otherwise I don’t think it would’ve sounded that interesting. I kind of like the butterflies it gives me, going for something that feels like it could be out of reach. Even if things don’t turn out as good as you wanted, the gray area is where the learning happens, and it pays off eventually whether or not you can tell in the moment. It can be scary. Especially in the creative field, where I feel like the risk is always a little heavier. It’s never just financial or material. It’s personal. You’re risking judgment of something that’s part of your identity every time you choose to share art, but I think it also creates the greatest potential for impact on something or someone outside yourself, and that’s so worth it.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
It’s been my dream to be a singer and performer as long as I can remember, but I never really knew how to get started and was a little too much of a perfectionist to ever feel like anything I wrote was good enough to share. When I was almost 17, I started dance. That was a little scary because everyone I was taking classes with had been dancing their whole lives, but I just knew I had to do it. I trained insanely hard to get to a place where people couldn’t really tell I hadn’t been dancing for years too. Dance is definitely where I gained a lot of my confidence, and as I became really good friends with so many talented dancers and got the chance to start performing in that world, my dream kind of pieced itself together more – I still knew I wanted to be an artist and make music, but that vision started to include more than just myself. I knew I had to figure out how to chase the music thing, just so I could perform onstage as an actual career and hire all my friends to dance with me one day. Nothing sounds better than that. That’s still my ultimate goal – it has been for years, but I finally figured out how to get started, and now I’m just trying to get closer every day.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love a good beach day, so I’d probably take them to Malibu. I also am big on good food, so I’ve always appreciated that LA has so many options. I’m not sure I have a favorite because it’s too hard for me to choose. As long as the food is good, I could take us anywhere from a nice trendy brunch spot to a grungy hole in the wall for dinner, or a taco truck at 3 a.m. I think if we wanted to do a night out, I’d take them to drinks at a rooftop bar or a speakeasy. Of course, any day, I’m also taking them to one (or two) of my many favorite coffee spots. I can’t resist stopping for a good iced latte.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I am most grateful to my family. They’re my biggest supporters despite none of them really sharing my goals and interests. They’ve let me go after whatever I want to do with my life, and they’re the only people I think believe in me more than I believe in myself. Through any ups and downs we’ve had as a family, we really do have unconditional love for each other, and I know I’ll always have them in my corner.

I’ve met a lot of really great people in law school, but it took a while to feel like I really had a place since I had never planned on the law thing until quite literally I decided to start the application process. My approach to law school was different from what it looked like was the norm for other students, and I wasn’t always sure if people took me doing law seriously. I had some heavy imposter syndrome for sure, so I have to shoutout Julianna Almario, another future entertainment attorney. Juls shares my love for music and dance and writes songs too, and we found a lot in common really quickly. I’ve felt the purest love and support from her while we earned our JDs, and now while we’re preparing for the Bar Exam, all while I’m still getting started pursuing a career as an independent artist. She helped me feel like I could pursue music and still deserved to be in law school – like I could be proud that I’m creative but also intelligent. She understands how much more work it’s taken to do that rather than seeing any of my really different goals as meaning I’m less serious about another.

Another creative that deserves recognition is Curtis Kuo, a photographer and videographer that I met because his wonderful wife, Akaisha, is my good friend from dance. He’s done so much to help me get started as a musician and performing artist no matter how busy either of us are. I could never thank him enough for his generosity and willingness to help anytime it means getting me closer to my dreams. He’s really just such a real one both in work life and as a friend.

Instagram: @amanda_gramm

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@amandagramm?si=O-5UcE8zmfWU21zW

Other: how to find my music: https://linktr.ee/amandagramm

Image Credits
Curtis Kuo

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.