Meet Jessy Lipton | Singer/Songwriter

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

Hi Jessy, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
I think that in certain periods of my life my social life sort of took over and then for other periods of my life I was only focused on my career. I’ve learned from being so back and forth what truly works for me and how to manage both sides to life. When I get too caught up in my social life it’s easy to let those outside opinions influence my work. You are who you surround yourself with and there have been times where I’m surrounded by not such supportive or motivated people and that has definitely taken a toll on my mindset. I do find it super important to stay focused on my craft as much as I can. But as much as I for sure live to work, I do need a life outside of work to help clear my head and pursue other passions. Plus, if I had no life outside of work, what would I write songs about? 😉 I do think finding that healthy balance is absolutely vital, but my balance isn’t a perfect 50/50 balance. Like I said, I live to work. Making music and spending hours and hours dedicated to my craft is what will both better me as an artist and also make me the happiest. Also, my wheels are always turning. I’m a songwriter. Wherever I am could strike inspiration for me. I don’t necessarily always have to be in the studio or on a set to be working. I’m naturally always creating and jotting down ideas. So a majority of my time is dedicated to my work, sometimes unintentionally.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ve been singing since I could speak and songwriting was a natural skill that came along with that for me. Growing up I genuinely thought that all singers wrote their own music, so it was never a question in my mind that I had to write myself. Luckily, it didn’t come as much of a challenge. I can confidently say my songwriting gets better by the day. If anything my only struggles with it now are challenging myself to be better at times when I know the writing in a particular song could be. Of course I also get the traditional “writer’s block” from time to time, and that’s super frustrating as well. But I try to take that as a sign telling me that maybe I need a break; some time to re-fuel. At the age of 14 I started recording in a studio about an hour and a half away from my house. Walking into that studio immediately felt like home and flooded me with inspiration every single day that I returned. As much as that was just the very start to my career, it took a lot of courage to get there. Obviously the most important thing you need to carry with yourself in this career, is belief. You have to be prepared to believe in yourself and back yourself on days when nobody else will. And being only 14, I had a lot of insecurities and not a lot of knowledge in the music industry. I’m only 20 now, but I’m still at the beginning of my journey and I’ve already experienced many struggles. This industry comes with a lot of people basically reminding you why you should quit. I’m sure as does every industry. Being so young battling these voices and trying not to get pushed back 5 steps at a time, is how I learned you have to take giant leaps. It’s all about risk and trusting yourself in every little detail that you do. One producer that I work with once told me, “you must get comfortable with the uncomfortable”. Whether you’re in your room alone at night or in a room with 30 other people, you need to believe in yourself. Though it’s easier said than done. And that’s only one out of many challenges that will be thrown at you in this career. It’s defeating having some days where you’re the last person that believes in you. Those days where your mental health is absolutely drowning and you have no capability of saving it. I’ve always been super hard on myself and that’s definitely something I’m trying to work on. But that’s also just who I am. So on days where my mental health is just so awful, it feels so defeating having no control of that. It’s like I’m not trying to feel this way, I don’t want to- and I especially don’t want it to affect my career. But it’s my own brain so how come it feels like I don’t have the control? I’ve been struggling with anxiety and depression since I was 13 years old. Some days it feels like my biggest weakness going into this career field, but on others it’s my greatest inspiration. As much as it may keep me in bed most days, it also motivates me to keep going and help others who are also struggling. Especially people who have been diagnosed or started struggling as young as I did. People will invalidate your feelings way more because of the young age you started experiencing them, which makes you struggle even more. Mental health is a huge topic I want to touch on and put out into the world. I have so much to say and so many people I want to help. So so badly. I’m working on my debut EP right now that I’m super excited to put out, because it’ll be the first time my music showcases the internal struggles I go through. I’ve been working really hard on how I’m going to portray the messages and feelings I have, and I’m super proud and excited to release them all and hopefully comfort others who can relate. Being open about your thoughts and emotions is scarier than it seems, but I want to show that vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness.

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.
Oh my gosh I’d have so many places I’d wanna take her to. First I’d have to take her to Venice beach and spend the whole day there. I’d bring my ukulele and we could just hang out on the sand and then spend hours in the ocean. Before heading back into LA I’d for sure take her to one of my favorite restaurants called Zinqué, right in Venice. I’m a pretty laid back person and would usually rather stay in and watch movies with a few friends rather than party all night so ideally we’d have a movie night. My friends and I usually do that or throw small kickbacks where we can just hang out with our big friend group. On nights where I go out for dinner, my favorite food is sushi and I have to say Sushiya on Sunset in West Hollywood, and TAO in Hollywood has the best spicy tuna crispy rice I’ve ever had so far. Katsuya is also one of my favorite spots for crispy rice and amazing sushi, so I’d have to take her to a couple of those spots. One night I’d also take her back to the beach to have a bonfire, which is another thing my friends and I love doing. On most weekends you can find me at flea markets so I’d definitely also take her to the Silverlake flea and Los Feliz flea to shop for the best vintage clothes.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d love to dedicate my shoutout to my mother. She’s one of the biggest parts of my story as she’s encouraged me to follow my dreams and greatest passion. She’s truly my best friend and has done so much to get me to where I am today.

Website: https://archivs.io/jessyliptonn

Instagram: https://instagram.com/jessyliptonn?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jessylipton?s=21&t=0SRgWlMFAiSp2-SNfxKfEA

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCVJneOV7bpGp5l7jG_DsdgQ

Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7pGsvDKuZ3OumdrpDwCB2f?si=9dFcWUK8RHmkq8QAvhGdZw

Stream my new single!

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/jessylipton/good-luck-in-hell

Image Credits
Qasim Ali @qollapse