Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlise.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started playing the guitar around the age of 6. My grandfather, Sam, had an acoustic guitar, (we named it Happy), that he would pull out and play when I would come to visit him and my grandmother in Shreveport, Louisiana. He had gotten it from a pawn shop and hadn’t quite learned how to really play it, but I soon had my own guitar that I would begin to learn how to play, the first instrument I had learned to play. No one in my family was a musician or a singer, but during Sunday church services at my family’s church, my great grandmother and any woman elders in the church would lead the old 100 hymns.
Around the age of 8, my mom had given me my first radio, complete with a cd player, along with some CDs she burned. On any given day I would be in my room listening to my CDs or tuning into the local radio stations 94.1, 96.1, and 98.5 the beat. Although I started writing music when I was 18, I’ve always been into writing whether it be poems, short stories, and journaling. I had been writing as far as I can remember, starting with journaling how I felt, to writing and drawing short stories to even creating several book series on Wattpad. I also had a love for basketball since I was born, so once I started grade school, my interest in basketball took the front seat and my guitar and writing pen had taken a backseat for years, until 2020 when COVID-19 hit. I remember it was March and it was week 3 of the extended, soon to turn permanent spring break, and I was in my room with nothing to do. Even though my guitar hadn’t been played in years, it was never far from me. I went into my closet and pulled out my guitar. I hadn’t played it in so long since I was young, so it was like I had to relearn what I knew, and I even had to learn things I never was taught because of how I had stopped playing when I focused on basketball. I fell back in love with playing the guitar and once I was able to play chords and songs, I started to sing along to the music. I had never been vocally trained, so I was pleased to sound remotely decent when I sung along with my instrument. I’ve always loved to sing, even if at times I couldn’t hit the note I was belting but I overall sounded pretty decent.
For the next few months, I would start working on my craft of playing, singing, and songwriting, and I even decided to pick back up playing the piano, the second instrument I learned to play. I relocated to Houston later that year and I began to focus on music and I had officially decided that I wanted to explore making music and sharing it with others. Going into 2021, I knew I had to put my dreams into action. I had, (technically I still do), so much music I had put together and I was battling with if I should take the leap. After battling with myself over whether I was talented enough, if I had enough experience or credentials, or if people would like the music or laugh at something I had put my heart into, I realized I couldn’t do this for anyone but myself. I knew I couldn’t grow old with the regret of “what if?’ for the rest of my life. In June 2021, I dropped my first single, “Dreams”, on all streaming platforms. I had prepared myself for people to ignore my song, hate my song, and to send it to group messages where people would laugh at my attempt to live my dream. What I hadn’t prepared for was the amount of love, shares on social media, and listeners of my song. I realized that to be afraid to fail was to be afraid to succeed. In 2021, I had dropped my first song, landed my first interview, headlined my first live show, and recreated a life for myself in a direction that was once lost upon me as a child. Since then, I have released more music, grown my confidence in myself to be able to turn my dream into a reality, and have found what the Japanese call ikigai, something that gives a person a sense of purpose/a reason for living. In 2022, you can expect to hear more new music, including a debut EP titled “Chase the Feeling”, as well as an acoustic EP, and you can expect to see first-time visuals and interactive experiences through my social media platforms for listeners to connect with me and the music on more than an auditory experience.
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?
It hasn’t been an easy road. At times I would feel underqualified or I would compare my Chapter 1 to someone else’s Chapter 10 and the comparison would shake my belief in myself. There is always going to be someone who is better than you at something. Knowing this and knowing how ruthless the internet and comments can be, I would see how the world treats someone else who may be doing what I want to do and would think I wouldn’t want to be in the position they are in to be criticized, especially on a global scale, so maybe I should go against my desires. I had to step outside of myself and I saw that my opinion is the only one that matters, everything else is just noise. I’m not going to allow what other people say influence the way I live my life. What works for me may be crazy to someone else, but I’m me, forever and always. As long as I stick to that, I could be the craziest, delusional person in someone else’s story and you know what- I’m okay with that.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in songwriting and singing. I play the acoustic guitar and the bass guitar pretty well also. I am known for my unique tone and singing style as well as my lyrical penmanship. Many of songs include double meanings and innuendos, or have a message within the song if you pay attention to the lyrics. I set myself apart from others by writing songs that are meant to inspire those who listen. My music is meant to make you move- whether it motivates you to get up and get things together, to look forward to better days, or to just get up and dance and feel good. I set myself apart because I bring my hardships, feelings, and truth to the paper and turn it into something bigger than myself. I am most proud of my willpower and determination. I once didn’t know how to initiate my wishes and desires into something that I could live out loud, until one day I decided to make that first step. Once I put my mind to something, I’m going to make it happen no matter how hard it is. The hard part would be living a life where I didn’t.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
My advice on finding a mentor is to surround yourself with people who do what you or what you want to do. Being in the proper environment puts you half a step closer to potential opportunities, network partnerships, and like-minded individuals whom you can learn from. My advice is to use social media and the internet to help you find opportunities or people to network with, and then put the phone down and take action in whatever you have found. Go to a mixer, meet up for collaborations, or find a forum where people like you hang out and show up. Always be yourself, so the people that are for you can find you.
Contact Info:
- Email: bookcharlisemusic@gmail.com
- Website: https://linktr.ee/lexicharlise
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charliseofficial/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexicharlise
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqPfKfKFuySIKdvPCY-4vmg
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/lexicharlise
Image Credits
Dayana Portaits
