Sydney Grigg



Sydney Grigg is a 23-year-old Nashville grown singer/songwriter. Recently Sydney released a five song EP titled, “Perfect Kind of Bad.” She recorded the album in Ottawa, Ontario with producer Kelly Prescott.

The country genre would be the best way to define her music, but she strives to make her music unique by giving it a “swampy” feel. Her music is extremely relatable and the honesty she puts forth in her songwriting is completely uncensored. Natural, stripped down music is the type of music she prefers and it is mirrored in her own music. The lyrics behind the music for Sydney are therapeutic as well as exposing. Everything she puts into these songs is drawn from personal experience.

Growing up, Sydney lived in a house filled with great music and starting pursuing music herself from an early age. She drew influence from artists such as Mindy Smith, Emmylou Harris, Chris Isaak, Linda Ronstadt and Neko Case.

The journey of creating a career in music hasn’t always been easy. There was a point when Sydney decided to take a break from music all together. This break lasted about two years and it wasn’t until she went to see a band in Knoxville perform one night that something in her changed. She saw how passionate this band was on stage and she looked into their schedule and saw they were performing night after night in every U.S. city imaginable and she realized she wanted to pursue her own musical career no matter what it took.

I was fortunate enough to land some time with Sydney to ask her some questions as she embarks on this musical adventure.

Does all of your writing come from personal experience?

Yes, everything. I always try to be really honest. I never trim down the story and the message for the sake of finding a better chorus, I keep writing until I get a good honest song. Pretty much, I say it like it is even if that means saying something creepy that you might think, but never vocalize. I write all day everyday. It’s actually a little weird for me sometimes because my brain thinks in song. So even in conversation, I am always rhyming things and trying to load my sentences with the most descriptive words I can find.

What do you want people to get out of your music when they hear it or see you live?

I just want people to be able to relate to my songs and lyrics and enjoy them. Music is such a release for people. I hope that at a show, I can help people relax a little and shake it!

For you, what is the best part of being on stage?

The moment where I can tell I have made a connection between me on the stage and the people that are out there just trying to have a good time is really the most rewarding part. I feel like I can see them connecting with me and it is just a really validating feeling.

What are some of your musical goals, what would you like to accomplish?

When I first started making music, I was a kid and I really wanted to be a big star. I wanted stadiums full of people just yelling my name. When chasing any goal or dream there is a lot of rejection, and reaching for something so far away was really difficult. For me, I keep myself grounded and try not get too overwhelmed and beaten down by it all. I really just want to have music in my life in whatever capacity it will take me.

Being a singer/songwriter would you be content with just songwriting or do you really want the combination of being able to sing and perform as well?

I think that I will always have both. I enjoy playing bar shows and I want to go and do it in another city for strangers even if there are only ten people the crowd (that is rewarding for me). At this point I don’t really see why I would have to pick. I just want to make music that’s all I want to do. I will be happy with whatever I can make of that.

Anything else you would like to add...

I love feedback from people and hearing what they have to say. This new EP I put out is on ITunes and I really want for people to check it out. If they don’t like something I want to know so I can do it better next time. I worked so hard on it and at this moment right now I am just trying to get as many people to pay attention to it as possible.

For more on Sydney check her out on myspace or facebook:
www.myspace.com/sydneygrigg
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sydney-Grigg/133363900014839

To preview Sydney's songs or download her EP:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/perfect-kind-of-bad/id435084231