ii-V-I

Kim Logan left Berklee campus in 2010 to write and make records in Nashville. She is now finishing her degree via Berklee Online and is probably playing somewhere near you sometime soon, promoting her debut self-titled album and writing for her second. You can find her music on iTunes, Bandcamp, or pressed to vinyl or CD through her official website.

Photograph by Kar Zano

Photograph by Kar Zano

Name:  Kim Logan
Major(s):  Songwriting, Vocal Performance, Music Business
Hometown:  Sarasota, FL
Current City:  Nashville, TN

What has been the most challenging aspect of your transition from college to career?

I went to college when I was 17 and had no idea what I was doing.  Being on the Berklee campus was like a fugue state.  I sang a lot of old jazz, went to a lot of weird parties, and (at least) figured out I wanted to write and make records for the rest of my life.  Lately, I’ve been balancing my career with Berklee Online, which has been a total godsend for this here crazed, traveling, touring, not-a-morning-person professional musician.

How has your Berklee experience shaped your view of the music industry? Was it spot on or did you need to shift your perspective?

Indelibly, and mostly without me realizing it at the time, Berklee has informed almost all of the moves I have made as an artist, at least professionally.  Paying my dues in Nashville has probably influenced me more musically, but I would have never had the head on my shoulders to make music my living, had I not learned from those at Berklee and Berklee Online who have figured it all out (as best as possible in this new Wild West).  Being on the Boston campus was definitely a la-la-land where I could never quite engage… if Boston isn’t your scene, find your scene, and move there!  I hope you don’t know anybody and you’re scared and you try a lot of different things and you’re miserable for awhile, but then New York or Nashville or London or wherever sets in and you’re able to play what you want and be who you are.  Don’t stay a second longer than you have to in a place that doesn’t feed your mojo.

How do you connect with other people? How much does social media play a role in your career as an employee and artist?

I mostly connect with people when I’m performing, but I’m a Gemini and a linguist and I kind of connect all the time without being able to help it.  I like social media because it’s a pathway for music lovers to see inside their favorite artists’ brains, however briefly.  It’s tough to keep the information highway useful and in check, but it’s possible.

Why did you move to the city you’re living in now?

I came to Nashville for this magical, creepy, intense, inimitable music scene and history.  I stayed for the amazing community of musicians/studios/producers who inspire me to be better every single day, the collaborative and limitless artist-friends, and the biscuits.  I wanted to study opera and perform with a regional company, to write songs with people who could help me actualize what was in my head, and to sing honestly and without auto-tune.  I got all of that, and it’s been amazing.

What are you listening to right now?

Jack White’s “Lazaretto,” Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett’s “Cheek To Cheek,” Puccini’s “La Boheme,” and all of the Brian Jonestown Massacre records over and over.

You can find out more about Kim Logan via the following links:

http://www.kimlogan.net
http://www.facebook.com/kimloganmusic
http://www.twitter.com/kimloganmusic
http://www.kimlogan.bandcamp.com

Two Five One is a series of blog posts by alumni. They write about two places (where they’re living & their hometown) answer five questions about their post-graduate experience, and it’s a one-off post. For more information about blogging for Berklee as an alumni, email alumniaffairs@berklee.edu

Justine
Latest posts by Justine (see all)