Today we’d like to introduce you to Liv Roskos.
Liv, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Music has been in my blood ever since I was young. Growing up, I spent many evenings in the living room around the piano creating music with my sister and mother. As a teenager, I spent many evenings with my friends writing and creating music. Music was a form of therapy for me and the world seemed to stand still when I was creating something with music.
When I was 14, I spent time traveling to the Czech Republic and brought my violin with me. I remember meeting so many different kinds of people speaking languages from all over the world. Music transcends human language, it’s spoken and understood by everyone.
Moving to Chicago, music stayed with me. In the busyness of college life and stress, music was still a large part of my life and I spent time in Musical Theater traveling across the states performing Godspell. For me, music has always been connected to specific moments in time. Moments that almost seem to freeze in time to a specific song and become the soundtrack to whatever you’re experiencing at that time.
Growing up, I remember listening to the Duke Ellington Band and Billie Holliday on CD. I loved old music and always felt like I had an appreciation for music that was deep lyrically and layered musically. Over the past few years, I have explored element of jazz, folk, hip-hop, and R&B and have dug deeper into what it means to be an artist who can create a specific genre.
The past few years for me as an artist has been a journey of fear, pain, joy, and remembrance. I have learned how to write out of places of hurt and depression. I have learned what it means to sing with conviction and meaning. I have learned how to play what I’m hearing. I have been stretched and pulled out of my comfort zone more than I ever thought possible. I have spent time collaborating, exploring, and working with artists from all musical genres all over the city. My heart and passion is in collaboration and experimentation and I love the process of creating something fresh and exciting.
I have spent the past few years as a vocalist and violinist for hip-hop artist CW Allen and recently this year am breaking into my own lane. In March I dropped my first single “Lies” ft CW Allen which explores sounds of pop and hip-hop. My hope is to have a small EP available on all musical outlets, late fall or winter.
Great, 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?
I think some of the hardest challenges as a musician and artist have been overcoming the fears, insecurities, and boundaries that existed within myself.
Moving to Chicago and breaking into the music scene here, I lived in a lot of fear, anxiety of the unknown, and finding what it means to be comfortable and confident in my own skin. I was continually worried about what others would think of me and struggled to find my own voice.
I dealt with depression and anxiety and experienced the hardship of a lot of death from people that were very close to me. This affected my desire to write and create and left me in seasons where I didn’t want to move forward with music.
I struggled through my own excuses and laziness and finally realized that even if other artists, come through or not, stab you in the back, or disappoint you, it’s still your responsibility to move forward and create something worthy of telling your story.
Please tell us about Liv Roskos Music.
I create a unique and full musical sound through vocal and violin cross-genre performance. I’m here to give you an up close and personal experience; this could be at a backyard BBQ, your living room, or an exclusive storefront show. I create music that brings you out of the ordinary and makes you believe extraordinary things in life are possible. I inspire audiences to life change and growth through the musical storytelling of spiritual, relational, social, and racial issues in life. I engage and entertain urban and international audiences from all socio-economical backgrounds of life.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Some of my favorite memories from childhood were spending time with my family and friends in the living room playing and creating music. I remember laying on the couch falling asleep to my sister sing and play the piano.
Contact Info:
- Phone: (312) 593-2243
- Email: livroskosmusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: livroskos
- Facebook: livroskos
- Twitter: livroskosmusic
- Other: Itunes, Spotify, YouTube, Liv Roskos
Image Credit:
Pavel Adamek, Donney Wright, thelifeprojectchicago
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