Please introduce yourself. What do you do? Why? What do you want people to know about you?
Hi Everybody, I’m Ashley, (currently considering the moniker, Crybaby Ash) because I am always in my feelings and crying about something. This superpower of crying on cue makes it’s really easy for me to write songs.
So I write songs, I sing songs, and I own a store online called, The Mixed. In addition, to these passions of mine, I am a mother of 3, a wife, and I typically design and record everything from home. Wow right!
I love what I do and music absolutely feeds my soul. It brings me so much joy to lay something down. I want people to know I have big dreams, and although often misunderstood, I no longer give a fuck and don’t allow external forces to rain on my parade. Yes, I have come a long way, with lots of bumps on the road, and I’m so eager to keep going and discover the rest of my life.
What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry?
My feelings make me super unique and different. I am sensitive, I am empathetic, yet at the same time I am a go-getter, no BS-er, and if push comes to shove I will say exactly what I’m thinking when needed.
I’ve really had to embrace the honest side of me because for so long I was afraid of saying the wrong thing or saying it the wrong way, and we really have no control over how other people interpret us.
So you just got to be you and hope the good intentions shine through. If you wrong me, I’ma tell you, if your cross boundaries I’ma tell you, and if you fuck with my money I’ma tell the world. So keep it 100 or don’t fuck with me. Ya, that’s it.
Describe THAT moment when you realized you’re doing what you were born to do.
There is a feeling you get that is hard to describe, but when your laying down a record and things are coming together, adlibs, harmonies, words, textures, and you know if your bones your on to something… there is no better feeling.
It’s a similar feeling when designing a new item, or locating a manufacturer that has the perfect fabric. It’s an immensely gratifying feeling and it’s felt throughout your whole body.
What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve had to go through and how did you grow through it?
The biggest challenge has been doing things “backward.” Finding myself, after marriage, after kids, starting from scratch in music and business, after marriage, after starting a family.
Raising children and being a wife is such a time thief, that I have often thought to myself, “What if I had started back then,” which by the way I did, but I had a few challenges, like when I was making my first demo at 20 with my ex-boyfriend who was also my producer. Or the time our neighbor convinced my dad he could help me jump-start my music career and later ran off with the investment money my father gave him. Ya, I did try.
I had some great experiences at Saltmine Studios in Arizona where I was in and out doing freelance work, providing background vocals and such. So now I’m a mom, a wife, a small business owner, and I do it all from home which presents challenges of its own.
Who are the TOP 3 people you’d want to meet that could elevate your career or business? Why these specific individuals?
I don’t believe I have specific people in mind, however, I do want to meet a top mixing engineer, like IRKO, a great life coach, and an excellent business person to mentor me.
If I could add a few more, I’d love a business lawyer and a finance person who specializes in taxes and such. I believe every small business owner needs at least a savvy lawyer to review contracts and the language around them. A finance guy to ensure finances and taxes are in order and properly filed.
The right life coach or business mentor is truly a necessity, every successful person has one. Lastly, mixing engineers have been the most difficult person to find. These individuals who are a part of finishing the records are so vital to the final touches, many would say you need someone to someone separate from yourself mixing and mastering. I don’t totally know yet, I don’t have the skills to, so it’s necessary for me, and has been difficult trying to get the right one on my records.
Drop your social media links.
https://withkoji.com/@ashleyquintermusic
https://instagram.com/ashley_quinter
