Artist Story: Kim Frost

Kim Frost, Singer/Songwriter, Educator

I knew from a very early stage in life that I wanted to be a performing musician and nothing else. When I was in my late teens, studying violin, musical theater, and getting ready to attend Indiana University as a vocal performance major, I defined success as nothing less than being famous and having a lot of money as a result of performing. I pictured myself on stage, surrounded by adoring fans that would rush out to purchase my latest recording as soon as it became available. The music? Well, that was secondary to all the accolades and money.

This mentality continued even as my musical direction changed from classical to contemporary and I moved to Boston to attend Berklee. I figured being on the east coast, surrounded by people who had the same goals and ideas as I did would surely catapult me to the top. I worked very hard practicing, studying, finding any opportunity I could to get out and perform in whatever jazz club would let me. I toured the east coast with a small gospel ensemble and had the opportunities to perform with some supremely talented people. It was one of the best times of my life creatively and one of the worst financially. My phone and electricity were cut off more often than they were on, and I was barely able to keep a roof over my head. I took every job I could find from counter help to piercing ears. Not very creative but it paid the bills. Sort of. At that point I had to start redefining what a career in the music business meant to me and question whether or not it was worth it.

As time went on, I began to realize in my twenties and early thirties, that the fame and fortune I had believed would define my life as a musician was becoming more and more superficial – and unreachable. I was still able however, to make my living as a full time musician, seven days a week singing on a dinner cruise ship. It was paying my bills and affording me the opportunity to work on my skills every night. That continued for almost ten years; but if you had asked me back then if I thought I was successful I probably would have said no, due to the fact that I was still struggling with money and really was isolated from the rest of the music community. I felt stagnant and frustrated, but definitely not successful.

I decided that in order to make a go at having more opportunities, I had to leave the situation I was in and start over again. At the age of 34, I quit my full-time performing job to do just that--start over again. Even though I had lived in Chicago for ten years it was as if I had just moved here and no one knew who I was. I waited tables and bartended. I didn’t perform for almost 2 years. Then a friend of mine suggested I use all of my skills and training to start teaching and coaching privately. I thought NO WAY. If I started teaching that would mean I’ve given up on ever performing again.

People who taught, in my opinion, were doing so because they weren’t good enough to be hired for anything else and couldn’t “make it”(it didn’t matter that the friend who had advised me was a very successful jazz vocalist who performs around the globe – and teaches) or were too old to be thought of as a viable commodity musically. In order for me to consider teaching it would mean that once again I would have to re-define what I thought my career path should be. I asked myself some tough questions: Was I even able to teach? And if not, did I want to stay in the situation I was in, hoping that something would happen? Should I just turn my back on the music business all together? I realized that even as bad as things were career wise, I couldn’t give up on it completely so I reluctantly made the decision to start teaching.

As time went on, I started to slowly get more performance opportunities with help from friends and a demo, all the while building up a client base as a vocal teacher and coach. It was beginning to dawn on me that through teaching, I was actually improving as a musician. Initially my piano skills were self-taught, but because teaching required me to play more than I was used to I was forced to practice more and had thus become proficient enough to incorporate beginning to intermediate piano lessons in my studio. My teaching skills improved and I was starting to get booked for different things as a vocal coach outside of my studio.

As my client base rose, so did my performance bookings. I became more confident in myself as a vocalist and started to really connect to my instrument in a way I never could before. I started to perform in more diverse situations from a classical choral concert where I was a featured guest artist to co-producing a quarterly concert series honoring legendary female singer/songwriters (Ladies of the Canyon Present), all the while staring forty in the face.

I have a lot of students now who have the same definition of success that I did when I was their age. What I tell them is this: You have to love music enough to be willing to struggle. There will be a lot of blood sweat, tears, and dark nights of the soul, and still you may not become famous. Success in this field is not defined by fame, fortune, or even youth; it is defined by one's love of the craft and the desire to continue to hone and refine your skills and talents until the day you die.

Do I feel that I am too old or will be too old to have a successful career as an artist in this industry? Absolutely not. No matter how my artistry becomes redefined and redirected as I get older. In many ways, my upward swing as a musician didn’t really begin until I hit my late thirties. Am I famous? No. Do I have a lot of money in the bank? My husband (who is also a musician) and I struggle a bit financially. Do I like teaching? In many ways, yes; but would I stop tomorrow if it meant that I could make a great living performing full-time? Of course, but I would never give up the success I’ve had as a teacher and voice coach because the experience has been invaluable to me. I do what I love and I love what I do, and to me, that’s about as successful as one can get at any age.

Kim Frost studied opera and classical repertoire at Indiana University. She continued studying jazz, contemporary and gospel vocal music at Berklee College of Music. She performs locally with various bands and is a sought after studio singer. She currently co-produces Ladies Of The Canyon, a quarterly concert series honoring legendary female singer/songwriters. Kim is also a private vocal instructor/coach based in Oak Park where she resides with husband percussionist David Bernat.