Meet Julia Reynolds

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Reynolds.

Hi Julia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My musical and artistic callings have always been there. They only have gotten louder with time. The louder they get, the more drive I have to make my vision real. I grew up as an only child in the countryside of northern Missouri. My childhood was full of good times and bad. I wouldn’t say I’m a pessimist, but alot of my focus in my art is centered around my pain. That is where I feel most inspired- sometimes, perhaps, to my mental detriment, but almost always in a profoundly healing way. As a kid, I felt lots of loneliness, as whenever I’d attempt to socialize at community peer groups, I’d often get bullied or left out. Being pushed around was common for me. Staying quiet about my feelings was even more common. But I’ve realized that a human can only keep in emotion for so long before it finds some way to burst out. For me, that was music.

I’ll never forget a pivotal moment at a large local Evangelical youth group in my early teenage years. There were about 15 minutes or so for everyone in the group to eat dinner and socialize. After years of sitting at one empty table, I decided to do something different. I snuck off to the choir room in the church, shut the door, and played piano. This began a ritual I’d continue up until I finally walked away from that place. In that room, I decided to myself that I would give my all to my art. Pour everything into it. I decided I wouldn’t let anyone make me feel so terrible about myself; I would start learning to live authentically and heal through music. That was the one place I believed in myself. I clung to my music like it was my god. In some way, it may have been.

As I got a little older, I began producing music. Electropop, alt, and rock have always called to me; since I was a little kid. I grew up listening to all sorts of music. But 80’s rock hits, Lady Gaga, and Ke$ha will always be ingrained into my very being because I listened to them probably just as much or more than I listened to silence. So it’s no wonder I am obsessed with synths, glitter, and big hair. My production fed off that- from my humble old dying MacBook with Garageband beginnings to now.

I’ve performed, played piano, and written music for over a decade, taking on many forms and playing for many events. But it wasn’t until 2020 that I finally could myself into the studio to record my work. My first solo album, Queen of Crazy, released in the summer of 2022, was my learning curve/emotional mind dump built up throughout my entire life. I am proud of it. It wasn’t just 2020-2022 me that made that album. It was all the different versions of me since I was born. As I said, “A human can only keep in emotion for so long before it bursts out.”

Right before 2020, I met someone who would change my life forever.- Michael Johnson. I met Michael through my mom, who had befriended him in a fiddle class. I had a show one night with an old band I used to have. I had decided to bring Michael in as a guest for a few songs for fun. The band members could not make it that night- one I only found out about last minute. In a panic, I asked Michael if he could also play the rest of the set with me. I gave him the chord charts, and we were off. It ended up being one of the funniest performances I’ve ever done! Michael not only played all my songs (he had never heard them before) beautifully, but we also started improvising together. It seemed we had an almost psychic connection; we both knew what the other would do. As we approached the show’s end, we needed one more song than we had. I turned and said to Michael, “Make something up.” Michael, with a panicked look on his face, proceeded to play the most beautiful piece of guitar magic I’ve ever heard in my life. Words and melodies started flowing to me, becoming our song ‘Goodbye (Tears No More).” It turned out that Michael had written that song a while before that. It was titled ‘Tears No More.” It was an Instrumental piece- written about exactly what I randomly sang about. Between that and the audience telling us we needed to make an album together, we knew we had something special. We spent 2020 writing and recording our alternative folk/roots album ‘Lemon Tree.’ It was released on the same day as Queen of Crazy.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Being afraid – that’s the hardest part. Being afraid of what others may think. That may sound cliché, but it’s so true. It’s rough out there in the world. I’ve tried to pretend it’s not before, and that only made it harder to comprehend. Knowing it’s rough, though, doesn’t seem to make it much easier for me not to care so much. I love people. When I first meet someone, it’s my first instinct to like them- until they prove I shouldn’t, which often takes much more than I should probably allow. That’s been something I’ve been trying to learn to balance forever. It is just knowing when to stand up for myself and when to let things slide. When to care what people think, and when to flip the bird. Haha. In all seriousness, though, It’s hard for me to handle that not everyone likes me and what I do. Bummer.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. What can you tell our readers who might need to be more familiar with what you do?
I am a music producer, singer, songwriter, pianist/keyboardist, fashion designer/stylist, flow artist/dancer, and model from Kansas City. I love to delve into the deep vibrations of art with others- to promote love, joy, embodiment, and authenticity and to stand for social justice, equality, human rights, etc.

Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I cannot list everyone who’s been a part of supporting my journey and vision; there are far too many. But some of the main ones are:

• My parents – For always supporting and loving me
• Allen Myers – For teaching piano, enlightening me on the music industry, and being a wonderful friend.
• Julia Othmer – For being one of my biggest inspirations and always so supportive.
• Lonnie Fisher – For inviting me into your band and helping me unlock that bad*** don’t give a **** rocker part of myself I needed so badly.
• Cindy Molini- For showing me I can still be spiritual without holding onto my painful church-related past.
• Calvin Arsenia – For being another huge inspiration, but also for showing me what it’s like to embrace who you are and heal truly.
• Anna Dimmel – For being so authentic with your deconstruction story; your podcast made me feel like we met for coffee weekly and worked through things together.
• Aubrey Zechariah- For supporting me, making music with me, and being the best boyfriend. (You’re adorable)
• Westind Connection – I feel free to embrace myself for giving me a stage and a community.
• Art as Mentorship- For being a wonderful resource for musicians who are new to the scene.

And everyone else who’s been there. Who’s supported me? Who’s given me a hug or a smile? The ones who’ve shown up to my shows or streamed my album online. The ones who held me while I cried. The ones who told me things would be alright—the ones who were there on my good days and the bad. I love you.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.juliareynoldsmusic.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/juliareynoldsmusic?igshid=ZDc4ODBmNjlmNQ==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliareynoldsmusic?mibextid=ZbWKwL
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCUQo05JZI-AsOp9C4f0wfBw
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@crazyqueenjulia

Image Credits
Ian Noah, Jeni Reynolds, Westind Connection, Julia Reynolds