Music – San Antonio
I believe a musician has the responsibility and the power to make a difference to those they expose their music to. For some, music is a gateway to finding whatever they are searching for, and for others it’s just as way to relax. Whether it is for this reason or something else, music influences people. My goal as a musician is to influence listeners in a positive way. Bringing hope and light to the entertainment industry, and making a difference in the life of those that are listening.
I was born February 3, 1990 in the city of Columbus, Ohio. My mothers name is Brenda, and my Father's name is Randy. I was 2 years old when I moved to Texas and I lived in Austin for a few years and stayed with my aunt Kim and Uncle Dav and moved around quite a bit. I don't really remember all of the places I lived. I just remember moving from Austin to San Antonio, but we visited my family in Austin quite often.
I started performing at the age of 7 when my aunt and uncle got married and had their wedding reception. I sang "You Were Meant For Me" by Jewel and "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion. I knew it was a calling on my life the moment I sang my first note. I remember seeing people from the next room over in the hall coming up to the stage and cheering me on. It was an amazing feeling and I never let it go. From there I never really did much with performing except for family reunion parties. I'd sing karaoke. I loved to sing, so any chance I got, I took. It wasn't until the age of 10 that I truly started to sing for a real purpose. I found my faith as a Christian and sang with my worship leader at my home church. I went to Branches of the True Vine, where I grew as a believer in the Holy Bible and the words of wisdom from my pastor shaped my personality in a way that can never be shaken. I sang all the time. I craved music! It was never quiet at my house, there was always something playing in the backround but it was never just noise. This is probably why I was inspired to persue my love for music further.
My first guitar was literally a gift from God. A woman named Margaret who was a part of the worship team played an absolutely gorgeous custom made Ibanez guitar with a purple and black sunburst and pearl lining the frets and sounding chamber of the guitar. I remember thinking to myself how badly I wanted to learn and prayed that God would give me a guitar. Three days later, Margaret came to my house and told me that the Lord told her to give me a guitar. It was a turning point for the rest of my life.
She taught me my first three chords but got really busy with other projects so she gave me a few books that she had, and the rest was history. I played my baby every day after school and on the weekends, learning new chords and progressions with every passing day. Within a month I wrote my first real song "Angels are Waiting" and continued to write. I had a fire burning within me and I couldn't think of a better way to express what really meant the most to me; Jesus.
But I didn't just stop at learning and playing songs. I was so excited about learning guitar, that I wanted to teach others and bless them with the gift of music too. I taught several of my friends how to play chords on the guitar and was even led to give up my first guitar to a young girl I was teaching shortly after I had recieved a new guitar for christmas that same year which I also ended up giving away a few years later. The guitar I have now was also a gift. My pastor was a very loving man and heard from God all the time. He was led to buy my guitar from my worship leader at the time. He always encouraged me to keep playing and singing for God and never lose sight of the gift that has been given to me. I named my current guitar Lyndsey and I don't plan on giving this one up for centimental reasons. My pastor went on to be with God 4 years later and so I hold on to Lyndsey in rememberance of him. To this day I still teach guitar and vocal lessons to friends and family, and anyone thats willing or yearning to try something new.
I would describe myself as an aspiring artist with a passion for meaningful music. I strive to show listeners the more personal side of me through my lyrics and the positive message behind them. I aim to encourage my fans to do more with their life than just settle for second best. I don't want them to be afraid to make mistakes because thats how we learn about ourselves and the people around us. I write about real life, and the struggles that everyone has endured at least once or twice in their lifetime. I write about Love, and the battles within ourselves when it comes to finding the true meaning of it. I write about hard truths that show a glimpse of who I am and who I have been to be where I am now. A message of hope and inspiration with just a single phrase, or sometimes the entire song.
The older I become, I believe the more complex and diverse my lyrics get. I wrote a song called "Higher" and can definitely say that it tells a huge portion of who I am as a christian. There is always room to keep moving higher and higher as love and joy and passion enter our lives and thats the message I aim to get across to my listeners. My style of dynamic in my voice has been compared to Janis Joplin's vocals meets Taylor Swift lyrics. In the end, It just works out and I am able to write some awesome songs to compliment my style, which is in itself a great accomplishment.
My biggest accomplishment in my own opinion so far is maintaining my household with every obstical ever thrown against me and still persuing my career as a musician. I've been through plenty of hardships in the short life that I have lived so far. I wouldn't change anything. It has been challenging and very exhausting, but everything I have done up to this point only shows the determination and motivation that I have to continue moving forward with my goals as a musician. I will do this without losing sight of what is truly important to me, which is God, and my family. It helps to know I have so many people behind me who believe in what I am doing and see the vision that God put in me.
I have a strong support system. I have my husband, who's been by my side for most of my adult life. We definitely went through quite a few storms but in the end came out stronger for eachother and he is my backbone and my rock. He pushes me to be better every day and encourages me like no other and we have two beautiful girls together named Harmony and Symphony. It seems only fitting to have them named after one of the loves of my life, which if i haven't said already is music. My husband and I actually started an act together as well. We are called the Dysfunctional Mr and Mrs. Smith.
We came up with this name sitting at a Jims in a booth after a long day of performing and thought it would be funny to combine our names and our relationship into one. Our last name is Herrera which in English is actually translated as "Smith". Our marriage has always been somewhat Dysfunctional with all the trials we have gone through but somehow it just works for us. So we came up with Dysfunctional cause we are both musicians who are married to eachother and have problems. Its funny and relatable. We make our act sort of comedic in that way because we argue on stage and the crowd loves it! We haven't performed too much together but do plan to do so in the near future. I love that he is a musician as well because He understands my need to grow and doesnt hold me back from pushing forward. He propels me where I need to be and thats why I can't imagine my life without him.
I also have my dads. Both biological and step dads are phenomenal. They have watched me grow as a person of moral and vision. They keep me grounded in who I was raised to be and help me to never lose sight of where I came from. It keeps me humble to know I have them in my life and in my grandstands. Then there is my Mom. Shes my cheerleader too. We haven't always seen eye to eye, but growing up, she and I have always had a very close relationship and A huge part of who I am, I owe to her. She taught me how to fight for what I believe in and to keep moving forward against all odds. I love her passion for who she is and all that she represents in my life. She introduced me to my idol Jewel. I remember mom playing all her songs and buying me all the tapes and Cds. Well, then again, she may have bought them for herself but whos keeping track.
Jewel has and always will be my inspiration as a musician. She's raw and incredibly talented. Her lyrics are meaningful and relative to everyday life, which makes it even more easy to be moved by the passion that eminates from her music. If ever I have the chance to meet her one day, I would love to collaborate with her and write something amazing! My life would be complete and I could die happy. She makes it look so easy to be who she is without tribulation in her field of work. She inspires me to persue my career as a musician and not to mention shes a mother herself! I can relate to her so much in so many ways because I am finding out what its like to be a woman in this industry and I think it is a rough position if you are not grounded.
I can definitely say it is harder to be a woman in this business because the expectations as an artist are so much higher. You have to look a certain way, talk a certain way, dress a certain way, and appeal to everyone a certain way. In reality, its so easy to lose yourself as a woman of dignity when the world wants to take your image and change it into something they want. I am not one to be apart of conformity. I feel if someone likes me, great! If not, thats okay too, because at the end of the day, I am not here to be pleasing the world, I am here to change it. That is my ultimate goal as a musician, and as a Christian. I want to be standing out from the crowd because I have something real, and I want to share it with the world.
Recently I really started to persue my career when I met my manager, Sharon. My pops, as I like to call him, introduced me to her a few months back and she really changed the game for me. She helped me put together an amazing band with very talented people who share the same vision as me. Its incredibly important that the people I work with share the same goals because thats where the drive to keep pushing comes from. We all work together to get to the same destination. I want to be famously known for the music we create as a whole that still resonates the same message I am sharing as an individual. I believe with some fine tuning, I have the sound I'm looking for and they have the drive I need to keep moving forward. They each bring their personality and passion to the table of creativity and together, I believe we will be something truly special. I am so thankful for all of them because they each play an important role to reach our not so distant goal. I look forward to working with them every time we get together and I am proud to call them my friends.
I am Trisha Lynn. My name is who I am and I feel it suits me perfectly. I am not ashamed to be who I am. I am a proud mother of two gorgeous girls, and wife to a man like no other. I've been through a lot of struggles that shape the woman I have become today. I will never lose sight of my faith and what my music and vision represents to me. I want to change the world and inspire others to feel the same empowerment that we are all given an opportunity to recieve when we listen, and take the time to hear and understand the true meaning of what it is to be a musician.