So many kids want to be music stars and just the other day I got to interview one – Mary Sarah Gross! She started when she was just 8 years old and has a beautiful voice. She is genuine and kind and it was such a pleasure to interview her! For Mary Sarah it is all about Peace Love and Music!
Enjoy her entire interview and be sure to click here to listen!
Sarah – Well, hello I’m Sarah Cook from Raising CEO Kids and I’m here with Mary Sarah Gross who is a amazing musician and Mary Sarah is super young and she’s going to tell us kind of where she is on the web, what she’s doing and her story of how she got started. She’s a little bit unique in her success as a business person in that she’s in the music industry and it’s just a little bit different. It’s not someone who goes to a corporate office. So where do we find you Mary Sarah? Where do we find you on the web?
Mary – You can definitely go to my MySpace. It’s myspace.com/marysarahspace. I am on Twitter and Facebook. And I do have a website, its www.marysarah.com. My Twitter is @MarySarahMusic So it’s Mary Sarah with MUSIC.
Sarah – And Sarah with an S-a-r-a-h. So M-a-r-y-s-a-r-a-h-m-u-s-i-c. Perfect.
Mary – Yes.
Sarah – So tell us your story Mary Sarah. How did you get started? How young were you when you first started singing and doing thought, “Oh, this is perfect, I love doing this”?
Mary – Yeah, well I was around I’d say eight year old. I was with a piano teacher and he started to notice that I would sing better than I play the piano. And I would sing at my church and stuff like that with my dad. And I guess he kind of realized it and my piano teacher gave me a vocal coach and since then I’ve been going to the same vocal coach Tom McKinney, he’s really great. And yeah, I’m currently singing Country Pop and yeah.
Sarah – It’s super fun. So eight and how old are you now?
Mary – I am 14.
Sarah – Fourteen. So six years at – can you believe it’s gone so fast?
Mary – It doesn’t feel like that long. I mean, it feels like I started maybe a year or two ago. It’s been like a great couple years though.
Sarah- That’s so fun. So what were some of the obstacles that you had to overcome? I mean, you didn’t just go from one day vocal coaching to all of a sudden having contracts and doing fun things.
Mary – Yeah, well I was first for about six months on a KidzBop tour and that was really an obstacle because definitely part was going on the bus and for there was sometimes 12 hour trips of just riding on a bus to different places. I loved it but my mom was kind of like well, well you know. And definitely being on that, I got to see my family sometimes but it was really hard not seeing my sister and my dad and my brother. That was kind of an obstacle for me. I guess we talk every night but it was just really hard.
Sarah – And so how long were you on this tour?
Mary – I’d say about six months. It was originally supposed to be a year but I guess they cut it short.
Sarah – Okay. And you went with your mom?
Mary – Yeah. Well, actually it’s a funny story. At first, when we were out in L.A. was my first manager, this audition came up for KidzBop and I was like I definitely want to do this. And my mom was like, well I’ll just let you do it for experience because I’m not going on a bus for a whole year. And about a couple months later after the audition I got a call from my manager and he said I got one of the roles for the tour. And we prayed about it, definitely prayed about it with the whole family. We kind of agreed 100% that we should do this. And it was great experience. So at the end of it, my mom actually rode on the bus so it was awesome.
Sarah – That’s cool. That’s so cool. I love that. So anything else that you can think of was an obstacle because that definitely sounds like it was really hard but it also brought a lot of contacts, a lot of confidence. You know, what were some things that you got out of it?
Mary – Id have to say a lot of obstacles with me is I got to think about this for a second. I got to think about how to say it.
Sarah – It’s okay, we can skip that one.
Mary – Okay.
Sarah – No it’s good, it’s good. So what were some things that you definitely, do you write your own music, do you have somebody else write it for you? How do you find things to sing about?
Mary – Well, actually it’s kind of like me and my sister, we love writing together. We think about everything we’ve gone through and what we kind of get across to people out there. So and definitely with my producer, he helped a lot because it’s Country Pop music, it’s way different than writing Pop. And it’s just, it was an amazing experience. And so me and my sister, me and usually my family, we just all kind of pitch in and write.
Sarah – That’s great. And so how did you learn that process?
Mary – Well, my producer, he was really, really helpful. We’d sit there for like an hour just trying to figure out a line, just one line. And we’d come out and be like, we can’t think of anything. I mean, because you have to have all the solos and it was hard. But he’d come and out just shoot out a line and be like, “How did you do that in two seconds?” So we’d be sitting here for an hour. But he’s been writing for a long time. He worked with Kelly Clarkson.
Sarah – That’s great. So he’s definitely been helpful in that process then it sounds like. How old is your sister?
Mary – Definitely, yes. Huh?
Sarah – How old is your sister?
Mary – She’s 16 so we’re about a year and a half apart.
Sarah – That’s cool.
Mary – Yeah. We get along better usually than most sisters.
Sarah – That’s very fun. And you probably almost get to share the same clothes maybe? No, not so much?
Mary – Yes. Actually we’re really close. My mom’s happy about that. She’s like “Ya’ll can share clothes now.”
Sarah – That’s so great. So what do you feel like you’ve discovered most about yourself in this whole process that you didn’t know would come?
Mary – Well, I would have to say that I guess I’ve discovered more of what I want to do and like who I am and what I want to sing. At first when I started singing, we were originally pop and it wasn’t working out at all. And I felt that I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and so I guess over the years, I figured out who I want to be and what I want to sing and what I want to get across to kids my age and younger and older.
Sarah – That’s so awesome. So what are some of your daily efforts? Do you sing every day, do you, I mean what is the process?
Mary – Definitely. I do have to practice pretty much ever day. I have a vocal coach here and then I have one in L.A. but we do that over Skype which is really cool. And yeah, I do, I play guitar too so I practice that about an hour a day and then I practice my vocals pretty much every day.
Sarah – And so do you play guitar also or you said Cello. What did you say you played?
Mary – No, guitar, yeah.
Sarah – Oh okay, guitar. Okay. I thought you said cello. I thought, well I didn’t see that on any of your videos. That’s so weird.
Mary – I play the guitar and sometimes I mess around with my violin.
Sarah – That’s awesome. All right. So your dad it sounds like is doing a lot – I mean, it sounds like the whole family’s involved. So what are all the different roles that everybody’s played? Does Chris help with your website stuff and how does it all work?
Mary – Yeah, definitely. My brother helps a lot with the website. Like right now, he’s working on my website and getting it fully up and ready for – and new pictures. We just got new pictures so we’re just kind of getting the website ready. That’s what my brother kind of does with us. And then, my mom did help me with everything. I mean, she helps me with school, she helps me with me if we go to photo shoots, she has dressing ready and just everything like that. And my sister plays the role of just being there for me when I need help and the times that I’m coming down and I can talk to her whenever I need to and what I feel is. Yeah, my whole family pretty much supports me. And my dad, he’s more on the music side, so he helps me a lot with if I’m having trouble on the guitar or and he’s in some of my videos if you go on YouTube. And it’s youtube.com/hisbroker, h-i-s-b-r-o-k-e-r. And so I guess that’s kind of what my dad plays in the role. And so they all support me 100% and I’m so thankful to have a family. Oh, and he pays the bills.
Sarah – Yeah, he kind of does a lot of managing for you. It seems like he kind of does all the business stuff for you. Is that kind of how it works?
Mary – Yeah, definitely. He helps a lot with everything. I mean, I guess he’s more like all around.
Sarah – That’s awesome. Now what would be like the last two things or three things, however many that you want to actually that you’d love to share with other kids out there that are thinking, “Gosh, I would love”, they’re talented, they obviously have gifts in certain areas of music and they would love to perform but maybe they just don’t know what to do next. What would you recommend or what would you love to share with them?
Mary – I definitely say do not quit what you’re doing. You definitely need to stay on track. I know sometimes it will be hard just to stay there. I know times get hard and I’ve been through those times before. And I, my advice is to stay on track. If you’re a singer, you definitely get a great vocal coach that you really like to work with. And if you work really hard at it, the doors will open for you.
Sarah – That’s good Mary Sarah, I love that. Anything else?
Mary – No, that’s about it.
Sarah – Well, you have been awesome and I know my daughter loves, we love listening to you, we love watching your videos and stuff like that so it’s very fun. My daughter’s 10 so she’s kind of at that perfect age.
Mary – Oh, tell her I said “Hi”.
Sarah – And thank you, thank you for being an inspiration and for just –
Mary – No, definitely thank you for having me.
Sarah – You’re so welcome. You’re absolutely welcome. And it will be fun to see what’s coming up next. I can’t wait to see your website makeover, it’ll be fun.
Mary – Yeah, definitely. Thank you.
Sarah – Thank you so much.
PS – Thanks Mary Sarah and Patricia for the wonderful gifts for Clarissa too! 
Just wanted to say I really liked the post. You have really put a lot of time into your posts and it is just wonderfull!
Thanks Tommy!