Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Shires
Hi Kimberly, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I am the owner of Hear Me Roar Studio, which is a women-owned music production studio that exclusively serves women and female identifying artists. I’ve been involved in music most of my life and I studied it in college. My dream at the time was to play in one of our nation’s military bands. After graduating from West Virginia University as a classically trained clarinetist, I auditioned into the Navy Field Band, but I never enlisted. I was being pulled in a different direction.
I started a several year journey climbing corporate ladders until I realized that I was starved for my first love, which is music. I started to doing anything and everything from joining a clarinet quartet, learning Taiko drumming, songwriting, learning the guitar, producing for film and TV and then finally landed on serving our local artist community of women through music production. This is where Hear Me Roar Studio was born. It is a welcoming space where women and female identifying artists can be heard, feel empowered and create their music.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The moment the name Hear Me Roar Studio popped into my head, everything fell into place very easily. It was clear from the beginning who I was serving and why. We had an identity and a community. The word started spreading quickly through the local music community and there was a lot of interest among my peers. There are not a lot of female producers and certainly not many women-owned and operated music studios. I think Hear Me Roar Studio is refreshing to my community for that reason. I’ve received a lot of support from both artists and other producers of all genders.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am both a music producer and audio engineer. I love many genres of music and can work pretty seamlessly in a few. My sweet spots are folk/Americana and indie pop. This is the kind of music I most enjoy creating. It is constantly inspiring me. I can work with artists is so many ways and I like to meet the artist wherever they are in their journey. Some artists can self-produce and and self-record and I can help them polish their project, where others might send me a voice memo of their song and we work together to create it. I work with artists who are both multi-instrumentalists and those who do not play any instruments other than their voice. I am a musician myself, so between myself and my network of amazing session musicians, we can meet any need. The artist just needs to bring the idea.
While it should not set me apart, the fact that I am a women-owned studio does set me apart. It means that not only do I offer a service but there is also a strong community around the studio and the artists I work with. I want to build that and I want to support that. It’s important for our community and for our artists.
What’s next?
I have plans in the future to really lean into the community building aspects by hosting women-led events such as a Hear Me Roar Songwriting Circle, to femme jams and house concerts and even learning events aimed at solving problems within the community. The whole thing inspires me so much and gets me super jazzed to make it happen.
Pricing:
- I price each project based on the estimate of how involved the project is and agree on a fixed price with the artist so they always know what to budget for and don’t have any suprises or that they feel like the clock is ticking and it compromises the quality or innovation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hearmeroarstudio.com/
- Instagram: @hearmeroarstudio
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hearmeroarstudio8694
