Today we’d like to introduce you to Grace Bertman
Hi Grace, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in the state of Washington and was raised by musician parents. I got to experience going to their shows and being around so many artists all the time. At the age of four I started playing violin! I continued to take classical lessons and play in a youth orchestra all the way through my teen years.
Around the age of 10 I started to pick up guitar and drums as well. I’ve always had a huge passion for every type of music, especially punk and hardcore. Eventually I found my singing voice as well. Writing and recording music became one of my favorite things to do. I joined a pop punk band as a drummer at 16 and was also playing shows solo as a singer/songwriter.
Throughout my childhood I started to face some struggles and found my way into addiction. I realized pretty early on that I was gay and at the time, that conclusion was a tragedy to me. Addiction always lived inside of me but it was a lack of self love and acceptance paired with mental health problems that really coaxed it out.
Long story short I struggled with it from the time I was 12, all the way up until over a year ago. It’s always gotten in the way of my musical career, my relationships with loved ones, and my physical/mental health.
I moved to Texas to turn my life around. I came here with almost nothing and knowing no one. Infinite recovery saved my life and I continued the process through relentlessly working on myself and not giving up. It wasn’t easy and I had to go through a lot of financial hardship and discipline but anything is possible.
Now I sing in a band called Topdown, we released a full length album in October and play shows all over Austin. I started playing drums in a band called Pry recently as well. In February I released an album under my solo project called Ultraviolet. I played all the instruments myself!
My life here is so full, I have a beautiful girlfriend and a wonderful job at Strait Music.
All I could ever want is for my story to people hope and inspiration. At this time last year I was living out of my car and I had no belief that I could ever pick my life up off the ground again. My life now is better than I could have ever imagined.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has been far from smooth but all of my experiences have taught me a lot and given me perspective. The biggest struggles have been substances, self acceptance, and mental health. Constantly letting myself/ others down and wanting to do so many things but not allowing myself to.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I play violin, drums, guitar, bass, sing, and do audio production. I consider myself to be well rounded as far as musical genres. I am a classically trained violinist and I read music. On the other end of the spectrum I love playing punk and hardcore music on all the other instruments. In my band Topdown there are parts where I sing pretty and parts where I scream. I’ve always loved contrast. In my other band Pry I play fast and energetic punk style drums. In my free time I like to produce and record more electronic based music and also softer melodic music.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I am no stranger to taking risks, both in a positive and negative way.
Since I was young I had a reckless attitude and did a lot of crazy things. This progressed as my drug addiction evolved. I’ve actually cheated death more times than I can count. I’m very grateful to be alive.
Now on the other hand, this same characteristic is what has pushed me to fearlessly put myself out there for my music. I am always looking for any opportunity available and love working with new people on new things. Making music is one of the most vulnerable things a person can do but that is what makes it so beautiful. It’s raw and it’s terrifying but there’s no other feeling like it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grace_bertman?igsh=cG5pdWRhdHA4bTFo&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19QnEi33QK/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Other: https://linktr.ee/topdowntx?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=4f61b7c2-1dbc-4987-ac22-49ac0219459c
Image Credits
Luna Lockhardt
