Becky Raisman—a 38-year-old singer and comedian who is part of the LGBTQ+ community—has been singing ever since she was in elementary school. She now both covers and writes her own songs, performing them in local venues.
Raisman is originally from Highland Park, Illinois. She sang in choirs throughout her time at school and eventually pursued performing arts in acting and singing at Columbia College. She recently moved to the Charleston area in South Carolina and has been performing at venues there since. Raisman discussed how she goes about her song-writing and creation process.
"Usually I would write lyrics and a melody and I would get tracks off of soundbetter.com . It's a website where you can find people to collab with or get tracks and stuff," said Rasiman. "I've done many singing competitions and open mics in the Chicagoland area."
When it comes to competitions, Raisman has performed on stages in both Chicago and Charleston.
"I've been in a singing contest at RJ's Idol— a restaurant I used to go to," said Raisman. "I was in a few contests at Club Icon, a gay nightclub in Kenosha and one time I did a Highland Park's Got Talent Contest. I had a friend I knew in high school who owned a store in Highland Park called Silk Thumb and she was running the contest and convinced me to do it. I've tried out for all those singing shows like The Voice, I tried out for America's got Talent, all those shows. Unfortunately I didn't make it on, but I'm hoping to one day get my big break hopefully."
Raisman records many of her songs at Charleston Sound Studios and Omnisound Studios and has released them on ReverbNation and YouTube. She spoke about how she has been out of the closet for 20 years and stressed the importance of listening to artists that are supportive of the LGBTQ+ community.
"I really like the LGBTQ+-friendly artists like Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift," said Raisman. "I like all kinds of pop music. I was a teenager in the '90s so I also like a lot of '90s stuff. I've also listened to Dolly Parton since I was a little kid. She's really amazing."
Beyond singing, Raisman also plays the keyboard, acts and frequently performs stand-up at local venues.
"I have been doing stand-up for over three years," said Raisman. "I took a class at the Annoyance Theater and then I did a showcase there and some open mics at the Laugh Factory. I also studied improv over at Improv Playhouse in Libertyville."
When it comes to inspiration for writing and performing, Raisman talked about how she really enjoys late-night comedy shows. She looks up to Jenny Hagel, an LGBTQ+ comedian and comedy writer who has appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers' desk segment Jokes Seth Can't Tell.
"I like to write jokes about my sexuality, I write jokes about the 'softball lesbian,'" said Raisman. "I also write jokes on straight women, queer women and you know stuff in general that a lot of people think would be funny and stuff like that."
As of right now, Raisman has moved her comedic and musical talents online due to performance venues being closed. She is keeping up creatively by writing songs and performing at virtual comedy showcases.
"I'm working on another song right now actually, it's called Moment with You," said Raisman "And I do write some comedy. I've been doing some Zoom stuff for open-mics."
Becky also has other original songs that she's written called "What Ya Say Baby," "Sun," "Girlfriend" and "Summertime Sugar." Clips of her stand-up performances can also be found on YouTube.
