We had the good fortune of connecting with Sylvia Rose Novak and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sylvia Rose, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I’ve always been a risk-taker. I started taking horseback riding lessons when I was 8 and quickly learned that the most fun equestrian sport – in my opinion, eventing – is also one of the most dangerous. I’ve crashed and burned plenty of times but I’ve also had great fun and great success as a rider.

If there is something that I really want to do, I go for it.

That’s how I ended up a professional musician.

Every album release and every show are a financial and emotional gamble. But, thanks to decades in the saddle [I still ride], I know how to fall. And I know that falling isn’t failing. Walking away from something that you love is the only true way to fail.

“With great risk comes great reward” isn’t a saying that I love because I don’t believe it’s inherently true. You can take huge risks and be left totally empty-handed because you didn’t weigh the odds. Or maybe you did weigh the odds and they weren’t in your favor. Conversely, plenty of people are rewarded without ever taking any risks. But, in most situations, you have to take risks to grow. Even if you don’t get what you want out of it, you grow.

My risk-taking hasn’t always yielded the results I’ve wanted, but it has always – every single time – helped me learn something about myself as a human being and an artist.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve been called a “niche artist” in that my songwriting always stands up and stands out no matter what genre album I’m releasing. I bounced around in the country/Americana world for a few years before deciding that I’d much rather make a rock album. My last release, BAD LUCK [2020], was definitely more rock-forward but this next album is straight-up rock and roll and I had the most fun ever writing and recording it.

I decided to move away from Americana because it felt a little bit repetitive. Everyone that sold well in the genre seemed like a carbon copy of someone else who was selling well and I was never going to tailor my particular style to fit a mold. I think this is part of why I stand out. I think it’s also part of why I’ve had to work so hard to get ahead. I’m not trying to sell something that’s been done and is proven to hit. I’m trying to do something different.

Rock seems like a more accessible genre. I may be wrong and this next album may totally flop with fans and critics alike, but I had a blast making it either way.

Music is a hard industry. I won’t pretend it’s not. But I’d much rather find success as my truest expression of myself than pretend to be someone else.

I’m a lyricist and a bassist first. My words mean more to me that I can explain and I’ve been playing bass since I was 12. The songs I write are pieces of me, yes, but I also want them to be generally relatable.

That’s why I started writing. And that’s why I’m so careful with how my songs are released – because I want people to feel something when they listen to them. And I don’t believe you can make people feel something, really feel something, if you’re not writing from a place that’s genuine.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We’d start the day with a walk down the belt line before heading over to Dancing Dogs Yoga for a class. After that, we’d probably grab coffee and a quick bite at Ponce City Market. We’d definitely work a visit to The Clothing Warehouse in so that they could see if they had any boots in their size and then head down the street a ways to Wrecking Bar for dinner – I am not an early morning person so this day probably got started around 10 or so – and drinks. Depending on who was playing, I’d take them to catch a show at any one of Atlanta’s venues. They’re all great!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Wade Allen, for encouraging me to write and record my first album and for engineering it for free. For taking my promo photos and shooting my album covers year after year and always, always, being there when I need him. There is not a step in this journey that I could have taken, from the word “go”, without Wade’s help – and he has always offered it graciously.

Website: sylviarosenovak.com

Instagram: @sylviarosenovak

Image Credits
Thomas B Diasio Cameron Whitlock

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