Meet Meryah Fisher | Meryahcology (Singer/Songwriter/Performer)

We had the good fortune of connecting with Meryah Fisher and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Meryah, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I think doing art and being an artist are vastly different from pursuing an artistic or creative career. I definitely feel like I was doing art long before making the decision to pursue art as my income and generational wealth building block. The turning point for me in making this leap was really taking an honest look at my life to that point and being willing to admit that all the steps I was told to do – go to college, apply to jobs, work for someone else, etc. – were neither resulting in the comfort and upward mobility they promised nor making me happy. I’ve been an adjunct professor going on 9 years now – teaching beyond a full-time load, contracted as part-time, and paid $20k below LA county poverty lines to do it. I started saying to myself “if I’m going to be a starving professor, I may as well be a starving artist.” Many people have heard me say this line in many forms at this point; it really sent the message home for me. I started booking paid gigs in 2022 and landed my biggest gig yet in August, 2023 where I was paid more than double what I’m paid to teach a 16 week course at my university. I’m now booking paid gigs more regularly and tailoring my life to be one that makes me happy while celebrating my most authentic self.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
One of the biggest things that sets me apart is my artistic vision: to actively create healing pathways towards educating and liberating myself and others through my creative endeavors. My music deals heavily with domestic violence survival and processing, which isn’t the most fun or sexy topic, yet is incredibly and critically necessary especially within Black Queer & Trans communities. Additionally, I create and work deeply with themes of resistance, revolution and (more recently) reparations. With my vision, I am intentionally designing the life I want to live, not just surviving the life we were earmarked to settle for in this colonial capitalist world. As a university professor, I share this vision with my students through unique creative projects and music I’ve written specially for my students. I want to remind others of their power while continuing to show mine to me, to demonstrate to other survivors and future survivors of domestic violence that healing is more than a pipedream, and to emphatically spotlight that together community can be our own solution to the systemic hamster wheels we all need to exit. I believe in Ubuntu – I am because We are. Consequently, I know that by embodying and curating my life in a way that feels worth living, We – community – can and will, too. My vision for my art and music is to take the cliché phase of being the change We want to see in the world and putting it into replicable and inspirational action. I’ve learned a LOT along the way in this journey. I 95% self-recorded and produced by first EP “Limits” and from that learned so much about the process of making music from first words and notes to cover art to contracts to releasing music. All of my music to-date is self-written and self-released, but as I grow I get to work with other dope creatives which has increased the quality and reach of my music immensely! My creative work led me to start my artist brand Meryahcology LLC and an open mic series called “Thrival” – the act of thriving after survival, inspired by my drive to live a happier, healthier life after domestic violence and to share thrival as an opportunity and possibility for others, too. Nothing is easy about any of this, but everything about it is worth it.

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.
What a fun question!! I actually do have a best friend who comes to visit for week long trips (shoutout to Ashley!) but there’s so much more I wish we could do! I don’t drink, and sometimes finding things to do or go to that aren’t centered around alcohol can feel challenging. However, in the last 5 years it has also given me so much of an opportunity to find what I truly enjoy without the mask of alcohol making it seem bearable or enjoyable. So here’s my dream week with my bestie: The first day is just to chill and catch up, rest after travel, and relax. We’d go to the beach – Rosie’s Dog Beach in Long Beach because we are both animal lovers. We love tattoos and got our first matching tattoos for my birthday at Outer Limits Tattoo in Long Beach so we would most likely go again just as a tattoo date! I recommend anyone interested in something like no matter what tattoo shop or artist you are going to… go early in the trip JUST IN CASE anything goes wrong – it is easier to go back and get checked out. The rest of the days I would love to go to a concert or festival (I’ll be seeing Korn and Evanescence this year and wish my best friend could come), we would check out some community open mics like Little Vibe Friday. I love coffee, so we would need to go to local cafes like Confidential Coffee, Hot Java, Asteroid Vinyl Cafe, Sip & Sonder, and Hilltop! I really enjoy being in and with community, so I would want to take her to see and experience some of those places like Green Pines Creative and the Farmer’s Market at the Grove. Bookstores, Black-owned shops, and cultural spaces/events bring the most fun, interest and excitement for me, so these are always my go-to suggestions for anyone looking to have an authentically great time.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Natalie Rusciani and her band The War Yaks (IG: @waryaknat). They just released an INCREDIBLE prog album called Bifurcate, which has been on repeat for me! Nat and I have been friends for a long time, and she is one of my biggest musical inspirations. She is also one of the reasons I sing at all because, growing up, she was my biggest supporter before I even really understood that I could sing. She pushed me in this direction, so to see her growing and flourishing too and to hear the evolution of her craft and voice… being able to still witness her and be inspired by her… it is a pure honor.

Website: https://www.linktr.ee/meryahcology

Instagram: @meryahcology | @thrivalopenmic

Facebook: @Meryahcology

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@meryahcology

Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC49_DZqTvx8_atYktUvWV6A

Image Credits
KalanysCreations
Daniel Stopani
Meryahcology
AIA Collaborative
Yasmin Joyner/N3rdShaman Productions LLC