Music star Lindsey Stirling the 'Only Pirate at the Party'
In the Zone: Electric violinist and YouTube sensation Lindsey Stirling discusses her new book 'The Only Pirate at the Party' and her burgeoning viral success
Piers Morgan said the world didn’t need an electronic violinist when Lindsey Stirling competed on “America’s Got Talent” in 2010 but alas Morgan was wrong. Lindsey has gone on to become one of the world’s biggest YouTube sensations with 1 billion views, legions of fans and now a brand new book about her life --“The Only Pirate at the Party.”
FOX411: You had a lot of people who said you couldn’t live your dream, and this book was to inspire young people that they can. So, how did you get past all the doubters?
Lindsey Stirling: It was the multi-layered experience. At first it’s really hard to be told over and over again you’re not good enough or that you can’t do something and then to be told that kind of the final straw that in front of a massive worldwide audience in front of millions of people on live TV, to be told all these things about how you can’t do it, you’re not good enough, was really devastating, but in my heart, I don’t know, I knew I was so driven. You know when you just know something and it’s like inside and no one could tell me that I couldn’t do it because something bigger was telling me I could, and so I think it’s learning what voices to trust, and what intuition to trust. I’ve never been steered astray by trusting my own intuition, and since then I’m grateful that I did because I’ve learned that the path to success is very up and down, and my story’s not unique in that way. Everybody that’s succeeded had to go through that, and so I just kind of wanted to expose that for the public that in order to succeed you may have to fight through multiple failures but it’s perseverance that wins.
FOX411: It really is. It always is perseverance and sticking to it like you said you had that fire and the moxie to go out and get it, and not listen to the negativity. But in the world of social media, and it is a vast world that has lots of opportunities, you have cultivated a craft. You are an amazing violinist. But I’m a little concerned for the future generations because it’s so easy to get Insta-famous just taking pictures of themselves.
Stirling: You know, I think it’s most important to rather than just do what everybody else is doing, like tons of selfies, find out what makes you excited. You know, is it taking pictures and doing cool makeup and making yourself look great? If so, wonderful. Is it music? Is it teaching something? Are you great at teaching? The cool thing about social media is it gives everybody a voice and it’s this new age where there’s overwhelming amounts of content everywhere, and so actually one of the things in my book I wanted to showcase is not, “Hey, you know, go out there and be different,” but in my life I’ve found a lot of people told me I was too different to succeed and too unique, and you know…
FOX411: That’s what makes you, you, and great and beautiful, and I think we should embrace that, and you have.
Stirling: Right and that’s kind of what I wanted to share with people just that the very thing people told me was too different and was going to keep me from succeeding is the very thing that did actually make me succeed. It’s not like I try to be different but every single person is unique and every single person has special things to offer and it’s about embracing it, and not being afraid of the fact that may be you’re different or quirky, but it’s okay to be different and it can be a wonderful thing.
FOX411: What usually doesn’t work is when people are inauthentic or inorganic. It’s like when the world decided Britney Spears was the moment, the flavor of the moment, early 2000s, late 90s then they had Jessica Simpson and Christina Aguilera trying to be 2.0, and it never worked until they said, “You know what I’m Christina Aguilera and I can sing and I want to be out of that bottle like the genie.” And Jessica was like, “May be I can’t sing that great but I’m really good at designing clothes.” So, it’s like finding that thing.
Stirling: Right.
FOX411: For you part of your thing is pirates. I was intrigued by this. I thought there’s so many options. She could have been the mermaid at the party, the Martian at the party, so why the pirate?
Stirling: Well, I’ve always had a fascination with pirates. You know I’ve written a song completely inspired by I want this to feel like pirates, you know, fighting together, made a music video about it yada, yada. I’ve always love pirates and so there was multiple reasons for it. One also was there was an actual story in the book when I first moved to LA I got invited to I think a Peter Pan-themed party, and everything about it sound like it was a costume party, and some people were like you know, “It’s a dress up thing.” I showed up full out pirate like I had a legit pirate costume. ig hat. The whole thing and I showed up I was the only person dressed up at all. Like there was a Tinkerbell cake; that was the closest thing and so I laughed to myself, “You know this is a little metaphor to my life that I sometimes go all out on things and I’m excited." It’s not like I’m trying to stand out or be different, just some situations in life have made me feel like a left wing or a little bit like a sticking sore thumb but you know embracing those things, and realizing, you know what, I’m the only pirate at the party and today that’s gonna be cool.
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