Instagram story viewer> @willshish> Posts

Will Shishmanian

@willshish

4.6K

followers

2534

following

Composer/lyricist, guitarist, trans man based in Queens. Writer of @amberlandmusical More of my work ⬇️

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

What’s the autumnal version of “spring has sprung”?

Cannonball into Fall?
Fall’s to the wall?
Autumn’s got ‘em?

Please weigh in!

(Also, sorry friends, if we didn’t take a pic together, I’m tagging you in a picture I took during our hang instead. Hence why Sara is a burrito, Adam is a Keith Haring painting, and James is all of MUNA)

#autumnvibes🍁 #guitarist #composer #catdad by @willshish

117

13

a day ago

Last week I made my Broadway debut subbing on guitar at @twostrangersmusical !!!

Thank you so much to @kevinramessar for trusting me with your chair, and for your all your support leading up to this first run of shows. I’m so excited to be part of this music team (and to get to sit right next to my pal @jessie.linden on percussion)!!

Thank you to my family and friends who have come to see the show (and who have been understanding of my hyper fixation on practicing the past month).

There have not been many trans men on Broadway, across various theatrical disciplines, so I do not take this opportunity lightly. I’m proud to be another example that we belong here too 🏳️‍⚧️🎸

#broadway #guitarist #twostrangers #nycmusicians #transman taken in Longacre Theatre by @willshish

917

246

a month ago

August type beat 🎵🎸🐈‍⬛

Featuring a Baby Will pic at the end, of a version of myself who would be stoked about all the preceding slides 🥰

#guitarist #summer #livemusic #outside #cats by @willshish

145

4

2 months ago

July cruise roundup, part 2! The first leg I actually never got off the ship, so this leg I explored almost every port (and apparently have no pictures from shows lol). It was over 100 degrees every day, but even through the sweat, still very grateful we got to check out all these places for the first time:

- Trieste, Italy
- Valletta, Malta
- Palermo, Sicily, Italy
- Naples, Italy
- Rome
- Marseille, France

I will be landlocked until a couple more Atlantis cruises in November, so if you’re in the city, come say hi! I’ll be at Joe’s Pub a few times the next couple of months, as well as one other big recurring gig I’ll post about eventually 👀

#cruiseshiplife #travelblog #freelancemusician by @willshish

119

10

2 months ago

Come for the “Vincent” cover. Stay for the totally not distracting iPad page turn at the end of the chorus.

This was my Original Brooding Song lol. I collabed on this song with a high school boyfriend RIGHT before we broke up, so of course you know I had it on repeat afterwards 🙃

Accompanying some fine folks on this one at 54 Below tomorrow night (yes, on the telecaster, not acoustic guitar like the original tune, hence this practice clip)! Maybe see you there!?

#guitarcover #vincent #telecaster by @willshish

84

7

2 months ago

Back to NYC after 3 weeks at sea with @atlantisevents in the Mediterranean! Yes, this was the ship that infamously got turned away from Turkey and Egypt.

This was my longest cruise contract (usually only out for a week or two), so I have way too many pictures for one post. This was from our first leg (the rejected ports leg), so lots of gigs, sunbathing, and shenanigans.

I’m also patting myself on the back that I successfully finished a new draft of @amberlandmusical while at sea, to meet two important submission deadlines, despite the never ending array of distractions!

Will post the Italy/France pics soon! So glad I had so many wonderful friends on board for this trip 🥰

#guitarist #cruiseshiplife #lgbtq by @willshish

229

22

3 months ago

June part 2!

Show photos from Arlene’s Grocery with @jaexo.music (photos by @joshthejordan )

Plus a bunch of random little moments, from one of my cabaret offices (the Green Room 42 dressing room), to giant pretzels on 8th Ave, to supportive parents, and beyond.

Hope everyone has a great Pride weekend! Stay safe and hydrated out there, y’all! ❤️🌈

#summerinthecity #pridemonth #livemusic #lgbtq taken in New York, New York by @willshish

111

3

4 months ago

JUNE, week 1! There will be TOO many photos if I wait til the end of the month, so doing a mini Pride Month Dump, featuring:

- new haircut!
- song/chant leading at Queens Pride as a collab with Gen Q and Queens Center for Gay Seniors
- a video I accidentally took during my writing process, aka taking videos of my guitar parts in process so I don’t forget the specific voicings
- a $1250 electric mandolin at Main Drag Music (any sugar daddies out there wanna get it for me? 👀)
- Sassy’s never ending quest to eat my guitar strings
- a book and a brew at Other Half Brewery
- Millie being my sweet baby angel
- signed Nile Rogers guitar at Iridium, when I was there playing guitar for Ellen’s Stardust Diner’s SAGE benefit show
- pre-show for @jaexo.music at Arlene’s Grocery
- what my sweet baby angel Millie did to my fresh loaf of bread while I was in the other room for 30 seconds 🫩

More music, more gay, more cats to come 🎸🌈🐈‍⬛

#queenspride #guitarist #freelancelife #catdad #musicians by @willshish

152

15

4 months ago

This week in Will Finds A Tiny String Instrument!

Went to @maindragmusic to drop off a pedal for repair, and checked out some gear while I was there. Lots of cool vintage synths and keyboards to play, but when I saw this electric mandolin, I HAD to try it!

Alas, I have no business buying it, as I still need to replace my actual mandolin, cause mine has a cracked neck 🥲 (anyone selling a used one…?)

Thank you for the very nice Main Drag Music staff member who let me noodle around! Definitely was a surprise highlight of my day.

#mandolin #stringinstrument #musicians taken in MAIN DRAG MUSIC by @willshish

120

7

4 months ago

My May roundup is basically a travel blog, as I was out of town for about half the month! I saw some wonders of the world, did a bunch of hiking, added two more states to my list of places visited, did some writing, and collected a bunch of rocks. Trips included:

- Grand Canyon (with my family)
- Sedona, Arizona (with my family)
- Phoenix, Arizona, featuring Papago Park and the Musical Instrument Museum (with my Dad @jshishmanian )
- Flagstaff, Arizona (with my Dad)
- Oregon, for a writing retreat/bestie vacation with @trummmusic
- Niagara Falls for Brooke’s 30th birthday! (Featuring an impromptu trip to the Niagara Aquarium)

I’ll be in the city all June for PRIDE 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 so you can definitely catch me at a handful of shows this month! Then back at sea for another Atlantis cruise in July

#grandcanyon #familytrip #hiking #travelblog by @willshish

104

3

5 months ago

Progress update on growing my curls back out for the first time in over a decade // all hotel bathrooms have better lighting than my bathroom so I legally must take advantage // Crashing OUT? Or crashing IN? Is this something?

#transman #ftm #queer #curlyhairgrowth by @willshish

181

20

5 months ago

Back in NYC after the 10th @atlantisevents cruise that I’ve played guitar for! Highlights include:

- The acoustic cover of “Human Nature” I got to do with the incredible @cacophonydaniels ❤️
- Sitting in a beach cabana for 15 minutes in Cabo before we got kicked out into the sand (we were not paying hotel guests lol)
- Tearing it up on the dance floor with @brandojamesmusic and @itsalyssawray (not to mention Alyssa’s three stellar shows, which I have no pics/video of 🥲)
- @theeavioncehoyles bringing down the house with the Atlantis debut of his show @deartinashow
- Singing backing vocals with @brianjnash supporting @amberiman_ on her two transcendent shows
- Collecting rocks on the beach (and getting this gay little guitar duck from one of our recurring guests)

I’ll be land locked until the next cruise in July! See you then 🚢🏳️‍🌈

#atlantiscruise #guitarist #lgbtq by @willshish

212

13

6 months ago