Check out Elissa Sanchez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elissa Sanchez.

Elissa, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
My name is Elissa Noel Sanchez but I go by the name Sanchi AKA Sancheezyy. I’m 24 years old & was born and raised in Pico Rivera, Ca. But spent a majority of my adolescents in the City of Commerce. I’m Mexican American with cultured roots from Los Mochis, Sinaloa Mexico.

As a kid, I remember being involved in a lot of recreational sports. I played t-ball, basketball, softball, soccer and Volleyball from when I was 6, all the way until I was about nine years old. Felt like I did it all. I remember my dad being my number one supporter. He would drive me to my practices or tournaments while having the best of smooth jazz 94.7 “The Wave,” always bumping. My dad had great taste in music! He was very musically inclined growing up. He played the trumpet in his high school band and was involved with several other bands after high school. He played a huge role in influencing my love for funk, jazz, and oldie classics. My mom, on the other hand, showed me all her favorite 80’s hits such as Aha’s “Take On Me,” Debbie Deb’s “Look Out Weekend,” and Thompson Twins “Hold Me Now.” I joined the City of Commerce Volleyball traveling team in 2004. Around this time, I started to become more musically curious. My brothers definitely played a big influence on me. My two older brothers were into the punk and ska/reggae scenes. I always saw them rock either liberty spikes, patches boots and braces (suspenders). Some of the music they got me into were The Ramones, Tiger Army, Toy Dolls, .S.O.A.D., & R.H.C.P. They had a lot of guitars in the house which sparked my curiosity to play. I eventually asked my brother Robert to teach me a song on the guitar. The first song he taught me was “I want you around” by The Ramones. I was so obsessed with playing the guitar after learning that song that I begged him to teach me more. He refused, as an older brother eventually would, so after about a year of playing the same song, I taught myself how to play more songs by watching videos on Youtube. Youtube was the newest thing for me in 2005. “Everlong,” by the Foo Fighters was the second song I learned. I learned you could teach yourself anything on Youtube. Making music was all I ever wanted to do after school. Between 2005-2013, my primary focus was playing the guitar. After high school, I immediately attended Humboldt State University. I attended primarily for Volleyball and studied Kinesiology with an emphasis in Exercise Science. After an injury in Volleyball, I lost my ability to play and music was all I had left, or so It felt. Soon after, I began doing open mics with my good friend Alex. In 2017, I joined a band called “….I.R.Y.S.”. We played mostly R&B and had many gigs in Humboldt County. This is when I became experimental with singing. I had never taken singing classes or had even thought about singing in general. During this time, I was going through so much in my personal life which is the main reason I had pushed myself to sing openly. I felt the need to scare myself into doing something so out of my comfort zone. This was definitely associated with my need to break away from all the things holding me back. My first solo performance sent me on a trip to the hospital. I performed at The Jam in the city of Arcata. The fear I experienced left me covered in hives but even so, I felt like it was this experience that baptized me into the realm of music creation. While the band was surely progressing, I was getting ready to graduate. In 2017, I received a ..B.S. in Kinesiology. After graduation, my plans were to move back home to Pico Rivera Ca. It was difficult, but I made the decision to leave those I grew so close to while studying during those five years. The beginning of my new journey back at home was difficult. The few people I would always hang out with were either starting their careers, having kids or getting married. As soon as I settled in, my need to find all the local music hot spots grew. My brother mentioned something called “S.E.L.A. Hip Hop.” I didn’t know anything about it at first but decided to check it out. The first time I went, gave such a great vibe. It immediately reminded me of all the parties my Humboldt homies would have up north. S.E.L.A. Hip Hop (South East L.A.), is an event group and platform for underground artists and musicians alike. I attended these events several times, alone as usual until I met Darmedius, Kirani and Pump Gatto. Through them, I began vending. I sold handcrafted pendants with crystals and gems. After vending multiple times, I slowly started to become apart of the team. Through these events, I slowly gained my confidence and picked up the mic again. Now, I am a proud representative of .S.E.L.A. Hip Hop. Because of their platform and opportunity, I have been growing as an independent artist and as a person. I have much love for my .S.E.L.A. Hip Hop team.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
My artwork is honestly hard to describe. Being influenced by Alternative Rock, Funk, Jazz, Bosa Nova, House music, Hip-Hop, R&B and much more, I have found that I move my craft by sounds that are relevant to experiences I go through. I try thinking of a vibe or feeling I want to create through sound and work my way from there. Before 2017, I would just play the guitar with no meanings of recording or creating songs but It wasn’t until late 2017 that I decided to take my music career seriously. This is about the time I joined my band “Irys” up in Northern California. After moving back down to ..L.A., that’s when I started my solo journey as an artist. I met the crew of .S.E.L.A. Hip Hop and after finding out that the team were a group of artist themselves, Darmedius offered to trade to help me record my first music project “Sounds from the Silent.” From about January to April, I had been working on this music project. I can’t thank Darm enough for helping me, especially because he had also been working on his music project “Cryptik Vol. 1” around the same time. He was also helping several other artists with their mixing and mastering as well. I specifically made this project because I had a lot of past feelings I needed to get rid of. I had gotten out of a relationship that was not healthy and ultimately didn’t know how to move on. Making this project has really help step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself to do what I know best. Just now, out in the open. The message I have through my music is to express yourself as much as possible. It was really hard for me growing up, not being able to express myself and now that I have the courage, I want others to peruse the things that truly make them happy. It doesn’t matter what others think because ultimately, the creator gets to call the shots. It is such a liberating feeling being able to do what you love and not have to think twice about what others think. One thing you should know about my artwork is that it will constantly keep changing and I won’t be stopping any time soon.

How can artists connect with other artists?
I disagree with that. I feel like artists who want to pursue their craft as a career have to constantly network, talk to people and engage with others in order to grow on a personal level. I find it most important to keep meeting new people who love to create art. I would suggest to link up with individuals who most reflect your work. Then from there, you can speak on advice, collaborations, or even other opportunities.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
You can find my music project on all platforms. Just look up “Sounds from the Silent” under Sancheezyy. It’s available on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Soundcloud, etc. You can simply support my work by sharing what you like. I’m honestly not looking for money. Just love and support.