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Meet Mami Mia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mami Mia.

Hi Mami, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hey my name is Mami Mia, Bay Area Songwriter and Artist-preneur! So happy to work with yall on this interview! It’s been a slow and steady journey, but a wonderful one- full of lots of love, encouragement, self-improvement/discovery, friendships, and WORK haha.

Music was naturally a part of my being growing up – I spent my early life with my mom, living in a full Filipino house, with my grandparents, aunties, uncle, and cousin. My mom and my uncle had the biggest influences on my early interest in music. I’d spend a lot of time listening to my mom hum melodies, and I’d watch my uncle make beats and drum rhythms. I definitely get my musicality from them – I hear similar melodies to my mom and it’s my favorite thing she passed down to me.

As a young Mami Mia, I spent most of my adolescence writing songs and playing guitar (learning all my favorite Alt/pop-punk songs at the time). At that point, around 12-13 years old, I’d play at local artist showcases and open up for some local bands/musicians in the Bay Area. Eventually, I became the lead singer of a couple of bands and at that point, I realized that performing and Artistry is totally doable for me – although nerve-racking, I loved the feeling.

Though, once I turned about 16 I stopped doing all things music – I stopped writing songs, playing guitar – everything. I didn’t understand that I could have a future in music, so I focused more on getting into college and figuring out what to do with my life. (I always feel like I need to address this part because so many people give up the things they love in order to fall in line with the traditional “career paths” society lays out for us – If there’s anything I want to urge people to do, it’s to never stop doing what they love, even if it’s just as a hobby).

I spent most of 16-20 soul searching and figuring out exactly who I was (which I’ll always be doing, of course, haha). Around 20 years young I got diagnosed with SLE Lupus. I won’t say it was a blessing, but I will say it was a HUGE wake-up call that I was not being true to myself – it was as if my body was rejecting my being – like it was eating itself from the inside-out. It was a painful, terrible time, physically and mentally, but once I recovered, I decided I would do whatever I had to do to live a fulfilled and exciting life.

I tried everything – I went to school to become an environmental science professor, took up dancing, had a lot of young fun, was a leader for TOKIHA Summer Camp in Japan, and I almost even took plane flying classes, haha. What’s funny is that I did EVERYTHING except music. I felt a little lost and confused, but who doesn’t at 20? Haha.

One Summer day in 2017, I was hanging out with my friends, and they were goofing off and “free-styling.” That was my first introduction back into music since I was 16. I then tried practicing on my own (not saying I was good, haha), and some of the lines would hit, so I’d write those down, and keep running with those until I had a song. Then I’d do this every single day – I couldn’t stop, haha.

I’d sit in my car for hours after and during work and school, listening to beats, writing songs – I was hooked; I didn’t feel lost anymore. Eventually, I had the courage to show my song “Sweet History” to my friends, who told me I could easily do it for a living. After writing it, I had a strange feeling that my life would change. Then I began to see opportunities pouring in left and right, and began taking them.

In 2019, I got accepted/attended a summer songwriting program at NYU, using “Sweet History” as one of the songs on my application! That program was the first peek I got into a music career – but at that point, I realized I had a lot to learn. I spent most 0f 2019 – 2021 working, going to school, writing songs every day, being a college radio DJ, researching the industry, figuring out the essentials of a music career (ex. distribution, PROs, Songtrust, Soundexchange, how do royalties work, marketing, all the in-between).

Around that time, I was invited to do background vocals for the first time, where I met Ryan Palma at RedWall Studios in the Bay, and he became one of my favorite mixing engineers and good homies! I then became a Campus rep for Beatstars, got over my severe social media distress/anxiety, released my first few songs, got some connections at HRDRV (which became my new label), started performing at local venues, and have been building my catalog, business, and brand ever since!

Now, I’m an Artist every day. I’m making better decisions, love what I’m doing, have made lots of friends along the ride, am still learning and growing, and hopefully inspiring and encouraging others along the way. Positivity and possibilities is what I’m about – I just want to see the world become a brighter & more beautiful place, and am using music as my tool to do so.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not an entirely. Growing up as more of a “quiet,” shy person, homebody, and only child, I didn’t start out having many connections. I had such bad social media anxiety that I couldn’t even post a story on IG without getting palpitations, haha. I fight the “scared” and “fearful” version of myself every single day so I can show up as my best self. Some days are easier than others, but it took years and years of practice to finally have the confidence and abilities I have today.

And also – starting a music career from scratch is not for the weak! My strength has never been tested this way before. I’ve never considered myself to be a businesswoman or an entrepreneur, so it can be fun, but it’s also incredibly challenging to be my own manager, be patient, and get outside my head while taking different approaches than others at the same time.

One way I’ve avoided too many struggles is just by doing my own thing and letting the opportunities show themselves to me. If there’s something I see that I really, really want, I’ll go and get it, but for the most part, we’re smooth sailing nowadays 🙂

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a Songwriter and Artist-preneur, I wear all the hats of an independent musician – from writing to performing, to managing, booking + more. Of course, my favorite part about my music career is the artistry and songwriting aspect. I love creating something out of nothing in many ways, but especially sonically. It’s like – creating paintings, but with my voice and melodic ideas. I love challenging myself to think outside of my head, to be better than the best version of myself.

I think people gravitate towards my music for my originality and authenticity, refreshing sound/feeling, warm, soft vocals, my playful melodies and wordplay, and hopefully my smile and personality :p

I’m most proud of myself for making the decision to show up for myself. I couldn’t be where I’m at today without making those tough decisions and actions at the beginning of my career. I’m proud of myself to sticking to what feels right, for doing things I never thought I could do, and for constantly challenging myself to be better every time I cross another goal off my bucket-list. I’ve been a semi-finalist in both American and international song-writing competitions, performed all around the Bay Area, and now I’m hoping to branch out further, and continue building my business from the ground, up.

My songs are easily an accurate representation of who I am on the inside – energetic, yet chill, bubbly, but swaggalicious, methodical, yet free-flowing, and they help evoke a calm sense of confidence. I don’t have a very “in your face” type of energy, but more of a laid-back one. I don’t like to be the loudest one in the room, I don’t want to scream for attention – I’d rather let the right people gravitate towards me, and feed off one another’s good energy.

It’s like the yin-yang symbol. I think I have a balance of yin and yang that allows me to get along with and relate to all sorts of people – and I love celebrating others for our differences.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Being isolated from others, there’s a lot more time for reflection, and testing yourself to see what you’re truly made of during times of hardship. Like, people say that you are the average of the 5 people you spend your time with, but what if you spend most of the time by yourself at home?

In my “solitude,” (though, I wasn’t completely solo because I still saw my parents and my boyfriend, haha), Covid helped reinforce my appreciation of life and its beauty. I feel like now, I’m more sentimental about the time I have with the people I love, and I definitely consider my time to be more precious – every hour, every day is a gift. Every day we have the opportunity to live how we want to or work towards it – even when it seems difficult or unlikely.

In times of challenges, we can decide whether we want to come out stronger or let it defeat us. And yeah – sometimes you might need to accept a “loss,” here or there, but in time you can find ways to turn your experiences into a “net positive.” With Covid, sure – I didn’t get to go out as much, but I was able to go within to find what truly matters to me, and re-discover my values.

Pricing:

  • $75/verse feature (subject to approval)
  • $50/background or demo vocals
  • $50/45-min Consult
  • $10/Feature song in content
  • $25/Artist Bio Writeup

Contact Info:

Image Credits
1. Kevin De La Fuente 2. Steven Orquiza 3. Alejandro Tuzon 4. Laurel Miller 5. Chris Rivera

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