EP 152: Kristina Morales – Front Woman of KRISTINA MORALES & THE INNER WILD on You Booked It podcast!
EP 152: Kristina Morales (autogenerated)
[00:00:00] Dane Reis: [00:00:00] you booked it. Episode 152. Okay, let’s get started. I am excited to introduce my guest today, Christina. Miralis Christina, are you ready for this?
[00:00:18]Kristina Morales: [00:00:18] I’m ready.
[00:00:19]Dane Reis: [00:00:19] All right. Christina is a singer songwriter and creator from new Orleans, Louisiana. She has 10 plus years of experience of working in the entertainment industry as a professional vocalist bandleader producer and voice teacher, her band, Christina Morales, and the inner wild explores new soundscapes that bridge the gap between radio music and alternative.
[00:00:42] Improvised soul. Her heart centered work and voice studio is inspired by yoga self inquiry and exploring wild passion. Her debut album, her debut album transit released through bubble bath records on October 2nd at 2020 and is available on all streaming platforms. Christina, that is a quick intro of who you are and what you’ve done, but why don’t you tell us a little bit more about yourself?
[00:01:08] Fill in the gaps and a little bit more about what you do as a professional in the entertainment industry.
[00:01:15]Kristina Morales: [00:01:15] All right. Well, yeah, like you said, I was born and raised in new Orleans. That’s a pretty big part of who I am as an artist, because we have a pretty strong musical culture. Um, we like to say we are the inventors of jazz. Um, so that has always been a major part of my identity. Um, I spent 10 years performing there professionally, like Oliver, nightclubs, restaurants, hotels, private events, festivals.
[00:01:39] Pretty much anything like whatever, whatever gig I could get. Um, I, I did it and it was, uh, an amazing learning experience. Um, I got to work practically. I don’t think I worked every single week, probably for the, for 10 years, um, as a performer and as a result, didn’t need to really, um, have a survival job, quote, unquote, um, had one for like, maybe like a couple of years, just as like a backup, just to be.
[00:02:01] Probably get some like practical work experience under my belt just in case, but it was really just a, that’s what it was. It was just, just in case. And I was able to perform, um, pretty regularly. And so one of my great, uh, residencies was nine year residency at one of the most famous clubs in the city called the spotted cat.
[00:02:20]Um, they’re on CNN every year for the new year’s Eve so
[00:02:22] that they
[00:02:22]Dane Reis: [00:02:22] very
[00:02:23] Kristina Morales: [00:02:23] like to go there. Yeah. So, and that, that was an amazing experience. I grew so much on that gig because it was the first gig I actually landed. And it was the last one I left too. And, you know, I was a child when I started fresh out of Boko and, it enabled me to really.
[00:02:39]Jump in to all of that amazing knowledge they gave us and actually apply it immediately on a week to week basis. And I could see where I was messing up and I could see I could perfect things. And so one of my big projects ended up being the inner wild. Which was kind of, we were doing a lot of improvise me to stick a started in jazz, but then it ended up in Seoul.
[00:02:58] And then at the end of it, I was just like, why don’t we just do everything we love, which is for me, it was like nineties, R and B and pop and personal songs. And , you know, we just developed this amazing rapport with each other because we’re playing with each other every week and we could just improvise and have these conversations on stage.
[00:03:14] so that, that’s kind of like my crown jewel is, is my band because, um, That I got to really grow as a performer. But, um, after that, I kind of decided that I, that, you know, family, um, goals are more important to me. So I moved to Orlando where most of my family is, and I took up a job performing at Disney Springs and then the pin down the kid, and now I’ve moved to Atlanta.
[00:03:33] So that’s, that’s a little bit of my journey.
[00:03:36]Dane Reis: [00:03:36] Yeah, very cool. And let’s dig into this first section here and Christina, look, I am a sucker for a good quote. What is your favorite quote? You’d like to share with everyone?
[00:03:50]Kristina Morales: [00:03:50] Yeah, I love this. I’m a sucker for a good quote too. Um, my favorite quote and I say it to myself all the time is the cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek it’s by Joseph Campbell.
[00:04:03]Dane Reis: [00:04:03] That’s really good. And can you delve into how that is applied to your career?
[00:04:10]Kristina Morales: [00:04:10] for sure, for sure. so every time that I had been afraid to like, kind of put myself out there or was too afraid to like, make a move forward in my career or to like do an audition or even like sometimes just be on stage and all of a sudden you just get random stage. Right. Right. Um, just pretty much any time I was just.
[00:04:26] There was anything that was, I was experiencing a block within myself that fear blockage. I remind myself that. Everything that I’m afraid, like everything that I’m afraid of, it could be holding me back from the life that I want. You know? Like what if you, if everything that you ever wanted was just on the other side of that darkness that you can’t see and you’re scared of it, right?
[00:04:47] Because you can’t control it because you don’t know, you can’t, you can’t predict if you can’t see past the darkness, but it’s preventing you. From moving forward, it’s preventing you from challenging yourself. It’s preventing you from maybe the life of your dreams. So just try to like soak up as much like fire, you can muster within yourself and like light up that darkness with your own passion and get through it.
[00:05:08] And because like your, your mind, your mind is here for your survival, right. Your mind, but it’s not for your thriving is enough to keep you thriving. So you have to remind yourself sometimes that like, okay, my mind is trying to protect me. But like, let me follow my heart, you know, and let me get past this fear and get bigger, get bigger than I could possibly imagine.
[00:05:25] And maybe I’m going to, maybe my, my dream life is on the other side of it. My goal is my gig or whatever it is, you know?
[00:05:30]Dane Reis: [00:05:30] for sure. Your mind is for your survival, not for your thriving. I think that’s so pertinent and so true. You just have to push through. Very good. Thank you for that.
[00:05:42] Kristina Morales: [00:05:42] for sure.
[00:05:43] Dane Reis: [00:05:43] And let’s get into this next section here. And Christina, of course, you’re an entertainer, I’m an entertainer. And I think that you would agree that this industry can be one of the most subjective, brutally, honest, personally, emotional industries in existence.
[00:05:59] And you know, you know, as well as I, that in order to create and have a successful career in this industry, like your having now, it takes a lot. Tough dedication and hard work. And while, yeah, there’s an outrageous amount of fun and excitement doing what we do. There are also our fair share of challenges and obstacles and failures.
[00:06:19] We are going to experience and we’re going to have to move forward through. So tell us, what is one key challenge, obstacle or failure you’ve experienced in your career and how did you come out the other side better because of it.
[00:06:32]Kristina Morales: [00:06:32] Yeah, well kind of piggybacking on the last quote, I guess was, uh, uh, uh, fear. Fear was a big challenge for me. And as a result of my fear, I didn’t move out to New York or LA. I actually just moved back home to new Orleans after. After our graduation at the Boston conservatory. And there was a lot of regret in that.
[00:06:50] And I couldn’t see the blessing for what it was that I was performing every week. You know, I couldn’t, I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. So I had to really look at myself and, and look at my story. Right. I had to look at like what I was telling myself about. Well, Well, I’m a failure, you know, you know, and kind of like, re-examine that, there’s a kind of a myth that you tell yourself about how you’re going to make it and that, you know, you, if you follow this formula, if you, if you go to, if you go to one of the best schools and then you, you get that agent and you get those auditions, and if it’s the only the right person sees you, like within a matter of time, within a hundred failures, you’re going to get that one.
[00:07:27] Yes. You know, that was a story. I told myself that. And because of that, The story. I was kind of limited and I couldn’t even see the blessings I was getting, you know, and I couldn’t see that I was making it. I was successful. I was surviving off of my voice and my art form and I didn’t have to have a day job.
[00:07:42] And it was, it was a, it was really, it’s just, I think it’s the story and the fear that you’d tell you that you kind of absorb that. At least for me, it was my biggest challenge and, and having to kind of allow myself to be like, okay, let’s eliminate the story. Um, and appreciate it. The, the flow of what I’m actually getting.
[00:07:59] So I can like keep expanding and living in that flow. If that makes sense.
[00:08:03] Dane Reis: [00:08:03] Absolutely. It does. Yeah, we can for sure. Be our worst critics. We can be the ones that hinder our ability to. Obtain, whatever it is that we want so easily, because it’s our mind that just plays tricks on us and lies to us. And we believe it instead of trying to exist in the moment to exist in the present and having taken that time to appreciate what life actually has given us at the moment.
[00:08:33] And like you said, you were. Already performing, you were living as a professional artist as a performer, which is huge. Right. But if you’re going to limit yourself with your mind, it’s, it’s hard to get out of that, but I’m glad that you, you know, through the years you’ve realized that, and you’ve been able to get hindsight on that and be like, you know what?
[00:08:51] We don’t need that part of our careers. If we can just, if you could have cut that out. You know, how much better would the experiences of being in that day-to-day and all those gigs in Louisiana have been, you know,
[00:09:03]Kristina Morales: [00:09:03] for sure. And I think he just, as a performer, you just, you see maybe even social media or whatever it is, but like you just see everyone else kind of doing their thing and you think, Oh, maybe I have to fit into that role. Or that’s how my story is supposed to play out. But everyone has a different story.
[00:09:18] So whoever’s listening. Like don’t let anyone else’s story affect your story. Like, just go live your story, you know?
[00:09:23]Dane Reis: [00:09:23] Yeah, for sure. And this is what I really love about the entertainment industry is that it’s so big, broad and diverse, right? It’s not like
[00:09:34] Kristina Morales: [00:09:34] Yeah.
[00:09:34] Bigger than people think.
[00:09:35] Dane Reis: [00:09:35] yeah. It’s not like you’re gonna go be a pediatrician. And then obviously, you know what your track is going to be for pediatrician for the most part. Right.Right. It’s a lot more black and white than, than ours.
[00:09:44] There’s so much to do in this entertainment industry. You create your own story, as you said, so. so. Good. Great. And let’s move on to a time that I like to call your. Spotlight moment. That one moment in time you realized, yes, I am going to be an entertainer for a living or maybe it was, yes. This is what I need to be doing as an entertainer.
[00:10:12] Tell us about that.
[00:10:13]Kristina Morales: [00:10:13] So that’s really interesting. I have actually, I never had that moment. And I think for me, because I like was born and then I just like, it’s like I started singing or something. Like, I just like, it couldn’t get me to shut up and, and I, it just wasn’t like, there was never like a moment. Like I just, I was like literally born to sing.
[00:10:32] And I think it’s, again, this goes back again, like the story you tell yourself, like I told myself, like, I’m a singer. Like I was just like, There was no other option. Like throughout school, I didn’t even like attempt to try to like really, I mean, I mean, I was a good student, but just for the sake of being a good student, but I wasn’t like, I’m going to use this mathematical equation and one day, or I’m going to really pay attention to this, you know, like I had no, like my mind, the whole time was like, I’m going to be a singer.
[00:10:56] And I actually didn’t even think I was going to go to college. I was like, I’m going to move out to do like to LA or New York or, you know, the whole story that I told myself and. There was not even a plan. And then through my, , uh, you know, through people. Telling you like go to college or, you know, do the plan.
[00:11:10]That’s, that’s kind of more, um, more when I went on that route, but I think, you know, I was more than I had a moment later actually in life. Like when I turned 30, that I was like, should I be a singer? It was more of like the quarter-life crisis, like moment of being like, did I not even, uh, consider other options when I should have like, um, so.
[00:11:28] It, it was a kind of a reverse moment, but I, I ended up going, I think that’s really, this pandemic has showed me, but like, I think I ended up going back to realizing like, okay,
[00:11:34] your first instinct was right. Which it usually is. Um, but maybe there’s other things you can explore other interests that you can, um, can like really gather information on.
[00:11:44] So you can like go back and further define your purpose. Um, so not really, just like your moment of like what you’re going to do, but why are you doing it? So for me, it was more. Or about like that, that purpose moment of being like, okay, you learn to sing, you learn to perform, you learn to tell stories. Um, but what’s the theme that you keep coming back to when you’re on these stages.
[00:12:05] And for me, the theme was always that people were coming to my shows and being like, well, your, the power of your voice mixed with the power of your vulnerability and your emotional, uh, the way you express yourself, like it’s opened me up when I was feeling numb or. People would come up to me and being like, I was crying with you and it really gave me like cathartic experience.
[00:12:23] And so I started realizing, well, this is my purpose. And these are just the different mediums that I’ve learned. Kind of like develop my purpose and where I, which I think has been to like open people and have them follow their hearts ultimately.
[00:12:36]Dane Reis: [00:12:36] Oh, I really liked that journey. Yeah, so good. So good. And let’s piggyback on that real quick and talk about your number one, booked it moment. Walk us through that day, the audition and callbacks, if they happen to be a part of it, but what was going on in your life. And what about that moment? Makes it your favorite book?
[00:12:59] That moment
[00:13:00]Kristina Morales: [00:13:00] Yeah. So I, um, had been singing for a while and I kind of was going, um, I was going from the jazz world to more of the soul world. Then I was trying to, you know, show other bands that I could be a valuable asset to them. And one day from, um, Seoul brass band in new Orleans, and they’re like, do you want to be on the ticket with us at this festival in the trauma?
[00:13:22] And you’ll just come on as like the featured vocalist. And I was like, yeah, a hundred percent. I was like my dream. Like I wanted to perform at a festival, but I also really wanted to perform with like a, a major breasts. Band because they have so much energy and my voice is very brassy. So I got that eye and we performed at that festival and it was just the most amazing experience because it was like a big, giant stage, big, giant field with all these people, just dancing and cheering for you and singing along with you.
[00:13:48] And like, I got to hear my voice, like magnified, you know, like, and I already have a big voice, but because like, It was even bigger. I like felt like I could dig in even more. Cause I always feel like I’m always trying to make my voice a little smaller for the spaces, but I was like, this time I like unleashed and it just like, I roar it out there and it was just the most amazing experience.
[00:14:05]Like there was so much energy back and forth from the audience and the band and yeah.
[00:14:08] Dane Reis: [00:14:08] Yeah. Oh, very cool. I have never experienced performing at a festival. I mean, I’ve performed at some very large crowds, but nothing at a music festival. I can only imagine how exciting that would be.
[00:14:25]Kristina Morales: [00:14:25] Yeah. Yeah, it is because I, I know the experience performing in like a theater and it’s very like formal, you know, and like there’s moments when you should clap. And, but, you know, it’s when it’s a festival, it’s a lot more formal and people are very wild and it’s, it’s fun.
[00:14:39] Dane Reis: [00:14:39] Yeah, so cool. And let’s take a moment to talk about the present. What projects are you working on now? What are you looking forward to? And. It’s a crazy time, right? We’re amidst this global pandemic. How do you see the entertainment industry moving forward in the next couple of years?
[00:14:59] Kristina Morales: [00:14:59] , well, um, Well, what I’m working on right now is I’m gonna continue producing, um, um, music videos for, for the transit EAP that I just released. Um, because I, I really liked the aspect of like telling visual stories along with the music. Cause I wasn’t musical theater major. Um, and after that, I’m I think I’m going to start recording
[00:15:16] Dane Reis: [00:15:16] recording single
[00:15:17] Kristina Morales: [00:15:17] for. I did fill up the concept a little bit differently. Um, and I’m thinking of playing around with like more spiritual music. Cause I really love like spirituality and self betterment and preaching. And I kind of feel like sometimes when you’re a singer, you’re a little bit of a preacher and a storyteller too.
[00:15:31]Um, so those are some, you know, projects maybe for the next five to 10 years. I see myself doing, um, and then like, uh, on a different, uh, what I’m looking forward to is I’m I’m. Hopefully going to develop my own festival, um, like a music festival retreat. I kind of want
[00:15:45] Dane Reis: [00:15:45] I want to incorporate
[00:15:46]Kristina Morales: [00:15:46] all my passions of like music and art and spirituality and like astrology and yoga and self betterment and theater.
[00:15:52] And I want to make it this like, amazing, like maybe like a five day experience for people. Um, so that’s maybe in the five to 10 year plan to, um, I would love to do that. And then as far as I see the industry, I see it shifting, um, I feel like we’re going into a place of more like acceptance. Um, I feel like when you and I graduated day and like, we were on the precipice of it, but like, it was still on the other side.
[00:16:16]Um, and what I mean by that is like, cause I am I’m Puerto Rican. Um, but I, I, I look very light-skinned and I rent and at the time I would then dye my hair blonde. Um, and I remember being told by a lot of the agents, like, well, you’re going to either have to like go tan or dye hair darker. If you’re going to keep your name, can you see the, of this?
[00:16:32] Or you’re going to have to like, change your name. They were just like, kind of a weird, bizarre thing. Cause like, as a Puerto Rican, you doesn’t identify with being Puerto Rican. Like if you can just grow up here and you’re Puerto Rican, like 10,000 times a day. So it was really bizarre to be told by people who didn’t even know me, that I had to change my identity a little bit to fit in to what they thought was acceptable.
[00:16:50]But I think we’re kind of going into a place now where there’s more, um, you know, there’s more, uh, representation on all the colors of what it is to be a person in this country. And as a result, what all those stories would entail as well. And. I think, um, because we’re going to this place of like, kind of reclaiming our identity or as, as artists, we’re also like reclaiming our talent and we’re re we’re reclaiming like the art form a little bit.
[00:17:17] And I say that because of social media, um, because we don’t need to like rely on. On a television show or record label to find us so that we can produce work. Now we have the ability to kind of produce it ourselves and through social media and digital marketing, like be able to tell that story and get it to the right audience.
[00:17:41] So there’s a little bit of a, like a reclaiming of the space I think, going on with artists. And I think because of it, there’s more acceptance of different stories. And I think that it’s really exciting. So I’m trying to be optimistic about it. I know there’s all sorts of other stuff, but. That were kind of reclaiming the art form of it.
[00:17:57] And so I think we’re going to see some really interesting things because of, because of the internet.
[00:18:00]Dane Reis: [00:18:00] Yeah, I really like your insight. And you’re right. It really does feel like a reclaiming. And I like how you brought up the digital marketing aspect, the social media platforms, the ability for us to create our own content, not having to wait around for big production houses to pick us up or to discover us, and then invest millions of dollars into us.
[00:18:23] We can create our own art and get it delivered to. The very specific audience that we know, or we think that we know it would be the perfect fit for, and it’s so amazing. It’s such an amazing time right now.
[00:18:37]Kristina Morales: [00:18:37] Yeah, for sure. And I, I, you know, I think that honestly, like sometimes having that budget actually limits creatives because creatives like do well under the pressure of having a small budget. That’s when you get creative. Right. At least that’s like one of the things I took away because, um, from, from directing the directing, um, chorus at Boca, like.
[00:18:53]We had such a small budget to put on these shows and it was like, I got more creative. Cause I was like, okay, what can we do with nothing? You
[00:18:59]Dane Reis: [00:18:59] Yeah, exactly.
[00:19:00] Kristina Morales: [00:19:00] and then, so you
[00:19:00] you’re really, you’re forced, you’re forced to expand.
[00:19:03]Dane Reis: [00:19:03] Yeah. And if you’re going to spend loads of money, that’s the thing. If you’re going to spend say you’ve got a million dollar budget, well, depending on what medium you’re using, that’s a lot of money or not very much money at all, uh, to advertise, but. When you’re spending that, that volume of money, it also decisions tend to move a little bit slower, right? Because you want to make a decision on something and you have to see how it’s going to play out and you have to spend money to see if it’s going to, if it’s working or not, before you can make a switch, um, digital ads and Facebook ads and things like that, of course make, uh, switching creatives and copy and things like that.
[00:19:36] Much easier. You can get your analytics very quickly, but still. when you’re forced to be creative, that’s when you can really adjust and move around really quickly and figure out what adjustments need to be made to get whatever it is that you’ve created out into the world.
[00:19:51] Because ultimately that has to be part of your strategy, right? If you’re, if you’re a singing, if you’re a singer like yourself, do you have to get your listenership? Right. Right. If I’m a podcast, I have to get my listenership. Right. Right. You need to attract the people that would benefit most from what it is that you’re putting out into the world.
[00:20:09] Kristina Morales: [00:20:09] For sure. Yeah. well, what’s Spotify. It’s, it’s a kind of a double-edged sword. So Spotify came in and made music pretty much free, which. Made it very difficult for recording artists to make money, right? Because before they were make bear, the way they made money was through record sales and CD sales and even iTunes like, uh, uh, download sales.
[00:20:31] But once Spotify came in. That kind of turned the whole industry upside down. And so now everything’s about streaming and so, yeah, there’s, there’s, there’s an argument to be made that Spotify is not the greatest thing, but at the same time, it kind of opened up because as an artist, now you can get on a playlist and you could be someone in various, various small time, but you.
[00:20:50]Somehow that has 5 million followers on that playlist. And now overnight, you’ve just gotten a check in the mail for like $20,000 for that quarter, because you got played so many times on that playlist. So the internet is, you know, you know, if you can use it to your advantage and as an artist, um, go for it.
[00:21:09] There’s a lot to be said. You’re you’re, you’re, you’re, you’re losing out on some things and you’re gaining and others, but I always try to. Stay with the positive and use what I can, you know, use what’s available.
[00:21:17]Dane Reis: [00:21:17] for short, absolutely. A double-edged sword and. I like that. You said you have to stay with the positive. And I think you also, along with that, you have to stay with the program, Chris, because once Spotify became a thing, it’s not like we’re going backwards. You know, You know, that’s not a thing Uber’s not going away because the taxi companies are upset.
[00:21:36] So it’s progress. So even if there are downsides adds to it, well learn how to adapt and make the most of that situation.
[00:21:44]Kristina Morales: [00:21:44] for sure.
[00:21:46]Dane Reis: [00:21:46] Brilliant. And let’s move on to one of my favorite sections in the interview. I call it the grease lightening round. I am going to ask you a hand full of questions. I want you to answer them as quickly and concisely as possible one after another. Are you ready?
[00:22:03] All right. First question. What was the one thing holding you back from committing to a career as an entertainer?
[00:22:11]Kristina Morales: [00:22:11] Absolutely nothing. I didn’t even consider anything else. We were just born and artists.
[00:22:18] Dane Reis: [00:22:18] There it is.
[00:22:20] Kristina Morales: [00:22:20] So there wasn’t any, there was no other option for me.
[00:22:24] Dane Reis: [00:22:24] Second question. What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
[00:22:30]Kristina Morales: [00:22:30] The best piece of advice I’ve ever received was to trust myself. Um, specifically, uh, in that context, he was telling me to trust my ears and trust my own musicality, but I, and once I did, I kind of became like a whole different singer practically, overnight, but I was
[00:22:45] kind of
[00:22:45] always like a little bit. Meek.
[00:22:47] And I was like afraid of my big voice and I just felt it wasn’t like seductive or cool enough for jazz or something. And once like that person who was like really esteemed was just like, girl, I’ll just trust yourself more. I kind of like overnight became a different singer. So trust yourself, like your path, you, you know, the voice in your head, like follow that, follow that instinct.
[00:23:06]Dane Reis: [00:23:06] Brilliant. And the third question, what is something that is working for you right now? Or if you’d like to go pre COVID, what was working for you before our industry went on pause?
[00:23:19]Kristina Morales: [00:23:19] Yeah, I love this question. Um, so I think the pandemic is actually been really amazing for my creativity. Um, because before the pandemic I was, I was getting really tired and. I don’t know about you, but like, if, if I feel like everyone else is moving a hundred miles per hour,
[00:23:31] I feel like guilty. If I stop even for a second.
[00:23:34] So I, I felt really good to be able to like, Oh, everyone stopped. And I was able to just like dig into like my own creativity again, and like finally listen to new music and like reaffirm that I even want to do this anymore. And like just opened up my whole life because I just started taking a new content, new music, new movies, reading new books, and just getting re
[00:23:54] Dane Reis: [00:23:54] a grant.
[00:23:55] Kristina Morales: [00:23:55] yay. Pandemic.
[00:23:57]Dane Reis: [00:23:57] Yeah. See, there’s a silver lining. And the fourth question. What is your best resource? Whether that is a book, a movie, a YouTube video, maybe a podcast or a piece of technology you found is helping your career right now.
[00:24:13]Kristina Morales: [00:24:13] Um, so I’m like huge into like social media gurus. And one of my favorites is, um, Marie Forleo. She is an invaluable source, um, for like people who are multi-passionate and. Like want to create like a life of their own. And especially as artists, we’re all like, we’re pretty much freelancers. Right? So she speaks like kind of directly to us.
[00:24:32] So definitely check her out. She’s on YouTube. She has an amazing book. Everything is figureoutable incredible energy ages, amazing person.
[00:24:40]Dane Reis: [00:24:40] Brilliant. And the fifth question, if you had to start your career from scratch, but you still had all the knowledge and experience you’ve collected from your career in this industry, what would you do or not do? Would you do anything differently or would you keep it the same?
[00:24:57]Kristina Morales: [00:24:57] So I am torn with this one because I’ve learned to fall in love with my journey, but. I think like as a human, we have regrets, you know, sometimes. Um, so I think if, if I was in a universe, I could do it all differently. I think
[00:25:13] Dane Reis: [00:25:13] I think I’ll
[00:25:14] Kristina Morales: [00:25:14] myself, um, more space for failure. And then because of that space in turn, I would have taken more risks.
[00:25:22]Um, so. I went like the traditional route, right. I went to college and because education was important to my family and I went to a high school conservatory. And so continuing that education was important to them. And so like, I was listening to a lot of other people’s advice and that kind of goes back on like my, the best advice I ever got right.
[00:25:38] As it was just to start trusting myself. Um, but I was listening to everyone. Else’s advice about like what I should do with my life or the steps I should take. And honestly, like, it never felt. Right. Right. I just kind of always felt like I was doing something that was slightly off and I could never really figure it out.
[00:25:52] And, you know, I wish I had just learned to trust myself earlier because I think I would’ve made different steps on how I would have educated myself as an artist. Um, and I think I would’ve started just creating content and music like the bat, because I think honestly, like, at least for me experience is the best teacher.
[00:26:08] Not like not sitting in a space
[00:26:10] Dane Reis: [00:26:10] space
[00:26:11] Kristina Morales: [00:26:11] where I am. I’m supposed to be able to fail right. As an artist, but you’re also a student, so you literally can’t fail. So I think that’s at least the problem for me with school is there’s a weird part about it that like, you can’t fail the class, like, but you need to take risks and you need to do things that maybe don’t feel right, or that are maybe not in the teachers.
[00:26:33]Um, You know, vision for you, but for your own self, you have to take those risks. So, um, I think at the end of the day, yeah, like people who are the most successful, they listened to their own like divine source or their own, like, you know, in our inner monologue. And they
[00:26:44] Dane Reis: [00:26:44] And . Yeah. That is a bit of a conundrum with school. Isn’t it? When you say it that way, especially in the arts, I mean, I mean, sure. If you’re, If you’re, if you’re doing a math class, there you
[00:26:57] go. I mean, it is what it is.
[00:26:59]Yeah, both the arts. Wow. I’ve never really thought about it that way. Thank you for bringing that up.
[00:27:04] Making me think
[00:27:09] last question. What is the golden nugget knowledge drop that you’ve learned from your successful career in this industry? You’d like to leave with our listeners.
[00:27:19]Kristina Morales: [00:27:19] Hmm. Okay. so I think like no hungry, ambitious artists, like wants to hear this, but sometimes you get
[00:27:25] Dane Reis: [00:27:25] you get what you
[00:27:26] Kristina Morales: [00:27:26] and you realize if it’s
[00:27:28] not what you thought it was going to be. On your silver pedestal of what you thought it was going to be, and it’s okay to adjust your story. It’s okay to adjust the vision.
[00:27:38]Um, I know for me, I wanted to be like, Madonna, be famous, like Beyonce famous, like Kate Winslet famous. Like I just wanted the budget and like the, and the money to be able to like, do these amazing same like shows. Right. Wasn’t even really about the fame. I just wanted the opportunity to like, do something grand.
[00:27:55] And then, and when I started learning about like what the lifestyle is like, Oh, you’re going to be on tour all the time, you know, or you’re going to be waking up like doing this and never going to see your family, or you’re never going to be home with your dogs. I realized like,
[00:28:06] Oh wait, that’s not me.
[00:28:07]Like, I, I , I don’t even operate like that. When I try to, I give myself panic attacks, you know, like I operate at a different level. And so I gave myself a lot of like heartache because I just couldn’t accept that. Like I had gone all these years, like
[00:28:18] with that vision and that when I
[00:28:20] Dane Reis: [00:28:20] that when I got through it, I
[00:28:21] Kristina Morales: [00:28:21] like, but that’s not who I ended up.
[00:28:23]Being as an adult, you know, like that’s not the stuff I ended up really liking. Like I want to wake up and do a yoga and like be out in nature. I don’t want to be no tour bus eating junk, like ease at every stop, you know? So I think like um, allow yourself to like realize the, the silver pedestal gig is not actually always going to be your most memorable experience.
[00:28:41] Honestly like my hole in the wall. Um, gigs that I would do with my band that, you know, we had a nice packed house, but it was not like the most prestigious gig, you know? Um, those were my most memorable moments, not like the ones that we kind of built up and were like, Oh, Hey guys, like, make sure everyone’s dressed up.
[00:28:56]Right. And like, we’re at the fancy place, you know, like those gigs were always a lot more limited and restricted and there was more rules that like didn’t really apply to our vision. So allow yourself like the space to just like. Have a story that you’re telling yourself that and, and adjust it when you need to, don’t like get stuck in stone, um, be kind to yourself, basically follow your
[00:29:16] Dane Reis: [00:29:16] follow your heart. Yeah. Yeah. I think that is.
[00:29:21] Such incredible advice. And to expand on that a bit, one of the things that I like to, to say or give advice to, uh, aspiring entertainers, is to ask yourself the question, what do you want out of your entertainment career? And to be really honest with yourself, because it’s easy to get caught up in, especially now with the social media idea, or if you go to a school, uh, in what that training program might really focus on, it’s easy to get conditioned to want something, but.
[00:29:53]What is it you really want when you really go back and you get really honest with yourself, what is it that you want out of your career? Maybe it is being on that tour bus. Maybe it is going to New York and being proud of me. Maybe it’s LA, maybe it’s getting up and doing yoga and walking, you know, being in nature, whatever it is, it doesn’t matter because it’s what is good for you.
[00:30:10]But to try to find that clarity for yourself and then go in that direction.
[00:30:15]Kristina Morales: [00:30:15] yeah. For sure. Yeah.
[00:30:17] And just like, Oh yeah. Like look into like how a life is like that before, you know, if there’s anyone out there that’s listening, that’s like, should I do this? Like really like, look, I mean, there’s so many possibilities in the music industry and entertainment industry, but also like, there are certain things that you might have to do eventually and you have to really be.
[00:30:33] You have to look at that lifestyle and be like, do I want the lifestyle? Not just the dream, you know, like, do I want the day-to-day in and out? What, what it looks like minute by minute without its makeup on, you know? And I think that’s something that you don’t really know when you’re a teenager about to go into college, making your biggest life of decision.
[00:30:49]You know, you don’t know
[00:30:50] Dane Reis: [00:30:50] yeah. Right. Right.
[00:30:51] Kristina Morales: [00:30:51] to look like.
[00:30:53] Um, but you know, once you figure it out, like allow yourself
[00:30:55] Dane Reis: [00:30:55] yourself to adjust. Yeah. Allow yourself to adjust. I think that’s it right there. And to. And to adjust freely and to not feel bad about it, adjust and be like, this is what I need to do
[00:31:06] for me. Yep, exactly. . And to wrap up this interview, Christina, it is time to give yourself a plug.
[00:31:15] Where can we find you? How do our listeners connect with you? Is there anything you want to promote?
[00:31:21]Kristina Morales: [00:31:21] Yeah, for sure. So once again, my name is Christina Miralis. My band is Christina Miralis and the inner wild, um, just released an EAP called transit it’s available on all the streaming platforms. Um, thanks so much for listening to it. And if you love it, please share it with somebody else and you can find me on Instagram.
[00:31:40] That’s usually where I kind of get. Put all of my like creative ideas. Um, but I’m also on YouTube. That’s where my music videos at and some of my live performances and I’m on Facebook a little bit, but not as active there. Uh, and I’m sure Dan will connect all those little dots
[00:31:53] Dane Reis: [00:31:53] dots for you, but yeah. Thanks so much. You bet. And for everyone listening out there, she’s right. I will connect all the little bits because all the different ways to connect with her are in the description of this episode, including linking out.
[00:32:08] So you can listen to her album and also be sure to share this podcast with your fellow entertainers. Coaches art and entertainment educators and anyone, you know, you know, who was aspiring to create a career in this industry, you booked it is the number one resource of expertise on how to actually create a successful career in this industry.
[00:32:32]remember real quick about all. The great gems that Christina just gave in this episode. It’s amazing, such great insight for your career and the whole length of it as well. And as of today, there are also 152 other episodes that you can go check out with other fantastic guests that have own unique experience through this industry that you can learn from them with.
[00:32:56] So please. Share this subscribe, subscribe. If you enjoyed this episode so you can catch tomorrow’s guest. Christina, thank you so much for being here. It’s been such a pleasure to catch up and to have you on the show. Okay.
[00:33:09]Kristina Morales: [00:33:09] yeah, for sure. A day. And thank you.
[00:33:12]