{"id":3556,"date":"2021-08-31T16:06:55","date_gmt":"2021-08-31T16:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/?p=3556"},"modified":"2021-08-31T16:06:58","modified_gmt":"2021-08-31T16:06:58","slug":"blog-interview-yesla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/2021\/08\/31\/blog-interview-yesla\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog interview: YESLA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/YESLA-Artwork-1024x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3558\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/YESLA-Artwork-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/YESLA-Artwork-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/YESLA-Artwork-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/YESLA-Artwork-768x768.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/YESLA-Artwork-1536x1536.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/YESLA-Artwork-435x435.jpeg 435w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/YESLA-Artwork-60x60.jpeg 60w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/YESLA-Artwork.jpeg 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><b><i>Hello YESLA, how are you?\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i>Hi! I\u2019m doing great<\/i>. Very excited to be here chatting with you today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b><i>Congratulations on the release of \u201cIf You Dare\u201d. How does it feel?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you! I\u2019m feeling very excited that this record is finally out &amp; happy about the response it\u2019s getting so far. I\u2019ve been working on this one for a little bit now so it\u2019s a great feeling now that it is alive &amp; kicking.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b><i>It\u2019s a gutsy slice of rock, what\u2019s the story behind it?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wanted to create something that really showed the angst &amp; frustration I was feeling at that moment. I began to feel crushed by the weight of people\u2019s opinions of me. I was in a session with my producer JHNY WZDM &amp; was expressing all of this to him &amp; that is where \u201cIf You Dare\u201d was born. We wanted to make a record that was unapologetic, gritty, intentional, &amp; spirited; something to represent breaking out of your shell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Spotify Embed: If You Dare\" width=\"100%\" height=\"380\" allowtransparency=\"true\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"encrypted-media\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/track\/7es6x5dGcYkDIuY5H9HsCI?si=587d9f1027dd42a3\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><b><i>You are a singer songwriter from L.A. how did it all start for you?&nbsp;<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Honestly, I\u2019ve been writing songs since I was about 16 but I didn\u2019t realize those were songs at the time. I thought I was writing poems that were expressing my feelings. I slowly started showing them to people and was informed that songwriting was an actual profession! A very pinnacle moment that made me realize I needed to pursue music was walking out on stage to sing background vocals for the band Foreigner &amp; having 10,000 fans cheering for me. It was one of the best moments of my life &amp; I continue to chase that feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b><i>What did you listen to growing up?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I listened to a lot growing up. Thankfully for me, my parents constantly played the greats like: Stevie Wonder, Earth, Wind, &amp; Fire, Fleetwood Mac, &amp; The Eagles to name a few. As I got older I got into bands such as: Sublime, Paramore, Foo Fighters, Incubus, &amp; Muse.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b><i>You studied at Berklee College of Music, what\u2019s your favorite memory of those days?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would have to say one of my favorite memories from Berklee was jamming with people! Whether it was in class jamming out a song I wrote or just getting a group together &amp; improving at parties. It was always such a blast to be on the same wavelength as other musicians.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b><i>What was the one thing that you learned there that surprised you?&nbsp;<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The one thing I learned at Berklee that surprised me was how diverse the music community actually is. There were people that came from all over the world to Berklee to follow their musical dreams. Everyone from people fresh out of high school to people getting out of the war from their countries\u2019, &amp; saving every penny they could to come to this school. It was incredibly inspiring &amp; still is for me to this day.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b><i>You collaborate with your friend JHNY WZDM, how does a typical session usually begin for you?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A typical session always begins with a catch up. We download &amp; update each other on our lives &amp; how we are feeling at that moment, leaving us with so much room to discuss new song ideas. After that, we get to writing. Every session is different. Sometimes I come in &amp; he already has an idea for me. Sometimes we start from scratch and ask ourselves, what message we want to convey.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b><i>COVID has affected the creative industry what has kept you motivated?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Covid has definitely affected the creative industry but in the mist of it all, even that wasn\u2019t able to bring the music industry to a halt. The entertainment industry is such a beast that nothing can slow it down so knowing that, motivates me to work hard or risk getting left behind.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b><i>2020 was a time to reflect what did you learn about yourself?&nbsp;<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In my time of reflection, I will say I learned that I could do anything I put my mind to. Before Covid, I always found excuses as to why I wasn\u2019t releasing music or finishing projects. With the world coming to halt, I was able to really reflect about what I wanted and finally had time to build a structure within myself to successfully get things done. I realized I was standing in my own way &amp; as soon as I cleared the path, everything started falling into place. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b><i>You\u2019re from Burbank, CA. What are your three favourite things about it?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would say that my three favorite things about Burbank would be: the small town feel, being so close to the movie studios, &amp; all the childhood memories I made there. Growing up there felt like I was a world away from the jungle that is LA but in reality, I was only about 15 minutes away from the bustle of the big city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b><i>What are you listening to at the moment?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These days I\u2019m listening to a lot of: The Black keys, Jungle, Hayden James, Nothing but Thieves, &amp; honestly anything that is groovy! <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b><i>What\u2019s next for you?&nbsp;<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Expect to see a lot more from me this year! I have a couple more singles lined up &amp; other cool projects in the works. I plan on making a return to live shows in the New Year to come so be on the lookout for announcements! You can stay in the loop on all things YESLA on my website: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imyesla.com\">www.imyesla.com<\/a>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hello YESLA, how are you?\u00a0 Hi! I\u2019m doing great. Very excited to be here chatting with you today. Congratulations on the release of \u201cIf You Dare\u201d. How does it feel? Thank you! I\u2019m feeling very excited that this record is finally out &amp; happy about the response it\u2019s getting so far. I\u2019ve been working on &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[131,132,177,73,150,126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-los-angeles","category-lyricist","category-rock","category-singer-songwriter","category-songwriter","category-vocals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3556"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3559,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3556\/revisions\/3559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}