We caught up with the brilliant and insightful IZZY a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

IZZY, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

“Inez”, my first EP has to be my most meaningful project I’ve done. This was the first time I was open with my life experiences through music words. Although I’ve always written songs like this, this would be the first time I’ve let others hear what I have to say with songs I’ve written with a guitar and notebook. Not only was I being open with my experiences but I introduced all these songs through the character, Inez. Inez is someone who is very naive, innocent, and very inexperienced in life but she’s so eager to find out who she is and where she belongs. Inez is a part of myself that I wanted to share with everyone because she is someone who represents who I was at some point and still am. I believe she also represents so many other people who walk through the world with the same innocent and naive eyes until life hits them and they don’t anymore or they still do. No matter what she is there for everyone (including myself) through the music to show that no one is alone through their life journey no matter where you may be in life. Besides from that, recording the songs with my friends who play guitar, bass, and drums was absolute fun. We had recorded all the songs in about 5 hours and the reason it took such little time was because we had been playing those songs live for a while so once we got to recording we had the songs set in stone. Recording the vocals was a whole other part of its own. I spent about two months in the recording studio for vocals just doing them over and over again until I got somewhat of a good result. Although the Inez is not perfect in any way, she is the most truthful character I’ve created with these songs, I love what the music and lyrics represent and I could not be more proud of what came to be. Inez will forever be apart of me.

IZZY, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As a child I would make up songs on the spot and time myself to see how long I could make these songs last. Mind you, this was before I could play any instruments so I would just use my voice and write. Before playing music I would use writing as my form of self expression. I would write stories, poems, songs about anything that was on my mind. It has always been a liberating feeling and I felt completely myself in the moment. When I was about 12 or 13 I was signed up to be in music class at my school and I was not looking forward to it. At the time the thought of performing terrified me being a very shy and quiet individual. Once I actually attended the class I began to learn the basics of piano and guitar and I absolutely fell in love with the instruments. I didn’t know why but I loved playing them over and over again. I didn’t have a guitar or piano at home so I’d practice in class. When I was about 14 my dad brought home a guitar and I had forgotten how to play by then so it was just sitting there. It was during the summer where I begged to get proper guitar lesson and I did. I learned a lot of classic rock songs because my teacher was a fan and I did too by the end. I took lessons for about two summers then eventually I branched off on my own. I was really into the guitar and I played endlessly it seems like but I loved every second of it. I remember learning a lot of Beatles songs. Later on I began incorporating my writing with my music and I fused the two together. Eventually I wrote my first song on the guitar. I sat on the floor with my notebook and my guitar and there I was just writing away. The entire process from start to finish felt special to because this song helped me and it was mine to claim, no one else’s. I began writing everyday about my thoughts, experiences, troubles, worries and after each song my pain eased. Although times were still tough the songwriting throughout was a big help for me and I continued this throughout my life. I began performing my own songs at open mics and I received good feedback for the most part. I’ve met great and not so great people along the way who have helped me greatly and other critical for being myself. In the end, no matter what, I still love what I do. My passion and dedication have brought me to places and given me opportunities just by being myself. With that being said, songwriting has always been my sage space and I want to create that for others when they listen to my songs. I want the people who are criticized, judged, outcasted, ignored, made fun of to feel a sense of belonging with me because I want them to know that I am here for them always. I’ve had my own share of people that have made me feel terrible and judged just by being myself. Those people don’t matter, it’s the people that care and want to help you that matter and that’s what I want to do with the music that I create.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My mental health journey has been a big part of my story and i believe it’s helped me become a stronger and more resilient person. I was depressed for a very long time and that depression eventually led to a suicide attempt. I didn’t know how and I didn’t know why but I had always come back to these depressive episodes at different times in my life after being on what seems like a high. After my last suicide attempt I had gone to the hospital. Although the majority of people make mental health hospitals seem very dark and taboo, staying there helped me tremendously and I couldn’t be more grateful for the treatment I received. This experience brought me to appreciate the importance of mental health in not only myself but in others as well. My journey did not end there. I was eventually diagnosed with a type of bipolar disorder and it gave me a lot of answers I couldn’t figure out for a long time. After discovering this about myself I became more aware of myself and I witnessed a lot of growth in myself. My mental health journey has pushed me to do things I am definitely proud of. I’ve recorded my first EP, finished my bachelors degree, formed music groups, performed live, met amazing people, and the story doesn’t stop there. There will always be times where I’m at an all time high and there will times where I’m at an all time low but I couldn’t be prouder of myself for being here today. I am proud to share my story in hopes of helping others who may be dealing with dark times. Just know your life will get better and this is only a part of your story.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn being so self critical of myself and allowing others’ opinion be a form of self approval. Although, feedback is good for self improvement, too much just didn’t bring me anywhere. I was stuck in the same place not wanting to try and I didn’t like how I couldn’t get any better because I was being so hard on myself. Also, I kept letting others’ opinions about me dictate who I am or what I do. I kept doing what others wanted me to do in order to please them but what I did for these people never helped me in any way. I felt stagnant and I wasn’t improving in any way yet I still took everyone’s opinion to heart. Instead of looking for others and there approval, I learned to just be myself and tell myself that not everyone will be on my side, it’s a much better feeling to do what you please in your own life and I found that being yourself will get you farther in life.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @izzytheband
• Other: Places where you can find my music! https://linktr.ee/izzytheband

Image Credits
Elizabeth Alcarraz, Rae Mystic