We recently connected with Anais Owens and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Anais, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

Some of the things my parents did right was keep me mentally active as well as physically active. When I was younger, I had various experiences, from tap dance class, ballet, art classes, sports and theatrical opportunities in school, and a great head start in many music genres. They did not have much to offer me, but the good experiences I did have, I treasured. I also learned a lot of Spanish growing up because my mother has a great love for the language, despite not being genetically Spanish… to our knowledge, at least. At 10, I realized that I could play the piano by ear and started creating my own tunes. I also wrote many stories as a child and dreamed of being a Broadway superstar. It didn’t happen, but I had a decent head start.
My parents at least knew that in this world, opportunity is what gets you going in life, and they ingrained that into me always. Even though my teen life was tumultuous as far as CSA and they did not always support me the way I needed going forward, those childhood lessons and skills stuck around to keep me afloat today.

Anais, 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?

I am currently an indie musician under the name of KaeOnyx. I began a few years ago, learning the process of music publication on my own without a label because that’s what I thought the best choice was. It is working out for me! It’s slow, but it’s simmering. I have always created my own songs as a child, using the piano I played by ear, beating on furniture to make beats, or beatboxing with my mouth. I am very musically inclined by nature. My music resembles that of lofi beats, which is a very calming and fairly new genre online.
I think what sets me apart from others is that I make lofi music. Many people only appreciate hifi music, which often times is low vibrational. I aim to create high vibrational, relaxing tunes for my audience. I want to music to penetrate their soul and still allow them to groove. Sometimes, I will create a song that came to me in a dream or a song that came to me in the shower. It’s all a part of the creative process! I am extremely proud of my music and what it represents.
I am a YouTuber/TikToker by the name of Epic Realist TV. I create nature videos, funny gaming videos and random lifestyle videos while mixing my music into them. That’s been extremely fun for me to entertain people because I have always enjoyed storytelling and video editing. I am also a new author called Epic Realist. I only have a coloring book out so far for sale on Amazon, but another actual book is currently being published!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is having the freedom to create whatever world you want. Today, we have so much freedom that didn’t exist 30-50 years ago, with self publishing, open minded thoughts, conspiracies, religion, etc. Some things we can do today would have never gotten by years ago! I mean, remember the word ‘damn’ was like the worst thing you could say on TV and everyone practically fainted every time it was brought up? Today, that’s nothing. It’s completely considered fluff and a lot more is allowed regarding censorship. We are grown; we should not have to censor ourselves unless it’s the time for it. Obviously, you cannot attend an interview and cuss out your potential boss, but you can self publish those thoughts into a book and publish it easily without debate. That’s what I enjoy about being given creative freedom because you can sugar coat less and be your true self.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

To be honest, I am not at the point where my side ventures are paying my bills… not even close! However, I have been video editing for many years and have gained a ton of experience. I don’t have the followers that I’d like to have at the moment, but I will get there. Some key milestones so far are reaching 5,000 subscribers on my YouTube some years back! I never even imagined that number! I am much busier now, so most of my videos are on TikTok instead, but I integrate the two most times. I am currently still at a regular 9-5 teaching job that I do love, although it gets draining. I also have 5 of my own kids at home who homeschool, so I am super busy with all of that after work… somehow. I do need my business ventures to pick up one day so that I can afford to come home more and also help my husband out more with bills, but it’s going to take a lot more time and resources right now. I am still grateful for where I currently am, however.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaeonyxmusic
• Twitter: https://x.com/Epicrealist
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EpicRealistTV