We recently connected with Karen Marie Hernandez and have shared our conversation below.
Karen Marie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
It’s difficult to say if I’m genuinely happy as an artist/creative VS having a regular mundane job because I technically have a little bit of both haha! With all the challenges that come with doing music the DIY way while at the same time trying hard to make it become a career is such a battle cuz you’re passionate, happy, and very childlike in the beginning – filled with so much curiosity and wonder. But after some time (I’ve been working at it since 2016) of financially investing in your music, feeling the repercussion of taking the time off work and sometimes losing your job just to tour with your band mind you, a tour that you self-booked and spent days, months, hours on end in email hell trying to find a decent art space or bar to give you a chance to play a few tunes for like a hundred bucks maybe, you start to question your life decisions time and time again hahaha. And I grew up in poverty for the most part, then I was put into foster care for all of my teens, so I’ve always had that pressure of why am I an artist? Why do I want to be an artist SO MUCH? Why can’t I be content doing something normal like going to college and getting a career or something of that sort. But in the end, I’ll always come to the same conclusion: Because I won’t be happy with a normal job. I won’t be happy if I can’t express myself musically/artistically/creatively and connect with so many people on similar journeys. Being surrounded by so much community here in the music world of Long Beach/LA/San Pedro/IE is so beautiful. I’ve found a sense of family in all of it. And whenever I play a show and somebody comes up to me at the end talking about how much I’ve inspired them to pick up an instrument or have helped them with their confidence or they just connect to our music and my lyrics so heavily, that just means the world to me. That’s a lot of what music was to me in the beginning, and to be that inspiration to somebody else is soooooo cool. People need to feel okay, they need to feel like somebody is there for them or understands. I find purpose in life when I’m able to uplift, encourage and/or comfort others with my artistic expression.
Karen Marie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Getting into music was not as easy at first since I had a really troubled and dysfunctional home life. The desire was always there, to join the school band, to make friends I could practice music with or go to shows with. But it didn’t happen for me until just before graduating high school. I was playing and writing songs on my acoustic guitar, shy as hell, but started discovering local backyard punk shows to go to and very slowly started gaining confidence. Music had been very therapeutic for me growing up and I have to admit that at first when I started going to shows, I began experimenting heavily with drugs and alcohol to cope with my home life (or lack of). I feel like that was just so toxic to my health at the time, but allowed for some self-discovery. Which is so dumb to say considering so many youth don’t make it out of that alive. I’m very lucky to have pulled myself out of that (some hospitalizations later), and found what was truly important to me and what I wanted to do. I found stability by going to college after high school, and that was where I started to play my music publicly more, in art spaces, small restaurants, etc and eventually led me to connecting with other musicians and starting a band! It was very difficult for me as a young adult aging out of the foster care system because I NEEDED to focus on school and/or a job because I NEEDED money or I’d be living on the street. I really feel like I had to figure out independence way earlier than most people my age haha which I absolutely hate and love at the same time. Eventually finding a balance where I can make the time to do music stuff, while holding down a job or 2 while really pinching my penny is not an easy lesson learned. I was more happy and passionate about music and playing shows, that I gave up school cuz I felt that having the job at the moment was more important. Sometimes I regret this, sometimes I don’t. We’ve gotten so many cool opportunities as a band, I only wish I would’ve started sooner. But I wouldn’t have been as confident back then huh? I’m really proud of the path that we’ve paved for ourselves (primarily my drummer Zach and I). Zach and I have found an intense musical bond with each other. You know how some people finish each other’s sentences or say the same thing at the same time? That’s Zach and me with music haha. I can write something and he’ll know exactly what the song needs or what I want and can hear but can’t put into fruition, he’ll just make it happen. We have so much fun writing and playing music together, we’re 4 full length albums in, with the exception of a demo album and 4 albums consisting of covers. We’ve done it all ourselves and connecting with people in the scene. We’ve self-booked tours (last year was our very first time in the UK), and just continue to perform locally. I think having been around for a while and being consistent has helped keep our band name COSMIC KITTEN floating around. Which is super cool. Having seen so many bands split after the pandemic or after their 10 year anniversary is insane cuz we’re somehow still around after 8 years. I feel like we’ve built a little community by fostering an inclusive environment at our shows, and haven’t been afraid to speak up about predators and toxic people in the scene. In the end, we just want everybody to feel loved, to feel free to be themselves without idiot sexists, transphobes, racists and other abusers ruining the fun. We want our shows to be safe, fun, therapeutic and uplifting. Is that too much to ask for?
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Building an audience on social media is not easy! I’m still learning. I think the hardest part is trying to look/act professionally in order to be treated or viewed as such but also having a slightly laid back, fun and humorous presence. Its like pretending to not take things seriously while actually taking things seriously haha because we want the right opportunities for ourselves. Building a website, figuring out how to put our music up on Spotify, Bandcamp, ASCAP, etc etc was a very much learn-as-you-go experience. Asking around, carefully studying other successful band’s social media pages, and figuring out how you can produce good quality content within your budget. Alls you have to do is believe in yourself, have an artistic vision, do your best to carry that out. And don’t be afraid to ask people for help!
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
I think society needs to take artists and musicians and other creatives more seriously. PAY THEM. I hate to see so many bands play for free just for “exposure” and not even get a percentage of bar sales at least. Like their music and entertainment helped you sell more booze did it not? And not even just bands, photographers and videographers, graphic designers are also overlooked and not taken seriously. Unfortunately I think its also up to us (the creatives) to change this mentality, by appreciating other peoples art too. Tagging them, posting about them, buying their art/music but most importantly, paying them for the service that they’re providing in any way that you can so it can make it less stressful for them to continue doing it! People don’t take into account the amount of money an artist has to spend just to make art. Musicians need to service their guitar, drums, buy strings, sticks, drumheads, GAS to get to shows. We need to recoup that money we used to record our album or that we spent at a rehearsal studio practicing for this gig. Artists need money for art supplies to continue to make art. We gotta pay photographers and video people for having shot our band or event, graphic designers for making our album art, etc etc. But its difficult cuz we don’t all have money to begin with haha so what do I know really? This perspective is coming from an adult musician/creative by the way!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cosmickittenband.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cosmic_kittenofficial/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CosmicKeeton/
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/7Ur8z6QWunI?si=biOCl_CZA4JYMY1s
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1S6T6kIL3x4jU2Y5jF3ajj?si=wLDH_1aISPCWqbuS39BNxg
Image Credits
Bella Villa, Grady Gill, Izze