Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Maraia Mariselli. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Maraia, 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.
I think the most meaningful project I’ve worked on so far is a mini music festival called GrrrlFest, highlighting 15 female fronted bands ranging from indie rock to hardcore punk. I’ve been putting it together for about 6 months, the show hasn’t happened yet, it’s in august, but the process alone of planning it has been meaningful. How women are treated in not just punk and hardcore scenes, but various alternative music scenes has improved, but there are still changes to be made. Creating a safe space at my shows is my biggest priority, and I think this fest is gonna contribute a lot to the local community. I want this fest to inspire girls and honestly anyone to start a band and throw shows.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a concert promoter and musician based in Southern California and I’m 16 years old. I’m a vocalist and have been singing since I was born basically. I attended an arts high school for a bit and worked on some vocal training and performances, but besides that I had never gotten any lessons. I started getting into promoting through going to local shows for a few years and seeing other promoters do their thing. I had a bit of knowledge of setting up equipment for shows because of my school, but not a ton, so I learned mostly by experience. I own a promotion company called Gecko Morning Productions where I host multi genre shows at backyards and venues, and help people with booking now. I also am the vocalist for a post hardcore band called Washer from Anaheim, CA. I scream and I sing in it. Most of the shows I host are hardcore punk, grind, indie, and screamo, but I’m always open to trying out new genres for my lineups.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A lesson I had to unlearn was trying to please every crowd. Not everyone is gonna like you and that’s okay. I used to try to make myself as likable as possible and work on music projects that I didn’t connect with, but that doesn’t get you anywhere, people want the real stuff, and once I started embracing my true self and not caring about what other people thought, I felt better and I started to do better. One day someone told me that the right people will find you, you don’t have to search as hard as you are, and soon after that I started to build up my local audience a lot more.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding part about doing what I do is seeing how well the community is affected by local concerts and music. Some people have told me that when they see one of my show flyers come up on Instagram, they know it’s gonna be a good show. People use shows as their escape and I take that seriously, and want to make sure my shows are full of solid bands and make sure everyone has fun. As for aspiring promoters and musicians, A lot of people want to explore their creativity more but feel scared and don’t want to embarrass themselves, especially at my age, but everyone has to start somewhere. Everyone fails sometimes, it’s just about how you problem solve. Sometimes all you need is just a bit of inspiration. I’m able to heal myself with music while also healing others now and that’s honestly the best thing I could ask for.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/gecko_morning_productions?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
- Other: my band Instagram: https://instagram.com/washerbandisok?igshid=MmIzYWVlNDQ5Yg== my personal: https://instagram.com/maraia.kq?igshid=MjEwN2IyYWYwYw==
Image Credits
1. Michael garay 2. Michael Garay 3. Zoe Marshall 4. Zoe Marshall 5.Suraj Patra 6. Michael Morales