We recently connected with Melissa Mari and have shared our conversation below.

Melissa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I knew as a small child that music would be my passion in life. It seems to have come in to me from the beginning. I actually remember going to a chamber concert with my parents at around two years old and seeing and feeling pure magic and beauty coming from the stage. And I remember the joy and depth present in the musicians. That moved me deeply even at that age. Then when I was a bit older, I pulled down the guitar that was hanging on the wall at home and never looked back. I was always a loner or an outsider type like a lot of artists and I had a rather difficult childhood, so playing guitar, singing and writing music was how I grounded myself and felt joyful in the middle of chaos.

Melissa, 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 far as being a professional musician, I started out playing folky rock music which was part of the Marin County California culture in the 80’s. But there was always a heavy, aggressive aspect to my singing style that never really fit into that genre. In the mid 90’s I had a rock band called Flip Side Mary that was oriented more towards my heavy side and that was fun, but even that style was not where I was to settle. Actually I have never fully settled into any one genre and to this day I have multiple projects that allow me to explore different styles, but with that said, heavy metal is really where my soul wanted to go. I have a very strong warrior type of energy that comes out in performance and metal is a genre that honors that warrior energy and gives it a place in the musical arts. Over the years I have formed a number of metal bands including Mind Scar, Death Under Fire, The 01Experience and now Deprogramatrix.

As far as my mission goes, my primary mission is to evolve myself as a human being in every way, and maturing as an artist is a big part of that path. We artists cannot control how the world responds to our work, but what we can control is the quality and depth of our art. We can each commit to becoming the best artists we can possibly be in this lifetime and to push through the continual obstacles that arise on our path. In fact every obstacle is an opportunity to examine ourselves for faults and weaknesses, to improve ourselves and make corrections on our path. True artists must become comfortable with the down side of the creative process. Every stroke of genius has an equal opposite that manifests in depression and stagnation but when we accept discomfort and suffering as part of our creative cycle, we can use what we learn in those dark periods to make our art much more potent and deep.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

The best thing is to physically and economically support independent artists who are talented, sincere and courageous. When I say physically, I mean by actually going to their concerts, buying or wearing their materials or merchandise and not just clicking “like” on social media or consuming art on a phone. Sharing art on the internet is just part of promotion and culture today, but consuming art in this way alone is depriving both artists and audiences of the full spiritual experience that is possible. We must all begin to move away from the devices and go back into the real world where art and community can be experienced in their full capacity.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I have had to overcome so many huge obstacles, it’s been ridiculous! One of the bigger ones was when I developed cervical cancer, which was more than 20 years ago now. After I was diagnosed I realized that the doctors were as confused about the causes of the cancer as I was. This started me on an investigation that led me to many alternative healing methods and diets that I tried but also to information that awakened me to the dark side of the medical system. I ultimately healed myself of the cancer. I could say it was my commitment to health, diet and nutrition, but really it was the fact that I decided to take 100% responsibility for my own healing and not give my power away to the system. I realized that the cancer cells were “my” cells. My body created them and so naturally, my body could remove them. It was my intense commitment to self healing and self responsibility for my condition that I believe was the cure. This was a test to see if I was a real warrior or a victim and guess I must have passed the test.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://melissamarimusic.com
• Instagram: @melissaisfaith
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-mari-faith http://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-mari-faith

Image Credits
Glenn Herring, Colin Davis