October 8, 2024 • 50 mins
Growing up in Peru, Catherine Gairard didn’t have the financial means to pursue her musical passions, but at fifteen she started playing the guitar and from there and has since developed a passion for music composition. With a goal of becoming a cinematic composer, Catherine has a wide array of talents. Half-French and half-Peruvian, Catherine enjoys traveling and spending her time exploring other cultures.
Connect with Catherine:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdwJUZ6DIvFdw09_O_2RXBg
Find all the podcast social media and more on the website: https://www.introducingmepodcast.com
Artwork: instagram.com/vashaundesigns
Music/Editing: youtube.com/colemanrowlett
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:15):
- Hello and welcome to Introducing Me.
I'm your host Sarah. Istarted this podcast to get
to know other people and lifestyles while
discovering more about myself.
Each episode, I'll givea new guest a chance
to discuss their background,culture, interests,
or whatever they want to talkabout to help increase all
of our own worldviews.
Today, I would like to introduce you
to Catherine Gairard. Catherineis a versatile artist,
(00:37):
weaving together theworlds of music modeling
and artistic expression. With a half French
and half Peruvian heritage,
she has found herselfin a nomadic lifestyle,
pursuing her artistic passions.
So she's here to talk aboutsome of those artistic passions,
her heritage, and thevarious cultures she's
gotten to experience.
(00:58):
So I'm grateful to haveCatherine here today.
Thank you so much, Catherine.
Why don't you go ahead and tell
the audience more about yourself.
- Hello, Sarah. Thank you so much
for having me here in your podcast.
It's a pleasure. And as yousaid, my name is Catherine.
I am an artist, primarilya musician with a love
for visual arts that I use to give, um,
(01:21):
like a more depth.
I feel visuals helpgive depth to the music.
So it's not only like a,like a hearing experience,
but also like a,
like the eyes are includedin the experience.
Uh, I just love the combination of both.
(01:42):
Um, that's what I do.
I create music that has acinematic flavor onto it.
Um, I mix elements from differentgenres, like heavy metal,
classical music, medieval music folk.
Yeah, that's what I do. .
- So how did you firstget into creating music
(02:04):
and various artistic expression?
- So, um, I always loved music.
Um, it was always kindof present in my life,
but I didn't come from like a, um,
like my family couldn'tafford to give me lessons, uh,
on music since a young age.
(02:25):
It was quite expensive to do that.
And so I had to wait until I was 15
where my mom gave me my guitar.
That was my first instrument that I tried.
And then it started from there.
And at first there was thismyth that if you started,
if you didn't start earlierin life, like as a child,
(02:47):
then you couldn't make it as a musician.
But that's actually false.
You can make it, it's a matterof discipline and consistency
and studying a lot.
So later on, I, thanksto internet courses,
online courses that Ifound that were free,
even YouTube tutorials and everything.
(03:07):
I learned about music theory
because I always knew that Iwanted to compose to music,
to create music,
but I wasn't sure likehow, which genre, whatever.
So I started with the firststep, which was just learning
to make music, right.
Um, so I started from there
and then, uh, with hard work,I improved my situation.
(03:31):
And then I was able tohave teachers for singing
for the harp, for the guitar, the piano,
and composing in particular.
And then discovered the world of cinema.
That that was something thatI, I was, was always there.
Like I always loved movies.
And then I realized thatI would put the movie
(03:52):
just while I was doing something else.
So I was following the, the,the, the story, the plot more
through the sounds and the music
and the dialogues ratherthan the images themselves.
So right now I'm on this pathto become a cinema composer,
uh, film score composer.
So yes, that, that's like my,my background a little bit.
(04:18):
- Yeah. So a lot of, youknow, self-taught through
online options
'cause you didn't have the, you know,
the financial resourceswhen you were younger.
So what all,
'cause it sounded like there were a few,
what all instruments haveyou ended up learning?
- I started with the guitar.
(04:39):
Um, I'm not like a guitarist,
but I can do some things on the guitar
because it, it neverreally hooked me as much.
Um, my main instrumentis the voice I sing,
and now I am focusedall in, in on the harp,
which I love.
And then I am learning the piano
(05:01):
because as a composer,especially when you work
on your computer and allyour instruments are virtual
instruments, because it'snearly impossible for most of us
to have like a full orchestra, right?
So you have libraries of virtualinstruments that allow you
to have an orchestra
(05:21):
and basically anyinstrument that you want,
and you control them by a midi keyboard.
And so skill at piano is helpful
to help you compose in amore, um, efficient way.
And, and then I triedthe violin a little bit,
but as I'm focused onthe harp right now, I,
(05:43):
I'm not doing violin, but Ilove that instrument as well.
It's just that you can'tlearn everything at once, .
So you have to focus andyou can learn everything,
but to, it's better tostart with something.
And then once you get to acertain level at that instrument
that satisfies you, then youkind start with another one.
(06:06):
So that's what I'm doing.
Um, and also when you wannabecome a composer, you have
to know, you have to havesome skill at production,
some mixing, because sometimes,uh, in low budget projects,
you won't have the, youwon't have another person
(06:26):
to mix and master for you.
So you have to be ableto already give something
that is usable and thatyou can distribute already.
Um, so you have to know basicsfor mixing and mastering.
So that's a lot of things for
that career that you need to know.
(06:47):
So that's, that's, um, my goal right now.
- Definitely lots to learn
and lots, lots of placesto choose to focus in.
So because you, you know,you have this desire for
cinematic music, what do you kind
of do on the visual side of things?
(07:11):
- So, um, right now, um, thereis several possibilities.
Like I love 2D animation,for example, that you,
there's this program calledProcreate that makes it so easy
to do, um, 2D animation.
Those of you who areillustrators may know about it.
And since I love drawing,um, that was one of the,
(07:34):
of the, of the ideas.
But now with AI, you canmake really amazing things,
uh, in terms of video
and image that I would love to explore.
And I would love to find actually someone
who knows about those things
because it's like anotherskill in another world.
(07:59):
But the, the possibilitiesare really great.
I've been experimentinga little bit with runway,
for example, and you canhave pictures of yourself
and it'll transform them into videos.
So is it still you?
I have pictures, professionalpictures that I have taken.
And since everything ismoving now with video,
(08:20):
like image on, on socialmedia doesn't have
that much power as video.
So that a great toolfor using those pictures
that took me hours to make,you know, going to the studio
with a photographer and everything and,
and now I can turn them into
something interesting into video.
Um, so that's my experimentation for now.
(08:43):
But I know there are workflows that,
like a stable diffusion, for example,
that you can literally createlike your own landscapes
and do a composite of another video,
and it will take the background out of it
and match the lights and everything.
So it's, that's amazing.
But that's like a whole world
(09:04):
that I'm just introducing myself in.
And actually the best willbe to be able to collaborate
with someone who has more,um, background in visuals
and knows how to handle that side.
Um, that will be really powerful.
(09:24):
- Yeah, of course.
You know, having options,whether it's your own talent,
working with AI, findingsomebody else, um,
to help support that.
Lots, lots of good ideas out there.
So where do you get your inspiration from?
(09:44):
- So really inspiration, Ibelieve comes from everything.
Like you shouldn't, um, discard
or it's, it's just goout and live your life.
Um, have a culture, like learn new things.
I can find it in literature, especially.
I love literature, um, movies, of course,
(10:07):
pictures, memes, even, um, daily
experiences, daily things, conversations
that you can overhear,um, stories that people
around you tell you
or that you hear again, um, history,
it's also a great source.
Um, art in general, likepaintings, uh, art history,
(10:30):
those things, a philosophy even,
even though I don't writeabout politics directly,
but like the currentsituation of the world,
of the different countries,political situations, things
that are happening canbe an, an inspiration.
Love of, of course is like oneof the biggest inspirations
(10:53):
for art and music in general.
So I try to just talkingeverything that life has
to offer and that, and,
and I hope that reflectson the art that I make.
Basically, you don't try todo anything in particular.
You just, um, try toexperience life that as deeply
(11:16):
as possible, and that willcome through your artwork.
Like when it's very easyto see, especially, um,
in like art, in, invisual art, in painting
or drawing, when someoneis too in the mind,
very intellectual people, itreally shows in their art, in,
(11:39):
in the way, in the strokes ofthe, of the brush, you know,
and the, the way they,they basically draw it.
It, it's just, it's, it'ssomething that, you know it,
when you see it, you can feel it.
Um, versus someone
who is more open-mindedand more intuitive.
And generally, yes, theworld will be open like
with no prejudices at all.
(12:00):
The, the, the, the the,the art speaks differently.
And I believe in music is, is the same,
but, um, in visual art is
more clearly shown.
It's easier to imagine
and understand when you'retrying to explain it.
But trying to work on, on being open to
(12:23):
absolutely everything that comes
to you is the bestinspiration for any form
of art, I believe.
- Yes. Yeah, I think, youknow, that makes a lot of sense
and you explained it well.
It can be difficult to kind of,
at times understand those parallels
between the auditory versus the visual,
(12:43):
but knowing, you know, you'repulling inspiration and,
and thoughts and feeling from kind of
whatever life throws at you.
- Exactly.- So in my intro, I mentioned that you're,
uh, embarking on a bitof a nomadic lifestyle.
Do you wanna talk a little bit about
(13:04):
what that means for you?
- So, uh, traveling the world was, uh,
my other dream.
Um, and I starting to
do it in a more, uh, consistent way,
but trying to keep abalance, if it's possible,
(13:26):
I think it is, um, like to have somewhere
where it's like your base
and that if you need somestability for a while,
because at some point we all need that.
Um, you can stay and take your time,
and then when you're ready again,
you can just go in the world.
And to me, as I said,
(13:46):
the world itself is like my inspiration.
So traveling and experiencingdifferent cultures, um,
I believe is important for my art
and the things that I create,like meeting different people
and learning from them, trying other type
of foods or whatever.
It's all, it will allit's, it's not so as direct
(14:08):
as talking about a food thatyou tried in, in a song,
for example, but, um, thatday you, you ate that food
and unconsciously the kindof ideas that will come
to you will be differentthan if you ate another food.
Like, I believe everything influences you.
So being, uh, exposed to things
(14:31):
that are completely differentfrom the place you were born,
your e your, uh, culture
and traditions will enrich your creativity
and your overall life experience.
So that was very important for me
and that's how I, I experience it.
And I try to not do like,short trips to places.
(14:53):
I try to stay a bit longer to really,
because it's not the same togo as a tourist with a guide
and everything plannedout from the start than
to actually immerseyourself in this country
and live in it for a while,like more than a month
and, and really experiencetheir culture and habits.
(15:15):
Right.
- Of course.
So you mentioned a homebase, so I wanna start there.
Do you currently have a home base?
- I do. I prefer not to saywhere, but I do have one.
- That's okay. It's, youknow, good to, you know,
keep some things private in life.
(15:36):
So where are some of the longer trips
that you've taken more recently?
- Um, uh, Spain, Greece,for example, I love Europe,
has so much history in it.
- And what, what kind ofbrought you to those places?
(15:57):
What culture experienceswere you looking for?
- So, as my dad is French,I, I grew up in Peru,
but my dad is French, my mom was Peruvian,
and I,
he was always telling me storiesabout his life in France.
And so that gave me a lot of curiosity
and I, I just wanted toexperience France for myself.
(16:19):
So I ended up moving very early
to France to study, to just pursue
my dreams and learn and allthe things that I said already.
And that, from there I went to Netherlands
and then to Spain, um,and Europe in general.
(16:41):
I always have that, um, love
for all its history and culture again.
And its art, architecture,architecture, I dunno
how to pronounce that word.
Um, yes, I find it very, very,
very rich in culture and history.
Um, it's true that, um, like
(17:03):
when we talk about history for example,
or art history, there'salways like a, a focus on
what Europe has done
and not so much on what therest of the world has done.
And I'm very aware of that,but, um, it's really special
and, and I know, I don't know,I, I just had a connection.
(17:23):
I always had a connection with Europe,
but I, I am curious as well for the rest
of the world is just more,less familiar for me.
Um, but yes, that, that's, um,
that was like the primary,primary motivation
to move out into the world.
(17:44):
And that was the firstplace I started with.
But I would love to, togo to Asia, to Korea,
South Korea, Japan, one day an experience
that must be totallydifferent vibe for sure.
- Of course. And soyou had that, you know,
familial connection thatwas able to, you know, kind
(18:05):
of give you a launching pointto start with and travel.
So what was it like growing up with
parents from different cultures?
- Um, so, um, it was funny
because my dad will alwaysspeaking Spanish with us
and always with his Frenchaccent that obviously nobody
(18:27):
has in Peru.
So it, that was pretty unique and fun.
Um, and then my mom, very Peruvian , um,
they would, I don't know,it was fun, it was good.
It was enriching.
Um, I don't remember themhaving like issues or arguments
(18:48):
because of cultural ways of doing.
Um, maybe there, there was some of it,
but nothing that, like, thenegatives of it wouldn't, um,
IIII wouldn't be affectedby the downsides, let's say.
Um, and that allowed me to, to have a very
(19:11):
broad horizons from the beginning.
And that's something I'm grateful for
because sadly in Peruthere is a huge career
between those who havemoney and those who don't.
And it's very hard.
And I believe in South Americain general, it's very hard
(19:33):
to, to get out fromthere if you don't have
something, you know?
Um, in my case, having Frenchcitizenship was a blessing
because it allowed me tojust go out from, from
this reality that wasn'tthe best, um, in terms
(19:54):
of financial possibilities in
and to have opportunitiesthat many other people who,
who don't have that sadly,
will probably never have.
That doesn't mean it'simpossible to succeed
if you, if you are just apoor South American, right?
(20:17):
It is totally possible.
Uh, it's just that differentpeople get different cards in
this game, and it's all about
how you play the cards you were given
because I met peoplewith great cards in life,
and they are totally ruiningtheir lives by their attitudes
and their traumas
and problems that they don'treally want to acknowledge
(20:38):
and take responsibility for.
But it's harder
because I have friendsthat were only Peruvian
and I know how much they hadto fight to get the same,
like the, the, the right to live in France
and work in France, for example,
and build a life, a better life there
for them and their family.
(21:00):
Um, so I know that, uh, thatwas a big, big blessing for me
to have that card in particular.
- And had you gotten thechance at all to travel
outside of Peru
before, you know, kindof you started traveling,
um, as an adult?
(21:22):
- No, no, that was my first trip.
- And so obviously, you know, your dad
with his French accent, speakingSpanish, um, not something
that, that people had, um,
necessarily a lot of experience with.
So would you mind sharinghow your parents met?
(21:43):
- Yeah, that was a very funny story
because actually my dad,when he went to like,
he was kind of the opposite.
Like we both have the samepurpose of getting out of our,
our, uh, birth countries,but he was the opposite.
He went out from Franceinto South America,
and he first arrived inChile and then to Argentina,
(22:08):
and then he stayed at a hotel
where the receptionist of thehotel happened to be my mom,
and that's how they met , basically.
- That's great. You know,kind of some of those paths
that you just kind of run into each other.
So has your mom ever gottenthe chance to travel?
(22:32):
- Um, she traveled a little bit.
She also was in Chile and Argentina,
but she was a country, uh, of us.
Like she really was, uh,like she really wanted
to be in Peru for different reasons,
and so she was not the type to live
(22:52):
in another country thatis not her country.
So, so a little bit different, um,
than us, but that all alsocame with its sets of lessons
and blessings and downsides and upsides.
So.
- Of course.
So what has it been like, you know, living
(23:16):
away from home, you know,you wanted to get out of Peru
and now you've had thesechances for extended times.
What, what was that kindof first like for you?
- Um, so I always been very independent.
Um, so I obviously missed some things
(23:37):
and I missed my mom andthose kind of things,
but I never,
I don't remember having likean actual true depression.
Like, I met people thatthey just can't make it.
They, they stay a few months and out away
and they just can't, and they come back.
(24:00):
And so,
but in my case, I I, Ihad also big motivations
to not come back in thesense that, um, this really,
for me in particular, forthe things I wanted to do
and I wanted to do in life,
it didn't feel like there was much
opportunity in my birthplace.
And so for my parents,it was like a huge work
(24:22):
and sacrifices to, to help me go out.
Like I almost feel that in a soul level,
that was the purpose of ourwhole family, that that one
of us could go out and do things.
And I don't know, it's,it's just a feeling, right?
But then in that sense, it wasn't hard,
(24:43):
but, uh, it was lonely at the beginning
and I was feeling verylost at the beginning,
but, uh, eventually I could make it and,
and I always had that support, uh,
unconditional support inthe distance, so that, uh,
was like a, I know they arethere, they have my back
(25:04):
and I can keep flying, you know, so
they always encourage that on me.
So it wasn't that hard.
Like I know especiallylike in South America,
moms have a hard timeletting their children go
and unconsciously thatthat can happen everywhere.
Actually, it's very obviousin South America, maybe for me
(25:27):
because I'm from there,
but that can actually happen everywhere.
Um, they mothers unconsciously,um, educate their,
their children to stay with them forever.
And that's why symbolically the figure
of the father is important
because it's the one thatcan help the child break
(25:47):
that link in a certain sense
because it's necessary for thechild to break a little bit
that, that, that link inorder to become an adult
and mature and do things
and be like an useful human being.
Um, so my parents alwaysencouraged that for me,
(26:10):
and in that sense it wasn't really
that hard for me.
- Yeah. Well, it's good to,you know, hear that you had
that encouragement, youknow, and you were able to go
and then, you know, ableto continue traveling.
You didn't feel that kindof pull back like some
(26:33):
of your peers may have felt.
So how has it been, youknow, staying afloat
while traveling?
What kind of are youdoing, um, to, you know,
make sure the bills are paideven if you might not have,
um, kind of like set bills during travel?
(26:59):
- So at first I had the blessing, like
that's another blessing if youhave French citizenship, is
that at least that, um,
during my times atuniversity school, et cetera,
if you have not much money,
the government will give you some.
(27:19):
So you are basically paid for studying,
and then it depends onhow wisely you use that.
It's not much money, butit's, it's, uh, it's to live.
It's, you can, you can kindof make it and debatable,
but it's a help after all.
(27:39):
And so at first I would have that, um,
I can't say I was verywise with that money,
but that's, you live and learn, right?
And then I worked like in restaurants
and bars, I, I used to teach
English and dance lessons.
(28:02):
I worked like in poledance, uh, schools teaching
beginner, uh, dancersand things like that.
And then, uh, while I waslike building my brand online
and then having likea, like a fun club, um,
for the people who wereinterested in supporting, um, my,
(28:24):
the things that I do, mymusic, my art, and, and,
and that's how I combiningall those things.
That's how, and,
and in the, in the processalso, like, I always like, um,
I learned to love likeentrepreneurship, entrepreneurship
and things like thatbecause it's like the thing
that most resonates withme, my love for freedom
(28:48):
to do whatever I wantand the way I want it.
And yes, learning abouta lo as many things
as I can on, on the way.
- Yes, it's, it's importantto have, you know, that
curiosity, you know, spiritto continue to learn,
to continue to grow.
(29:09):
Are you currently kind ofstill studying something
or are you kind of more inthe stages of life of you,
you've gathered your knowledge
and you're now puttingeverything out there.
- So you never stop learning.
Um, I'm on the process right now to try
to get my brand to the next level by, um,
(29:33):
like fi as I said in thebeginning, like finding someone
who has knowledge in,in video edition video,
special effects, AI tocollaborate with, uh, in order
to be able to make thecontent I really want
to make in the way I want to make it.
And also to be able to focus on creating,
(29:55):
because the idea is to createthe soundtracks for stories
that we can tell.
And as a musician, I shouldbe focusing more of my, most
of my time on making the music
and not so much on the visuals.
So at some point you have to acknowledge
that you can't know everything, um,
and that you have to delegate some things.
(30:16):
So that's like the goal for now.
And in the meantime, I'mstill learning about mixing,
about music production,about mastering and marketing
and the business side foran artist is so important.
And most of us are so reluctantto learn the business side
of this industry, but it'simportant that you do it
(30:39):
because, um,
two things will happen if youdon't learn the business side
is one, you won't earn any money from your
efforts, from your art.
And two, you can getused, uh, taken advantage
of scams.
Like in the music you have, the labels
and labels most of thetimes are like the worst
(31:04):
agreement you can get yourself into.
Um, because basically they are very, uh,
wild with you.
Like they might investin you for a single,
not even an album, a single.
And if the single doesn't get
to the numbers theywant at the first goal,
(31:24):
you might be in the like archived forever
and you might have signeda five year contract, uh,
of exclusive contractsthat you can't do anything
unless it's with them and theywon't do anything with you.
So you basically losefive years of your life,
(31:45):
and that's a lot for any career.
So you have to know whatyou're doing, you have
to have people to adviseyou, you have to know how
to read your, those contracts and,
and yeah, basically defend yourself.
And today, um, it's never been as easy
(32:05):
as today to be an independent artist.
So there's really no much of a need
for, for a label.
So I'm a great independentartist advocate.
- Yes. You know, I mean, it's important to
figure out the legalities of things
(32:26):
and making sure thatyou are doing, you know,
what's best for you.
So being an independentartist, you know, needing
to know the business sideof things, what does that,
like, if you want to putsomething out into the world,
what does that all includeto make sure, you know,
(32:48):
you're getting into allof the right channels?
- Okay, so, um, I would say
I, well, it's like a big,
it can look like overwhelming,
but first of all, it would be to,
(33:11):
to have your music skillas good as you can.
But as you never stop learning,
I would say like thestep number zero will be
to have a vision of your goal of what you,
how you see yourselfin like five, 10 years.
Um, and that obviously canchange the more you learn
(33:33):
because actually so manyvenues, so many things
that you can do in the music industry
or in the art in general,
that it doesn't stopat being a tour artist,
a touring artist that releases albums.
Um, and so it depends onhow, how much you want
to learn, how, how you want to work,
(33:54):
because you can be a singer songwriter
and you know aboutsongwriting, singing and,
and setting up a mock-upfor a producer to listen to,
but you can also godeeper and compose and,
and do orchestration and, andmixing and all those things
and become a cinematiccomposer, for example.
(34:16):
Um, and in betweenthere is so many things.
So first of all, I willhave like the vision
and then, um, comes the brand.
And to have a brand that is cohesive,
and I wouldn't say likeput yourself into a niche,
like if you do country music,
then you are in the niche of country.
(34:36):
I would be more like you.
What's what, what makes you unique and
therefore what makes your music unique
or your, um, illustrations or your videos
or whatever art you are making actually.
And because people
will consume from you if they like you.
So it's not just aboutthe music or the product.
(34:59):
Many musicians just focuson the music instead of,
of focusing on themselves
and the value they bring to the audience.
And just showing yourselflike in, in general,
beyond the music
and what makes you uniquewill create the niche of you,
and that's a winner
(35:21):
because nobody can beat you at being you.
So if you can master that,that becomes your brand.
And that, as I said, ithas to feel cohesive.
Like the images you choose,the colors, the, the, the,
the letters, the font, right?
It is all, all has to be thesame in all the channels.
And then talking about thechannels, I wouldn't start like
(35:44):
with everything at once
because that's, that's, um, overwhelming.
But let's say you are good at long format,
then maybe YouTube or you, you, your music
or the things you talkabout are kind of deeper
or mature, then maybeYouTube is a great channel
for you or even Twitter.
And then if you are morelighthearted, let's say,
(36:08):
or funny or you like comedy and trends,
or you don't have much time,
you can go on the shortcontent format for like TikTok,
Instagram, and then of courseyou can repurpose content.
Like you shouldn't be spending
more time on content thanon music in my opinion.
But you can document yourprocess, like show people
(36:32):
how you create your music, the, the down,
the pitfalls you go through,like your challenges and,
and how you were trying to do something
and then, uh, it seemed likeit, you wouldn't succeed,
succeed, and then youended up making it somehow.
So that kind of processes,people love following
(36:53):
that story.
Um, so yes, that, that are,those are things you can do.
And then there's moreadvanced marketing like, uh,
campaigns on Facebook onGoogle, that's more, uh,
al although for, for ifyou wanna release an album
for example, I wouldn't, um,yes, maybe a like campaign
(37:18):
for for growing your Facebook page,
but I don't know if,if, um, paid advertising
for selling an album wouldbe the best option today
because the cost per lead, sothe cost of possible people
who would buy from youhas increased a lot.
(37:39):
Like if you put $20, forexample, in an advertising,
how many people click on your advertising
or subscribe to your newsletter,
and then how many peopleactually buy from you, you divide
that and that's your cost per lead.
Let's say you put a hundred dollars
and you got, uh, I don't know,10 people, then you divide,
(38:00):
that's your cost per lead.
And so for an album that cost 10 to $15
or merchandise that can go up to $30, $40
and then the packages you wanna do,
like you can do dealslike a a t-shirt plus
the album, whatever.
(38:21):
Um, I don't think is themost profitable thing
to do personally when you canlearn to create viral content
that you can put on TikTokor Facebook organically
and get millions of views.
That will be like, Iwill definitely learn how
to create viral organic contentfirst, like viral videos,
(38:44):
um, and focus on that, onhow you can use a formula to,
to promote your music, um, and,
and grow your brand through that.
That's what I would do. Um,that's what I'm doing basically.
That's what I'm trying to do actually.
Um, and yes, the, thefinding your style on
(39:06):
how you wanna create yourcontent, that's at least for me,
my biggest challenge.
It might not be for others, so,
but that, that's likethe hint I can give, uh,
to whoever is listeningto me and might need this.
Um, it's, uh, the viral contentfor artists in particular
(39:27):
because, uh, paid ads rightnow, I see it more for people
who are selling like expensive,high-end, uh, high tickets,
it's called services,
like things they will charge at
least a thousand dollars for.
And, um, that's difficultthat it will happen
as a recording artist that makes albums.
(39:48):
Like maybe if you have, ifyou wanna teach for example,
your skills and you have courses
or you want to have coachingfor, I don't know, you want
to coach someone in, in,you are a voice coach
or a instrument teacher,or maybe you're a producer
and you want to get hired for mixing
(40:11):
and mastering music for others,then that's like bigger,
a higher ticket price tag.
And then, uh, paid adsif you, if you learn how
to do them right, will be, um,
more profitable for you, for example.
- Right. So you, you spoke alittle bit about, you know,
(40:32):
making sure, you know, you,you find your uniqueness and,
and you know, you notnecessarily pigeonholing yourself
into one corner of the market.
So how did you kind of figureout like what makes you, you
and what makes you unique?
- Um, I love making peoplelaugh. That's one thing.
(40:57):
And I have, I love fantasy as well.
Like if I could choose tomorrow,
like if tomorrow I had someonefrom Hollywood telling me
I will put you, um, to create the music,
I will make you create themusic for the next big movie,
what genre would you do you want?
I will say fantasy, maybe science fiction
(41:20):
and certainly anything that isanimated, I will say yes to.
So, um, and that's why Ifeel a little bit limited by,
by my own skills in visualarts and the time as well
because that's the type ofvideos I, I want to create
and that I'm searchingsomeone for to help me, like
(41:45):
to create fantasy worlds andput the soundtrack to them and,
and yes, fantastic stories, uh,
that at the same time funny and relatable.
Like for example, an ideathat comes to my mind,
like when you are decluttering your closet
and you find the entrance to Narnia
(42:06):
and you're literally like a visual effect
that gets you into a magical forest
and then the music changes
and becomes very, very fairy like, uh,
fairytale like and those type of things.
Um, using the different genres to, to,
to entertain basically it'slike, it's like movies still,
(42:28):
but like in short, liketwo to three minute movies.
Um, that's, that's theidea that I'm having,
that I have right now.
So that, that will, that I, that that is
what will be my style to create stories
and movies that are short andeasy to watch and that's me.
(42:50):
Then other people like to teach properly
and so they can do, um,tutorials on YouTube
or other people might love blogging
and that's an amazing wayof creating content as well
to just do vlogging andlet people get to know you
and just make sure
(43:10):
that people can learnsomething from your vlogs,
like the traditional vloggingwere just showing off your
life doesn't work anymore.
You can use the vlog formatto show your journey and,
and to share any lessonsthat you are getting
through your journey thatmight serve other people so
(43:31):
that it would be the blog format.
And then you have trends that'smore for short form content
that you can adapt to whatyou do and, and use them.
You can be a talking head also,
you can react to viral videos.
There's so many, so many ways, um,
(43:54):
you can do if you have a team
and the possibilities to likerecord high quality videos,
as I said before, whatare the cars you have
and how you can use them the best
to get to where you want?
- Great. I think that's allreally good information,
(44:16):
you know, for people to hear
and to realize, you know, figuring out
where you know you wanted to be
and you know where otherpeople can see themselves.
Well, at the end of all my episodes,
I do ask my guests a random question.
So my question for you today is
what chore do you find the easiest?
(44:39):
- Like at home you mean?- Yes.
- Um, cooking sometimes
and washing the dishes by hand.
If it's not like the big, like the pots
and the skillets and those type of things
and the, the electronicappliances like mixer
and these type of things,I hate washing them,
(45:02):
but if it's like the fineChina and, and the cutlery
and those things, Ifind it's very relaxing.
Actually, it's funnythat you asked me that
because I used to be thetype of person who hated, um,
chores in general until I found this book
that is called Home Comfort by, um,
(45:24):
by, um, I think it's Cheryl Mendelson,
if I'm not confusing the name.
Yeah, it's Cheryl Mendelson
and it's a thick book, very,
very like thick like a bible.
And they teach you, it teachesyou everything you have
(45:45):
to know to do good housekeeping from how
to clean everything, howto keep like, uh, silver,
silver things shiny andhow to take care of China
and how to take care of,of linens and clothes and,
and bed sheets and absolutely everything.
(46:07):
And so I started reading that and,
and when I understood likethere was a correct way of doing
that, that you could learn
and that sadly in ourgeneration, we hardly, like
many of us haven't beentaught how to do those things
because our generation isthe generation that, uh,
(46:30):
their parents, ourparents, uh, really, um,
focused us into study, go to university,
do a master's degree andthis degree and two careers
and whatever, and you willbe prepared for the world
and have a job that pays you
and all those things that most
of the time don't come true in the end.
(46:51):
Like many people over prepare
and then when they go out into life,
they dunno how to do anything.
So many of us, uh, didn'tlearn to do the chores.
Uh, I don't say all of us,
but many of us like me included,that was my experience.
And even our parentsthemselves didn't know how
to do many of those things.
(47:12):
Like, uh, at some point,I don't know what it,
it became like, um, something that
was considered not important and
therefore many people didn't even learn it
or we just became toobusy working to even, um,
pay attention to that.
And so once I learned like theright way to do those things,
(47:35):
I, I started enjoying them surprisingly.
So that's,
that's a book I recommend ifyou are struggling with that.
Like it's so there's nothingmore comforting to me
to, than the food that I cook for myself
and then I serve in, in my, in my dishes
(47:57):
and that are, that Ifound like antique China
to motivate myself to eat healthy.
Like if I spend money on those,I have to use them now so
I have to cook to use theminstead of going out, right?
So that, that, that's how I,I, I put a solution to that.
(48:18):
Um, and so whatever gets you motivated,
like it's comforting.
And when you have a system,it's all about systems, uh,
actually, and when you go
and you find your towels are clean
and you always have allthe clothes you need
because you have a system toget them washed regularly,
(48:40):
and so it doesn't accumulate, right?
Um, you know what I mean? Soit's very, very comforting.
Knowing to do those thingsis not as hard as it seems
and it pays off in the endin terms of time saving
and headache saving.
(49:04):
- All right, that bringsthis episode to a close.
So of course if you would liketo connect with Catherine,
her website will be in thedescription so you can find lots
of good information thereand connect with her
and learn more from her andwhat she's got going on.
Of course, if you'd like toconnect with the podcast,
our website is also in the description.
It brings you to all of ourpast episodes, past resources,
(49:26):
guest, social media, allof those good things.
And of course our social medias.
We are on Instagram,Facebook and LinkedIn.
If you'd like to go follow those pages.
There's also a link in the description
to support the podcastmonetarily if you are
interested in doing that.
And my email is also in the description.
That is always the best way to reach me,
and if you would like tobe a guest on the show,
you can always email me.
(49:48):
So thank you so muchCatherine for spending time
with me today and to mylisteners for taking the time out
of your day to hear a new story.
Until next time, bye.
- Goodbye Sarah, andthank you for having me.
- Hello and welcome to Introducing Me.
I'm your host Sarah. Istarted this podcast to get
to know other people and lifestyles while
discovering more about myself.
Each episode, I'll givea new guest a chance
to discuss their background,culture, interests,
or whatever they want to talkabout to help increase all
of our own worldviews.
Today, I would like to introduce you
to Catherine Gairard. Catherineis a versatile artist,
(00:37):
weaving together theworlds of music modeling
and artistic expression. With a half French
and half Peruvian heritage,
she has found herselfin a nomadic lifestyle,
pursuing her artistic passions.
So she's here to talk aboutsome of those artistic passions,
her heritage, and thevarious cultures she's
gotten to experience.
(00:58):
So I'm grateful to haveCatherine here today.
Thank you so much, Catherine.
Why don't you go ahead and tell
the audience more about yourself.
- Hello, Sarah. Thank you so much
for having me here in your podcast.
It's a pleasure. And as yousaid, my name is Catherine.
I am an artist, primarilya musician with a love
for visual arts that I use to give, um,
(01:21):
like a more depth.
I feel visuals helpgive depth to the music.
So it's not only like a,like a hearing experience,
but also like a,
like the eyes are includedin the experience.
Uh, I just love the combination of both.
(01:42):
Um, that's what I do.
I create music that has acinematic flavor onto it.
Um, I mix elements from differentgenres, like heavy metal,
classical music, medieval music folk.
Yeah, that's what I do. .
- So how did you firstget into creating music
(02:04):
and various artistic expression?
- So, um, I always loved music.
Um, it was always kindof present in my life,
but I didn't come from like a, um,
like my family couldn'tafford to give me lessons, uh,
on music since a young age.
(02:25):
It was quite expensive to do that.
And so I had to wait until I was 15
where my mom gave me my guitar.
That was my first instrument that I tried.
And then it started from there.
And at first there was thismyth that if you started,
if you didn't start earlierin life, like as a child,
(02:47):
then you couldn't make it as a musician.
But that's actually false.
You can make it, it's a matterof discipline and consistency
and studying a lot.
So later on, I, thanksto internet courses,
online courses that Ifound that were free,
even YouTube tutorials and everything.
(03:07):
I learned about music theory
because I always knew that Iwanted to compose to music,
to create music,
but I wasn't sure likehow, which genre, whatever.
So I started with the firststep, which was just learning
to make music, right.
Um, so I started from there
and then, uh, with hard work,I improved my situation.
(03:31):
And then I was able tohave teachers for singing
for the harp, for the guitar, the piano,
and composing in particular.
And then discovered the world of cinema.
That that was something thatI, I was, was always there.
Like I always loved movies.
And then I realized thatI would put the movie
(03:52):
just while I was doing something else.
So I was following the, the,the, the story, the plot more
through the sounds and the music
and the dialogues ratherthan the images themselves.
So right now I'm on this pathto become a cinema composer,
uh, film score composer.
So yes, that, that's like my,my background a little bit.
(04:18):
- Yeah. So a lot of, youknow, self-taught through
online options
'cause you didn't have the, you know,
the financial resourceswhen you were younger.
So what all,
'cause it sounded like there were a few,
what all instruments haveyou ended up learning?
- I started with the guitar.
(04:39):
Um, I'm not like a guitarist,
but I can do some things on the guitar
because it, it neverreally hooked me as much.
Um, my main instrumentis the voice I sing,
and now I am focusedall in, in on the harp,
which I love.
And then I am learning the piano
(05:01):
because as a composer,especially when you work
on your computer and allyour instruments are virtual
instruments, because it'snearly impossible for most of us
to have like a full orchestra, right?
So you have libraries of virtualinstruments that allow you
to have an orchestra
(05:21):
and basically anyinstrument that you want,
and you control them by a midi keyboard.
And so skill at piano is helpful
to help you compose in amore, um, efficient way.
And, and then I triedthe violin a little bit,
but as I'm focused onthe harp right now, I,
(05:43):
I'm not doing violin, but Ilove that instrument as well.
It's just that you can'tlearn everything at once, .
So you have to focus andyou can learn everything,
but to, it's better tostart with something.
And then once you get to acertain level at that instrument
that satisfies you, then youkind start with another one.
(06:06):
So that's what I'm doing.
Um, and also when you wannabecome a composer, you have
to know, you have to havesome skill at production,
some mixing, because sometimes,uh, in low budget projects,
you won't have the, youwon't have another person
(06:26):
to mix and master for you.
So you have to be ableto already give something
that is usable and thatyou can distribute already.
Um, so you have to know basicsfor mixing and mastering.
So that's a lot of things for
that career that you need to know.
(06:47):
So that's, that's, um, my goal right now.
- Definitely lots to learn
and lots, lots of placesto choose to focus in.
So because you, you know,you have this desire for
cinematic music, what do you kind
of do on the visual side of things?
(07:11):
- So, um, right now, um, thereis several possibilities.
Like I love 2D animation,for example, that you,
there's this program calledProcreate that makes it so easy
to do, um, 2D animation.
Those of you who areillustrators may know about it.
And since I love drawing,um, that was one of the,
(07:34):
of the, of the ideas.
But now with AI, you canmake really amazing things,
uh, in terms of video
and image that I would love to explore.
And I would love to find actually someone
who knows about those things
because it's like anotherskill in another world.
(07:59):
But the, the possibilitiesare really great.
I've been experimentinga little bit with runway,
for example, and you canhave pictures of yourself
and it'll transform them into videos.
So is it still you?
I have pictures, professionalpictures that I have taken.
And since everything ismoving now with video,
(08:20):
like image on, on socialmedia doesn't have
that much power as video.
So that a great toolfor using those pictures
that took me hours to make,you know, going to the studio
with a photographer and everything and,
and now I can turn them into
something interesting into video.
Um, so that's my experimentation for now.
(08:43):
But I know there are workflows that,
like a stable diffusion, for example,
that you can literally createlike your own landscapes
and do a composite of another video,
and it will take the background out of it
and match the lights and everything.
So it's, that's amazing.
But that's like a whole world
(09:04):
that I'm just introducing myself in.
And actually the best willbe to be able to collaborate
with someone who has more,um, background in visuals
and knows how to handle that side.
Um, that will be really powerful.
(09:24):
- Yeah, of course.
You know, having options,whether it's your own talent,
working with AI, findingsomebody else, um,
to help support that.
Lots, lots of good ideas out there.
So where do you get your inspiration from?
(09:44):
- So really inspiration, Ibelieve comes from everything.
Like you shouldn't, um, discard
or it's, it's just goout and live your life.
Um, have a culture, like learn new things.
I can find it in literature, especially.
I love literature, um, movies, of course,
(10:07):
pictures, memes, even, um, daily
experiences, daily things, conversations
that you can overhear,um, stories that people
around you tell you
or that you hear again, um, history,
it's also a great source.
Um, art in general, likepaintings, uh, art history,
(10:30):
those things, a philosophy even,
even though I don't writeabout politics directly,
but like the currentsituation of the world,
of the different countries,political situations, things
that are happening canbe an, an inspiration.
Love of, of course is like oneof the biggest inspirations
(10:53):
for art and music in general.
So I try to just talkingeverything that life has
to offer and that, and,
and I hope that reflectson the art that I make.
Basically, you don't try todo anything in particular.
You just, um, try toexperience life that as deeply
(11:16):
as possible, and that willcome through your artwork.
Like when it's very easyto see, especially, um,
in like art, in, invisual art, in painting
or drawing, when someoneis too in the mind,
very intellectual people, itreally shows in their art, in,
(11:39):
in the way, in the strokes ofthe, of the brush, you know,
and the, the way they,they basically draw it.
It, it's just, it's, it'ssomething that, you know it,
when you see it, you can feel it.
Um, versus someone
who is more open-mindedand more intuitive.
And generally, yes, theworld will be open like
with no prejudices at all.
(12:00):
The, the, the, the the,the art speaks differently.
And I believe in music is, is the same,
but, um, in visual art is
more clearly shown.
It's easier to imagine
and understand when you'retrying to explain it.
But trying to work on, on being open to
(12:23):
absolutely everything that comes
to you is the bestinspiration for any form
of art, I believe.
- Yes. Yeah, I think, youknow, that makes a lot of sense
and you explained it well.
It can be difficult to kind of,
at times understand those parallels
between the auditory versus the visual,
(12:43):
but knowing, you know, you'repulling inspiration and,
and thoughts and feeling from kind of
whatever life throws at you.
- Exactly.- So in my intro, I mentioned that you're,
uh, embarking on a bitof a nomadic lifestyle.
Do you wanna talk a little bit about
(13:04):
what that means for you?
- So, uh, traveling the world was, uh,
my other dream.
Um, and I starting to
do it in a more, uh, consistent way,
but trying to keep abalance, if it's possible,
(13:26):
I think it is, um, like to have somewhere
where it's like your base
and that if you need somestability for a while,
because at some point we all need that.
Um, you can stay and take your time,
and then when you're ready again,
you can just go in the world.
And to me, as I said,
(13:46):
the world itself is like my inspiration.
So traveling and experiencingdifferent cultures, um,
I believe is important for my art
and the things that I create,like meeting different people
and learning from them, trying other type
of foods or whatever.
It's all, it will allit's, it's not so as direct
(14:08):
as talking about a food thatyou tried in, in a song,
for example, but, um, thatday you, you ate that food
and unconsciously the kindof ideas that will come
to you will be differentthan if you ate another food.
Like, I believe everything influences you.
So being, uh, exposed to things
(14:31):
that are completely differentfrom the place you were born,
your e your, uh, culture
and traditions will enrich your creativity
and your overall life experience.
So that was very important for me
and that's how I, I experience it.
And I try to not do like,short trips to places.
(14:53):
I try to stay a bit longer to really,
because it's not the same togo as a tourist with a guide
and everything plannedout from the start than
to actually immerseyourself in this country
and live in it for a while,like more than a month
and, and really experiencetheir culture and habits.
(15:15):
Right.
- Of course.
So you mentioned a homebase, so I wanna start there.
Do you currently have a home base?
- I do. I prefer not to saywhere, but I do have one.
- That's okay. It's, youknow, good to, you know,
keep some things private in life.
(15:36):
So where are some of the longer trips
that you've taken more recently?
- Um, uh, Spain, Greece,for example, I love Europe,
has so much history in it.
- And what, what kind ofbrought you to those places?
(15:57):
What culture experienceswere you looking for?
- So, as my dad is French,I, I grew up in Peru,
but my dad is French, my mom was Peruvian,
and I,
he was always telling me storiesabout his life in France.
And so that gave me a lot of curiosity
and I, I just wanted toexperience France for myself.
(16:19):
So I ended up moving very early
to France to study, to just pursue
my dreams and learn and allthe things that I said already.
And that, from there I went to Netherlands
and then to Spain, um,and Europe in general.
(16:41):
I always have that, um, love
for all its history and culture again.
And its art, architecture,architecture, I dunno
how to pronounce that word.
Um, yes, I find it very, very,
very rich in culture and history.
Um, it's true that, um, like
(17:03):
when we talk about history for example,
or art history, there'salways like a, a focus on
what Europe has done
and not so much on what therest of the world has done.
And I'm very aware of that,but, um, it's really special
and, and I know, I don't know,I, I just had a connection.
(17:23):
I always had a connection with Europe,
but I, I am curious as well for the rest
of the world is just more,less familiar for me.
Um, but yes, that, that's, um,
that was like the primary,primary motivation
to move out into the world.
(17:44):
And that was the firstplace I started with.
But I would love to, togo to Asia, to Korea,
South Korea, Japan, one day an experience
that must be totallydifferent vibe for sure.
- Of course. And soyou had that, you know,
familial connection thatwas able to, you know, kind
(18:05):
of give you a launching pointto start with and travel.
So what was it like growing up with
parents from different cultures?
- Um, so, um, it was funny
because my dad will alwaysspeaking Spanish with us
and always with his Frenchaccent that obviously nobody
(18:27):
has in Peru.
So it, that was pretty unique and fun.
Um, and then my mom, very Peruvian , um,
they would, I don't know,it was fun, it was good.
It was enriching.
Um, I don't remember themhaving like issues or arguments
(18:48):
because of cultural ways of doing.
Um, maybe there, there was some of it,
but nothing that, like, thenegatives of it wouldn't, um,
IIII wouldn't be affectedby the downsides, let's say.
Um, and that allowed me to, to have a very
(19:11):
broad horizons from the beginning.
And that's something I'm grateful for
because sadly in Peruthere is a huge career
between those who havemoney and those who don't.
And it's very hard.
And I believe in South Americain general, it's very hard
(19:33):
to, to get out fromthere if you don't have
something, you know?
Um, in my case, having Frenchcitizenship was a blessing
because it allowed me tojust go out from, from
this reality that wasn'tthe best, um, in terms
(19:54):
of financial possibilities in
and to have opportunitiesthat many other people who,
who don't have that sadly,
will probably never have.
That doesn't mean it'simpossible to succeed
if you, if you are just apoor South American, right?
(20:17):
It is totally possible.
Uh, it's just that differentpeople get different cards in
this game, and it's all about
how you play the cards you were given
because I met peoplewith great cards in life,
and they are totally ruiningtheir lives by their attitudes
and their traumas
and problems that they don'treally want to acknowledge
(20:38):
and take responsibility for.
But it's harder
because I have friendsthat were only Peruvian
and I know how much they hadto fight to get the same,
like the, the, the right to live in France
and work in France, for example,
and build a life, a better life there
for them and their family.
(21:00):
Um, so I know that, uh, thatwas a big, big blessing for me
to have that card in particular.
- And had you gotten thechance at all to travel
outside of Peru
before, you know, kindof you started traveling,
um, as an adult?
(21:22):
- No, no, that was my first trip.
- And so obviously, you know, your dad
with his French accent, speakingSpanish, um, not something
that, that people had, um,
necessarily a lot of experience with.
So would you mind sharinghow your parents met?
(21:43):
- Yeah, that was a very funny story
because actually my dad,when he went to like,
he was kind of the opposite.
Like we both have the samepurpose of getting out of our,
our, uh, birth countries,but he was the opposite.
He went out from Franceinto South America,
and he first arrived inChile and then to Argentina,
(22:08):
and then he stayed at a hotel
where the receptionist of thehotel happened to be my mom,
and that's how they met , basically.
- That's great. You know,kind of some of those paths
that you just kind of run into each other.
So has your mom ever gottenthe chance to travel?
(22:32):
- Um, she traveled a little bit.
She also was in Chile and Argentina,
but she was a country, uh, of us.
Like she really was, uh,like she really wanted
to be in Peru for different reasons,
and so she was not the type to live
(22:52):
in another country thatis not her country.
So, so a little bit different, um,
than us, but that all alsocame with its sets of lessons
and blessings and downsides and upsides.
So.
- Of course.
So what has it been like, you know, living
(23:16):
away from home, you know,you wanted to get out of Peru
and now you've had thesechances for extended times.
What, what was that kindof first like for you?
- Um, so I always been very independent.
Um, so I obviously missed some things
(23:37):
and I missed my mom andthose kind of things,
but I never,
I don't remember having likean actual true depression.
Like, I met people thatthey just can't make it.
They, they stay a few months and out away
and they just can't, and they come back.
(24:00):
And so,
but in my case, I I, Ihad also big motivations
to not come back in thesense that, um, this really,
for me in particular, forthe things I wanted to do
and I wanted to do in life,
it didn't feel like there was much
opportunity in my birthplace.
And so for my parents,it was like a huge work
(24:22):
and sacrifices to, to help me go out.
Like I almost feel that in a soul level,
that was the purpose of ourwhole family, that that one
of us could go out and do things.
And I don't know, it's,it's just a feeling, right?
But then in that sense, it wasn't hard,
(24:43):
but, uh, it was lonely at the beginning
and I was feeling verylost at the beginning,
but, uh, eventually I could make it and,
and I always had that support, uh,
unconditional support inthe distance, so that, uh,
was like a, I know they arethere, they have my back
(25:04):
and I can keep flying, you know, so
they always encourage that on me.
So it wasn't that hard.
Like I know especiallylike in South America,
moms have a hard timeletting their children go
and unconsciously thatthat can happen everywhere.
Actually, it's very obviousin South America, maybe for me
(25:27):
because I'm from there,
but that can actually happen everywhere.
Um, they mothers unconsciously,um, educate their,
their children to stay with them forever.
And that's why symbolically the figure
of the father is important
because it's the one thatcan help the child break
(25:47):
that link in a certain sense
because it's necessary for thechild to break a little bit
that, that, that link inorder to become an adult
and mature and do things
and be like an useful human being.
Um, so my parents alwaysencouraged that for me,
(26:10):
and in that sense it wasn't really
that hard for me.
- Yeah. Well, it's good to,you know, hear that you had
that encouragement, youknow, and you were able to go
and then, you know, ableto continue traveling.
You didn't feel that kindof pull back like some
(26:33):
of your peers may have felt.
So how has it been, youknow, staying afloat
while traveling?
What kind of are youdoing, um, to, you know,
make sure the bills are paideven if you might not have,
um, kind of like set bills during travel?
(26:59):
- So at first I had the blessing, like
that's another blessing if youhave French citizenship, is
that at least that, um,
during my times atuniversity school, et cetera,
if you have not much money,
the government will give you some.
(27:19):
So you are basically paid for studying,
and then it depends onhow wisely you use that.
It's not much money, butit's, it's, uh, it's to live.
It's, you can, you can kindof make it and debatable,
but it's a help after all.
(27:39):
And so at first I would have that, um,
I can't say I was verywise with that money,
but that's, you live and learn, right?
And then I worked like in restaurants
and bars, I, I used to teach
English and dance lessons.
(28:02):
I worked like in poledance, uh, schools teaching
beginner, uh, dancersand things like that.
And then, uh, while I waslike building my brand online
and then having likea, like a fun club, um,
for the people who wereinterested in supporting, um, my,
(28:24):
the things that I do, mymusic, my art, and, and,
and that's how I combiningall those things.
That's how, and,
and in the, in the processalso, like, I always like, um,
I learned to love likeentrepreneurship, entrepreneurship
and things like thatbecause it's like the thing
that most resonates withme, my love for freedom
(28:48):
to do whatever I wantand the way I want it.
And yes, learning abouta lo as many things
as I can on, on the way.
- Yes, it's, it's importantto have, you know, that
curiosity, you know, spiritto continue to learn,
to continue to grow.
(29:09):
Are you currently kind ofstill studying something
or are you kind of more inthe stages of life of you,
you've gathered your knowledge
and you're now puttingeverything out there.
- So you never stop learning.
Um, I'm on the process right now to try
to get my brand to the next level by, um,
(29:33):
like fi as I said in thebeginning, like finding someone
who has knowledge in,in video edition video,
special effects, AI tocollaborate with, uh, in order
to be able to make thecontent I really want
to make in the way I want to make it.
And also to be able to focus on creating,
(29:55):
because the idea is to createthe soundtracks for stories
that we can tell.
And as a musician, I shouldbe focusing more of my, most
of my time on making the music
and not so much on the visuals.
So at some point you have to acknowledge
that you can't know everything, um,
and that you have to delegate some things.
(30:16):
So that's like the goal for now.
And in the meantime, I'mstill learning about mixing,
about music production,about mastering and marketing
and the business side foran artist is so important.
And most of us are so reluctantto learn the business side
of this industry, but it'simportant that you do it
(30:39):
because, um,
two things will happen if youdon't learn the business side
is one, you won't earn any money from your
efforts, from your art.
And two, you can getused, uh, taken advantage
of scams.
Like in the music you have, the labels
and labels most of thetimes are like the worst
(31:04):
agreement you can get yourself into.
Um, because basically they are very, uh,
wild with you.
Like they might investin you for a single,
not even an album, a single.
And if the single doesn't get
to the numbers theywant at the first goal,
(31:24):
you might be in the like archived forever
and you might have signeda five year contract, uh,
of exclusive contractsthat you can't do anything
unless it's with them and theywon't do anything with you.
So you basically losefive years of your life,
(31:45):
and that's a lot for any career.
So you have to know whatyou're doing, you have
to have people to adviseyou, you have to know how
to read your, those contracts and,
and yeah, basically defend yourself.
And today, um, it's never been as easy
(32:05):
as today to be an independent artist.
So there's really no much of a need
for, for a label.
So I'm a great independentartist advocate.
- Yes. You know, I mean, it's important to
figure out the legalities of things
(32:26):
and making sure thatyou are doing, you know,
what's best for you.
So being an independentartist, you know, needing
to know the business sideof things, what does that,
like, if you want to putsomething out into the world,
what does that all includeto make sure, you know,
(32:48):
you're getting into allof the right channels?
- Okay, so, um, I would say
I, well, it's like a big,
it can look like overwhelming,
but first of all, it would be to,
(33:11):
to have your music skillas good as you can.
But as you never stop learning,
I would say like thestep number zero will be
to have a vision of your goal of what you,
how you see yourselfin like five, 10 years.
Um, and that obviously canchange the more you learn
(33:33):
because actually so manyvenues, so many things
that you can do in the music industry
or in the art in general,
that it doesn't stopat being a tour artist,
a touring artist that releases albums.
Um, and so it depends onhow, how much you want
to learn, how, how you want to work,
(33:54):
because you can be a singer songwriter
and you know aboutsongwriting, singing and,
and setting up a mock-upfor a producer to listen to,
but you can also godeeper and compose and,
and do orchestration and, andmixing and all those things
and become a cinematiccomposer, for example.
(34:16):
Um, and in betweenthere is so many things.
So first of all, I willhave like the vision
and then, um, comes the brand.
And to have a brand that is cohesive,
and I wouldn't say likeput yourself into a niche,
like if you do country music,
then you are in the niche of country.
(34:36):
I would be more like you.
What's what, what makes you unique and
therefore what makes your music unique
or your, um, illustrations or your videos
or whatever art you are making actually.
And because people
will consume from you if they like you.
So it's not just aboutthe music or the product.
(34:59):
Many musicians just focuson the music instead of,
of focusing on themselves
and the value they bring to the audience.
And just showing yourselflike in, in general,
beyond the music
and what makes you uniquewill create the niche of you,
and that's a winner
(35:21):
because nobody can beat you at being you.
So if you can master that,that becomes your brand.
And that, as I said, ithas to feel cohesive.
Like the images you choose,the colors, the, the, the,
the letters, the font, right?
It is all, all has to be thesame in all the channels.
And then talking about thechannels, I wouldn't start like
(35:44):
with everything at once
because that's, that's, um, overwhelming.
But let's say you are good at long format,
then maybe YouTube or you, you, your music
or the things you talkabout are kind of deeper
or mature, then maybeYouTube is a great channel
for you or even Twitter.
And then if you are morelighthearted, let's say,
(36:08):
or funny or you like comedy and trends,
or you don't have much time,
you can go on the shortcontent format for like TikTok,
Instagram, and then of courseyou can repurpose content.
Like you shouldn't be spending
more time on content thanon music in my opinion.
But you can document yourprocess, like show people
(36:32):
how you create your music, the, the down,
the pitfalls you go through,like your challenges and,
and how you were trying to do something
and then, uh, it seemed likeit, you wouldn't succeed,
succeed, and then youended up making it somehow.
So that kind of processes,people love following
(36:53):
that story.
Um, so yes, that, that are,those are things you can do.
And then there's moreadvanced marketing like, uh,
campaigns on Facebook onGoogle, that's more, uh,
al although for, for ifyou wanna release an album
for example, I wouldn't, um,yes, maybe a like campaign
(37:18):
for for growing your Facebook page,
but I don't know if,if, um, paid advertising
for selling an album wouldbe the best option today
because the cost per lead, sothe cost of possible people
who would buy from youhas increased a lot.
(37:39):
Like if you put $20, forexample, in an advertising,
how many people click on your advertising
or subscribe to your newsletter,
and then how many peopleactually buy from you, you divide
that and that's your cost per lead.
Let's say you put a hundred dollars
and you got, uh, I don't know,10 people, then you divide,
(38:00):
that's your cost per lead.
And so for an album that cost 10 to $15
or merchandise that can go up to $30, $40
and then the packages you wanna do,
like you can do dealslike a a t-shirt plus
the album, whatever.
(38:21):
Um, I don't think is themost profitable thing
to do personally when you canlearn to create viral content
that you can put on TikTokor Facebook organically
and get millions of views.
That will be like, Iwill definitely learn how
to create viral organic contentfirst, like viral videos,
(38:44):
um, and focus on that, onhow you can use a formula to,
to promote your music, um, and,
and grow your brand through that.
That's what I would do. Um,that's what I'm doing basically.
That's what I'm trying to do actually.
Um, and yes, the, thefinding your style on
(39:06):
how you wanna create yourcontent, that's at least for me,
my biggest challenge.
It might not be for others, so,
but that, that's likethe hint I can give, uh,
to whoever is listeningto me and might need this.
Um, it's, uh, the viral contentfor artists in particular
(39:27):
because, uh, paid ads rightnow, I see it more for people
who are selling like expensive,high-end, uh, high tickets,
it's called services,
like things they will charge at
least a thousand dollars for.
And, um, that's difficultthat it will happen
as a recording artist that makes albums.
(39:48):
Like maybe if you have, ifyou wanna teach for example,
your skills and you have courses
or you want to have coachingfor, I don't know, you want
to coach someone in, in,you are a voice coach
or a instrument teacher,or maybe you're a producer
and you want to get hired for mixing
(40:11):
and mastering music for others,then that's like bigger,
a higher ticket price tag.
And then, uh, paid adsif you, if you learn how
to do them right, will be, um,
more profitable for you, for example.
- Right. So you, you spoke alittle bit about, you know,
(40:32):
making sure, you know, you,you find your uniqueness and,
and you know, you notnecessarily pigeonholing yourself
into one corner of the market.
So how did you kind of figureout like what makes you, you
and what makes you unique?
- Um, I love making peoplelaugh. That's one thing.
(40:57):
And I have, I love fantasy as well.
Like if I could choose tomorrow,
like if tomorrow I had someonefrom Hollywood telling me
I will put you, um, to create the music,
I will make you create themusic for the next big movie,
what genre would you do you want?
I will say fantasy, maybe science fiction
(41:20):
and certainly anything that isanimated, I will say yes to.
So, um, and that's why Ifeel a little bit limited by,
by my own skills in visualarts and the time as well
because that's the type ofvideos I, I want to create
and that I'm searchingsomeone for to help me, like
(41:45):
to create fantasy worlds andput the soundtrack to them and,
and yes, fantastic stories, uh,
that at the same time funny and relatable.
Like for example, an ideathat comes to my mind,
like when you are decluttering your closet
and you find the entrance to Narnia
(42:06):
and you're literally like a visual effect
that gets you into a magical forest
and then the music changes
and becomes very, very fairy like, uh,
fairytale like and those type of things.
Um, using the different genres to, to,
to entertain basically it'slike, it's like movies still,
(42:28):
but like in short, liketwo to three minute movies.
Um, that's, that's theidea that I'm having,
that I have right now.
So that, that will, that I, that that is
what will be my style to create stories
and movies that are short andeasy to watch and that's me.
(42:50):
Then other people like to teach properly
and so they can do, um,tutorials on YouTube
or other people might love blogging
and that's an amazing wayof creating content as well
to just do vlogging andlet people get to know you
and just make sure
(43:10):
that people can learnsomething from your vlogs,
like the traditional vloggingwere just showing off your
life doesn't work anymore.
You can use the vlog formatto show your journey and,
and to share any lessonsthat you are getting
through your journey thatmight serve other people so
(43:31):
that it would be the blog format.
And then you have trends that'smore for short form content
that you can adapt to whatyou do and, and use them.
You can be a talking head also,
you can react to viral videos.
There's so many, so many ways, um,
(43:54):
you can do if you have a team
and the possibilities to likerecord high quality videos,
as I said before, whatare the cars you have
and how you can use them the best
to get to where you want?
- Great. I think that's allreally good information,
(44:16):
you know, for people to hear
and to realize, you know, figuring out
where you know you wanted to be
and you know where otherpeople can see themselves.
Well, at the end of all my episodes,
I do ask my guests a random question.
So my question for you today is
what chore do you find the easiest?
(44:39):
- Like at home you mean?- Yes.
- Um, cooking sometimes
and washing the dishes by hand.
If it's not like the big, like the pots
and the skillets and those type of things
and the, the electronicappliances like mixer
and these type of things,I hate washing them,
(45:02):
but if it's like the fineChina and, and the cutlery
and those things, Ifind it's very relaxing.
Actually, it's funnythat you asked me that
because I used to be thetype of person who hated, um,
chores in general until I found this book
that is called Home Comfort by, um,
(45:24):
by, um, I think it's Cheryl Mendelson,
if I'm not confusing the name.
Yeah, it's Cheryl Mendelson
and it's a thick book, very,
very like thick like a bible.
And they teach you, it teachesyou everything you have
(45:45):
to know to do good housekeeping from how
to clean everything, howto keep like, uh, silver,
silver things shiny andhow to take care of China
and how to take care of,of linens and clothes and,
and bed sheets and absolutely everything.
(46:07):
And so I started reading that and,
and when I understood likethere was a correct way of doing
that, that you could learn
and that sadly in ourgeneration, we hardly, like
many of us haven't beentaught how to do those things
because our generation isthe generation that, uh,
(46:30):
their parents, ourparents, uh, really, um,
focused us into study, go to university,
do a master's degree andthis degree and two careers
and whatever, and you willbe prepared for the world
and have a job that pays you
and all those things that most
of the time don't come true in the end.
(46:51):
Like many people over prepare
and then when they go out into life,
they dunno how to do anything.
So many of us, uh, didn'tlearn to do the chores.
Uh, I don't say all of us,
but many of us like me included,that was my experience.
And even our parentsthemselves didn't know how
to do many of those things.
(47:12):
Like, uh, at some point,I don't know what it,
it became like, um, something that
was considered not important and
therefore many people didn't even learn it
or we just became toobusy working to even, um,
pay attention to that.
And so once I learned like theright way to do those things,
(47:35):
I, I started enjoying them surprisingly.
So that's,
that's a book I recommend ifyou are struggling with that.
Like it's so there's nothingmore comforting to me
to, than the food that I cook for myself
and then I serve in, in my, in my dishes
(47:57):
and that are, that Ifound like antique China
to motivate myself to eat healthy.
Like if I spend money on those,I have to use them now so
I have to cook to use theminstead of going out, right?
So that, that, that's how I,I, I put a solution to that.
(48:18):
Um, and so whatever gets you motivated,
like it's comforting.
And when you have a system,it's all about systems, uh,
actually, and when you go
and you find your towels are clean
and you always have allthe clothes you need
because you have a system toget them washed regularly,
(48:40):
and so it doesn't accumulate, right?
Um, you know what I mean? Soit's very, very comforting.
Knowing to do those thingsis not as hard as it seems
and it pays off in the endin terms of time saving
and headache saving.
(49:04):
- All right, that bringsthis episode to a close.
So of course if you would liketo connect with Catherine,
her website will be in thedescription so you can find lots
of good information thereand connect with her
and learn more from her andwhat she's got going on.
Of course, if you'd like toconnect with the podcast,
our website is also in the description.
It brings you to all of ourpast episodes, past resources,
(49:26):
guest, social media, allof those good things.
And of course our social medias.
We are on Instagram,Facebook and LinkedIn.
If you'd like to go follow those pages.
There's also a link in the description
to support the podcastmonetarily if you are
interested in doing that.
And my email is also in the description.
That is always the best way to reach me,
and if you would like tobe a guest on the show,
you can always email me.
(49:48):
So thank you so muchCatherine for spending time
with me today and to mylisteners for taking the time out
of your day to hear a new story.
Until next time, bye.
- Goodbye Sarah, andthank you for having me.
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