Berklee College of Music with Natalia Alava

I was born in San Francisco, but I'm a new Yorker at heart lived here most of my whole life.
Cool. I love New York city so much. So you're a musician. Yes. And I want to explore the journey of being a musician. What does it mean to you?
Oh, man. That's, that's a hard loaded question with a long response. I must say, oh man. So I started playing guitar at eight years old was an emotional outlet for me in school because when I was born around two, three years old, I was diagnosed with dyslexia and autism. Oh wow. Yeah. And music became such a therapeutic hunger driven thing that I just took to, you know, growing up and it became such a joy for me. And I became obsessed with it. You know, I have like a little scientific mind to dissect it and it gave me so much peace and happiness.
That fulfills me for this lifetime in the next honestly.
Yeah. They say people who have autism are geniuses in their own. Right. And that's such a beautiful topic that you brought up and I appreciate you sharing that with us, you know? Cause there are so many people who maybe have it and then they, they're not diagnosed with it, but you were able to be diagnosed with it and then turn that into beauty and art. And I mean, I seriously like ever since I saw you before I met you and heard about you, I'm just like my soul just said she's a modern day.
Jimmy Howell, female. Beautiful. Jimmy Hendrix, like rock star. Oh
My God. Thank you. What a, what a compliment. Thank you.
Yeah, definitely. Wow. Yeah. You're sociology. We actually just had a jam session with Nikki Scorpio for one of his new songs. It's called the motorcycle and yeah. And Natalia just laid it down. So we're excited to share that with you in the near future, Natalia went to the M school. She went to Berklee the college of music school. And how many years did you go there
For years? So I got my degree in music. I did the full program.
How many there, how many programs are there?
They have 12 majors major. I did a major in songwriting and I also did a minor in recording and production.
Very cool. And then you have your first single coming out in the fall, right? Yes.
Yeah. I'm excited. I'm very excited. It's going to be the first time that I will be featuring my own vocals cause I'm mainly a guitar player songwriter. So it was going to be awesome. Taking the stance of an artist and whole songwriter performer vibe for me as center stage show. I'm very excited to share with everyone and 10 layer that vulnerability. Yeah.
And it's a lava underscore music. That's your Instagram, right? Like if people wanted to connect with you or collaborate, they can contact you. They're totally.
Yes. I love collaborating. And you've,
You've collaborated with people in New York all over the world on TV shows. You know, you have deals and contracts with TV shows. So I mean, you're a, you're a young working artist. Like so many people are aspiring just to get a deal and to make things happen. And it just seems like you're just so in the moment and so grounded and just so chill about like the opportunities that you've had thus far, it's just, you know, what are some, you know, tips or processes that you've been through that, you know, you can share with us fellow artists.
Definitely some tips that I do for myself, especially in the art field, it always gets crazy. The highs are high and the lows are lows. You know, we basically are like working in entrepreneurship. Sometimes I keep myself as always checking in with myself constantly, constantly
You check in with yourself. I literally
Just ask myself, I'm like, why are you being so weird today? Like I woke up, I had like 12 hours of sleep, but like, I feel like so drained, like what's going on? You know? And then maybe it's like, you haven't worked out or you haven't worked in that track. That actually means so much to your spirit than you think, you know, your personal self because there's is a as a, as a musician and as an artist and a songwriter, you always making music. You're like, okay, you know, cause now music's your business and that's music, how you're supposed to pay your bills, but it's also your main, your love passion. So it all gets confused. You know, sometimes you're like, oh, like I think to this track, cause I got to get money and I got to do this, but then you're like, oh, but I just want to do it because this is my self-expression.
So it gets like, so some days you're like wake up and you're like, oh, like I got a paint on my son. I'm drained. I don't want to make this song for this show. Or I'm not feeling this track, but because maybe you neglected the song that's meant for you. So I always check in like, say like, Hey, like what's going on? Why are you tired? Or why are you upset? Or so I always that's like my number one, I would say checking
In who taught
You? That? Definitely my uncle . He has a podcast too, and I'm very blessed to have a mentor and spirituality like that. And also my mom, she's very connected with faith and spirituality who always taught me. She's been my number one, inspiration mentor growing up. Cause I was always a deep, introverted kid growing up, dealing with my challenges. And she always taught me, you know, to, to look to yourself and to look to faith and to look to God and put that there.
Yeah.
That's my guiding light through life and forever that might pass on.
Yeah. Those are amazing faith in great principles, work ethics to have definitely it's important to hear, you know? Yeah. And it's, it's like, how are you with, you know, structure? Like, you know, cause you're waking up and you're doing music and you're following your passion. You were always just taught to do that. Or have you battled with the structure of it all too?
Yeah, definitely. That structure is a big and discipline when I was young that my structure was on point. Amazing. I was like, my mom's a call me like time master Tali is my nickname socially. Like you're a time master tall, you got it. I was like, oh yeah, I'm awesome with time and structure and this. But as you grow older and more distractions and opportunities and all these things and friends, white friends, this and that and whatever it starts pulling on your time and your structure. So I definitely fluctuate with, from amazingly structured weeks to like derailed, what am I doing? But my new thing always keep me consistent as like put it in a Google calendar, remind myself, just be true to yourself because yet Dan a day like music and a musician you're like freelance.
So you gotta kind of honor yourself from your craft to
Yeah. Yeah. On ourselves, have a routine you mentioned working out. So it's like get back to the mat or just get into the gym or like you said, like do a check-in and get back to the basics and remember like what's going on. We have to always remember like what's going on and what's important to us. Definitely. Yeah. Because yeah, it sounds amazing. I mean, you're, you're so beautiful and so talented and have had amazing opportunities. And I found out recently you have a great opportunity to be the musical director for Shaman Derek's new podcast. And also I'm the musical director for for Shaman Derek's new school.
So it's, it's called Shaman school. Yes. Cool. And then when does that launch?
I it's not necessarily determined yet, but definitely in the upcoming months we're we're hitting, we're hitting production hard and next month. So it should be, be released in a few months for sure. I'm very excited to a part of the Shaman Dirk team and to create and really voice the message. So it's very exciting work and to support each other family tribe, everyone is not about family. It's just about, you know, supporting the message and doing what you believe in because in my career has been so many moments where you may think this has beneficial to you, or this is a great, but in your, in your heart and soul, it's like, you're like jumping out of your skin.
You don't even want to be there. So it's always important in anything you do. If it's music, you know, any art form or career that you are there and you're present and you give it your all and you believe in your work and your work.
Definitely. Yeah, definitely. I love that. Thank you for sharing. Thank you. Yeah, for sure. For sure. So as a musical director, like what are some ideas and visions like that you're going to jump into when you get started? Oh my gosh. Well first you're going to build the studio.
Yeah. So first we're building. Yeah. We're building the production studio for video camera in LA video work, camera lighting. So yeah, we're getting that underway and also we're doing them, the, the music production studio of that as well. So I'm excited about that. Cause that's my, that's my realm. I also do videos well, but I'm also a nerd and music always. So we're getting that. So the main narrative to of, of, of that for me is the music and the creative director is to have music that matches the message, you know, and we don't want to do just always traditional sounds. We want to also be cutting edge with Shaman.
Derek, if you ever listened to his work, he's always modern cutting edge. And also he brings in the old age, I always thought of him, if you like cut on his body, it's like this like AI, but then, but then he opened it up. It's like an old squirrel. That's how I almost view them. And that's how I want the music to be cool. I'm always visual like that. So I always want like, oh, this guy, this is like an AI almost like, okay, let's, let's, let's think of future. Let's think of our everything together, but like the cultures and the history and our
Ancestors. So that's
How it's also going to represent what the music as well. So I'm very excited to kind of paint that picture to, and, and video in one. So I'm very excited.
Yeah. So everyone needs to turn into ShawMan Durek podcast and it's Shaman and then D U R E K. So we'll put a link below so people can check into that and we'll put a link to your Instagram as well. So people can contact you and you know, you can hear Natalia's music on the podcast and with the new school that's coming up in addition she's, you know, should we, can we talk about the, the shows you've been on some of the shows you've done? Of course. So yeah, the young and the restless, all original scoring and Music on makes beads and yeah.
So what else
Of the accolades? I had a nice plate with Jimmy Chamberlin. Yeah. Just all around some Bravo, you know, that whole LA scene, the pop scene, you know, it's all blessings, honestly,
If you could choose one, two or three, whatever, however many people living here, would you want to collaborate with this week?
Oh my gosh. Living that's such a toughie
Or the deceased. How about we do the deceased verse? If they were to see the CS, who would you want to jam?
A hundred million percent or yeah, you had that, that really on point.
Okay. And then living, living
In the near future. Okay. So many. Okay. We're talking about like pop there's, like so many different
Anything because you're into like R and B rhythm and blues and like funk and you know, I'm from Detroit. So yeah. I got that, you know, jazz blues thing going on Motown. Yeah.
I love, I would love to jam with Gary Clark cause he's or like John Merrick. Cause these are like guitar guys that we would just like totally guitar out on and like also amazing songwriters in your school. Yeah. So I really connect with those guys, you know, cause we come from the same tribe. Yeah, exactly. So it would be fun to just jam out and create with them.
Yeah. Yeah. Very cool. Very cool. Oh, are there any musical books or any books in general that have inspired you as a human being in music or just for life that you want to share that maybe people can check out.
Cool. I'll give two spiritual ones to give some music ones to two spiritual ones I read in high school. It was pause by pause for inspiration. I don't remember the author because I'm blanking right now. I remember hearing
That, but it's like,
Yeah. It's like yellow cover pause for inspiration. Changed my life. Really? Yeah. I don't know. I just came to me in a time where I really needed it. And in my youth in any time I was go back to it. Another one was artist way by Julia Cameron. I didn't get the full one, but my stepdad gave me the pocket one where it was just like the affirmations. And anytime I would just like pick a page and close my eyes and I felt like that was the message that I needed for today. And I would read it and I would take it in and it would be like, it would just hit me and it would hit me in the gut because I would feel what she was saying and the artists challenge. And so that one really helped me.
Definitely. I think we
Have it. I think we may
Have. I think I saw it around around here. Yeah, he definitely
Do. Yeah. And I think it's going to be leaving in your hands before and it's something you read on the plane when, cause we're in New York city right now, the big apple and Natalia is going to be leaving in a couple of days and she has a one-way ticket to Los Angeles to go on these beautiful adventures and then she's off to Hawaii and hopefully I'll be seeing her in LA and then hopefully she'll come back on the podcast and we'll update you with some new cool things going on and yeah. Oh, and then another book Shaman, Derek came out with spirit hugging. I need to read it. I, I can't give him anything.
Yeah. I've read some quotes just by seeing online stuff, but I need to listen to the audio. Did he do the audio
For it yet? He did the audio book too. Yeah.
Yeah. I'm such an audio girl with all the scripts I read all the time. So
That's how I'm
Simulating. I love taking a bath and just listening to audio. It's just, it's just amazing. And sometimes like when I was young, like a kid, I would listen to Mozart Beethoven, Frank Sinatra at a really young age. And just while I was sleeping all through the night, just listening to classical music. So sometimes now I do that with audio books. Even though when I fall into a sleep, I'll wake up at six in the morning and the book's still going. So hopefully it's training
For your brain.
Yeah. Cool. Cool. Well say travels to LA. I find in Hawaii
And you so happy to be on your podcast and we have amazing work coming out soon together. So I'm very looking forward to that.
Yes. We just had our first monthly show at the pit underground in New York city. It's at east 24th and park and it's the sophisticated psychos experience. It's a modern day. Carol Burnett variety show. Natalia show love. She showed up. We have videos for that. We're going to be posting online and then I can maybe right after this clip here, we can tune in and you can hear the little jam session that happened at our first show. That could be cool. Yeah, that'd be great. Yeah, we'll do that. We'll do that. All right. Any last words of wisdom for yourself or fellow artists that you want to, you know, share?
No one knows you more than you know yourself. You can ask your mom, your dad, your sister, brother, friends, best friends of like what you should do, how you should do your music or check this track out, check this. How do you like this? How do you like this? But you know it, you know it inside and don't get so caught up what other people's opinions that distort your creativity, what you have inside and to just be true to yourself and honor yourself with your music. Cause that will a hundred percent get you far and create what's inside of you. Cause that's what you're meant to do. Well, thank you so much for having me.
And this is Natalia's first podcast until next time over and out peace out
Right now. It is my great pleasure to present to you. The goddess of the electric guitar. Natalia Alava
Thank you so much for joining us. We'll see you next time. Kyriaki, over and out.