♪ Opening theme music ♪
Hello, and welcome to this episode of ArtsAbly in Conversation.
My name is Diane Kolin.
This series presents artists, academics, and project leaders who dedicate their
time and energy to a better accessibility for people with disabilities in the arts.
You can find more of these conversations on our website, artsably.com,
which is spelled A-R-T-S-A-B-L-Y dot com.
♪ Theme music ♪
Today, Artsably is in conversation
with Precious Perez,
a blind Latin artist based in Kentucky.
You can find the resources mentioned by Precious Perez during this episode
on ArtsAbly's website in the blog section.
[Excerpt of Agua de Valencia by Precious Perez]
[Instruments playing a soft intro for a few seconds before Precious Perez starts singing in Spanish.]
In the video, a screen shows: Agua de Valencia, for Shane Lowe, Valencia and Puerto Rico.
Lyrics in Spanish:
Cuando te pregunto, siempre estás ahí
para validar mis sentimientos y aleja el dolor.
Sabes encantado como un poción mágica
con cada sobro tú me dibujas.
Agua de Valencia eres mi preferencia.
Cada momento contigo se siente como una luna de nieve.
Agua de Valencia, Agua de Valencia,
Agua de Valencia. Tú eres mi preferencia.
Ciento años, cuánto te he conocido.
La misma cantidad de tiempo es cuánto tiempo te amaré.
Me enamoré de mi mejor amigo.
Agua de Valencia eres mi preferencia.
Cada momento contigo se siente como una luna de nieve.
Agua de Valencia, Agua de Valencia,
Agua de Valencia. Tú eres mi preferencia.
[Instruments playing the bridge.]
[End of the excerpt.]
Welcome to this new episode of ArtsAbly in Conversation.
Today, I am with Precious Perez, who is a blind Latin artist based in Kentucky.
Welcome, Precious.
Thank you. So great to be here.
And great to see you.
I'm very excited to receive you today.
Okay, so I always start my episodes by asking a little bit about
the background, the story of my guest.
What is your story?
What led you to music?
Did you have a particular family with musicians inside?
Tell me about how you got to music.
Absolutely. So I'll go backwards.
As you said, my name is Precious.
I am a Latin music artist
and music educator, songwriter,
disability advocate, author and actress.
So I do a lot of different things.
And I also serve as President of RAMPD.
And I'm sure we'll get to that at some point.
Oh yes!
I really knew from a really young age that I wanted to do something with music.
My mom always had all kinds of music playing in the background since I was little.
And when I was about six years old, I was like, maybe I can sing.
I want to sing.
And so I was painfulIy shy as a kid.
But I started on my little Barbie karaoke machine by myself in my room.
And then a music class really opened that door for me in elementary school.
And then I was in chorus.
And then I really started to songwrite in middle school.
And in high school, I took a lot of different classes,
like music production, and guitar, and piano, and
finally figured out in my junior year of high school exactly what I wanted
to do, because I didn't realize you could major in different aspects of music.
I thought music was a general thing, and then you had to pick another subject.
And so I was like, I'll just do English and music because
I loved English, not necessarily analyzing literature, but I loved words
and creative writing, and I still do.
So poetry became songs for me.
I was able to turn my love for poetry into music and lyrics.
And so I decided that I was going to major in music education
and performance so that I could have a fallback that I also loved
if performing full-time didn't work out.
And so I ended up choosing Berklee College of Music,
and I studied music ed and performance,
graduated in the spring of '22.
Everything got deferred in December of 2021, so I just walked in the spring.
And after that, I really was finding my way and deciding what was going to work
for me, what wasn't going to work for me, trying different things, trying this job
and that job and finding the right fit.
Eventually, I just finally got the courage to open my LLC for music and just
start doing everything I possibly could,
from acting to writing to voice lessons
to teaching, and of course, performing and songwriting and creating.
And so that led me to where I am now working on a bunch of different projects
because the freelance life is not for the faint of heart.
And so I do a lot of different things that I feel really
aligned with my passion overall.
And it's really exciting, and it can be terrifying at the same time.
Yes.
So as a music educator, where do you teach?
So right now, I teach voice lessons at a local music store.
So I actually was originally from Boston.
My parents are Puerto Rican, but I grew up in Boston, Massachusetts,
and specifically Chelsea, which is like a little town north of Boston.
And then I got married in 2022 and moved to Louisville, Kentucky.
So that's where I live now.
And so I teach at a local music store called Mom's Music.
And I have one student there.
I have another online student at a company called Music for Humans.
And then I do music enrichment for a daycare that I used to work at.
I do that two hours a week with three and four year olds.
And it's a lot of just singing and playing with puppets and doing song games that
help them develop their rhythm and their pitch and singing and all of that stuff.
It's so much fun.
I get so much joy from it.
Yeah, I can imagine that.
As a musician with multiple strings and multiple instruments, multiple
possibilities, what you chose...
I frequently see you with a ukulele, right?
Yes.
Tell me about that. Why did you choose...
Finally, that's like, Okay, we're going to do ukulele and singing, and that
works perfectly as a combination.
Yeah. So, I have always tinkered around
with different instruments, so piano, a little bit of guitar, a little bit of...
And with music education, you have to learn the foundations of being able
to play a lot of different instruments.
For a while, I played the French horn and the flute and the clarinet.
I did flute in middle school, so I've always loved the flute.
But man, trumpet was the hardest, and
violin, all these different instruments
I've been able to interact with.
But nothing came as naturally to me as when I picked up a ukulele.
That happened when my freshman year of college, one of my roommates had one,
and I was like, maybe I can learn this.
And I found this YouTube channel called The Ukulele Teacher, and he's
very descriptive, which is really helpful for me because I can't see what someone's doing.
So he tells me, put your ring finger on the third fret of the second string.
I'm like, okay, I can do that.
And so I learned how to play songs that way.
And little by little, that built up my knowledge of how to play different chords.
And so because it's so portable and it felt really comfortable
for my hands to play.
It just became what I gravitated to.
And so I can play a little guitar and piano, but my favorite
and the thing I accompany myself the most with is the ukulele.
When you were in Berklee, did you decide to record some or to video
record or to record some audios
to put your work online?
Did you try that already in Berklee or did it come after?
I actually released my first album during my freshman year at Berklee,
and that was with the help of my high school music teacher,
his name was Pete Papavassiliou, and producer Doug Batchelder,
who was his friend and somebody that is now one of my dear friends.
It became a dream that was achieved
through a kickstarter campaign because
one day he pulled me aside and was like, hey, I think you have a gift.
I can help you make an album.
Is this something you're interested in?
And of course, I had over 100 songs written by then.
I was like, yes, absolutely. Let's do it.
And so I was able to record it, and they did a lot of the arranging
and everything else.
That was my first body of work that was ever released during my freshman year.
Then following that, I studied abroad in Valencia the first half of
my sophomore year and really became inspired by my time there to write more.
I wrote an EP that eventually got produced by Doug as well,
and we put out into the world in 2019.
I just kept building from there.
Some things I tried my hand at producing myself at home and
released a couple of things that way.
And then that built up to last year when I got to work with
a phenomenal label called We Could Be Music, based in Costa Rica.
And we released three singles, two of which they pitched to me based on
my vision, and we worked on together, and one of which I wrote.
And It really...
The music that I created with them and that I'm working towards making now
is really fully in the Latin space and exactly where I've always wanted to be.
And so I feel like my body of work that's already out represents my growth,
and you can definitely see it from the beginning to now.
It's really fun to look back on.
What are the titles of these releases?
So, Hummingbird, my very first album.
The title track is also called Hummingbird, and that song is...
I call it my flagship career song because it's timeless in the sense
that no matter where I am in my life, I can play it and I still almost cry.
It seems to have really touched a lot of people every time
that either I play it in a band or I just perform it anywhere.
It's really one of my most favorite songs I've ever written.
My next EP after that is called Agua de Valencia, for Valencia, Spain.
It's named after an alcoholic beverage that I loved.
One of the songs is also titled that.
Then I released a children's EP in 2020.
That was a random inspired by the children in my life, my stepson,
my little cousins, my brother, all of that.
I just was working on some music education things,
and In my music Ed guitar class,
my teacher challenged me to write songs so that I could get more comfortable
playing the guitar chords, and that came out of that.
So it was really fun to have that come to fruition.
And what's hilarious to me is that the number one song on my Spotify
continues to be Dinosaur Lullaby.
It doesn't matter what other songs I've released and that they have
more traction or anything.
That one has maintained the top spot for years, and it makes me laugh.
I'm waiting for someone to request that at a show one day.
And then I've released between then a couple of singles and a cover,
and then my three singles, my three Latin singles last year.
Those are called Sin Preguntar, and Melanin Queen, and Rosé.
Okay.
Thank you.
Yeah, of course.
When did you meet RAMPD for the first time?
I got involved with RAMPD very early on.
It was somewhere, I think it was right a couple of months before official launch.
I got involved with RAMPD in September of 2021, I believe.
I was just so thrilled to be part of an organization that
was doing the work that I'm so passionate about because my entire goal
with my art is to represent and uplift all of my communities and to really show
the world that, hey, people with disabilities are people,
and we're here, and we're successful, and we're powerful,
and we deserve to be celebrated.
And that coupled with being really proud about being Boricua.
And I'm just like, yes, I'm here.
I'm Hispanic, and I'm proud of it.
And all of these different things, being a woman, having anxiety
and depression, all these different intersections that I represent
just really being open and authentic.
And so when I heard about RAMPD, I was immediately like,
I need to be a part of this.
This is what I want to do.
This is work I want to be doing.
And so I became one of the members that got called
in the first class of membership.
And then from there, I became the co-chair of the Memberships Committee, which is
now called Engagement, and transitioned to VP, and I now serve as President.
Wow.
Yeah, it's a fantastic organization.
I know people who watch this or watch or listen to this podcast,
they hear a lot about RAMPD.
Absolutely.
Actually, before we started recording, we were mentioning that you
were gracious enough to participate in one of the shows that I organized
with my music school a few years ago.
Yes.
It was fun.
I think you just became president at this point.
No, or VP?
I think it might have been VP.
Yeah.
I think you're right.
Actually, the school also provides this variety of music from the early
musical beginnings to teenagers.
When you participated, it was like trying to engage the teenagers.
Actually, we had a lot of questions. Oh, yeah, that's cool.
That's awesome.
I was very happy that you participated in that show.
That was a lot of fun.
I'm glad you back today.
So what is...
As a RAMPD member, I think we share that,
the fact that we have opportunities that are
offered through RAMPD.
Absolutely.
What are your interesting projects that you worked with that you got through RAMPD?
Absolutely. I've gotten a few inquiries through RAMPD.
RAMPD, just as a quick overview, we promote inclusion, amplify disability culture,
and advocate for inclusive and accessible spaces in the industry.
And so a lot of what we do is we provide inclusive tools and strategies
to the music industry, but also we have a network of peer-vetted
musicians, music professionals, songwriters, everything under the sun.
And all of these creators and professionals are musicians
with disabilities and chronic conditions and mental health conditions.
And it's really a space for anyone with any disability or neuro divergence
or chronic condition to be represented, uplifted, and also
to gain opportunities and really grow and excel in their career.
And so I've had the opportunity to speak on different panels such as Folk Alliance,
to perform at different places.
It's just amazing to see everybody in the community just
not only coming together to celebrate each other, but also elevating ourselves
at the same time, because RAMPD as a whole is a community,
and community is so, so important in any industry, in any field.
It's just incredible that we have this space and we've been able to create
and build this space for each other, but also for the industry to come to
and really have a source for information about disability,
where to find disabled creators, how to uplift and celebrate,
how to accommodate, all of these different aspects that are so, so important.
Yeah, and the behind the scene is really important.
I remember the first years when we started working with
the Grammys and educating them.
Lachi and Gaelynn Lea have been struggling with that at the very beginning, the way
that the Grammys was maybe envisioning some things that were improved
by the communication with RAMPD.
Absolutely.
It's amazing to see all these partnerships we have and the Grammys just every year
getting stronger and better.
Being able to be a part of that is just so incredible.
It's amazing to watch it happen and to be a part of it and celebrate it
because it's changing the way
that things are in a positive way.
And positive change is really what we strive for.
Positive inclusion, working together with communities and with the industry
to improve things for everyone is just what we're here for.
Yeah, and also being present on the stage,
being here in the mainstream media, being
physically and mentally present where the music happens.
Representation, for sure.
I saw an interesting video of one of your concerts at the Kennedy Center.
Could you talk about this experience?
Absolutely.
I performed at the Kennedy Center.
Was that 2022?
Yes, 2022.
2023? 2023.
[Laughs.] Time? What is time?
But it was amazing.
I got to bring some of really good friends and bandmates with me.
I have different people I play with for different things.
So I currently play in a local cover band in Louisville called Sight Unseen.
And they play with me sometimes when I have solo gigs.
But then I have other musicians that are really good friends that are also in
a band of their own, but they back me up.
And so I was able to bring them with me to the Kennedy Center.
And it was incredible just being on that stage,
having the crowd just really engaged and
having that opportunity and now
having that memory and that archive and that show to look back on and be like,
wow, I wouldn't be here without RAMPD.
And that's the reality.
RAMPD has changed my career for the
better in my life and really given me
so much perspective and so many friendships that are really, really amazing.
And I've met so many amazing people through RAMPD and these are the kinds of things
that happen when we band together, participate, uplift each other, and
do this work to really make that impact.
You already answered this question, but I want to go back to one of the things
that we do sometimes in RAMPD is to get together and have these awesome
conversations about models of disabilities and how uplifting,
we should have some conversations in disability culture.
My work in music and in what I'm doing
in academics and in what I'm doing in
my life every day is to discuss what it means to have an accessible environment.
I would like to know what it is for you to
work in disability culture and to work
in a better accessibility in the arts.
Absolutely.
So I believe that disability culture should always be celebrated and uplifted.
And I think that disability inclusion is working together and best achieved
through positive conversation and a communication.
So for example, if there is a situation that I'm in where
something in the venue isn't accessible to me or I need assistance with something,
I would communicate that to my point of contact and say, Hey, this isn't
great for me or for my audience.
Here's a suggestion of how you can improve that so that this can
be optimized and better for the future.
And as long as those people are empathetic
and willing to do everything in their power
to be accommodating, that's the first step, and that's what's important.
Because there are a lot times where we talk about the ADA,
and we talk about venue accessibility, and we talk about RAMPD in those contexts,
and RAMPD is not here to enforce the ADA, to sue anybody, to do any of that stuff.
RAMPD's mission is to really create inclusion and inclusive spaces
through education, communication, and conversation.
And so positive, really, communication in general
and teachable moments are really, for me, how I can help
celebrate and uplift disability culture and really just being myself,
like living my life, showing a little bit of my world and being
really authentic at who I am and being proud and celebrating
who I am in every aspect of that.
We are all in disability culture, and everybody's going to be a little different
because people in general are different, and everybody's needs
are different, and everyone's thoughts are a little different.
But the reality is that disability culture is our story.
Disability is the one minority left out of diversity conversations.
And it's the one community anyone can join at any time.
Someone could fall, have an injury, and become disabled.
And so really, there needs to be so much more just openness and education
about disability, and that's what I strive to do through my art
and through my content, is to really spearhead that in, specifically,
the Hispanic community, because disability is something
in the Latin community that is rarely talked about.
And so opening those doors and having those conversations is so,
so important in order to create that change and that awareness.
Yeah, and being a disability rights activist is also educating people
because at the end, they don't know.
We were raised altogether in a society where disability is following
the medical model where that's something also we discuss in RAMPD that is
a bit complicated, but the idea of different models
that define the society today and disability is
not included in the society itself or rarely included because the world
itself was built for able bodies, people who are not disabled.
It's hard sometimes, but by educating people, I believe, I'm like you,
I believe that educating people is the key of disability rights activists.
Absolutely.
Through creativity and art and music,
that is a way to bridge gaps through anything.
And so by being on these stages, being in these rooms, being in these spaces,
is also a form of celebrating and educating, just by being there.
That's why representation is also so important.
Yes, definitely.
I wanted to know if you are working on any specific projects right now
that you could maybe develop?
Right now, I'm working on booking more local gigs.
Here in Kentucky, because a lot of the performance and other opportunities
I've received are all over the country, but not yet so many locally.
I play with my cover band, excited to do more of that this year,
work on getting more gigs, I'm working on getting some brand deals.
That would be really awesome.
But the thing I'm most excited about is the Latin project I'm working towards.
So I'm working towards a Latin EP,
really building my catalog of music
in Spanish and really solidifying where I sit in this space in these intersections.
And so that's something I'm working on and working towards, and I'm really hoping
for it to come to fruition this year.
So I'm excited about that.
Well, that seems good.
This project is an EP?
It's an album?
It will be an EP.
Okay.
Yes.
We I do not know more for now.
Not yet.
[Laughs.]
I'm a bit curious as you can see.
[Laughs.] She's like, Tell me more.
Tell me more.
Okay, thank you.
Well, we will wait impatiently.
Okay, so I have a last question to conclude this interview.
It's about people who might have a specific particular place in your life,
in your career, people who have guided you, who have motivated you.
If you think of these people in your life, who would it be and why?
Oh, my goodness.
All I can really say is that it takes a village.
There are so many people throughout my life that have
inspired me and got me where I am, and I wouldn't be where I am or who I am
without them, without my family, my friends, my mentors,
my RAMPD community, my bandmates,
anyone I've played with, worked with.
Just there's so many, and I never want to name people because then I don't want
to forget somebody because I'm blessed to say that there's been so many people
that I get to, say, have touched my life and believed in me in my career.
And that means more to me than anything else.
I have a lot of musical influences.
Bad Bunny, for example, his latest album is incredible, and I'm obsessed with it.
Daddy Yankee, Taylor Swift really inspired my songwriting
for the first little while and really showed me how to craft songs in that way.
Alicia Keys, Tori Kelly, there's a lot of - Ed Sheeran, all these musical influences
that I don't know personally, of course.
Yet!
They say, all heroes don't wear capes.
And that's so real.
A lot of the people in my life don't even really know the impact that they've had.
And sometimes it just takes that one like, Hey, I see you.
You're doing well, or here, let me help you with this,
or let me give you this contact.
And you never know how that's going to come back around.
I'm just immensely grateful for everybody.
Wow. Thank you.
There's a lot of great names and great influences that you have here.
Oh, yeah.
For sure.
Okay.
Well, thank you so much for taking the time to have this conversation with me.
And I think there will be...
With each episode of ArtsAbly, there is always
what is called the Resource Page.
We will post some of the names
or the conversations, the topics that
we've mentioned on this Resource Page.
Oh, awesome.
So that people can also follow some of your links, your YouTube channel.
I know one of my favorite clips is Sin Preguntar.
Oh, thank you.
I really love this clip, so I think we're going to post all that content.
Awesome.
Yeah, thank you so much.
I'm sure we're going to see us around in one event or the other.
Oh, absolutely.
Yes.
Well, I wish you a great day and talk soon.
Thank you. You too.
Bye, Precious.
Bye..
♪ Closing theme music ♪