An Interview with Giselle Melendres: Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Mad Sounds Magazine

An Interview with Giselle Melendres: Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Mad Sounds Magazine

Meet Giselle Melendres, the Founder and Editor-in-Chief, as well as the Creative Director of Mad Sounds Magazine. Based in the Bay Area of California, Giselle's intention with Mad Sounds Magazine is to appeal and reach out to the young and daring and continue to generate an expressive outlet for creative individuals. In today's interview, we had the pleasure of hearing about her journey with starting and running Mad Sounds Magazine, her creative inspiration, the reason behind the name, and advice she would give those who are trying to branch out in the creative field.

1. Hello Giselle, can you briefly start off by telling us what exactly being the editor-in-chief of Mad Sounds Magazine means?

Hey Chalisa, thanks for interviewing me! Well, as the Editor-in-Chief I have a few key responsibilities. I’m essentially in charge of running the magazine as a whole, so I manage the website, the print publication, and I make sure that all staff members are contributing their part in each issue. As the editor I also put together the magazine itself, so I design the pages, edit the written text, and layout the entire magazine.  I also am the creative director of the magazine, so I create the concepts/themes for every issue, work with staff members to create content for the themes, and conduct the interviews with people who we are interested in featuring. In short, I have a fair amount of both creative and non-creative roles in running the magazine, but it’s all fun to me regardless.

2. How would you describe your day to day of being the editor of Mad Sounds?

Because I’m a full-time college student, my day isn’t the typical day of a more ‘professional’ editor of a magazine. Working on Mad Sounds is definitely something I make time for, and it usually consists of me working for long hours on my computer sending business emails, messaging staff members or interns about concepts, and editing the actual magazine on my laptop. Sometimes I will go to a coffee shop to get my work done, but a lot of the time it is just me working from my bedroom when I am not at my part-time job or at school.

3. Do you feel that living in California gives you an advantage in the creative industry?

I definitely think that it has some major advantages! After attending college in Seattle for a year, I definitely appreciate my life in California a lot more, and I feel like there are a ton of creative opportunities here. I was raised in the Bay Area (a suburb in the valley), and I met a ton of creatives from the Bay Area area who are now regular staff members in the magazine. I’ve also been travelling to Los Angeles/Orange County a lot more recently, and have met so many talented individuals there as well. I think Southern California, L.A. specifically, is so deeply immersed in an industry of entertainment--which creates a lot of opportunities for people such as photographers, models, singers, etc. I think living in California, you tend to meet a lot of people with creative passions, and there are also a ton of opportunities to find a job for your creativity! For Mad Sounds, a lot of our interviewees are creatives from L.A., so I’d say there are definitely lots of creative minds out here.

4. When did you realize that you wanted to start your own magazine?

I was a junior in high school when I decided I wanted to start a magazine. I read an online magazine on issuu.com and I thought, “I want to do that. I could make a magazine” so I eventually started compiling my own photography, writing, etc. into a PDF that I made into a magazine. It was really bad at first--the graphic design was really inconsistent and the content was subpar (since it was solely my own work), but as I kept working and exploring the world of publishing, I developed a better idea of what I wanted my magazine to be, and the message I wanted to give my viewers. I started featuring other people’s work and making the magazine more diverse in content, and that definitely kick-started my love for making Mad Sounds.

5. How did the name “Mad Sounds” come about? Is there a particular message you are trying to brand with Mad Sounds?

Since I was a junior in high school when Mad Sounds was created, I was brainstorming ideas in my head and I just really liked the song “Mad Sounds” by the Arctic Monkeys, my favorite band at the time. I thought Mad Sounds Magazine would be a great title solely because of slight alliteration, and because I thought it would have a lot of music in it. It’s kind of ironic, because we mostly feature photographers and other creatives as opposed to solely music features. Sometimes I wish the name was different and a more accurate encompassment of what the magazine is today, but I think that so many people recognize/resonate with the title that it’s way too late to change it.

6. How do you juggle school and work alongside running the Mad Sounds?

I must say, it’s extremely difficult. I feel a bit overwhelmed at times since I am so busy. As I mentioned before, I’m a college student and have a part-time job which takes up a large chunk of my time. I essentially have to set aside enough free time on weekends or hours I’m not working to (solely) dedicate to the magazine. Although sometimes it can be a bit of a hassle, I still love it. I feel like working on Mad Sounds is my little escape from the pressures of school and work, and it’s always something that both excites me and relaxes me when I work on it.  I try my best to make time for both my school work and the magazine, since it’s something that is so important to me.

7. Can you describe the process of how you started your own magazine? What were your biggest challenges?

In the beginning there were a lot of technical aspects of starting a magazine that I was completely clueless about. I didn’t know how to use an editor program to design the magazine, so I started by using Pages on my Macbook Pro. I also gathered a few staff members who were my close friends that did photography, and we somehow compiled enough content to create the magazine. The first few issues were terrible. I didn’t really know how to design, and each issue would be inconsistent due to the fact that my graphic design styles would change (solely because I was always experimenting and attempting to improve the magazine). We also didn’t have a very wide range of content in the magazine until we began doing more interviews and features, so the magazine was lacking in that aspect as well. Overall, I was really inexperienced and clueless about publishing. Eventually, though, I found my niche in terms of style and how I wanted the magazine to be presented, and the issues slowly became more of how I envisioned them in my head. I think some of the biggest challenges, for me, was finding the sort-of ‘voice’ of Mad Sounds. For a long time it ranged between a photography magazine, to a magazine about art, to a magazine about photographers themselves.  I realized that what I wanted was a platform to promote creativity, and a place to feature the young creatives of our generation. Finding the identity of the magazine was definitely the hardest part, but it was so much easier to create once I could recognize it.

8. How does the collaborative process work? Do you reach out to people to be featured in the magazine or do they reach out to you?

It’s a good mix of both. At the beginning of Mad Sounds, we reached out to a lot of people and asked them if they’d want to be featured in our magazine, and eventually we reached a point where friends (and friends of friends) of those creatives would ask to be in our magazine or send us emails asking to collaborate. I feel like we’ve sort of formed a community or tight-knit circle of people whom we have/would love to work with, and it’s great to get to know so many different creative talents.  We will still reach out to people whom we specifically want to work with, but a lot of times the network is formed through mutual connections!

9. How do you go about finding people to work/intern for Mad Sounds? What should people be prepared with if they wanted to be a part of Mad Sounds?

In the beginning I had mostly my Bay Area friends working for the magazine. I also reached out to a few photographers who I interviewed within our beginning issues to work for the magazine, and they agreed (and have been with us ever since!) Since then our staff has slowly expanded, and we’ve mostly added our new staff members through applications online and inquiries via email. More recently I put out an announcement that we were looking for interns/staff members for our website, madsoundsmag.com, and we were flooded with emails for the position! It was really incredible that so many people had reached out to us so eagerly, and I think that the people who work for the magazine now are truly a perfect fit!

To be a part of Mad Sounds you have to be passionate. That’s really all it takes. (It helps to be organized too), but passion is the key to being a great staff member.

10. How do you personally get your inspiration for creating?

I definitely find inspiration through reading publications. Magazines are such a great platform for all forms of creativity, and I have a ton of magazines that I will always go to for inspiration. Some of my favorites are Wonderland, Cereal, i-D, Vogue, Gentlewoman, Local Wolves, etc. Magazines in general have so many different intersections within the fields of design, photography, fashion, etc., and for me, it’s really cool to see how each magazine interprets and portrays these ideas to their readers in their own unique way.

11. What has been your proudest moment of Mad Sounds so far?

My proudest moment of Mad Sounds has probably been when I was invited to attend the issuu Generators Camp in San Francisco back in February. The event was a workshop/conference in which Mad Sounds and six other issuu publications were invited to meet some influential people in the publishing industry, and talk to issuu about our magazines. I felt so honored to be invited to an event that was so prestigious, and I remember thinking, “Why was I chosen to attend this?? I’m just a freshman in college!”. It was really surreal to have my hard work acknowledged, and I was honestly just happy that someone found Mad Sounds to be ‘special’ enough to recognize in this way! I totally had ‘imposter syndrome’, but that was definitely my proudest moment!

12. Is there a particular person who you dream to feature on a Mad Sounds Cover one day?

Ahh wow. I have a lot of people I would absolutely love to feature on the cover of Mad Sounds one day, but I think Rumi Neely would be an amazing cover feature. She’s the creative director of one of my favorite clothing boutiques, Are You Am I, and I think her work for her company is so inspiring. She’s a total girl boss, and I think her vibe would be extremely fitting for our magazine’s overall theme of “young and daring”. 

13. What advice would you give to those who want to start their own magazine or go in the direction of working for a publication?

In terms of general advice to anyone working in a creative field, I would say to do everything you do in passion and because you love doing it. I feel like I know so many people who started a publication out of love for their creative work, but have grown to only seek the acclaim and so-called ‘fame’ that may come with it. Your passion and love for what you do will show in your work every time, and I think the most influential creatives are those who do everything as authentically and unapologetically as they can.

As for advice specific to the publishing industry itself: starting your own magazine is tough, but it’s truly indescribable when you feel that you’ve created a product that encompasses what you want to show the world. Finding your ‘niche’ in the industry and understanding what your niche is, is a really important step in creating a good publication. Once you find it, keep exploring ways you can make it better and connect with your readers.

14. What is one thing you wished someone had told you when starting all of this?

I wish someone had told me that it was okay to make mistakes, and okay to not know what you want from the beginning. In a way, creating Mad Sounds was a sort of search for identity--for both myself and the magazine. I was at a stage in my life where I was just beginning to recognize who I was and who I wanted to be, and I feel like I was trying to figure out Mad Sounds’ identity as a publication as well. I wish I knew that it was okay for me to take time to figure out what I wanted for the publication, and that not every issue would be one that people wanted to read. I think it’s important to remember that, especially in creative products, exploring your passion and taking time to figure out your direction is O.K. I think that without that experience of making mistakes and failing in the beginning issues, I wouldn’t have learned or grown to what I know now. I feel like I’m still growing!

15. Are there any exciting projects that you are currently working on that you would like to share with us? Anything people should keep their eyes peeled for?

We’re currently working with Sydney Carlson and a few other creatives who will be in our next issue. This next issue centers around the theme of Girl Bosses, and I’m really excited to be featuring Sydney on our cover. I’ve been such a huge fan of her for such a long time, and I think she’s such an inspiring creative. I’m excited for you all to see our shoot that we’re doing with her, and read her interview! This next issue is gonna be one of my favorites, I’m sure.

16. Lastly, where can we find out more about Mad Sounds and where can we be updated with new issues/content?

Follow any of the Mad Sounds social media, Twitter/Instagram @madsoundsmag, and Facebook: Mad Sounds Magazine. We post daily updates on our social media pages, including links to articles on our website, announcements, issue launches, and more! You can also follow my social media: Twitter/Instagram @gisellelisabeth, because I often post about Mad Sounds on those platforms.

I Wish I Was: An Interview with Zander Hawley

I Wish I Was: An Interview with Zander Hawley

an interview with Los Angeles raised singer/songwriter Zander Hawley

As an avid activist and Amandla Stenberg devotee, I discovered Zander Hawley through their duo act “Honeywater”. Since that day, Zander has evolved into a solo singer/songwriter whose powerful and moving vocals and lyrics have taken me to the brink of tears alone on a Saturday night. Not only does his voice and talent have the ability to take him far into the Nashville (and wherever else his career takes him) music scene, his vibrant, witty and amiable personality will take him far in life. Zander, it was an honor to interview you. Chatting with you was one of the best times I’ve had in awhile. 

Love, 

Zoe

MSM: Hi Zander! Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? What you do, what your favorite things are, and your background?

ZH: Well, I’m Zander. I’m 18 and from Los Angeles, and I’m currently living in Nashville. The things I love to do? Well, obviously, music. And I love films and TV. Some of my favorite artists are Noah Gundersen, Phoebe Bridgers, The Lone Bellow.

MSM: In terms of genre, most people describe your music as folk. Is that what label you would give yourself? How do you classify your music and your art?

ZH: Folk isn’t wrong. In college, people in the music major are so desperate to know your genre. I would tell them that my genre was “alt folk”, which doesn’t exist. It was just a bullshit answer. If I gave myself a genre it would probably be singer/songwriter, you know, like James Bay. I’m a singer/songwriter.

MSM: In 2015, you released your EP, “I Wish I Was”. Tell me a little bit about the process of making it. What was the inspiration behind that?

ZH: It was my first structured recording experience. I actually did the whole thing in three or four days, all in a row (I interjected and said, “wow, that’s impressive). I had to keep going back in because I’m fucking particular about the little things. So much credit for “I Wish I Was” goes to Marshall Vore, my producer. He was great. I think why I love that EP so much is because it’s honest. I mean it when I write it. The people who loved it could tell that.

MSM: Before you released your EP, you were half of Honeywater with Amandla Stenberg. How was that and what was that like? How is making solo music different to making music with Amandla? Which do you prefer?

ZH: Honeywater was my introduction to music.  It took us a year and a half to come up with the name, Honeywater. We went through some pretty bad and boring ones. The first show I ever played, [Amandla] played with me.  That girl means the world to me, I love that girl.  Making that EP was really different from making mine. We made it in Sebastian Jones’ garage with our other friend Aron. They’re both really talented, you can tell in the sounds on that EP. We just sort of did everything ourselves, whereas my EP was more semi professional. For that, I played drums, and I don’t play drums. I was listening to the Honeywater EP maybe three months ago, just after I put out my solo one, and it is a completely different feel, which I didn’t think it would be. That’s why I think there’s value to keep them both going, which is definitely not impossible. I made an album, actually, last week, a solo album. And going through that and figuring out my own sound is really different from Honeywater. I just think [those differences] are so valuable to me, besides how much fun it is and how much I love that girl. It helps me stay diversified and get really specific with each project.  [Despite living in different cities], you might hear some more Honeywater sooner than you think.

MSM: Who do you look up to for inspiration? How did you get into music?

ZH: There were two moments, really. The first, in ninth grade, I heard a song called “Winter” by Noah Gundersen. I had been trying to write songs for awhile, and I did not like any of them, and I heard that song, and thought “what is he doing that makes that song so good”? I think it was the simplicity. It was very straight forward, “here’s what I’m feeling”. I heard it, and I was like “wow, here’s what I want to do”. I’ve listened to that song probably a thousand times. It still gives me new inspiration every now and then when I listen to it. That was the moment that made me want to write. The second moment was the moment that made me want to play, around a year later. I went to see a friend of mine named Jackson, who played with this girl named Phoebe [Bridgers]. I went to go see their show at a weird place in Hollywood. The seats are like little pews, and it reminds me of the Korean Church from 21 Jumpstreet. I went with my dad, and I was talking with him on the way over, trying to decide if I was good enough to play live. Well this Russian guy opened for Jackson, and his first song was about unicorn sex and the next was about mushrooms. And I was like, “maybe I can do this”. Then Phoebe went up and played her song, “Georgia” which is one of my favorite songs. It was raw and honest, and it was incredible because she fucking felt it. I’ve seen her play that song maybe 2 dozen times, and every time I think “fuck, how can I get that good.” After that performance, I was like “I don’t just want to play, I need to play”.

MSM: You split time from Nashville and LA, correct? Do you miss either of the two while you’re gone? What are your favorite things about both?

ZH: I miss both when I’m in the other one. It’s sort of similar to the solo vs Honeywater thing. It’s different but in a way where one isn’t better than the other. LA is my first home, where I grew up, where my family is, where all of my formative musical experiences are. But Nashville, I’ve only been here six months, but it’s already become a place of good relationships and music. Right now I’m in the process of deciding between living in Nashville or LA. On the one hand it’s where you came from, and on the other hand it’s like deciding where you need to go.

MSM: I love these little anecdotes. What is the coolest experience you’ve ever had because of your music?

ZH: I have a few. The first one is when Amandla and I played (pre figuring out Honeywater) at a benefit show for a charity. It was a really good organization for kids with cancer and they write a song for them that incorporates elements about their lives, like their favorite food and sports teams. We played at a benefit for that organization and the acts who opened for us was this band, Player, (the hair was exactly what’d you expect, the outfits were exactly what you’d expect.) Next was Frank Stallone, Sylvester Stallone’s brother. Not only did I not know that Sylvester had a brother, I didn't know he wrote all of the music for the movie Saturday Night Fever. And he was basically just Sylvester Stallone [the actor most notable for playing boxer Rocky Balboa in the Rocky series] singing. It was awesome. Then Amandla and I went up and played a few songs, including a Mumford and Sons cover. And then we walked off, and Frank Stallone said “you did good up there, son”. And to this day, I remember that I am a member of the Stallone family.

The second is just that it’s just cool when people start to know you. I was at some sort of round table type situation with a guy named Larry Kloess, who puts together secret shows in Nashville. He sets up Noah Gundersen shows. He came into this round table that I was at with some other songwriters, and he sat down, and then we all introduced ourselves to each other. I said my name and he goes, “oh! I was listening to your EP earlier”. And I was like, “oh, that’s really cool!” Very minor but very cool Nashville moment.

The third is that two weeks ago, Phoebe and our other friend Harrison Whitford and me played a show together where we each played a set. I had played with each of them separately but never with both of them together. We all went up in each other's sets. When we all went up during Phoebe’s set, we all used the one mic, corny as it is, and we sang “Say Yes” by Elliott Smith. It was surreal--those are two of my songwriting heroes--and now they're my friends.

MSM: What is it like performing live? Do you have any pre performance rituals?

ZH: Performing live is my favorite part of music as a whole. In the studio, you have to be very careful and particular, or at least I am. At a show, I can let go. At a show you can go ten times what you do in a studio. You can just fucking go. The song that I get the most climax from is (Zander laughed and said, “that’ll sound weird on paper) is “Drops of Jupiter” by the band Train. (Zander and I then spent a lot of time discussing how underrated Train is, and about Taylor Swift’s live cover of the same song).

MSM: Your most popular song is probably “Hid in the Little Things”. Throw aside popular, what song do you want people to listen to when hearing you first? What song has the most meaning to you?

ZH: I did [“Hid in the Little Things”] with my dad on Garageband, in my room. It was really cool. My dad played drums on it, which was cool.  The songs on this new album, that I’m in the process of finishing, each one really means alot to me. [From what’s been released] It’s gotta be “Daylight”. That was the first song I wrote where I was like, this isn't a Honeywater song, this is for me. It’s easy to tell from the song what inspired it. I had that sort of experience that inspired it. It’s one of those things where it wouldn’t feel right singing it or putting it out anywhere with anything other than my name on it.

Images courtesy of Zander Hawley

Keep up with Zander via his Instagram and Twitter

The Lungs of NYC: An Interview with Tor Miller

The Lungs of NYC: An Interview with Tor Miller

a Northeastern musician interviewed by a Southwestern girl for a West Coast publication

By Zoe Allen

In August of last year, I was driving my mom around listening to an indie, off the grid radio station. A song came on--one entitled “Midnight”, off of an EP called “Headlights” by an artist by the name of Tor Miller. I had never heard of him before, but was instantly impressed with his wooing, compelling, and soothing vocals and enchanting lyrics. I had to look him up--and get an interview with him--as soon as I could. Here it is, exclusively for Mad Sounds.

ZA: Tell me about how you grew up. Does this have any impact on your music today?

TM: When I was about 12 years old I moved from New York City to New Jersey and for a couple years felt very isolated. During this period I began to form a bond with music and writing. Many of my early songs were about the loneliness I felt and the longing to get back home.

ZA: How would you describe yourself? Is your music a reflection of who you are?

TM: I would say I am kind, thoughtful and all the other generic things. But if you listen to the lyrics of my music you have insight to some of my inner most thoughts, how I feel about myself and the life I have lived.

ZA: I know that when I write (not songs), sometimes I write out of experience and sometimes I do not. Do you write by experience? If so, do you write by experience always? If not, what do you write about?

TM: I write about my own experiences and the experiences of those around me.

ZA: What is your main source of inspiration?

TM: I draw inspiration from the relationships I’ve formed with friends, family and various girlfriends. I write about many an introverted moment I have experienced, either walking the streets of New York City or sitting out in a field of my parents horse farm trying to figure out the big questions of our own existence.

ZA: How does being surrounded by New York City inspire your lyrics?

TM: There are so many stimulants on the streets, so much subject-matter, issues and concerns which people of NYC face. If you walk around long enough and talk to those around you, you find even subconsciously it seeps into your music.

ZA: Speaking of your lyrics, are all lyrics by you? Do you have any help in writing them? What is your songwriting process?

TM: Yes, I write my lyrics on my own and in some cases with others, while doing co-writing sessions. I usually begin creating my music with the harmonic and melodic elements with a subject matter in mind and then I will finish with the lyrics, but it all sort of happens at once.

ZA: Who are your favorite artists? Favorite songs?

TM: [Musicians are] David Bowie, Ray Charles, Tom Waits, Elton John and others. Song wise, For All We Know by Donny Hathaway, Rock n Roll Suicide by Bowie, Hard times by Charles.

ZA: Favorite place in the whole world?

TM: Easy. NYC.

ZA: New York City is huge, metropolitan, and crawling with conviviality and people. Because of how huge it is, do you ever feel swallowed up? Is it easy to become lonely in such a big city, or do you always feel at peace?

TM: I certainly need a break from it from time to time. What I do is absorb all the influence and energy until I have a system overload and will travel out to the horse farm and start creating based off those experiences. I find the hectic nature very calming in many ways.

ZA: If there was one thing you could change in the world what would it be? Do you donate to any charities or help out with any causes?

TM: That’s a hard question, there needs to be many changes in this world. But something immediate I would wish for is the abolition of guns in our country. I could fill book with changes I want for this world.

ZA: My last question. Why do you make music?

It was something I found very early in life which made me happy whenever I was sad. It helped me stay out of trouble as a kid and has been a watchful eye over me since those first two years I felt alone in New Jersey.

Stay up to date with Tor via his Instagram and website