MAYA MANRY, STUDENT REPORTER:
From the KAWC Student Newsroom, I'm Maya Manry. It can be hard to get your music out there. There's so many avenues with social media that your voice can get drowned out in the many people just like you. So why not get a little bit of help now and then? Adam Olivarez runs the Instagram account, ReadTheFlierMF, an account almost entirely dedicated to promoting local bands and shows. Asking Adam about why he started the account, he stated...
ADAM OLIVAREZ:
I want to get all the info out there for anything that interests me. I have a feeling that, well, maybe there's someone out there in a rough spot in a depressed situation, maybe they're not doing so good and they need an outlet. Kind of like how I did. So I saw an opportunity to create that flyer page.
MANRY:
And it does help spread the word. Isaac Irie, co-owner of the local music collective, Krooktone, simply shared that it does make a difference.
IRIE:
It extends the reach from your for more reach than you would have by yourself, honestly.
MANRY:
Adam also makes it a point to say that he's just a messenger.
OLIVAREZ:
Hit up the people that are posting the flyer. They know way more about it than me. I'm just here as, like, kind of a secondary source. I'm not a primary source for a lot of these shows.
MANRY:
With some help from Isaac, of course.
IRIE:
No, I think in where I come in with the whole the read the flyer is that I just pass on information, and all the years of experience I have doing this stuff and seeing other bands and groups, uh, come up and I could just pass that — I just pass the information. That's all I am.
MANRY:
But earlier I did say mostly music promotion is what the account does. Adam also shares the responsibility of having this kind of voice.
OLIVAREZ:
There's activism involved as well, not just partying and having fun, you know, because a lot of shows are partying and having fun. You know, everyone loves music, everyone loves jamming with their friends. But there's also a very important awareness aspect to it: mental health, missing persons, fundraisers, local food drives, whatever, anything to get the community involved. Anything to spark a mind and say, 'Hey, maybe we should focus our attention on that.'
MANRY:
Even beyond activism, a good show can have impact on the community.
OLIVAREZ:
If there's a good band, they want to kind of extend their reach and kind of reach a certain part of home, I'd say Yuma's a perfect place for that. Rebelution played a concert here in 2008. They're a really big reggae band.
IRIE:
Yeah.
OLIVAREZ:
And people still talk about that to this day. 2008 — that was almost two decades ago. You see the same thing happening on the local level. If an El Centro band comes and plays here, a lot of kids are going to remember them. Same with Phoenix bands, same with San Diego or LA bands.
MANRY:
And going out of your comfort zone is something that both Isaac and Adam recommend.
IRIE:
Yeah, you work as a collective, always. Link up with everybody because everyone's a bedroom anything. You know what I'm saying? And that's good when you're in your house and you're, like, meditating on your work; be it, whatever. But when you come out and you do have that community, it does, you know, create a snowball effect, and all of our works become more impactful to everyone involved if we move as collectives and not, you know, as individuals.
OLIVAREZ:
Yeah.
IRIE:
Just how we've always been, like, humans. It's always community.
OLIVAREZ:
Yeah. I also want to add to that. Collective does not mean, like, a group that's in a bubble.
IRIE:
Yeah, no.
OLIVAREZ:
Collective means reaching out, reaching out, yes, in a network.
IRIE:
Mhm.
OLIVAREZ:
Because we're all connected one way or another, you know?
IRIE:
Six degrees of separation, though.
OLIVAREZ:
I hate when people pick a certain genre or pick a certain art style and stick to it, and they think only this art style can prove success. You can find success through many different avenues, dude.
MANRY:
Community is a big part of music, and where you find it is just as important. So make sure to go out, look for some flyers and have a good time. From the KAWC Student Newsroom, I'm Maya Manry.
