We had the good fortune of connecting with Carolyn Cardoza and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carolyn, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
When one decides to start their own business and fully invest in themselves and their art, you go from working 9-5 to working 24/7. I read this quote recently, ‘Creators don’t separate from their work, because they are their work’, and this is my life now more than ever. When I’m living my life, hanging with friends, family, or my wife I’m thinking of creating in those moments and/or creating in those moments. I bring a camera with me wherever I go, I love documenting my life and when I’m on a gig or I’m teaching/mentoring-intentionally working on photography or music, that’s living for me, it’s what brings me joy.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a kid I was involved in many outlets, from softball to taekwondo to guitar, to name a few. In my teens and into my 20’s I had an itch for creativity but I didn’t know how or where to scratch that itch. I ended up working at a record store and that brought me closer to being around creatives, going to shows, and learning more about music than what you’d hear on the radio. It wasn’t until I met my wife in 2011 that I was able to explore that creative itch in music, like I mentioned before, my wife is a huge inspiration for me and offered a lot of encouragement in writing and playing music, within a year of us dating we wrote the song Crazy Love, and I can say that that song is the foundation of our 14 year career in music. For me, taking that song out of our studio apartment and into the world was tricky, I didn’t have the experience of performing art/music in front of a live audience, and there’s also the imposter syndrome that sets in when you’re early in your career. I had a tough time calling myself a musician for a very long time, but I’m lucky to have surrounded myself with people who are on their journey of creating, and the support we offer to one another. Now I’m on a journey with photography, and it feels the same but different to my journey with music. It started in 2020, for us the pandemic shut down music for a little while, and I needed something to do, so I picked up my mom’s old Canon film camera and started walking around our neighborhood, taking pictures, and I haven’t stopped since. I’m currently getting ready to publish my first body of work, it’s titled Memory Care, and it’s a photographic monograph that has archival and recent photos of my grandma who was living with dementia. I’m proud of this monograph, it allowed me to face a fear I had of dementia and to reestablish a relationship with my grandma that I thought was lost. That’s what I love about creating songs or photographs, it helps you to look at your emotions from different perspectives.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I always start my day off with coffee, I usually make it myself at home, but if I were to highlight a specific spot I would say Thank You Coffee in Chinatown, from there is a short walk to my favorite park, LA Historic Park, a great place to fly a kite, go for a walk, or meditate. Staying in the area we’d probably have lunch at Philippe’s for a French dip sandwich, they also have delicious coffee and donuts. It would all depend on the day and the season, there’s MOCA on Grand, they have solid exhibits and it’s free, Grand Performances has free concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings in the summer. Always have to throw in a beach day if weather permits. I also enjoy going to the movie theatre, so the Alamo in DTLA is a must.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My wife, Irene Diaz, is a big part in my growth. From the moment we met she inspired me, Irene has a way of looking at the world and seeing the possibilities and she wants you to see them too. She bought me my first ukulele and from there I taught myself how to play, after that she was always encouraging me to play and write with her. To see how dedicated Irene is to her craft pushes me to practice, to be curious, and explore my outlets.

Website: https://www.carolyn-cardoza.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ukanttouchthis

Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7fln9pmJzTrhbGnKXbffcl

Image Credits
1-6 Carolyn Cardoza
7 Daisy Noemi

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