Artist Update Archives - Page 6 of 6

Q & A with Rebellious Rebel

As an addition to my Blogger’s Rundown spree, I’ve had the opportunity to interview fellow Baltimore Blogger Briana Ragler, founder of RebelliousRebel, this past Friday. It was a wondrous meeting. We discussed what inspires her to write, where she got her edgy blog name, her secret to RebelliousRebel’s success, and other cool questions that gives more insight into her fashion and lifestyle blog. I enjoyed the time spent indulging in getting to know more about her blog, and I’m eager to work with her in the near on a project that’ll change Baltimore city, for sure. Briana is definitely someone who’ll provide an impact for this city with her generous attitude for picking up people’s spirits. It is my pleasure to introduce to all my Doc’s Castle Media readers the Q & A of RebelliousRebel.

Doc: What inspired you to start RebelliousRebel?

Briana: Well, three years ago I had lost my father in my first semester in college. I didn’t take time off to deal with the grief. I just sucked it up and came back to school right afterwards. I spent the year doing a whole bunch of dumb stuff, and just doing everything while seeping deeper into depression. At the end of 2011, I finally got myself together. I decided to start a blog just to share my story and to help other people who were going through what I went through, as far as dealing with depression. It has now gone from talking about my issues to becoming something more like a creative safe haven for other people.

Doc: Aww, that’s cool. I didn’t even know that. Wow! So where did you get your name from? Is that how you came up with it?

Briana: In a way (laughs)…I grew up in the church so everything that I was doing was not considered “holy,” as church folk would say, and I usually Rebel a lot against myself and things that I feel like are trying to keep me trapped. So I looked in the dictionary and saw the word rebellious and said, “Okay, I need something else to go with this.” So I was like, “Okay, RebelliousRebel!” I’m rebellious and I’m a Rebel. When I started it back then, it was about me and how I rebel against certain things. But now, it’s kind of turned into a thing where I’m not conforming to needs that I believe aren’t conducive to my well-being or to other’s well-being.

Doc: Okay, so how long have you been blogging? Like four years?

Briana: I’ve been blogging since 2010. I had another blog. I stopped blogging with that when I went to Hood College. So I’ve been blogging for about four to six years, on and off. I decided to stick with this one.

Doc: Well, it seems like it’s doing good.

Briana: Yes, it’s getting there. It’s not quite where I want it to be. (Laughs)

Doc: (laughs) How do you want RebelliousRebel to be remembered? What do you want people to know you blog as?

Briana: I ask myself that question all the time, even when I feel like getting rid of it. Sometimes I go through stages where I don’t feel like blogging. Someone said to me recently that my blog is a creative safe haven for individuals who create or need to find some type of inspiration. At this particular moment, I don’t know what I want it to be remembered as. There are so many things that go through my head sometimes. But I think when it’s all said and done, like if I decided to end the blog, I want it to be remembered as a place where someone who went through some hard issues decided to create a blog to express herself, and what she went through has, in return, blessed others. I don’t know. I go through this question every day (laughs).

Doc: (laugh)

Briana: Remember it as a creative safe haven for EVERYONE. If they feel like they can’t always put themselves out there, it’s there. I don’t know. We’ll probably come back later, in the future, with another story about this (laughs).

Doc: (laughs) Alright! So you’ve answered my question for what’s your initial motivation to keep blogging then.

Briana: Right now, it’s really about the art. Now, I’m getting to understand the concept of trying to keep my life personal. I try to keep certain things private because you know the Internet. Anyone can read anything. I was going to stop blogging in December. Take a nice long, permanent 6 month break. But what’s keeping me blogging is the people who come to my blog who are interested in the arts. They come to my blog and read it, or a person who has an issue with their body. Like someone said to me yesterday, “Oh my God! You’ve just inspired me to keep loving myself because you post pictures of strong women on your blog.” I’m like, “Okay, let me keep blogging because it’s inspiring people to be better and it’s a place where artist come to get inspiration when they’re not producing anything.” I keep RebelliousRebel up to keep those people inspired.

Doc: OH! Wow! That’s beautiful! So you’re just being an impact for people?

Briana: Yeah, I’m learning to be less selfish. I use to be selfish with my gifts and my talents. I didn’t share because I been through a lot of rejection as a kid. But now that people have blessed me so much, I feel like it’s my purpose and duty to give back in any way I can. It may not be with money. It may not be with donations. But it’s just with my words. If I give out kind words, I will in return be blessed and that person will be blessed. I just want to inspire people to be better because we’re all in this world trying to become better people.

Doc: I feel the same way. I want to be better and set an example for others. That’s why I write. Next question, have you thought about guest blogging for other blogs?

Briana: Hmm, I’ve done a guest blog post for my study abroad program, which is Kappa International. I don’t have a problem with doing it. I like writing for other bloggers because they give topics and that gives me time to research and experience something different from what I write about. I’m always inquisitive. I’m always wondering and wanting to know how come and what for to things. I’ve had people ask me to do a guest blog post. But I don’t want to commit to doing anything because I have too many factors going on right now, like school and trying to prepare for life when I graduate from college. But I’ve thought about it, and I would do it in the near future. I’d even have people guest blog for RebelliousRebel because I run out of ideas (laughs).

Doc: (laughs) That’s why I have them. I run out of ideas, too. But have you thought of any particular blogs that you would guest blog for?

Briana: I would really, really, really love to guest blog post for ProFresh Style and Bleed for Fashion just because I can relate to their blogs more. I mean, there are some other blogs. But I’m talking about blogs that have a greater impact that I would love to guest blog post for. Those are the only two that I manage to continue reading. I’ve read those five years ago. Its years later and I still follow them. I would guest post for them if they’d decided to. Those are the only two I’d blog for because a lot of blogs are mostly about fashion and there aren’t enough life blogs. Profresh Style and Bleed for Fashion are kind of like life and fashion blogs in one. It’s another I follow, Fashion Worked. I’d blog for them too. But yeah, I’m just hoping for a chance (laughs).

Doc: (laughs) So I recently saw a video on RebelliousRebel for your outfit of the day. I wanted to know, do you plan on continuing to bring us funky videos like your last one?

Briana: Uhh…Before that one, the last outfit of the day video was over the summer. When I shot this one, it was with the same videographer. It was just on the whim. It was because I just felt like it that day. I’m going to see. But I don’t want my blog to be solely about fashion.

Doc: What else do you want your blog to be about other than fashion and lifestyle?

Briana: I want it to be whatever. I really blog whatever that comes to my mind. There is no set theme for my blog. One day you could read a post on love. Another day you could read a post on what I think about on issues happening in Russia. It’s a melting pot of everything. Since I have people who follow me on Instagram who ask can I do some fashion post, I try to honor their requests. You probably will see more outfit of the day videos. But because of the funds, you won’t see as many. Secondly, weather is playing a factor in those videos, too. It’s too cold to shoot outside. I’m trying to wait until March. After the 21^st of March, you’ll probably see mad (meaning more) videos. So hopefully, but I’m living that broke college student life right now (laughs).

Doc: (laughs) It was real funky. I liked that. Do you mind sharing the secrets to your success?

Briana: Can I be honest?

Doc: Sure.

Briana: I don’t feel like I’m successful yet. I don’t feel like I’ve reached my potential. I was always one of those kids where people asked me, what do you want to do in life? I’d always say I don’t know. It’s kind of still like that because I’m not entirely sure what it is that I really, really want to do. I’m just going with the flow. I guess people look at it like “Oh, she’s successful because she stuck it out through college. She didn’t dropout.” But the key to my success is keeping my connection with God because I trust him with everything in my life. I really don’t know how I got to this point. I don’t always make the best decisions. When it comes to certain things, I don’t always trust my instincts. I trust in God, and he leads me in the right direction. In the field I’m going into, there are a lot of snakes. There are a lot of people who’ll take credit for things that they didn’t do. In ten years, you can interview me again and I’ll probably have a better key. (Laughs)

Doc: I’m pretty sure you’ll still say God.

Briana: I probably will! (Laughs) But I’m a free spirit when it comes to just doing things. With college, I didn’t want to go to college. I wanted to work. But I come from a church family, and they were like no. That’s your ticket out. Even with blogging, I don’t know anything about how to have a successful blog. I just do what I do. I don’t think there are keys to being a success. I think being a success comes in different ways, like finishing college is one and overcoming depression is another. It’s all in what you believe in. If there were keys to success, I’d probably be a lot further than where I am.

Doc: Are you open to collaborations?

Briana: Yes, I’m always open to collabs. I don’t believe in the word team. I don’t believe in groups but I’m open to collaborations. I love sitting down with people and we’re all shooting out ideas. It doesn’t matter who you are. If you’re welder and want to collaborate, it’s whatever. I’m always down. I just did a collab with For Rent Shoes in Baltimore, the how to style. It was a big deal for me because it was my first real business thing I could put on my resume. Yeah, I’m always down to do it but not with everyone. I don’t want to put my name on everything because everyone is not who they claim to be. But if someone wants to, they can just shoot me an email and we’ll talk.

If you’d like to read more from Briana, check out her blog at rebelliousrebell.blogspot.com.

To read the last Blogger’s Rundown, read Doc’s Q & A with Vivid Visions.

The Blogger’s Rundown

This is a special opportunity for my fellow bloggers in Baltimore, MD. I’m doing special shout outs for you. You have the chance to be featured on Doc’s Castle Media because I’m proud of the success that you’re achieving while impacting so many other people who are subscribed to your posts. The Blogger’s Rundown is for you.

I’m taking time to interview underground Baltimore bloggers to highlight their achievements, their missions, and their goals so that people will know how important blogging is on the Internet. Often I post on my Twitter feed “Bloggers run the Internet.” Many bloggers agree to that. But people who don’t blog or know what is a blog, would not be aware of a blogger’s ability to influence. It’s time to show others it’s truth.

Lots of people fail to realize how important it is to have the media on their side to reach their goals. Whether someone is starting a small business, inspiring to be a successful music artist, or striving to change the world, people forget how important bloggers are in their process in reaching new levels. People don’t even see how much of an impact bloggers are over your average news press, or how easy it is to get your story published by a blogger than your local newspaper. If you’re striving to make a difference, you need blogs to help give you a voice. Though some are bias, many are quite factual. Some blogs are for pure entertainment while others are meant to serve a purpose. Doc’s Castle Media is choosing to be the voice for many bloggers who don’t get their deserved recognition.

In the Blogger’s Rundown, I track a couple of local bloggers that are working hard to change Baltimore City’s “unsupportive” lifestyle. I meet them for a Q & A interviews so readers can get a better understanding as to what’s each blogger’s mission. There are so many blogs people don’t know about. This is exposure for both the readers and bloggers. This is Doc’s Castle Media’s contribution to creating a more supportive city. Stay tuned to learn more about people making a difference in Baltimore city. If you know of a Baltimore Blogger you believe needs to be apart of this series of post, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’ll do the research and set up an appointment for review.

Read our first Q & A with Vivid Visions.

Q & A with Vivid Visions

I had the pleasure of meeting up with the founder of Vivid Visions, Ryan Chance, this week. We had an exchange of interviews, meaning he interviewed me and I interviewed him for our corresponding sites. I’d say it was a very productive night. In my interview with Ryan, we covered Vivid Visions’ start-up, who’s involved with the behind the scenes aspect, what to look forward to from this striving business, and much, much more. I enjoyed the time spent getting to know more about Vivid Visions. Readers can definitely look forward toward a collaboration with this young genius in the near future. In the meantime, please read the Q & A with Ryan Chance below.

Doc: What made you start Vivid Visions? What was your inspiration?

Ryan: Umm, I think what really inspired me was the fact that I’m a fan of art. I’m a huge music fan. I like paintings, and shit like that. I’m just a fan of the culture and a fan of the art. What motivated me was when I actually came up with the idea, I was in Atlantic City, and I think it just hit me one day. I was like ‘You know what? I think I can get a team together that has different types of passions in different arts.’ For me, writing is my passion. George’s passion is photography. Dre is like a graphic designer. So us three, granted off of that, kind of motivated us to come together to bring Vivid Visions.

Doc: What’s your motto you standby or your motivation to continue to do Vivid Visions?

Ryan: Uhh, I don’t think I have a motto. The thing that motivates me is our first go around. The mistakes and the lessons we’ve learned over that process has motivated me to push forward in a new direction. Especially with me being more consistent and I’m just finding new ways to build my confidence because I’m real self-conscious and shit, especially towards my art. So basically going off of that, that whole first run around really gave me the platform of knowing what to do now. I tweeted yesterday, “The only person I’m competing with is the old me.”

Doc: Oh yes, I go by that, too. (Laughs)

Ryan: (Laughs)

Doc: How many members currently are involved with Vivid Visions?

Ryan: Currently, there are four. We’re claiming another one, low-key, and we’re actually looking for another person but we can’t find her right now. Long story short, it was a girl we had before. Her name is Riva and she was going to do interviews for us. She was new to the idea. Her first real interview, she didn’t know what she was doing. But the fact that she did it so naturally was very motivating for me and George to see something like it. We wanted to keep her. But we are still trying to figure out where the hell she is? (Laughs)

Doc: (Laughs)

Ryan: Right now, as far as what you see, there are four; myself, George, Danielle, and Dre. Of course for me, I do all the blogging. I pretty much post everything that’s on the site. Everyone else is kind of behind the scenes. But I try to give them as much credit as possible. So even if you don’t see them on any of the interviews or stuff like that, this is George, Danielle, Dre, and me. This is Vivid Visions.

Doc: Cool. So how did y’all actually round-up the team? Y’all were just talking one day?

Ryan: See the first go round wasn’t smart. Mainly, we were in Atlantic City. The first two people I actually contacted were George and a girl named Destiny, a graphic artist, as well. It was going to be those two. But then Dre got into graphic design. He went to school for that online. I was like, “Okay, let’s bring him on. It’s going to be the four of us.” Look how it is now. Then I was talking to a few friends. They were trying to join and I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. But it didn’t work. Of course, this time around, the only person I was really thinking about continuing with was George. But I saw a lot of stuff that Dre did and I liked it. Danielle, she’s my best friend away from this. She wanted to get into management so I told her just work with us so she’ll have that experience. That takes pressure from me for handling business. I won’t have to worry about having to get business cards or handling certain emails. I have her. This time around I’m building with whoever makes sense. The first time, everyone didn’t click that much.

Doc: Okay, so that goes into my next question. Did y’all have any disputes that caused y’all to break up?

Ryan: I wouldn’t say disputes. I feel like it was just the vibes. When you put certain people in a room together and you experiment, you start to see who can vibe off of whom. There were different personalities of six or seven different people. (Chuckles) It can get a little funny. I don’t think we had any disputes. Shit, we don’t have disputes now. We have slight disagreements but they’re smart disagreements. Somebody might have a better idea for how to do something. There might be times where George might have an idea and I’m like, “Nah, I’m just gonna run with this,” or he might have an idea and he’ll run with his idea. But it brings out the best of us.

Doc: Okay, I’m aware that Vivid Visions’ downfall in 2013 may have been inconsistency with updating the site on a frequent basis. What is your plan to help the team stay motivated?

Ryan: I think the motivation is the love for the art. I love writing and interviewing. I’m still learning the camera process but it’s the motivation of doing what you love. Everybody has their individual art. For the sake of their art, on their portion (of Vivid Visions), and if they really love what they do, they’ll stay motivated.

Doc: So you’re going to keep in touch with them? Are you going to have a weekly meeting?

Ryan: I text them almost like every night. (Laughs)

Doc: I know that’s right. I stay on point with my people, too.

Ryan: Yeah, every other day, I come across new stuff. I might have new ideas, they might have new ideas, or we may have something planned. They might send me a text like, “Yo, we still on for this time?” “Are we doing this?” “Are we doing that?” They make sure I stay on point with the business aspect as much as I stay on point with the creative aspect, even though some days it might get on my nerves.

Doc: I’m aware that you’re open to collabs with artist of all types and genre. But are you open to collaborations with other bloggers?

Ryan: Yup. Definitely, I’m willing to collaborate with other bloggers. It shows that within a city, as much as we put into our blogs individually, we support each other and build bigger for the artist. If we do things like that, we’ll have different ideas and we all have different approaches. Like our blog is more digital, and still has that print/journalistic feel while yours has a print/journalism approach to it. Briana (of RebelliousRebel), she has a real fashionable idea. When you have that, there is a good balance. Using the different approaches that we have, it can turn out to be something great. I do feel music wise, or in general, there is a lack of support in Baltimore. If we all supported each other and became aware that there is competition, it steps up the level of content. So for me, yeah, I’m always down.

Doc: Do you have any ideas of how you will work with others yet?

Ryan: Nah, I really haven’t thought about the ideas. I do have a few people in mind, like Doc’s, Briana’s RebelliousRebel, or Patisdope out in DC. I would definitely love to meet him (referring to Patisdope). Nah, I really haven’t had any ideas. I’ve just been focused on Vivid Visions, and trying to build our brand some more. We’ve been doing very well leading up to the relaunch, along with the relaunch, too. The support has definitely been great. I’m going to start to develop some ideas.

Doc: Great. Where do you see Vivid Visions going? What’s the ultimate goal for your site?

Ryan: The goal is to make sure that each artist, no matter which genre of art, knows that Vivid Visions is one of the go to blogs for support. We want them to know that we support our artist. Or course we have our own agenda on the side to be on a higher level. But mainly, our agenda is supporting the arts. We have a lot of talent in the city, or in the state, rather. It all comes down to the support. Like you see Los Angeles with the whole Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, and Nipsey Hussel, they have a system that supports each other. They’re friends. That’s what makes that city well-known now. Musically, it’s kind of a takeover. We have southern states, New York, and we have a few people who have their disputes and whatnot. But you know those areas for sure! In Maryland, we could be very great. There are a lot of talented people here.

Doc: Yeah, it could be the same or even greater.

Ryan: Yeah, even greater. It’s a lot of talented people. Our agenda is to make sure that the artist gets their shine and as we show them support, we expect them to do us the same.

Doc: Yeah, that’s how I am, too. Lastly, how do people contact you for exposure or a feature?

Ryan: Honestly, I go looking for it. Social media has been a big help so far; Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I’ll see someone retweet other people’s music and I’ll usually check it out. If it’s good, we post it and keep in contact with them. Outside of that, for music submissions, they can contact me at ryan.chance611@gmail.com. Or for interviews and other business inquiries, they can contact Danielle, our manager, at visionsvivid@gmail.com.

Doc: Alright, thank you! That’s wonderful and concludes this interview.

Please make sure to check out Vivid Visions at visionsvivid.blogspot.com.

The Return of Vivid Visions

It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Vivid Visions is returning for artist like you!

When we last left Vivid Visions, Ryan Chance submitted to us his vision for his blog site. This year they’re coming back with more force and creative style for artist, writers, and people like you. Check out the team’s video below.

The relaunch will be this evening, January 25th, at 8 pm. Make sure you visit visionsvivid.blogspot.com when the time comes. How exciting! In the meantime, check out some of their promo videos posted during the course of this month on their YouTube Channel. We can’t wait to see what ideas they have in store for 2014.