Surrounding Sounds: Cloudy Thoughts

Cloudy Thoughts: I always just appreciated music. I always had a disposable camera with me growing up and in high school, but just to take silly pictures of me and my friends. The feeling of not getting the photo back right away, and getting it developed months later and being like, “Oh my god, remember this?” There’s always something raw about film that’s just so beautiful.

I actually upgraded to a point-and-shoot camera because one of my really good friends shot a lot of film. He had a nicer camera and knew way more about film than I did. We’d go to the desert a lot and shoot, and he was like, “Yeah, you should get a point-and-shoot camera so you’re not wasting disposable cameras.” So I got one of those.

At one point, Maribou State, this band from the UK, was playing in LA. I was like, “Oh, I’m just gonna go.” Anytime there was a show in LA and I was interested, I’d just go. There was this German band opening for them called Sea Moya, and I ended up talking to them at the merch stand because I got there early and watched their set. I was like, “Oh my god, they’re so fun.”

I ended up talking to them after, and I said something like “Oh, I wish I brought my camera. It would’ve been so fun to take photos of you guys.” And they immediately asked, “Well, what are you doing tomorrow? We’re playing in San Diego. If you want, you can come shoot that.” I was like, “Fuck yeah, I’m down.” So I went to San Diego. It was only an hour away. I had my little point-and-shoot camera and my first photo pass, and that was my first real thing.

I remember getting those photos back. They were kind of blurry but still vibey because of the grain. Their music is very psychedelic, so it worked. When I sent them the photos, they were like, “Oh my god, these are amazing,” and I was like, “Really?!”

After that show, I went back home. Not long after I got back, I saw they were playing at Meow Wolf in New Mexico, a venue I’d always wanted to see. At the time, my mom was a flight attendant, so I got really cheap flights. None of my friends wanted to go to New Mexico, so I messaged the Sea Moya guys and was like, “This is random, but if I came to New Mexico, could I shoot the show?” And they said yes!

Looking back, it’s kind of crazy that this random girl wanted to fly out to shoot them. Anyways, that’s when I bought an actual film camera with a detachable lens, but I didn’t even know how to use it. I was on the plane watching YouTube tutorials!

To be fair, Meow Wolf is the perfect place to take band photos. It’s almost like you open a fridge and walk into a spaceship. After soundcheck, I took photos all over the place. I had no idea if the photos would come out. But they did, and they were perfect.

From there, I started meeting more people. I told them about a flight discount I had, and they were like, “We have an off day in Philly on Halloween. Want to hang out?” And then they were like, “You could come on tour with us and drive all the way to Canada.” I was just a server at the time, so I immediately said yes.

They weren’t paying me, but it felt so cool. I had backstage access, taking film photos. We went all the way to Canada. When I flew home, I remember thinking, “If this were a job, I would love to do this.”

You should! It’s so awesome and they have multiple locations.

I also remember that later on, Sea Moya had a headlining show at The Echo in LA. They were basically my best friends at that point. They didn’t have Venmo and were selling merch, so I let them use my Venmo. Josh from The Marías was there because Doron, who plays bass in The Marías, was opening with another band. Josh watched Sea Moya, loved them, and wanted to buy merch. They came to me for Venmo, and Josh and I started talking. He asked if I was a photographer and said The Marías were looking for an LA-based photographer. We traded Instagrams, and that was it.

It is! Right after that, they had a New Year’s Eve show in San Francisco. I flew up using my mom’s discount again. I didn’t even ask to shoot, I just wanted to hang out. I documented everything, more lifestyle than show photos. When I got the photos back, María really loved them and from then on wanted me to document everything.

Then... COVID happened. Everything shut down, and I was so bummed. I was living at home, though, so I was okay. When things opened back up, The Marías were releasing their debut album, doing music videos and rollouts, and they wanted me involved in everything. I took my unemployment money and moved to LA in 2020. My first tour was with them, and that’s when it really felt real. Around 2021 was when it fully became a job. I was paying out of pocket at first, and film isn’t cheap. I was doing Uber Eats just to pay for gas and film. Once I started getting paid, I was like, “Okay, this is real.”

Glastonbury with Olivia Rodrigo was insane. Being there for her headlining set, with Robert Smith coming out, was surreal. He was just backstage with us, taking shots, totally chill.

Another was shooting Air at the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Orchestra. I’d never shot the Bowl before, and the whole thing was incredible.

It’s such a beautiful venue. Also, shooting Cage the Elephant opening for Oasis at the Rose Bowl was insane. I really took a moment during that show to be present and realize how cool it was to be doing that.

Honestly, festivals are just way more chaotic. The sets are shorter, turnaround times are faster, and it’s harder to shoot film. With one-offs, especially in LA, I can experiment more: Super 8, medium format film. With festivals, you get more of a “We need this now” push when it comes to delivering content to the artist and their team.

When working with new artists, the biggest thing is just being a good hang. You’re around each other all the time, so people can tell if you’re not there for the right reasons. That really does matter just as much as having a good eye.

After all of the nonstop touring, I burned out. I had to say no to five tours! My health really needed it, though. I focused on routines, meditation, acupuncture, and just taking care of myself. I’m going to Japan [this month] by myself to reset. I might not even bring my camera, maybe just a journal. Taking time away helps me feel inspired again.

Lately, I’ve been loving Moon Mullins, who’s also in Not for Radio. His solo project is beautiful. Dan English, too, his project is awesome. It came out last year, and I was just listening to it. I’m honestly always discovering new music.

Cool question. It would have to be Oracular Spectacular by MGMT. That album is one of my favorites, it's timeless.

Going forward, I want to tour less and focus more on creative direction. I already end up doing it naturally, so I’d love to lean into that more, and take on projects that make sense for my health and creativity. Yeah, that’s kind of where I’m at right now.

Thank you!