Above the bridge
Entertainment and conversation
Above the bridge
Episode 177 BRITTNI PAIVA ( Recording Artist, Composer, Producer )
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We talk with the Hoku Award winning ukulele artist Brittni Paiva about how she went from classical piano training at age three to committing to ukulele at eleven, learning by ear, and stepping into major festival stages while still figuring out who she wanted to be as a performer.
We also get practical about the modern music grind. Brittany breaks down her home studio approach, why she works in Logic Pro, and how her songwriting process changes depending on the goal, from ukulele-forward releases to sync licensing for film, TV, and commercials. If you’ve ever dealt with writer’s block, tight deadlines, or the pressure to sound “perfect,” you’ll hear a grounded system for stepping away, saving ideas, and coming back when the timing is right.
Then the conversation turns real. Brittany shares how homeschooling and autism shaped her need for routine, how health and fitness support life on the road, and why staying humble matters in an industry that can pull artists off course. She also opens up about stepping away from music, addiction, and getting sober in 2019, plus the role support systems and faith play in building a steady life and career.
Listen now for ukulele inspiration, music production insight, and a story you’ll be repeating to your friends. If you enjoy the show, subscribe, share it with someone who loves Hawaiian music and ukulele, and leave a review so more people can find it.
Welcome And Guest Setup
SPEAKER_03Aloha, welcome to another edition of the Above the Bridge Podcast. I'm your host, Thaddeus Park. If this is your first time tuning into our show, please leave a comment, subscribe to whatever platform you're watching this on or listening to it on. I appreciate you taking your time out for coming on our show. At this moment, I wanna invite you to an RB day party that me and DJ Hoppa Boy are throwing at the Capitol Modern May 24th. Go check out our website, laidbackrmb.com and get your tickets now. Aloha. Okay, this week my guest is a Hoku award-winning Ugalele artist, and she is the reason why I slack at work because I listen to all her videos. Brittany Paiva, thank you for coming on my show. Thank you. Thanks for traveling. Yeah, I'm super stoked to have you on. I've been always a fan of the U. It's one of the few instruments I can play because I have small hands that I can actually hold the chord. But um you are amazing. I am blown away with some of the stuff you can do with that thing. And I'm I'm really happy to have you on. I'm stoked that you agreed to come on. Yeah, of course. Thanks for reaching out. I appreciate it. Yeah. Um, let's get
Piano Training To Ukulele Obsession
SPEAKER_03into it. What was like how did you even get into playing you? Or were did you start off in a different instrument?
SPEAKER_00I actually did. Um, my first instrument was the piano, so I've been classically trained uh starting at the age of three. Um and then when I was 11, like I had to convince my uh my parents and my grandparents, because they were like, you know, very instrumental. I mean pun intended, but instrumental in getting me uh started in piano lessons and all that stuff. So um I had to convince them really hard to let me stop taking piano lessons and play ukulele. Um my grandpa, uh, when I was about like maybe 10 or so, um, he let me play his mom's old kamaka from the 1960s, I believe. And it was it was a soprano, you know, like everybody had, you know, growing up. So he let me try it out and like I knew from that moment that was gonna be my instrument. So yeah, I had to convince them, um, do a lot of work to convince them to let me stop playing uh taking piano lessons and uh just go all in with the Galola lessons. So I did that. Um started at 11. I played for or took lessons for about two years, and um, then I picked up the guitar at 14 and then bass at 16 and drums at 18. Oh, and then I started learning how to produce after that. So um yeah, it was just like a like from one to the n to the next, um, you know, type of thing. But uh yeah, it's fun.
SPEAKER_03Where did you learn how to play you?
SPEAKER_00Um, so I took lessons, I did like a summer, it was like a six-week thing for parks and recreations in Hilo. Um, because I'm born and raised in Hilo. So um, yeah, it was like a like a summer thing. So I did that, and then um I took lessons from one of my grandpa's friends. Um and so that was kind of like, you know, it being 11 years old, um, you don't really want to play songs from like the 1950s.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00That age I was like, oh, I'm kind of bored. I I can just teach myself. So I took, you know, that's when I again had to convince my parents and my grandparents that I'm gonna stop taking ukulele lessons and just teach myself.
SPEAKER_03So, what's the first song you learn on the you guys? And I could probably guess because I know most people play this one song. What would that be?
SPEAKER_00Uh Carly Rose by Kyle Crater Boys. Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_03That's I I would I would always hear surf from Kyle Crater Boys.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that was probably like my second, but um, that was a song that my grandpa really liked, so he put on the the CD and um he's like, Yeah, let's try to figure this out. So I figured it out, learned how to play it by ear, and yeah, that was the first song that I ever learned on the you.
SPEAKER_03Oh, that's super cool. I'm glad you remember that. Kao was one of my favorite bands. I we used to work at a gas station in Kanye, and in between cars, we'd play a yuke, and it was it was always like we'd play Ka'ao or Capena the most, and like Kao Kao has that significant ukulele sound with uh Troy Fernandez for sure.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, it's iconic. Like every everybody started, you kind of started off with like uh Eddie Kamei, Peter Moon, you know, right before that, and then Cow Creator Boys, and then Jake. Um, yeah. Oh yeah. So many iconic artists.
SPEAKER_03Well, you're uh in line to be one of them. I'm um super impressed with your stuff. When did you realize like, okay, this is more than just a hobby?
Learning By Ear And Early Shows
SPEAKER_03When did you realize oh I get action in this and I could probably take this to the next level?
SPEAKER_00Um I think you know, I'm not I'm not entirely sure. I think I I started performing like locally around Hilo with my ukulala teacher. Okay. Um, and so I did have, you know, well, aside from like piano recitals and stuff like that, I had that experience as well. But um, I started performing with my ukulala teacher. And then after that, I got invited to I don't remember what was the first one. I believe the first gig I ever played was Roy Sakuma's Ukulala Festival in um Waikaloa. He used to have one every year in Waikaloa. So I believe that was the first uh festival that I ever did. And it was it was interesting because when I think back to it, like I was such a novice solo performer. I don't think I've ever performed solo in my life before that. Um so it was it was crazy. Like I had a I had a 30-minute set. Oh and I wrote out I wrote out like a song, what I was gonna say between the songs, and then play the next song. And it was like a whole script because I didn't know what I was doing. So that's uh like my first experience with that. Um after that, I think the next biggest festival was the Hilo, I think it was the Hilo Slatkey Anukolale Festival, which was held at the Civic Auditorium every July. So I did that. Um, and then the following year was when I made my first album. And so that came out, and I remember being there uh performing, and then I went to the you know table after to you know sign CDs and stuff. And I signed my first autograph on my own CD at that event. And so at first I felt a little bit weird, um, mainly because like you're signing, like people are asking for your signature, you know. So being 14 years old or almost 15, and then having you know signed your first autograph, you're kind of like, is this really what I want to do? But I realized, you know, fairly quickly after um doing more gigs and stuff, that you know, there's a whole other side to performing, there's a whole other side to creating music. And it's it's not just like it's not for the fame. There's a whole other healing side and a healing aspect in how you can make a difference in someone's life just by sharing your passion. So that was kind of like the moment for me where I decided this is what I was gonna do, this was my purpose in life, and I'm gonna do it.
SPEAKER_03Wow, I asked that question to a lot of artists, and that by far is one of the best answers I've got. And you knew that at 14. Okay, I want to take this short break from talking to Brittany and tell you about our sponsor, Defend Hawaii. They've been my sponsors from the very beginning. They have a store in Wintermall called Noan. But go to their website, they got some new spring stuff out right now. Go to defendhawaii.com, check out what they have, use promo code ATB Pod upon checkout. You'll get 15% off your first order. Give them a look, defendhawaii.com, let them know ATB Pod sent you. Aloha.
Homeschooling Autism And Finding Purpose
SPEAKER_00So I was actually homeschooled uh from the very beginning. Like I never went to public school or anything. And uh it turns out the reason for that was because I was autistic. And um, I would have had a very difficult time uh in school, you know, with the social aspect of everything. Um, so I'm grateful that my parents decided to homeschool me because not only did it kind of like protect me from a lot of the bullying that would have gone on, um it kind of allowed me this opportunity to do my music. I would wake up super early. I would I would wake up at like uh you know 5 30, 6 o'clock in the morning, do my schoolwork for four hours, and then have the rest of the day to do whatever. And that's all I did was I played music. So um being able to to experience that, being able to be creative on my own time, basically, and just kind of appreciate the space that I had to uh enjoy music and uh reflect on how music affects other people, um, I think led up to that realization of you know, this is this is what I want to do. I can make a difference in someone's life.
SPEAKER_03That's super cool. I really do believe that there are many songs and artists that influence me or got me through tough times and and I relate to it big time. And for artists to know that it is pretty cool. And it it's at that young age thinking like I want to influence people, not try to become famous. That's very humble, humble of you, and kind of not what drives most artists to be honest.
SPEAKER_00It's really, I mean, it's it's such it's an industry where like if you're not careful, you can easily lose yourself. And I've seen, you know, I've been in the industry for going on like 20-something years now. So I've seen so many people come into this and then like they quickly drop out because they've lost their focus, they've lost the whole main reason of why they're a musician, why they have this gift in the first place. And it's it's it's sad, but I also have a lot of hope that eventually they'll come around, eventually they'll they will realize um that their purpose is so much greater than than what they think. Like it's never gonna be about us, you know. Where I'm I'm not in this for fame, I'm not in this for money. That is a bonus, yes. But that's not the reason. The reason is other people.
SPEAKER_03That's super cool. I um yeah, I'm blown away by uh your answer. Um so you've been producing and writing your own music. Your first
First Album Hoku Win And Production
SPEAKER_03album you said was 14 years old. How did that how did that process go at that early age?
SPEAKER_00Um, it was pretty crazy, actually. I I that like that was back in the day or back in the time where you would send your music to certain contacts in the industry and they would like sign you or bring you on board for for for gigs, things like that. So um, yeah, I I went into the studio with the sole purpose of just doing a demo, like not even a full album, but I ended up doing a 14-song album. Um so it released when yeah, released when I was about 14 or 15, 14, 15, 15. And um I I I remember coming home from the studio one day and watching the Hoku Awards on TV for my living room in Hilo, and I was like, I want to be there someday. Like, that's what I want to do. Like, I want to I want to be there. The following year, I was there winning most promising artist before that album. So it's so yeah, it was it was really crazy and just just like to be to have gone from like this, you know, 14, 15-year-old girl from Hilo to now I'm at the Hoku's and I'm hanging out with all of these people I looked up to for my whole music, you know, growing experience. It was it was very surreal. Very surreal.
SPEAKER_03That's super dope. Your um first album was all covers, or you was songs that you wrote?
SPEAKER_00I did have a couple covers. Um, I mean, well, a couple originals, but most of them were covers at the time. Um, my writing skills, like being, you know, so young and everything like that. Um, I did have a have only a few songs that I wrote at that point. But yeah, I I just I just played whatever I felt like playing on that album and uh whatever other people wanted to hear, and that's what ended up happening. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03That's super cool. Man, to win a Hoku at 15. That's pretty. I wonder how many other people did that.
SPEAKER_00Um, to my knowledge, I think I'm still the youngest to ever watch. Yeah, yeah. That's super cool. I would love for someone else to come and take that over, though.
SPEAKER_03See, that's you being humble. I'd be like, no way. I hope not, I hope that record stays intact. Yeah. I think I think it's cool to watching like I'm about to go yell at my daughter. She's 15, she never did anything like that. And um, so now you you pretty much primarily write your own music then for your albums.
SPEAKER_00Um, yeah, well, I I do both. I I play covers because it's always nice to play stuff that people are familiar with. Um, and then I've of course I write my own. I write all the time now. Um and uh I also produce uh for other artists as well, which is super fun because they'll come to me with their originals and be like, Can you make this sound really cool? So I'll go and make it sound really cool and um send it back to them for their projects.
SPEAKER_03So oh that's super cool. You have uh uh your own studio.
SPEAKER_00I do, yeah. Well, it's it's it's more like my my closet. So yeah, just just this little inset, you know, in my closet, and uh I have this curtain right here that I can just like easily close it up if I want to.
SPEAKER_03That's super cool with technology now. Anybody can kind of create their own space and get good sound quality and be able to produce in your bedroom on your laptop and stuff or on a computer.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, 100%. It's so much more accessible now than it was before. Like before you would need this massive console that costs almost a thousand dollar uh hundred thousand dollars and just all this equipment, soundproof room, everything. But when you really understand the mechanics of sound and how everything works, like you can get by with a really simple setup. Like, you know, my my room is treated in just the right areas, um, so that I can sit here and record, and it'll sound like I've gone to a studio and spent big money on recording when I actually just sat right here.
SPEAKER_03What do you use, Pro Tools or?
SPEAKER_00Um, I use logic.
SPEAKER_03Oh, Logic. Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I love logic. I I've used pretty much every doll out there, and I I love logic. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03That's impressive. Were you ever formally trained in producing and and in music, like in a school setting, like in college or anything like that, or all self-taught or university of YouTube?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, YouTube university for sure. Yeah. Um I did, I did go to uh I did an online program from uh Berkeley College of Music. I majored in music theory and music music arrangement. Um that was the only like formal schooling I've had. Um all of my production training, all of that was all self-taught. Um I kind of like it that way. I I I try to sit here and read articles of all these different things, and I'm like, this is a lot of brain power. I'm just gonna do it myself and figure it out because then I'll remember it instead of reading something and then forgetting it. Yeah. But but yeah, so I I I've worked with a lot of um really amazing producers over the years, and I've you know watched Holiday do things, and I've I have people that I can ask if I'm you know stuck on this one particular like I don't know how to EQ this one drum sound to make it sound the way I want it to. So I can always text them or call them and you know have that resource too.
SPEAKER_03That's super cool. Um, what would be your process when you're creating a new song or when you're writing a song for yourself?
Writing Process Writer Block And Sync
SPEAKER_00It kind of really depends um what the purpose of the song is for. Like um, I'll I'll write songs specifically for sync and like film and TV. Um and that has a whole different um you know process that I'll start. So like if I'm writing a song for myself or like an ukulele song, um I'll typically hear everything in my head, like the whole arrangement and everything in my head. And I'll go and record uh the rhythm ukulele part first, and then I'll record a demo lead part, like the picking, you know, the melodic stuff, just so that I have those two as something I can work around. And so I'll build based off of that, and then once it's time for like the final recording, then I'll go back and redo so that it sounds better and I'll edit everything properly. Um if I'm writing for sync uh for film and TV, I'm I'm starting specifically with the rhythm, like the the drum beats. I'm not thinking of any melody yet. So I'm kind of working backwards. Oh, okay. I would, yeah, it would than I would for uh regular listening music, you know, ukulele music.
SPEAKER_03Would you ever get stuck? Like if you were trying to figure something out or trying to get a song put together, would you ever get like uh writer's block or something like that?
SPEAKER_00It's how do you get through it though? Writer's block is is the most pain in pain in the butt thing. Like it's it's it's inconvenient, it's awful. Um I like to tell people like you need to do something that's not anything what you're currently doing. So like if I'm sitting here writing and I'm having this block, I don't know what to do with my song, um I'll go outside, I'll go do yard work, I'll go clean my bathroom, something that's not anything related to do with music. Um and just having that that ability to get your mind off of it, like the more we fixate on the problem, the worse it's gonna get.
SPEAKER_01That makes sense.
SPEAKER_00So having to distance yourself from from the problem is is is like more times than not gonna fix it. Um there are there's there's this one little um thing that I kind of live by where if if I have an idea for a song and it doesn't really go anywhere, I'm gonna like just record whatever I I have, whatever my idea is. If it doesn't go anywhere, I'm gonna put it on the side because it's not the right time to do it. So then, you know, years later it'll come out and be like, oh, okay, I have an idea for that song, and I'll go back to it. And then yeah, and then it turns into something really cool.
SPEAKER_03That's amazing. At least you're smart enough to not push the issue. You're like, okay, maybe this isn't the time. I'll take a break from this, put it in the hard drive, and come back to it in a year or something like that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. And especially too, like if you're if you're working with the time in a time crunch, like for some of these um sync projects that we do, like the deadline is yesterday. Oh, and you have no, like you're sitting there for for like 18 hours to get this song done because the deadline is right away. And you just gotta push through it. And um, there's really no stupid idea. Like you might think it's stupid because we're always gonna be critical of ourselves, but it's really not. You play it for someone else and they'll be like, that's a brilliant idea. That's that's that's great. So, you know, it it's having to get past those those types of self-critical messages, you know, that's really gonna help you succeed, you know, and move forward.
SPEAKER_03That's awesome. You've done stuff for TV and movies. You said how does that work?
SPEAKER_00Like you you'll watch them the film and kind of play to the actions, or yeah, there's there's there's many different uh uh directions for um writing for sync. Uh there's film scoring, which is you have the film, um, you know, you're watching it, you're writing your you know, the soundtrack to it. Um I have uh I have two friends who work uh who worked on the PowerBook series. I think it's on Stars. Um, the PowerBook Force, I believe is the first one that they did, if I remember correctly. But they did the the scoring for that. And that was happened to be in the studio when they they did, you know, some of it. And it was really cool to to watch them uh do that. But uh there's that. There's also um different uh formats of writing a song um and the way the song should progress, that's gonna make it more appealing for someone to use in a commercial. Um so one of the the things that that I was fortunate to do was also compete for a Nike spot, uh Nike commercial last year. And um it was interesting because Nike ended up going with a Led Zeppelin tune. They didn't choose anybody's anybody's songs, but um I got together with some some friends of mine um who work you know heavily in the in the sync world, and we wrote three songs and they were they were bangers and these these were um you know one of the or three this deadline was yesterday. So like we got together and worked for hours on these pieces. And then Nike ended up going with Les Zeppelin. But Yeah, it was it was it's really cool. So like they there's a whole way, um a whole a whole method that makes your song more appealing for uh for use in commercial like that. You need to be constantly moving and introducing something new in your song. Um so yeah, it's for it's very different than scoring for sure.
SPEAKER_03Oh wow, that's that's crazy. I mean it's hard to beat Led Zeppelin though.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Were you uh brought up? What
Trance Jazz Metal And Ukulele Challenge
SPEAKER_03was your kind of genre that you would love to listen to?
SPEAKER_00Ah gosh, I don't know. I I love listening to anything. Um whatever, whatever I could, you know, get my hands on, I would listen to. Um I think if I had to like like pick a couple genres that I just absolutely love, it would probably be like 90s and 2000s trance. Like medium music. Um I'm like huge like 2010s raver.
SPEAKER_03Oh, okay, okay.
SPEAKER_00Not anymore, because like I gotta go to sleep early. I don't stay up late. Yeah, you can't be no, I'm if I'm awake past 12, I'm like dying the next day. So I stay home. But um, yeah, so 90s and and 2000s trance. Um, next would probably be uh like piano jazz.
SPEAKER_01Oh um and then I think third would probably be metal.
SPEAKER_03Okay, I'm so happy you said that because I my favorite music is metal, my favorite band is Metallica. I grew up with Metallica, that's that's my genre. I love all music except country. I don't really care for country, but metal is my favorite, and I always wanted to hear it played on a you and hear it transcribed through ukulele. Have you ever done that before?
SPEAKER_00I've done a couple um a couple little snippets of of stuff. I did uh Spoon Man.
SPEAKER_03Oh, SoundGuarding.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. I did what else did I do? I did like little snippets on my Instagram that I posted like four or five years ago. Um so it's kind of far down there, but uh yeah, I want to get back into doing doing more stuff like that.
SPEAKER_03Do a metallic for me.
SPEAKER_00For sure. Um I love screen metal. I I I will listen to um like I prevail. Uh oh. Yeah, I I love all those, all those guys. Um there's a group from I think they're from New Zealand, uh, called AuroraWait.
SPEAKER_03Oh, oh, I listened to them. They're metal reggae. They are good, yeah. They are awesome. I actually use uh one of their songs as background music for one of my dollar daughters' highlight volleyball uh reels. Um they just came here too. They were opening for um, I forget who they opened for. Expandables, I think. They were at the Republic, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Right, yeah, yeah. I saw that and I wasn't able to I wasn't able to go, but yeah.
SPEAKER_03Oh, I'm glad you like that kind of music. That I was not expecting any of those answers. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Um being that you like that kind of music is stuff, how come the guitar never stuck?
SPEAKER_00Um I mean I still play guitar, but I feel like I feel like I'd rather play it for fun than play it as like my instrument. Um I have more fun adapting things to the ukulele than I do for guitar, because I feel like guitar is it's just like people people know what the guitar can do. Yes, but they don't know that you can do the guitar on the ukulele. So yeah, I think I think that's why I stick with it.
SPEAKER_03Cause it's more challenging, probably.
SPEAKER_00Uh yeah, I love I love a good challenge. I'm a problem solver by nature. So um yeah, give me something that's impossible to play on the ukulele and I'll play it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I just saw one of your story just you posted today of an EDM song, and I was blown away that that was a you. I'm like, whoa, that that's pretty impressive. I just seen it just before we jumped on. I'm like, wow, that's that's and you said you did that 10 years ago.
SPEAKER_00Right, yeah, that was that was my my practice uh to learn how to produce. Um yeah, I I I just pretty much sat down in front of my computer and I listened to the original, and I was gonna try and recreate those sounds as close as I possibly could back then. Um, I had like no equipment, no fancy plugins, and I was just working with you know whatever logic had, uh the stock plugins, and yeah, that's what kind of came out of it. So uh I found I found that mix uh recently on my hard drive, and I was like, you know, maybe I should put it out just for fun. Like so I did. Um so I'm releasing it on March 27th. Um yeah, just for fun. And I'm kind of like putting it under my other moniker, uh, B.exe. B.exe produces like lo-fi. So I have some lo-fi tracks that I released um okay under that that that stage name. And uh yeah, so it's gonna be myself featuring myself, which is pretty funny. But yeah.
SPEAKER_03That's super cool. Um when you listen to music, do you find yourself just enjoying it or are you instantly trying to dissect it?
SPEAKER_00I I I am never okay. So the only genre of music that I do fully jo enjoy while listening is Christmas music. Oh, okay. But I I like it's so warm and fuzzy. It makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. So I'm like, I'm not even gonna bother to analyze what's going on here. I just love it. So I'm gonna listen to it and fully enjoy it. But every other genre of music, no matter what it is, I cannot just sit down and enjoy it. And I'm just I'm picking apart everything, I'm listening to it like one one side of the headphone at a time to see what's on that side and what's on that side.
SPEAKER_03And yeah, that could be annoying but cool at the same time. My um I would say it's annoying. Yeah, my one of my best friend is DJ Hoppe Boy, and he's the same thing. We're out doing something, and he'll just stop and be like, and I see him getting his phone out to Shazam. I'm like, bruh, just enjoy the moment. You're not trying to do stuff all the time, but it's it's it's always um, I guess that's the artistic vibe that you guys have. It it's pretty cool because I always say I would love to hear music through your guys' ears. It'd be pretty cool to understand it like that.
SPEAKER_00It's it's kind of like if you're listening to multiple conversations, like you're you're at a bar and you decide to tune in to all these different conversations that are around you, and you want to understand every single one, but you can't because every single one is going on. That's pretty much as close as it's gonna get.
SPEAKER_03Wow, that's a great way to describe that.
Defining A Style And Global Ukulele
SPEAKER_03Okay, guys, let's take this short moment. I want to shout out our sponsor, iRip Detail Supply. They're your one-stop shop superstore for everything you need to detail your vehicle. They have a store in Temple Valley Shopping Center, one also in Las Vegas, and they're opening one on the west side. But if you can go to their website, iRipDetailsupply.com, use promo code ATBPod upon checkout, and you'll get 15% off your entire purchase order. iRip Detail Supply. Aloha. What would you say your style of uh playing or performing is? What would you say? What would you categorize yourself?
SPEAKER_00Um gosh, I don't even know. Um I I'm definitely very big on quality of music. I don't particularly, particularly like to um, you know, be all over the stage and just like running all over the place, jumping and you know.
SPEAKER_03So not like Jake.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, not at all. Um I do have my like you know, my own version of stage press presence, of course, but I I don't I don't like to overshadow my my music with the visual, you know, physical, you know, activity on stage. Um I I would rather like I want people to hear and feel my music um without being distracted by other things. Um so that's kind of my philosophy um about my style of performing. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And what about your music in itself? What would you describe the genre being?
SPEAKER_00Um, I don't know. I I think it's multi multi-genre, honestly. I I play a little bit of everything. Um I think as far as my albums go, like every album had a sort of like a different theme, I guess. Um the first and second albums both had like a like more traditional uh, you know, local Hawaiian type of uh flavor. The the third album and the fourth album kind of got a little bit more like poppy, okay. Um more progress progressive in in the pop sense. Um and then the fifth album was very jazz oriented. And the fifth album was called Tell You What, and that one was produced by Tom Scott from the LA Express. Oh yeah, so he's he's he's like a legend in the main music industry. Like he's worked with um so many people. I can't even begin to yeah, list everybody, but um amazing producer, amazing person. Uh and you know, he he produced that album. So yeah, with his jazz background, it a lot of that came from you know, from that, from him. So um, yeah, that was that was like my first venture off into actually playing jazz rather than listening to it. So yeah, it was it was it was a fun, fun project to do.
SPEAKER_03That's super cool. I so I guess you would say your genre is Britney genre, that you're not pigeon-holed into one kind of thing.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah. I I love playing because I feel like the ukulele in itself is a genre. Yeah, it's not necessarily Hawaiian, it's not necessarily um, I don't know, Latin, it's not necessarily anything. It's it's it's the genre itself. Because there's so many things that you can do on it that's gonna sound it's all gonna sound like ukulele in the end.
SPEAKER_03So would you say that the you is kind of growing in popularity worldwide and it's becoming something that everybody's kind of using in their music?
SPEAKER_00100%, yeah. I mean, so many, so many mainstream artists are using the ukulele in in their music. There are so many festivals in places that you wouldn't even think they're ukulele festivals. Like there's uh uh an ukulele festival in uh I think it's called the Czech Ukulele Festival. That's in Czechoslovakia, you know, way over there. There's um I played at the Berlin Ukulale Festival in Germany.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_00Uh there's the UK festivals, there's you know, festivals in Ireland, in Australia, uh Malaysia, everywhere.
SPEAKER_03What what would be your most memorable performance or a show that you've done?
SPEAKER_00Performing
Playing Sambapati With Carlos Santana
SPEAKER_00with Carlos Santana. Oh my god, that's that was that was my my most memorable and will probably be my most memorable for the rest of the time.
SPEAKER_03Explain to me that because that's that's mind-blowing. That guy's like that's insane. You played with Carlos Santana on stage, yeah, here in Hawaii.
SPEAKER_01What? Okay, take me through that. Explain, tell me about that.
SPEAKER_00All right, so um, how that actually came to fruition. Um my mom was my manager at the time, and uh, we were in contact with Carlos's manager uh for you know, off and on, here and there, like we would send emails and he would send emails. And um he took he ended up messaging us and said, Oh, Carlos is gonna be kicking off his tour. The first stop is Honolulu. Do you wanna, you know, do you wanna go to the show? And I'm like, absolutely, I wanna go. So um, so he wrote back and he said, you know, I can actually get you backstage to meet Carlos before the show. Do you is is that something you'd be interested in? I'm like, um, of course. Like Carlos, Carlos was was one of my my idols, you know, listening to his music and everything. So uh so yeah, so my mom and I uh flew up from Hilo uh up here, and it was gonna be at the Blaze cell uh the arena, sold-out crowd of like 30,000 people. So we we get here and you know, we show up. Um Carlos's manager was like, okay, you need to see this person go to this gate, and they're gonna take you to this other person at this other gate. It was like a whole you know security thing, which I get it, but it was a it was like a lot to to go through at the time. But uh yeah, so we went backstage and and he's there with his wife Cindy, um, who plays drums. And we were just talking stories, and that was like the I think the first or second day that I had just got my um my custom kamaka ukulele. Okay. So I thought, you know, it'd be really cool to have him play it and like maybe have him sign it or something. So I brought it with me. And uh he said, Hey, I see you you have your ukulele. Uh, do you know any of my songs? And I said, actually, yes, I play Europa and Samba Pati. So he's like, Oh, play samba pati. So I played and then he he asked me, Does your ukulele have a pickup in it? And I said, Oh yeah. He said, Okay, great. You're gonna join us on stage. No. I was like, shit. We're doing this, we're doing this. Wow. Yeah, it was it was it was insane. Um, he said, Okay, I'm gonna have my my where are you sitting? I'm gonna have my security come and grab you um about 30 minutes before I'm gonna bring you on. So I don't remember anything of the of the show before I went on. I was nervous because the fact that I knew he was gonna call me up and I was gonna play with his whole band on stage to 30,000 people with no rehearsal, I was like, shit. That's gangster. I remember sitting there in the audience and it was fourth row from the from center stage, like in the in the front. I remember sitting there lifting up my hand, and I was like full on shaking, nervous, nervous as hell. And uh his guys came and and and got me like 10 minutes before we're gonna go on. He's like, they were like, you need to you need to hurry up because we're we're going now. You're you're on in 10 minutes. Okay. So they they grabbed me and then I followed them. Um, and then they put me like right behind the drum riser on the behind the stage. So then uh Carlos introduced me and brought me out, and we played Sambapati on stage with their with his whole band, and yeah, that was that was the moment.
SPEAKER_03That is insane. That's one of the best stories I've ever heard.
SPEAKER_00Thank you.
SPEAKER_03Like you brought your you just to get him to play it or sign it, and it just turned into like I left with an experience. That's the biggest experience I could ever think of. Like you um, how'd you play? Did you mess up or were you just like Oh totally, yeah.
SPEAKER_00I was so nervous. Like there were there were a few like uh what we call fart notes. Um there are a couple in there, and and I look I I don't like to watch you know videos of my performances where I where I know I'm nervous because I'll mistakes and be like, eh, why? But but yeah, I I totally messed up on a couple parts, but it's it's it's fine because like that's just music, that's part of it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, for sure. Did uh do you have that video?
SPEAKER_00I do, yeah, it's on YouTube.
SPEAKER_03Okay, I'm definitely checking that out after we jump off. That's a that's his save. Yeah. Um wow, that I guess that would be the most memorable. What would so you got to tour a lot with your your music?
Touring Differences And Daily Routine
SPEAKER_03Uh what countries other than Berlin have you been to? And how are it performing in different countries?
SPEAKER_00Um, I've been to like Japan, Australia, Canada, um, Mexico, Denmark. Um, yeah, it's it's so fun. Uh, it's interesting to see the the types of music that people like to play on the ukulele the further east you go. Oh, okay. Really interesting. Like you'll find a lot of um like Hawaiian stuff on the West Coast. And then as you work your way east, you get less Hawaiian and more um, like more pop and more 1920s and 30s music.
SPEAKER_02Oh wow.
SPEAKER_00It's fascinating just to see the types of stuff that people like playing in different parts of the world. But everybody loves the ukulele, and there's not a single moment where like you're ever at at a festival having bad vibes. It's everybody's there because they love the instrument, you're there because you love the instrument, and you all have this one thing in common, and that's the ukulele, which is Hawaii.
SPEAKER_03Wow, that's crazy to think about. I always relate you with Hawaiian music or reggae or island reggae. I've never thought about it being played specifically for other genres. Like I don't I always hear you because like guarantee is island music. And wow, that's insane. Um let's see, what would be your typical day now that you're producing and you're a full-time artist? What would be like a normal day for you?
SPEAKER_00Um, it really honestly depends on how how the day starts. Um, no. Well, no, not even that. Like, I just got a new puppy. So um he's a golden doodle. Uh so recently, like, I'm because I'm autistic, like I treasure my routine. Like I need my my morning routine and I need my evening routine. And the sequence of the things that I do in that routine is like that's what keeps me, you know, grounded and like I'm able to function if I'm able to do those things. But with the puppy, he has upset all the routines. So um, yeah, I I just I do my best to to have a lot of self-care and compassion for myself, you know, during this time where I'm trying to trying to develop a whole new routine. So if the day starts off rough, or like if the puppy woke up and chose violence, then I'm gonna be overstimulated, which is gonna then delay the pro the productivity that I need to do. So um, yeah, that's what I mean by it. It depends how the day starts.
SPEAKER_03All right. That makes sense.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but but on the on a general sense, um, I'll typically wake up, I'll, I'll have like, you know, my coffee, my, then take my pre-workout, I'll do my workout, go to the gym, and then I'll come back. I'll either teach music, depending on the day I have students, um, or I'll sit here and produce, you know, for someone else, or if I'm working on my own stuff, I'll work on my own stuff.
SPEAKER_03So primarily you're working with music every single day, then for the most part.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, in some capacity. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01What do you what do you do on your free time?
SPEAKER_00Um, my free time, I actually really enjoyed going to the gym. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Same.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, go to the gym. Uh, I I definitely want to try to enter some sort of fitness competition at some point. Um, I don't know if that will ever happen, but do it. Aside from that, like I love I love doing yard work. I have this massive patch of uh sleeping grass in the back. The one I was out there the other day for like like an hour, two hours with the pliers trying to pull them out.
SPEAKER_03All right. I can get behind working out for fun, but definitely not yard work. I hate doing yard work, but it is therapeutic once you're done and you like oh okay, everything looks nice. Yeah, I definitely am about that. Um competing for something physical. Well, you should try the uh Spartan race.
SPEAKER_00I thought about that. So that that might be my first stop. We'll see.
SPEAKER_03I did that last year. It was so it was a goal that uh myself and Hoppe Boy made for us to kind of primarily get him to be focused on on um being active and and being mindful about being like taking care of our bodies. So we uh made a pack. We'll do the we and New Year's we said we're gonna do the Spartan race, and we trained for it because you can't just wing that. There's no way. And the amount of gratification that I got, and and I also did it to be an example for my daughter. I told her, I'm not trying to win this thing because there's no way that's gonna happen, but I'm gonna complete it. Like I'm not gonna give up, I'm gonna finish it. That's my goal. And she'd watch me wake up every morning and run and and doing burpees and getting myself ready. And ho, and when I finished that thing, I did cramp up a million times, but like that medal is in my living room, and it's just a medal. But uh the fact that I I did it and it was a goal that I achieved, I think you'll probably find the same satisfaction. But being healthy is always important, you can be the best musician in the world. If your health isn't there, no one's gonna be able to hear you play.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, 100%. And like you want to make sure that you're you're taking care of your body and you're you're there for your family.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, you know, and even more for like a musician, we're we're like our our our art is very demanding and we're practically athletes, you know, with the amount of uh the amount of playing that we do, with the intensity of playing that we do. Um, you know, for those of us who are going on extended tours, like you know, Jake, for example, he's on he's touring like eight, nine months out of the year, and just going from city to city. And if you're not taking care of yourself, you're not gonna be able to do that. So, you know, having that, you know, taking your vitamins, eating healthy, eating your protein, working out, and making sure that you're you're able to support yourself health-wise is just it's gonna be there. I mean, it's gonna be so much better for you and your family, and you'll have that security of knowing that you'll be there for your family.
SPEAKER_03Yep, definitely. And and myself included, I've been taking nutrition very seriously in the last uh year and a half. I I've done the carnivore diet and seen great results. It's just I needed to add a little bit more fiber because every time I went to the bathroom was like giving birth, but yeah, but I say I take that on musical every every day.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So and it it it changes. I've I've definitely feel different from changing my nutrition. So I'm glad you take that serious at your age, and it's it's only gonna benefit you. Um, okay, let's take this short break. I want to shout out our sponsor, Medicinal Mushroom Hawaii. They are a medicinal mushroom company based out of Hawaii. They have five different mushrooms right now. They extracted mushrooms from the lion's mane, chaga, red raishi, turkey tail, and the cordyceps. And if you go on their website, medmushroomhigh.com, it'll explain to you the benefits of each and every one of these mushrooms. I take all five religiously every single day. It's been amazing. Medmushroomhigh.com. If you use promo code ATB Pod Upon, check out all capital letters, you'll get 45% off your first tinture of extracted mushrooms. Medmushroomhigh.com. Aloha.
Work Life Boundaries Sobriety And Faith
SPEAKER_03Let's see, as a musician, what would be some of your biggest challenges that you faced as a professional?
SPEAKER_00Um, as a professional, let's see. I would say probably like one of them being separating work from just personal life. Um especially because like musicians, that's who we are. Like that that's what that's who we are as people. And even though we love music, there comes a time where you gotta put the music on the side to take care of your, you know, daily life.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um and you know, that kind of goes back to what I was saying before about the routine where I I only give myself a certain amount of time during the day to do my work. Because if I if I'm not able to turn turn off that work brain, then that's just gonna keep going and I'm not gonna be able to sleep good the next, you know, that night. So yeah, I think doing that, um I think the next thing would would also, you know, go back to uh staying humble, making sure that we're not doing it for the wrong reason. Um and I think understanding that the vulnerability and imperfections that we have in the things that we create, like that's what makes our stuff unique. It should never be a hundred percent perfect, a hundred percent clean. Um, and it should never be better than whoever. You know, that there's no such thing, it should never be a competition like that. Like all of us are, you know, we're all really good friends, and it should never ever become to the point or come to the point where it it's it's a competition. Like, oh, Brittany's better than Jake. Oh, Jake is better than Britney. No, it's not like that. That's not how it works.
SPEAKER_03I understand that. And I I'm always teaching my daughter the same, is like you don't need to be better than anybody else, you just have to be better than yourself yesterday, and that's the competition to be to improve yourself. I feel like you have a very strong mental strength for this industry. I think your mental strength is perfect for someone in this industry, and I'm sure you have your ups and downs, but you seem very locked in mentally strong, and that's impressive because I've been in the music industry or promoting industry, and I've been in them green rooms, I've been on tour with bands, and it's very, very easy to get distracted and get um disconnected from the real reason why musicians play. And and have you ever encountered struggle with any of that kind of stuff, or is always been locked in like how you are?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely dealt with struggles. Um, so back in 2013, um I came out, you know, and then I got into a really bad relationship. And that bad relationship kind of I wasn't able to pursue music at that point. It was it was very toxic, it was it was just not healthy, and that's putting it nicely. Um so I I stepped out of the the industry for several years. And after I got out of that relationship, I ended up turning to drugs and alcohol.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_00And you know, that was kind of like I didn't know how else to deal with the demons that I had. Um, and that was the only way that I knew how. And so I went, you know, into that for a couple of years, and um, you know, I've had these benders for, you know, five, seven days, and you know, it was really a really rough time. And I finally was able to get sober um in August 2019, and the the way that it happened, um, and the kind of leading up to my life now, and you know, moving away from Hilo and now living here in Honolulu, that was all divine intervention. And that was like, okay, now it's time, like you've learned your lesson. I'm giving you this second or third chance at life. So now you go and make something good of it. So that's kind of my my my story a little bit with that. So yeah, I've been sober for uh six and a half years now, and uh that's super important of my life.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's amazing. I had I didn't know that was gonna be your story. I that's super cool. Always say that, like with any any star musician or athlete, there's some girl that comes around and fucks it all up.
SPEAKER_00I mean, yeah, yeah. So I'm super blessed to to have um you know the girlfriend that I have now, and yeah, she's she's amazing. She's she's very healthy, she she makes sure that I'm okay all the time, and she knows that I'm not okay before I even know that I'm not okay. So yeah, she she's on it, and I'm so grateful for her.
SPEAKER_03That's super cool. And I guess uh that's life, right? Like you said, to go through stuff like that will make you stronger. And if as long as you learn from it and know how to figure it out, I that that's a great that's a great story. I wasn't expecting that.
SPEAKER_00I mean, you gotta have a really good support system too. You can't you can't just have any any old person, you know, even people that have been in in your life for a long time, if they're not there to come to to usher you along on this new journey or whatever your your new journey might be, or be that positive influence for you, you they don't deserve to have any part of your life.
SPEAKER_03So I like that.
SPEAKER_00A huge advocate for for that. Um, you know, it's kind of an encountering different people over the years and especially through that time of my life where like people screwed me over, they they tried to ruin my career, they tried to do so many things. And so now I'm able to see, you know, are these people in my life set up for success? Do they want success? Do they want stability? If they don't, then you know, I move on.
SPEAKER_03That's smart. And I've been learning that recently, and it's hard. I have I'm recently going through it with some friends, some close friends that I'm trying to drag through the mud and they're just pulling the other way. And at some point I I gotta let go, and it's been rough. And um understanding people come into your lives for a reason. God puts people in your life for a reason. It may be just for a short moment, but is it should be to teach you something and teach you something about yourself and help you get through it, and with that you can build on. Um, I feel like that's exactly what you've done with your situation.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for sure. Like there's something that I um learned in church recently, and that was like because when we go through hard things, like like you know, people being shady or you know, screwing us over, whatever the the trial might be, we always ask, like, God, why am I going through this? Why did you give me this to go through? And it's not him giving you these things because he hates you, it's the lesson that's in it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Like if we if we just run away from the problem, we're missing out on the entire lesson. And that lesson is gonna be something that will benefit us later.
SPEAKER_03Yep. I agree. And yeah, that's well said. God God gives his strongest uh test to his strongest soldiers. So I feel like if you walk with him, he'll guide you through it, and everything will make sense eventually. There's there's no way you know more than God, and to leave it up to him is it's hard, but it's beneficial once you see the big picture. Like always say, uh, you wanna you wanna make God laugh, tell him your plans for the future. Because yeah, what whatever you have planned out is like not what he's got for you. And yeah, wow, that's a cool story. I'm glad you shared that with me. That's that's impressive. Well, we've been going for an hour. Um few more questions I had to ask. Like,
Advice Dream Collabs And Big Goals
SPEAKER_03what would your uh if you could pick one artist to do a collaboration with uh living or deceased, who would that be? And you can pick multiple ones if you want.
SPEAKER_00Alright, deceased, um Michael Jackson. Oh, okay. Uh Living, Charlie Pooth and Justin Bieber. Oh, okay. I would love to do music with them. Like they are brilliant, super brilliant. I would love to do collaborations.
SPEAKER_03Put it out there. I would, in my opinion, I would want you to do a collaboration with Mike Shonora. That would be insane. That would be amazing. That would be so like the artistic uh integrity. And uh Johan lives in Hawaii. He lives in in yeah, he lives by Ala Mana. Yeah, I met him. Um let's see, and up-and-coming musical artists, what advice would you give them?
SPEAKER_00Um, definitely, like, I mean, this is this is something that that that everybody, you know, will will say, but don't give up. It's it's easy to get into this industry and then realize how intimidating it is. Uh, the people that are intense, uh, the demands that you have that the people expect from you. Um it's it's it's very intimidating. But like I said, you have to surround yourself with people who are gonna keep you grounded. Um don't be discouraged when something doesn't go the way that you expect. Um it's it's it's easy to get lost, and you don't want to get lost, and you need you need those solid people around you to help you when those things don't go your way or when you get overlooked, or what feels like you're getting overlooked. Um you gotta keep yourself growing, keep evolving, don't play the things that everybody else is playing exactly the way that they're playing. And there's always a space for you as an artist, no matter what genre you play or sing. There's a space for everyone, yourself included.
SPEAKER_03That's so awesome. Uh Dream venue. If you could play anywhere on this planet, where would it be? Hmm.
SPEAKER_00Grand O'Lapri.
SPEAKER_03Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_00I'd have to play country music though.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you and Jelly Row could do a collab.
SPEAKER_00That would be amazing.
SPEAKER_03That would be amazing.
SPEAKER_00Um, I always ask this: do you name your instruments? I don't actually. Um, I don't because I I don't want it to feel like it's a separate identity of myself.
SPEAKER_03Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. My instruments, I feel like my music is is like it's an extension of my soul. So I don't like to give my soul a separate name.
SPEAKER_03Oh that's a great, oh that's smart. Okay, that's that's a cool answer. Uh my um one of my former I used to teach Taekwondo and my student one of my students was Kaimana Souza. And he uh does he his family owns a ukulele factory and and yeah, I'm actually sponsored by by Kanye, yeah. Oh yeah, okay. So you come Kanyoi a lot then, right? Because that that's where their shop is. Yeah, okay. Yeah. Kaimana was my student for Taekwondo. We had him as a little kid growing up, and yeah, he's a good his whole family, his mom is amazing. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03All right. Well, uh I appreciate you taking time out of uh of your day and and what oh, one more question. What goals do you have for your future? Like, what do you where do you see yourself in the future? What are what do you want to happen with this career?
SPEAKER_00Gosh, I don't even know. I I I I just want to play music. Yeah, I just want to play out. I want to have a band that backs me up at every gig. Um, I want to play the most high-class, high expectation venues. Um, you know, the the most A-list expensive parties. Um, those would be really cool to do. It's because it's it's so far from growing up in, you know, Hawaii and Hilo, and you're over here at these black tie events where everybody's wearing dresses and suits that cost grand, you know. So it's it's it's just for the experience, I think. Um, you know, to be at something like that and playing music there.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I would love to see you win a Grammy. That would be super cool. That would be that would be cool. That's awesome. You're very uh personable too. I think you're built for this industry. You're very strong-minded too, I think.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. I I try to be.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Um, this has been one of the best conversations I've ever had with a Seahawks fan, also. And I didn't put this here just for you. It's on every one of my shows.
SPEAKER_00I was gonna wear my jersey, and then I decided not to.
SPEAKER_03I would have edited out.
SPEAKER_00It's only my head.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I do have the 2025 World Champions uh you you guys deserve it definitely, as reluctant. You know what pissed me off the most is that you guys want it in our stadium. Like that sucks. Yeah. Warner was mad. He's like, get their stuff out of my locker room.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
Where To Listen And Follow
SPEAKER_03Anyways, um, social media-wise, where can people find you and also where can people check out your music?
SPEAKER_00For sure. Um, all of my music is available on every streaming platform. So Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, all of that um social media. I'm most active on Instagram, so uh my handle is at im Britt Piva. Uh same thing with Facebook. Um, I'm also on YouTube, yeah, kind of everywhere.
SPEAKER_03Right on. Well, thanks again for coming on. Uh shaka's for the cameras. Okay, we're out. Shout out to the Artist Groove Network. Aloha.
