{"id":559,"date":"2020-05-02T19:23:27","date_gmt":"2020-05-02T19:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/elissagayle.ebersold.org\/blog\/?p=559"},"modified":"2020-05-02T21:53:19","modified_gmt":"2020-05-02T21:53:19","slug":"moriah-formica-the-reality-after-reality-tv-part-2-of-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/elissagayle.ebersold.org\/blog\/2020\/05\/moriah-formica-the-reality-after-reality-tv-part-2-of-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Moriah Formica: The Reality After Reality TV (Part 2 of 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Initially written for and posted on Nippertown<\/a><\/em>. Part 1 (on blog) <\/a>h<\/a>ere. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s Note: This is the second part of the powerful interview with local rock star, Moriah Formica, a motivated and talented musician that was on the reality TV music competitions, American Idol and The Voice.\u00a0Be sure to read the\u00a0first part of this exclusive interview<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by Nippertown\u2019s Elissa Ebersold,\u00a0of what happens when the cameras stop rolling<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Moriah Formica, Jupiter Hall, 11.24.17<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

EE: What do you feel you\u2019ve learned the most since your stints on reality music competition television?\u00a0<\/strong>
MF: One of the things I\u2019ve learned the most is endurance. You have to have a lot of endurance. There are going to be so many times where you feel, or you know, that I can\u2019t do this tomorrow. I really can\u2019t do this tomorrow. And you can wake up the next morning, and you can throw up because of how nervous or sick you are. You can cry however many times you want. But at the end of the day, if you\u2019re on a reality show, or you have a show, it doesn\u2019t matter. You have to do it and everything is gonna turn out fine. When I was on Idol<\/em>, however brief, one of the rounds, the group round, we didn\u2019t go to bed until 4:30 and our call time was at 6am. I woke up that morning and I was crying to my mom, \u201cI can\u2019t do this\u201d and I was ready to quit. I woke up that morning after an hour of sleep and I have never felt more nauseous in my life. I thought I was going to throw up. I was so sick I could hardly walk. I was staggering all over the room. I was so overcome with tiredness and defeat and anxiety and fear, but at the end of the day I went and I did it. And I got through that round. Endurance is one of the biggest things that I\u2019ve learned from reality TV. You\u2019re gonna feel sometimes that you don\u2019t want to do something, or feel that you can\u2019t, but at the end of the day, it doesn\u2019t matter. I barely had a voice for my Knockout and Playoff rounds on The Voice<\/em>. You have to find somewhere to just pull it out of you and just do it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also learned that you have to have a sense of who you are and you have to stick with it. Because if you go on reality TV and you have no sense of who you are as an artist, it\u2019s just not gonna be good. You\u2019ll have no idea what to do with it once you\u2019re done with it. You won’t know how to advertise yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And you have to have a thick skin. That\u2019s one of the biggest things. You\u2019re gonna hear so many things that piss you off, or make you sad, or make you feel that you\u2019re never gonna be successful. You have to either take it as constructive criticism, or if it\u2019s hate, then just be like, you just gotta say \u201cfuck you.\u201d Atlantic Records told me when I was fourteen that I had to lose weight because I was \u201ctoo thick.\u201d At fourteen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EE: Well that is seriously disgusting.<\/strong>
<\/strong>MF: You\u2019re gonna hear things that are gonna be awful to hear if you get into it at a young age. You have to have thick skin. You\u2019re gonna be told the brutal honest truth. You\u2019re gonna be told by people that are of high status in the music industry\u2014they\u2019ll be totally honest with you because they don\u2019t have time for anything else. They\u2019ll be like, \u201cHey, you know it\u2019s a good song, but there\u2019s nothing really special about it. I don’t know if I can do much with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, it\u2019s like, \u201cWhat the fuck?\u201d But as you get older, you\u2019re like, \u201cOkay, it wasn\u2019t this song, but maybe it\u2019ll be the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fourth thing I learned is that everything will always be okay. Always. Even if it feels like it\u2019s not ever going to be okay. Everything is temporary. It really puts things into perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EE: You are full of so much wisdom.<\/strong>
MF: Thank you.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/a-oTGdiwnVc\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

EE: What about being in the public eye? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MF: One thing that I\u2019ve learned is you have to be more mindful of how you act in public and what you say. And how things come across. That doesn\u2019t mean being somebody completely different because I’m certainly not. Just means being more mindful. Think about how that makes someone feel because you are being viewed by a bigger amount of people than more people are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would say you have to take what people say with a grain of salt. One or two harsh comments don\u2019t mean shit in the grand scheme of things. Also you can\u2019t trust just anyone. Pick a close circle of people and stick with them. Truth is, people are fake, especially if you\u2019re in a certain, um, status in their mind or in society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can\u2019t really go places alone, or you shouldn\u2019t, if you\u2019re a small female. If you\u2019re 4\u201911\u201d like me, and if there\u2019s a creepy [person] who sees an opportunity, don\u2019t expect them to hesitate. So I don\u2019t really go anywhere alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also a certain amount of, I don\u2019t want to say responsibility or pressure, because I don\u2019t think I\u2019m at that status yet. Where things are too much pressure to be a positive role model, but I know that it can be for people of a bigger status. But I do get a taste of that. You don\u2019t want to disappoint people. It does make you feel a bigger sense of responsibility to just be kind and to listen to people and to be understanding.You see how much you impact people and help them in their lives. For me it\u2019s a very positive thing because I want to be that for people. I don\u2019t see how that can be negative for anyone, but for some people it could be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

EE: What would you have changed about your experience on the show?\u00a0<\/strong>
MF: I just wouldn\u2019t have done Idol. <\/em>I never had a good feeling about it. Although, <\/em>actually, to be honest, I don’t know if I\u2019d change anything [….] Some people might ask if I\u2019d change the coach that I\u2019d picked on The Voice<\/em>. No, Because I wouldn’t have met the amazing people I\u2019d met by being on Team Miley. I wouldn\u2019t have met my best friend Ilianna [Viramontes]. And I wouldn\u2019t have met one of my dear friends Janice Freeman. I wouldn\u2019t have been a part of Voice<\/em> history where it was the first all-female team. So I really wouldn’t change it to be honest. I wouldn’t even have changed my position in the show. Because if I won\u2014This isn\u2019t a diss to Chloe [Kohanski] or anything, I love her. Is her name huge out there right now? No. So I know for a fact that if you don\u2019t win, you\u2019re almost better off. You can do what you want. And you can take the exposure that you got and use it to your advantage, which is what you have to do. That\u2019s one of the biggest benefits of these shows. It\u2019s not the record deal, it\u2019s not the albums that you record. I honestly feel like those harm the people the most. I really honestly wouldn\u2019t change anything, even with American Idol<\/em>. Even sometimes negative experiences are super beneficial to you in the long run. It\u2019s so cliche, they really do make you stronger. And it\u2019s true.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Moriah Formica, Jupiter Hall, 11.26.17<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

EE: What about changes you\u2019d make to the music industry as a whole?<\/strong>
MF: [SCOFF] There\u2019s so much. I would change what\u2019s mainstream. I wouldn\u2019t want to say that rap and pop shouldn’t be mainstream, or anything. I love a lot of that stuff. But I would make what\u2019s mainstream more diverse. My dad always tells me stories about how 92.3 was back in the day. You could hear Michael Jackson or you could hear Cyndi Lauper or you could hear Poison. Or you could hear Skid Row. You could hear all different sorts of things on Fly92. Whereas now, you get a selection of…you get one thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EE: It all falls into the cookie cutter.<\/strong>
MF: You get one thing. Rather than giving you a nice variety of things. You\u2019re fed whatever they want to feed you. In a way I feel bad because a lot of these people who are fed this, the music that they are fed today, they are being enslaved in their minds because they don\u2019t think they have an option. They think, \u201cThis is what\u2019s hot! This is what\u2019s out there today.\u201d Because that\u2019s what they\u2019re being fed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EE: You vote with your ears. And your wallet.<\/strong>
MF: You vote with your ears, yeah, but some people, I\u2019m telling you, a lot of people that I meet are kinda just…they\u2019re very impressionable. The masses are kinda sheep, who will follow trends or bind to what is being said in the media or mainstream and not really bother to look anywhere else. Why would you? That\u2019s what you\u2019re being fed. A lot of people\u2019s minds are asleep. They\u2019re waking up a lot more, especially with all the shit that\u2019s happening in the world. But they don\u2019t feel the need to think past, \u201cHey is this it? Is there something else that could be<\/em> hot?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think one thing that I would first and foremost change would change the sexuality of women. I just hate that with a passion. I hate that sex sells. I think to myself…how many women out there with careers would they be out there if they didn\u2019t push [or were forced to push?] their sexuality and their looks. It\u2019s sad. I see so many girls trying to make it and they\u2019re just pushing their looks and their sexuality. Okay, but it\u2019s gonna leave you feeling empty anyways. You can have all the money, but what kind of satisfaction do you feel by getting famous off of your sexuality. It must be an empty, sad feeling after a while. I\u2019m not saying they don\u2019t have any impact on people, but I think you\u2019re minimizing the impact you could<\/em> have by pushing so much of your sexuality. Be who you want to be. It\u2019s different if you\u2019re a woman and you want<\/em> to push that.  This is my body, I could do that if I wanted to. But I think for the majority of people\u2014I don’t know a lot of people that want that\u2014that \u201cI love going on stage with half of my boobs showing.\u201d As a woman myself I don\u2019t feel the need for that. I think it\u2019s sad and it\u2019s bullshit. […]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And hip hop culture today\u2026mainstream hip hop culture is absolutely disgusting in my opinion. I don\u2019t hear any wholesome hip hop songs. That is one of the reasons I love the rapper CupcakKe. Yeah, she makes songs that are really explicit and provocative and graphic, but at the same time she also makes songs about what it\u2019s really like to struggle in the world and in the inner city. About what it\u2019s like to be black in America. It\u2019s not always about \u201cYeah I\u2019m in the club. Getting pussy in the passenger seat. Blah blah blah.\u201d Just shit that is garbage that you don\u2019t need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Moriah Formica, Jupiter Hall, 11.24.17<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

EE: Where\u2019s my Sugar Hill Gang? Bring them back.<\/strong>
<\/strong>MF: Yeah! I really think it has an effect on young men. They then think it\u2019s cool and young men become entitled. \u201cTy Dolla $ign said this about her,\u201d and then girls start to think that that\u2019s the norm. What are you doing to yourself? Little men you\u2019re becoming boys because you don\u2019t know how to be a man with this garbage that you\u2019re fed and it\u2019s just a vicious cycle of stupidity. As amazing and impactful as the music industry is, it\u2019s also one of the worst things to have happened to some kids nowadays. It\u2019s awful what\u2019s being pushed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would also change how you have to build yourself nowadays. Back in the day, the record labels had money so they were willing to spend money on you to take a shot on you. \u201cYou\u2019re so talented, so let\u2019s spend this money on you to get you out there. To get you advertised. To get you shows. We\u2019re gonna make an album. We\u2019re gonna push this for you. We\u2019re gonna help you build.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now what it is is they \u201cdon\u2019t have the money to spend on you,\u201d and \u201cwe\u2019re not gonna take a shot on you because we don\u2019t have that money. Come back and we\u2019ll think about signing you when you already have 200,000 followers.\u201d You have to build yourself and then prove, \u201cHey, Record Label! Look! People actually like me on social media. Now am I worth your money and your time<\/em>?\u201d That\u2019s also something I would change. I could go on and on about what I would change about Hollywood as a whole, but that\u2019s an entirely separate interview in and of itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EE: Another time then. If you could choose one lyric \/ set of lyrics that you\u2019ve written as your favorite, which would it be?<\/strong>
MF: \u201cMy eyes are distorted from the lies that you\u2019ve spoken.\u201d Because it just sums up that if you\u2019re hurt really bad, you start to see things in a different light. You might look at something that made you happy, and now it makes you angry or sad or bitter. It\u2019s all because how that person hurt you or betrayed you or lied to you. I really like those lyrics. \u201cI see things that aren\u2019t true, and I see this subject in a whole different light now because of how you\u2019ve fucked me over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also \u201cI hate that I love you,\u201d also from \u201cI Hate.\u201d It\u2019s simple. It\u2019s straightforward. It\u2019s something you could hear in a song. It\u2019s something you could hear someone say in a conversation. It\u2019s so true. I feel everything up here [GESTURES ABOVE HEAD] or down here [GESTURES LOW]. There\u2019s no in the middle with me, in case you couldn\u2019t tell. I\u2019m either really passionate about it or I hate it. And even if I hate something I\u2019m really passionate about hating it. [LAUGHS]. That\u2019s why I think music is the perfect career for me because people who feel so passionately like that. I think it\u2019s really hard for us to find outlets that help us deal with those emotions because we\u2019re always either feeling things up here or down there. There\u2019s never consistency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This particular person that I wrote this song about, I hated so much that I loved this person. In the song I never say, \u201cI hate you.\u201d The point is that the verses are hey, this is how you\u2019ve affected me. You hurt me. My wounds are open. I can\u2019t hide it. This is how you\u2019ve affected me because of what you did. The chorus is, you know, I hate all these things about you. I hate so many things about you because of how bad you hurt me and at the end, it\u2019s I hate that I love you. But I can\u2019t bring myself to say I hate you, because I don\u2019t, because I love you. If that makes sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/IMuJ0qpNlHA\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

EE: More than I\u2019d like to admit. It\u2019s universally relatable. My college writing professor would scold me for using the word relatable but that\u2019s what it is. It\u2019s an emotion that everyone will experience at least once in your life.<\/strong>
<\/strong>MF: Precisely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

EE: You have a lot of young fans who look up to you…I see them doe-eyed at your shows. What advice do you have to the ones who want to follow in your footsteps and pursue music as a career? Sorry if you\u2019ve gotten it a hundred times before.<\/strong>
MF: I actually really like this question because it\u2019s always another opportunity to put the right information out there. It\u2019s cliche, but always follow your gut and always be true to yourself. Take constructive criticism, take into account what people say, but if after all that and you\u2019ve had a minute to think about it and you\u2019re still not feeling it, don\u2019t pursue something that your gut is absolutely going against. Most of the time, your gut is [in the right]. Take constructive criticism. It might suck, it might hurt at first, but it\u2019ll allow you to be a more humble person and it honestly allows you to get better. Because a lot of times when you get constructive criticism, it\u2019s true. It helps you become better in the long run. I think that was the shortest answer I\u2019ve given!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EE: So I have to ask about your love of reptiles. <\/strong>
<\/strong>MF: I always love to talk about reptiles!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EE: When did that start? How many do you have?<\/strong>
MF: I\u2019ve always loved animals. My fascination with reptiles and amphibians since I was little. We used to live on the country side of Clifton Park. We drank well water<\/em> and we didn\u2019t have cable. That was how we lived up until I was about six. One of the things about that spot was we had snakes everywhere. Literally everywhere. And my dad would always be like, \u201cYo Moriah, that\u2019s a garter snake. That\u2019s a milk snake. That\u2019s a copperhead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d be like, \u201cThat\u2019s so interesting. Every snake has a different name but it\u2019s <\/em>still a snake!<\/em>\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember just finding them so interesting when I was little. My grandmother\u2019s brother-in-law ended up catching one snake that I kept for a week. I named him Drake the Snake. At five years old. I would go out and catch crickets and toads and frogs and whatnot and feed them to him. […] Ever since I had him I\u2019ve had a fascination with reptiles. When I was 12 I got my first snake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

EE: How many snakes do you have now?<\/strong>
MF: Now I have two snakes and two lizards. I did have three snakes, but unfortunately several months ago my ball python Patch died very unexpectedly. She was about six years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Moriah Formica, Upstate Concert Hall, Clifton Park, NY 04.13.18<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

EE: That\u2019s a short life for a snake, right?<\/strong>
<\/strong>MF: Oh yeah, very short. I was kinda just like \u201cwhat the fuck.\u201d She was always a fragile snake. I could probably count on one hand the amount of times she ate. She was a finicky eater. She would go on 10 month fasts, which is normal for a ball python, that they\u2019ll eat whenever they\u2019re hungry. She got pneumonia randomly. She hadn\u2019t shown any signs of a respiratory infection. No wheezing, no bubbles or  discharge from the nose or mouth. and one day I saw her and she looked terrible. She didn\u2019t shed, which was odd, so I knew something wasn\u2019t right. I found her one day and her head was tilted to the side and as soon as I saw her, I knew she was gonna die. The exotic vets are only twice a week, and of course they weren\u2019t in that day. I couldn\u2019t make an appointment and I had a show that night, so I just tried to keep her comfortable at that point. I came back later that night and she was dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EE: I\u2019m sorry. Poor thing.<\/strong>
<\/strong>MF: It\u2019s alright. It is what it is. It\u2019s just a part of owning animals. It sucks. I\u2019m just happy to have owned her. She was probably the sweetest one of all my snakes. I do plan on getting another one. I don\u2019t know when. Probably when all this corona craziness is over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

EE: So obviously everything performance wise is all mixed up because of the pandemic. What can we expect from you going forward?<\/strong>
MF: I plan to do more livestreams. I was surprised at how many people enjoyed and engaged and stayed. I was very humbled and flattered that I could make that big of an impact in people\u2019s days […]\u00a0 I want to do this more over the next couple weeks, or however long this goes on because right now there\u2019s no telling. I\u2019m definitely going to write a lot. I\u2019m writing as we speak. I have my Pro Tools session up right now. There\u2019s a new project in the works. I might give little teasers of songs that I\u2019m writing or working on. I\u2019m just gonna keep doing what I can to stay active and stay involved and engage with people. Especially for rock artists, our livelihood is playing live, so it\u2019s like, \u201cwhat the fuck, what do we do now?\u201d The good thing about being 19 is that I have an OK understanding of how to use social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EE: Fair to say that the quarantines and social distancing are helping your creativity, rather than hurting?<\/strong>
MF: Definitely. Going out with people is not an option. Not that I do much of that anyway because I don\u2019t really like people! [LAUGHS]. Gives you a ton to think about.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EE: You might get mad at me for this question. Will we ever get to hear the song with your brother Gabe you decided not to release?<\/strong>
MF: I don\u2019t think so […] If we do a more rocked up version, then maybe. I don\u2019t know. I will never say never.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EE: What gear do you use?\u00a0<\/strong>
MF: For guitars I play ESP Guitars. I\u2019m endorsed by them. They are my favorite guitars. I have no interest in using anything else, especially as a lead singer. They\u2019re more light than other guitars I\u2019ve played, so it doesn\u2019t crush my diaphram on stage. I got to play Lzzy\u2019s Explorer when we were doing the show with them. How the hell does this woman frikken sing when she plays this thing? This is the heaviest frikken thing! It was so heavy! It would crush my diaphram! But she\u2019s also much bigger than I am.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amps right now I am using Marshall. That I am open to change, as long as I play an amp where I can find a tone that I want. I\u2019m willing to change. I\u2019m not married to any amp brand right now. I am interested in playing Randall amps. A lot of the metal guitarists that I see play, and I love their tone, they play Randall. Like Henry Flury from the Butcher Babies. I love his guitar tone, and he plays a Randall, so I want to experiment with that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mics. I don\u2019t really have a preference. I dont bring my own mics [to gigs], but I probably should if there\u2019s another outbreak like this. To stay healthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n