Use Your Imagination with Stef Mariani

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Interview Transcription

ATTILIO:
She was born and raised in Santa Cruz living in the Hawaiian Islands for the past 10 years. This has given her the inspiration to pour out her heart and soul by way of words and music.

ADRIENNE:
She is a Hawaii real estate and negotiation specialist and a Hoku award winning songwriter, producer and the founder of stay gold, Hawaii. Here today to talk about her new release song and music video. Please welcome our friend. Welcome back. Our friend I should say Steph Mariani, yes.

STEF:
Hey, guys, thanks for having me.

ADRIENNE:
Yes. I’m so excited to have you back. And have you share with our audience about your what you’ve been up to. You’ve been so so busy with writing and creating new songs and even a book. So please, please share with us. Yes,

STEF:
yeah, no, I’ve been busy. And you guys know me. I’ve always got a creative project going on. But I’ll start with the book. Well, it’s based on a song I wrote, called State gold in 2016. That was not Hoku award. And it’s interesting, because people ask me, you know, what is your song about? And I don’t tend to really share that with people and articulated and really, I, I create music so people can apply it really to their themselves. So it’s created in more of a subjective kind of a manner. But in the pandemic, because I couldn’t go and perform, people started asking me, What does it mean? What does it mean? So I created a matrix, and it’s an eight point, principles, the stay gold principle, and it’s an acronym based on the eight letters of the title of the song. And it’s basically just a value system that really has helped me get through a lot of really hard times in my life. And so people were like, well, you know, how did you come through so many difficult things. And, and it’s, it’s kind of cool, because my challenges in my life have turned into a great purpose for me to support other people. So, so I’m writing a book, and I’m telling my story for the first time, and you know, why I care? Why do I care? You know, it’s like, why is that important? And in, I didn’t get to just like glaze over it. And let everybody guess I had to really do some personal work, so I could articulate it. So I have been very actively doing that. Okay, so

ADRIENNE:
you also have a a group on Facebook, a stable group that people can join. So why don’t you share that so people that are listening, they can check it out? I know, you post a lot in there a lot of positive things, and you interview a lot of great people. Live Stream.

STEF:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you’ve been my guest to Adrian, you are amazing. People were like, blown away by your story, you have an amazing story. And you’re a very strong individual and really the group it, it became a movement, you know, the people created a movement and we’re like, hey, let’s, let’s be organized, you know, let’s get together and let’s, you know, people have like minded like, intention, like us who want to create a better world by being better, you know, by by starting on the inside.

ATTILIO:
Give us one of the acronym thingies. steagle.

STEF:
Okay. All right. So, okay, yeah, I’ll give you a couple, two to whet your appetite. Okay. So, so first, I’m going to preface it by saying that I was raised till I was seven years old by my great grandmother, who was born in 1894 in Italy. Oh, wow. So yeah, so I I was I was gifted forward by and mentored by her and my grandmother and great aunts who were also born in Italy. And I have these incredible old world values. And really principles that are easy to remember that helped me when I’m going through a hard time. Right. It’s like how do you dig yourself out of you know, divorce or like for me, I escaped a very high controlled religious organization. So my I had some like brainwashing going on that I had to play mental Jenga with myself. Yeah, you know, to get out of. But the way that you guys can join if anybody’s interested, is you can go to the stay gold movement.com. And you can, you can look at my music, watch my music videos, you can sign up to get the book when it’s ready. And you can also join the movement right there. So it’s really easy to access.

ADRIENNE:
So the state gold movement.com Correct. All right.

ATTILIO:
If you wanna is da da stay gold.

today but tomorrow, yeah. So Dusty gold.com

ADRIENNE:
and movement.com. Yes.

STEF:
The Stay Gold Movement, the

ATTILIO:
Oh movement.com, we got the word movement. Okay.

ADRIENNE:
Yes. So you have your book, you’re gonna maybe talk about a couple of acronyms. We want to make sure that we’ve got enough time. So to talk about your new song and music video as well.

ATTILIO:
Yeah. Tell us about the song, what’s the title?

STEF:
Okay, so we’ll start with the song. So the song is called use my imagination. And this is the latest creative work out of the movement. And it’s a song that’s written for the people to comfort them who are sending their loved ones to war right now, which is happening not just in Ukraine, this is happening in other parts of the world. Yeah, yeah. This has been going on in Africa for a long time. So I had this really incredible, really good friend who’s part of the Navajo Nation, and he created the music video. So you know, and all I told him is, you know, just make it inclusive. Yes.

ADRIENNE:
Which he did. That video is just so like just pulling on the heartstrings. And he did an amazing job. I would encourage everybody to go out work in this year. Yes. Where is it that they can find this new video stuff?

STEF:
So they can go to YouTube and put in Steph Mariani use my imagination, also, if they go to the state gold movement.com And just go hit the music button, it’s gonna pop right out. So that’s kind of like a one stop shop for that. Yeah. But it’s, yeah, so that’s our latest work. Because really, you know, we can’t there’s some things we can’t do anything about. But what we can do is we can look at the fact that we have an opportunity right now to be unified on a global scale. Nobody wants war. This is not cool. You know, one person trying to be, you know, I don’t know, I don’t know what what could possibly be worse. Human life, exchanging human life. It’s just ridiculous. And I think for the first time in my lifetime, everybody on this planet is on the same page, except up view about that. No more war, and that’s been mentioned.

ADRIENNE:
So can you share with our listeners how this creative work, or this song came to you, I felt like it was a very kind of surreal thing that had happened in the process.

STEF:
Yeah, so it, you know, I just, I, I don’t watch the news too much. Because there’s only so much I can do about what’s happening. And it didn’t affect me, personally, very deeply. But I thought, you know, we all saw the, the images of these, these women and men and children sending their loved ones in the Ukraine to war. And they’re crying because they don’t know if they’ll ever see them again. You know, and I think a lot of people in this country and you know, in all countries have experienced this type of thing. And so I saw that, and I just sat down in five minutes and sat with my, my emotions. And I, I picked it out with my guitar, you know, I created the music first. And then I was like, Okay, now, that’s the emotion. And now what are the words that go with it? Yeah, you know, and the words are, and you guys will see when you when you go to this site, but the words are essentially like, we’re sitting here in Hawaii, and we love you. We’re on the same side, like we support you, we comfort you. And sometimes, just knowing that you’re not alone, gets you through what you’re going through. And so that’s if that’s all we can do, that’s actually really powerful.

ATTILIO:
Well, we learned from Deepak Chopra, that an atom can be millions of light years apart, or right next to each other, but through the science of quantum physics, they have an effect. So even if we’re halfway around the world, we’re just creating the song itself and then having an effect having it out there is sending and it’s a beautiful song, a message. Such a beautiful song. Now, I

ADRIENNE:
know you have some upcoming appearances. I think you had messaged me about one coming up on June 24. Yeah. Where’s that

STEF:
one? Yeah. So okay, so tomorrow actually, I’m playing the Keller Williams grand reopening. So I will be there before I did.

ADRIENNE:
Yeah,

STEF:
yeah. Yeah. So I’ll see you guys there.

ATTILIO:
Yeah, for sure. And then the Yeah, I think there was this other

STEF:
June 20. Other one, okay. That’s going to be Friday, June 24. At work, play in Kakaako. I’m going to be playing from six to eight live and it’s a free show. Come have dinner. Come say hello, introduce yourself to me. Please. Would love to meet you.

ATTILIO:
And you know, support our artists. If you have any requests for music, if she does ask them, please write them on a $20 bill

STEF:
or a $50 bill.

ATTILIO:
Everything went up with the COVID. Everything

STEF:
except our wages. So you know, there’s that. Agent, what else? Oh, so

ADRIENNE:
So staff up where else, you know, are you going to be performing coming up? Or if our listeners go to your site? Do you have it all listed there? If they cannot make it? Yeah, yeah,

STEF:
absolutely. You guys can go to Steph mariani.com That s t e f m A r i a n i, def mariani.com. And if you go to events, you’ll see all my shows coming up. Please come see me. You’ll also see all my practice and and all the articles and not all of them. But some of the highlighted articles that talk about the work that I do.

ATTILIO:
Yeah. Well, to kind of come to the tail end of our interview. Here’s a question for you what, you know, tell us a story of how you got involved in music. That’s always a interesting story. Oh,

STEF:
yeah. That’s actually a really common question. So I was I was privileged to be born into it. So my mother is a singer songwriter, and my grandfather was a jazz pianist and all my uncles or brothers are singer songwriters also

ATTILIO:
know I mean, it literally is your mother, Carole King and your brothers are like the Eagles Okay,

STEF:
so funny. No, like all Northern California, very like folk country vibe. In my uncle though, they’re metal and my grandfather’s jazz and, but my brothers are like, you know, blues and folk and Americana. So kind of similar to what I do. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So I yeah, I just grew. I mean, literally, I came out of the womb I was, you know, my, in my mom’s band when I’m three years old rehearsing with them, and, you know, yeah.

ATTILIO:
Yeah, Rhodia. finish setting up the drums.

STEF:
You know what, actually, it’s not even that funny. That’s actually kind of true. Like, when you when your parents are creatives. They’re like, their brain is an outerspace. Yeah, half the time, at least mine or so. So it’s a blessing, but that and that could be like a whole nother show. But like, you know, the whole experience is like, it’s a blessing. And it’s also you learn to be very independent and sure of yourself.

ATTILIO:
Well, that’s awesome. You know, that reminds me of Sheila and honey girl, they was talking with each other. Hey, honey, girl. I’ll tell you a baby’s diaper so far. And he said she got off because the box said hold up to 20 pounds. Classic.

ADRIENNE:
But anyway, so So funny stuff as we’re wrapping up the show. Is there anything more that you wanted to share with our listeners before we let you go?

STEF:
Yeah, so I’m going to share up because we have time I’ll share one letter in this day gold principle one core value is going to be the T. And that is truth. So stay truthful. And that’s a tricky one. Especially like, what as I’m writing my book, because it’s like, how do you find truth? And the answer is that you find the truth inside of you. You literally have this incredible tool called your intuition like your gut, your belly brain. And we live in a world that shuts us down from the neck down. Like Like, we become a little soldiers. You know, at five years old, you’re put in a chair and you’re told, okay, you can’t play it. Well, you can’t go to the bathroom. It will Yeah, now you’re part of a system right? That it shuts us down. So as we grow older, we lose that. So I’ll give you another letter. The why and stay gold is to stay youthful. And that’s another show altogether to like how does being useful improve your life give you massive results that you want. And I’ve I’ve I’ve taught this in a business setting and people make money by applying this principle. And these are people internationally so so yeah, I could I could go on and on about

ADRIENNE:
where they could buy your book,

ATTILIO:
buy your book. Hang chill with you get around you. Yes, the but you know, they did a study of old they took these older gentlemen they’re like in their 80s they put them in an environment like in this fake village. But then they made the newspapers and how they dress and what they ate 40 years into the past. They do their blood before they drew their blood afterwards. Their markers for health went up. Wow. So there is scientific gaudy backing that if you act okay your body will be you until it’s proven,

ADRIENNE:
and Steph has some scientific data behind that, why and steagle

ATTILIO:
she gets up in the morning and she’s like, Yeah. Let’s take on the day. Her neighbors he’s been kicked out of so many rentals because their neighbors like this person is way too enthusiastic in the morning.

STEF:
Oh, no, no, that is definitely not me in the morning. I become useful after about two o’clock in the afternoon. Your afternoon, bag late.

ADRIENNE:
All right. Well, thank you, Steph, as always, for coming on and sharing. And we look forward to interviewing you again on a Friday live and hopefully, music on that line. But mariani.com Yes. Go check her out online on YouTube. Go check her out on person. Yeah. Support the movement. Yes. Connect with her on Facebook. And

ATTILIO:
most importantly, stay gold. That’s right.

STEF:
Yeah, stay gold. And I wanted to say too, if you guys are by yourself, and you’re trying to get out and be social, come to my show at work, play on the 24th. There are lots of people coming out by themselves. It’s a great environment. You don’t have to know people and everyone’s super friendly. So I just want to put that out there because I think a lot of people are feeling isolated right now.

ATTILIO:
Come on out.

ADRIENNE:
Come on out there. We won’t bite. Friendly. Nope. Not hard anyway.

ATTILIO:
Like minded people, and they’ll just nibble.

STEF:
Yeah, we’re just a bunch of nibblers. Yeah, it’s so important to be connected, I think I think for our mental health, but thank you so much for having me. You guys. You guys are wonderful.

ADRIENNE:
You are now alright. We’ll see you soon. The party?

ATTILIO:
Yes. Oh, yes.

STEF:
We’ll see you guys tomorrow. All right, ready?

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