The Obelisk Questionnaire: Mariana Fiel of High Priestess
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Mariana Fiel of High Priestess
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I’m going to take the musician approach here because my “other life” is not as interesting and honestly too exhausting and draining to mention.
I’m a utility bass player. No more, no less. I’m definitely not a Collyn McCoy.
I can sort of sing although at this stage in my life, I feel like I could take some vocal lessons.
I started playing bass as a teen but stopped playing when I moved to the US. I went a whole 10 years without playing until one day, in the backseat of a LAPD SUV a little riff came to mind. I got home [at the time I was living at Cas (Sasquatch) and Andrea’s (Mrs. Casquatch) place] and asked Cas if I could use one of his basses (not the Rickenbackers). He surprisingly agreed and I recorded the little riff. The next day another little riff came to mind, so I recorded it again, and so on. I started recording and making videos of these little riffs I wrote on the bass and sometimes would sing some melodies on it. I started posting them on Instagram and sharing them with Collyn sometimes. I knew they weren’t amazing, but it was something I was doing and it felt great to play again.
Collyn decided I needed to be in a band. I was reluctant because not only was I rusty, I felt insecure as fuck in my musical abilities (and honestly still do, I think all musicians suffer from imposter syndrome whether they admit it or not) and didn’t think I was ready to be in a band again.
A couple of weeks later, Collyn posted an ad on Craigslist looking for a drummer. The original idea for the band was a drum and bass duo. We got a lot of responses, including this amazing guitar player, Katie Gilchrest, that was visiting in L.A., but saw the ad and replied something along the lines of “I know you’re not looking for a guitar player, and this is crazy, but this sounds like my dream project. Here is my music. Call me maybe.” Megan Mullins luckily was also browsing Craigslist at the time and replied to the ad with sample videos of her monster performances. Those were the only two emails we replied to. We scheduled a jam and felt an instant musical connection from day one. Et voila! High Priestess was formed!
Describe your first musical memory.
This is an interesting one because my memory is terrible due to the many opportunities I took as a teenager to fry my neurons.
I think my first musical memory is when I became tall enough to reach the record player my parents had. I put on Jimi Hendrix’s Are You Experienced, because I loved that record so much and I kept asking my Mom to play it again and I think at some point she kinda burnt out on it a bit and stopped playing it as often. I’m not a parent but I kinda get it and don’t hold it against her.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Every Yob or OM show I’ve attended.
Both bands always deliver a transcendent experience. Both the music along with the performances, you feel connected and aligned with the universe, and, in that moment, during their sets, all is well in the world, you forget about all the bullshit, and you just feel like you are where you are meant to be.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
I feel like that happens all the time and for me it’s part of this life’s journey we’re all currently cruising through. You have to be open to exploring and accepting different beliefs as long as they don’t interfere with the lives of other people.
A less boring answer (with terrible timing) would be how I was completely against everyone owning a gun and how I never really understood that about American culture, being that I have an European background. 2020 changed that completely. I still firmly believe that this country absolutely and desperately needs gun control and free access to mental healthcare, but now that I (finally) got my citizenship, I’m looking into getting my own gun because if I learned anything in 2020 is that human nature is at its lowest again, and having a gun would make me feel safer, even if I (best case and ideal scenario) only get to use it in a shooting range.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Ultimately? More progression…? I don’t think there’s an end to it, and as a musician, I don’t think you’ll ever be completely satisfied. It’s a blessing and a curse.
How do you define success?
Right now, I’ll feel successful when I own a little compound with a veggie garden, home studio, goats, horses, peacocks and all sorts of animals somewhere in the L.A. county area. Ideally, in this scenario, I would be able to focus on writing music full-time and not relying on the financial stability that comes from a full-time job, but unless I win the lotto, realistically, that’s unlikely.
Looking back though, if you had asked 18-year-old Mariana how she would define success: being in a band signed to a rad label (Ripple Music) and touring Europe and the US with awesome bands would be it. I don’t think 18-year-old Mariana was wrong.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Many unsolicited penises.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
In this particular moment in time, there’s a riff I wrote almost a year ago and I cannot for the life of me figure out what direction to take it, and it’s bugging the heck out of me. So this stupid riff. I would like to fully create a track out of this riff and be just happy with it.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Art is the source of it all, right? It brings out all those raw emotions. It makes you feel things. Sometimes anger (Toto – “Africa”), sometimes frustration (stupid riff), sometimes love (Yob), sometimes transcendent (OM)… Art takes you to different places and allows you to express yourself in ways that sometimes you can’t with just words alone. It connects us all, in one way or another.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Going home to Portugal to visit my family for the first time since 2019… Although, I might strategically plan this visit around August and it so happens to coincide with the SonicBlast Festival…
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https://highpriestessmusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
