Uncensored Visionary: The Queer Music Podcast

Jessye DeSilva talks developing sound and image and overcoming their traumatic religious upbringing

Miss Christine talks reimagining her dreams and moving from Nashville to Iowa to rediscover herself

Meet sam goli: Musician. Artist. Poet. Photographer. sam goli grew up in Los Angeles, CA to a Mexican mother and a Palestinian father. Culturally, they always felt like an outsider because their mother’s side speaks Spanish, while their father’s side of the family speaks Arabic, both languages they don't really speak. Their cultural upbringing translated to what they grew up listening to: Arab Music, Disco and Top 40s. Along with their two siblings, both of whom are artists also, sam is on...

Born and raised in Mexico City, Maxximo grew up in a vibrant community of cultures, colors and people. From the minute he was born he acknowledged the power of what it means to be Mexican. So when it came time for him to become a musician he was poised to introduce that into his sound and imagery. When you look at Maxximo’s videos you’ll notice that he releases films that put the focus on telling a story. His biggest song, “Prince Harming” is the tale of a boy who broke his heart. Utilizing...

Meet BVT — BVT (Bernie Van Tiel) was born in the ‘place with many chins and noses’/‘place of many possums’ in Australia. Eventually, she moved out to Sydney, Australia to pursue her dreams in the performing arts making it into some music and acting programs. From there she continued to purse music and acting, landing roles in Jade of Death (as the lead) as well as a cameo role alongside LaLa Anthony in Reef Break. Her interest in music came at a crossroads. She grew up listening to slow...

Meet Yavin —— Yavin grew up as a socially awkward kid in Massachusetts. Utilizing this to his advantage, Yavin grew up loving all different types of music to shape his future career as a musician. But it wasn’t until college that he decided to start playing around with music and writing songs. From there he was off to the races, releasing two Soundcloud songs, but under another name. He hit a speed bump after dropping out of school and working a part time job at a burger joint. But one day,...

Meet Stephanie Gayle (She/They) —— Stephanie grew up in PG County, Maryland with her mother. She had a distant relationship with her father and grew up with two older siblings, one sister and one brother. Her family is a multi-talented family with mostly singers, on her mom side, and educators, on her dads side. She’s even related to William Christopher Handy, the Father of the Blues. Given her background, it was inevitable that she was going to be a singer/songwriter. And she did not...

Meet Bentley Robles. Born in Los Angeles, CA to two Mexican parents, Bentley grew up in South Gate, CA and then moved to Rancho Cucamonga where he out grew it rather quickly. From California, he uprooted himself to New York to escape the cabin fever / cookie cutter life he had lived. Making that switch, he went to pursue something bigger than himself and find himself. Having moved to New York, he knew what he wanted to do, however the pressures of the big city (paying bills, living the day...

Meet James Aries. A singer-songwriter based in Toronto, Canada, James Aries’ main instrument is piano. James was trained and voiced in piano and writes off-beat, corky baroque pop songs that don’t fit in any genre. Born and raised in Swift Current, Saskatchewan in the middle of Canada, James started taking piano lessons when he was six. In elementary school he joined choir and studied piano through the Royal Conservatory of Music. In college, he studied drama at the University of...

Meet Chris Jehnert. Born in Baltimore, Maryland to his mom and dad, Chris was mostly raised by his grandparents. Growing up, he didn’t know how to express anger and sadness. It wasn’t until he discovered music that he used the medium as therapy to express himself. From there, he started singing to himself in secret until he gained the courage to join a choir. His experience in the choir confirmed to him that his future was in music. After receiving a degree in vocal performance, his career...

Meet Kai Mata. Born in Indonesia, but raised in the US, Kai Mata's upbringing led her to use music as a modality to explore her emotional landscape, figure out who she is in the world and tell stories that others can relate to even if they are not of her minority group, ethnic background and sexual orientation. On this episode Kai Mata discusses pinpointing emotion to convey what’s in her heart and into the listeners ears, getting past being called “brave” for owning her identity and...

Born in Oakland, California, Charles Peoples III grew up in a baptist community with an interesting childhood. Finding theatre in high school, he found his calling in performance and it changed his life. From there it was off the races to college in New York where he hit a snap. It wasn’t until he moved back to his hometown in Oakland, CA that he found himself and became the musician known as CPIII. With the goal of giving back to the community CPIII is a soul artist on the rise and with...

This week’s season finale episode features Boi Band. On this week’s episode, Boi Band discusses not having a Justin Timberlake in the band, honing in on an androgynous look for the band and evolving from a pop cover band to writing original music. Follow Boi Band on Instagram and Facebook. © Uncensored Visionary

This week’s episode features Dan Kiernan. On this week’s episode, Dan discusses the loss of his father, being romantic in the age of instant gratification and performing as Nick Carter in the tribute 90s boy band Larger Than Life. Follow Dan Kiernan on Instagram. © Uncensored Visionary

This week’s episode features Mel Fine. On this week’s episode, Mel discusses attending the Berkelee school of Music, being humble after releasing their debut album at 14 and what they look forward to in their burgeoning music career. Follow Mel Fine on Instagram. © Uncensored Visionary

This week’s episode features Jakk Fynn. On this week’s episode Jakk discusses exploring life through angst music, turning down the flash with writing and production and taking control over his messaging as a solo artist. Follow Jakk Fynn on Twitter and Instagram. © Uncensored Visionary

This week’s episode features Billy Mick. On this episode, he discusses his debut album, Just B., making it in the music industry as an out gay man, writing songs from the heart and being honest with yourself to give and get love back. Follow Billy Mick on Twitter and Instagram. © Uncensored Visionary

This week’s episode features Brett Gleason. On this episode, Brett discusses being unfiltered in his music, becoming more in touch with himself through therapy and navigating Patreon as a musician. Follow Brett Gleason on Twitter and Instagram.

This week’s episode features Kisos. On this episode he discusses his breakup EP ‘sweet nothings,’ music pr and marketing and how he shifted from writing existential songs to top 40 songs. Follow Kisos on Twitter and Instagram.

This week’s episode features band Ruby Mack. On this episode, the super talented harmonizers discuss developing their sound, making a mark as a queer band and turning heads through harmony. Follow Ruby Mack on Twitter and Instagram.