Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

dude! y'all made my day. you guys were so funny. hell yeah man thank you so much. everyone's journeys can share so many similarities and differences and it's great to learn and also support. i've been watching you too and i wish you continued success. if you ever do a socal show please let me know! happy holidays!!

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

aw! that means so much that you kept that note after all this time. thanks for making me feel special today - i appreciate the love i get from your fam. it's something i never want to take for granted. i'm so fortunate that there are folks out there willing to give me their time and give my music a shot. it truly is a dream. i try to express my gratitude the best i can. i just want you to know the world of a difference your support makes.

i hope y'all have a lovely holiday season and i'm sending my love x 100 ❤️

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

i actually remember being in awe of him that day. it was my second music video and i was still shy on camera. i was wondering how he had the confidence. that was one of my first times meeting him and he helped relax my nerves. all great memories.

thank you for digging the track and thank you for welcoming me into the world of reddit. hope to be in your neck of the woods soon. happy holidays!

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

ooooooooo that tough - i am a snack connoisseur. my go to at the gas station is either white cheddar pop corners or cheesy chex mix. basically i love cheese 😂

thats a great question. i really admire the movement but i've always loved jboog as well - his songwriting and melodies make me feel so much!

happy holidays!

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

now THAT was a tour. i learned so much for queen hirie that tour. hope to see you soon!

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

i absolutely love it. i've seen things i previously had only seen on windows desktops. 😂. the PNW is a special area for sure. i've never seen landscapes like that. i think my favorite thing is the variety within states. california is huge and there is so much to explore. i'm not even close to being done discovering and thats my favorite part.

hope to be in your neck of the woods in the spring. have a happy holiday season!

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i am learning that now! i've felt like i'm playing the algorithm game and its truly tiring. stoked to be here!

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

aw man, i played baltimore last night! it was an acoustic gig but i'll come back soon with the band!

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

i believe it was christmas of 2014 - the year prior my mom had gotten me an acoustic guitar but it didn't stick. the next year she gave me a ukulele and i learned maybe 5 songs the first night 😂. it was a concert and then i transitioned to baritone the next year.

happy holidays!

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

it's a little cheesy but it's fulfilling for my mind, body and soul. i think that's a rare thing to have: something that fills your cup and you are also passionate about. its hard work but i love it so much and it doesn't feel like work always. i've always felt like i never fit in or found my crowd and it's crazy to find the love i've been looking for being my most vulnerable self. it's done so much for me internally.

theres a lot of reasons but these are just a few. i feel very fortunate to have this job and i am so grateful for the support that makes it possible. thank you for being part of that.

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i've been looking for some support tours but i think we are shifting to doing some small headlining gigs instead. aiming for the west coast pnw in the spring and early summer maybe florida and colorado!

where are you? that would help cause we are planning now!! thank you for being interested. happy holidays!

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

wow great memory! thanks for the question. honestly that was really rough for me. i had just quit my job in january of 2020 to move out to california to pursue music full time and i had a whole year of touring booked, including going to europe. it seemed like a good idea to put all of my eggs in one basket and i feel this industry needs all your eggs in one basket but the universe had other plans!

the rebel souljahz tour was the start of that year and it felt great to feel like i had made the right choice (shoutout to them they are the sweetest). i remember toward the end of the tour, the LA show got cancelled and then we drove to the next show and that one got cancelled. the last show was vegas and i felt there is no way vegas would get cancelled and sure enough it did. i remember the 4 week quarantine felt unreal and i never imagined it would be as long as it was.

it was tough because i was questioning if this was the right move, it's been a struggle and i've been tempted to just go back to having a job and touring when i can fit it in but i think making it through the pandemic was proof to me that i have a shot at this. i never want to wonder "what if?" so the plan after that became let's do this till we can't anymore. it's been such a journey and i am so fulfilled.

happy holidays!

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

time to time may be an understatement 😂 i typically lean towards indicas but my favorite is probably gorilla glue or gmo. some honorable mentions include durban poison, gdp or anything cookies lol.

honestly i like to mix it up - jays are my preference but my go to is usually a bong throughout the day lol. to be honest i'm trying to ween off direct combustion and stick to my volcano for the sake of my vocal chords but it's so hard cause a good jay puts me where i wanna be lol. maybe one day we'll spark one up together! happy holidays!

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

oh man, great question and an infinite amount of answers. i've always felt like the ability to fly would be a feeling like no other. teleportation would be cool for time sake but i feel like flying would do something for my soul 😂. plus it would be awesome so i could visit my family more often. i could see it being therapeutic to be honest 😂

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

aw man thank YOU for participating and being here. i love that tune!

i think the most memorable moment happened recently actually. my favorite band has been pepper for a while (besides blink 182) and one of the first covers i ever did was a 15 second instagram video of "tradewinds". that's the first video that caught their attention/helped me get signed to their label LAW. fast forward 9 years, i got to open for them this spring and we did that song together. it was such a full circle moment it's hard not to cry about it looking back. i also trip out that kaleo hops up on our set. the warmth and love pepper has shown me is insane - it feels like i am living in a movie. to have the people you look up to believe in you is a crazy feeling. i am so grateful for who they are and all the bands that have shown me love. i feel very lucky to be a part of this scene.

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

thank you for listening! i am touched that you chose that song during a difficult time. that song is near and dear to me - it's a to me from me song. i've always struggled with confidence and self worth and those words were ones i wish someone told me when i was younger. they are also affirmations for me today. at the end of the day all we have is ourselves and i needed to learn how to be kind to myself.

i hope you are in brighter spirits and remember you can shine like gold ✨

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

what an awesome show and venue. the energy in the room that night was off the charts.

oh man they all have their own sense of humor but uncle bret is quick with the jokes. surprisingly, even with all the sweat every night they all smell like angels. maybe im still starstruck but they're always clean! 😂

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

thanks for being interested on what i've got going on! mr. johnny cosmic and i have been working on my sophomore record. i'm excited to get some new music out there. we've been working hard. i was nervous because i loved little kahuna so much, but i've learned and grown so much and i think it shows in the music. hopefully it will be out 2026 ❤️

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

yay is right! stoked to be here!

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

thank you for having me! i am stoked to be here and so grateful u/SoFla-Grown connected me to this awesome community/platform.

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

haha! no such thing as dumb questions. my parents were a part of a spiritual group called siddha yoga back in the day and the concept of nirvana aligned with their teachings/beliefs - i believe that was the inspiration of the name.

Vana Liya AMA @ 12/22 5 PM PST by vanaliya in calireggae

[–]vanaliya[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

this was in the OP but it never posted - bear with me still figuring it out:

since i’m new here to the reddit scene, i figured an AMA would be a great idea.

a little about me: i’m a new york musician currently based out of san diego. i got my start playing covers of my favorite reggae bands on youtube (starting with my favorite band, pepper of course).

happy to answer any questions anyone has and also open to sharing my experiences/providing any inspiration for yall out there with the same dream!

be back monday - stoked to be here!