Today we’d like to introduce you to Alyssa Quiles.
Hi Alyssa, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
That’s a bit of a long story with many turns, but I’ll try to keep it on the short side.
While attending the University of Texas, I had the privilege of freelancing for the Austin Chronicle and Alternative Press. I focused on alternative music; To me, it didn’t matter how small the band was. If they were just getting their start or were a popular group, their stories were important, and it was an honor to share them. At the very beginning of the pandemic, I had my own podcast, Next Big Thing, where I interviewed artists from all genres, the only catch was that they couldn’t be well-known. I wanted their voices and music to be heard because I saw something in them and wanted the whole world to see it too. Now, my podcast never got anywhere near record-breaking listening numbers, but it got enough.
I have experience in several industries, from hospitality and entertainment, to a brief stint in teaching. I’ve settled into a little corner in tech now as a contractor for Google. I’m going to be honest, it’s not the most fulfilling work, but I’m good at it and it pays the bills. It allowed me to write for idobi Radio for a couple of months, until I got a different position that has a more demanding schedule. I have weekends, though, and I put them to good use.
Just this past fall, I started working with Naturecraft’s Worship Co. of Wax Chandler’s for the Texas Renaissance Faire. I have to preface this next bit by saying I did act a bit in college, just with a couple of student orgs, but I loved it all the same. There is something about being able to turn into someone else that is just fascinating. I missed it, so when my sister (who is an actor and circus performer) said one of her bosses needed a hawker for the Texas faires, I had to try. So, that’s what I do during the fall and now spring, as I will also be working at the Scarborough Faire in Waxahachie.
My journey has taken me in many directions and industries, but I’ve enjoyed all my endeavors.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been nowhere near smooth, but I will say the road has evened itself out in recent years.
It feels like forever ago, but the pandemic hit me hard, and it’s still something I’m recovering from professionally. At the height of it, I quit writing for Alternative Press, and later lost my first-ever cover story because I got sick with COVID and couldn’t make an interview. Alongside my freelancing work, I also worked in hospitality and was about to start a sort of internship with the hotel I worked at. While I was at the front desk, the GM presented me with an opportunity to help write social copy. I was sure it was going to be my big break, but life came at me fast and I had to leave Austin altogether for several months due to personal matters. When I returned to the city and the hotel, that offer never came up again, and I was too timid back then to ask about it.
I left a couple of months later to try to find my way back into the entertainment industry. For that summer, I played Hostess at the Vortex until I found myself teaching in a preschool classroom. It was something I never dreamed I would do, but I loved it all the same. After 6 months there, I was offered the job with Vaco to contract with Google, and that’s what I’ve been doing for the past two-and-a-half years.
That rough patch taught me a lot of lessons about myself. There’s strength in adversity, even if it’s difficult to find. I came out of the toughest times stronger and more confident.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I consider myself a journalist, and my specialty has always been in alternative music. I’ve written and interviewed the little dogs and some big names, but the unknowns have always held their own place in my heart. It’s special to see a band’s audience grow and their sound mature over time. That being said, I can write about anything. I love learning about other people and their lives, even if they aren’t in the music industry.
Oh! It’s been a little while, but I also love photography. I remember my time in the photo pit at concerts fondly, and hope I can find myself there again one day. For now, I take portraits for friends when they need them and whenever I see a nice shot out in the wild.
I haven’t been writing much over the past few years, but I intend to make a bigger effort to do so in the upcoming months. If it means I’m writing solely for my blog or personal entertainment, then so be it. Maybe one day I’ll write a book. Time will tell.
How do you think about luck?
I think luck has played a role in my life, but I can’t say if it’s big or small. I’ve seen the hand I’ve been dealt, and it’s been up to me to overcome it. I’m not going to sit here and say that I wish I didn’t have more good luck, it would always help, but we’re presented with life as it comes at us and do the best we can.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alyssaquiles.wordpress.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alyssaquil/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyssaquil/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/NBTPodcast
Image Credits
First photo—Marc Cornejo
All others—Alyssa Quiles
