interview by Jorge Perezchica
Monica Morones aka Cakes the Maniac is a multi-hyphenated artist who’s work ranges from painting, photography, music, writing, fashion and agent provocateur. Not afraid to speak her mind, Monica’s personality sways via social media between brash and bold with a “No-F**ks-Given” attitude, and conversely, she can be the nicest person you meet in real life. What Monica will create next depends on her mood, constantly exploring opportunities to push the creative boundaries. One day she can be found vending her artwork and fashion at a pop-up, the next she’s performing a live music show at a local venue. One thing Monica learned a long time ago is that: “You have to create your own opportunities.” But pursuing a career hasn’t always come easy, Monica has encountered her share of struggles and sacrifices, so nothing would hold her back as an artist. At the age of 37, Monica is still doing it her way and experience has accorded her the artistic freedom to produce the in-your-face branding she is known for: “The Maniac Girls.”
Get to know Monica Morones in the Coachella Magazine interview.
Tell us about yourself, where you grew up and your art background?
I’m from San Francisco, California. I was born and raised there till I was about eight, then my family moved all around California and then settled in the High Desert. I went to a shitty little school in a shitty little town called Lucerne Valley. I was never an artist. I was supposed to be a business major because my mother owned businesses and I worked every day of my life so that was the plan. It wasn’t until my mother called me up one day and asked if I could run her restaurant all the way out in Arkansas, that I realized I had something else in the works that was going to happen. I was living in Palm Springs, working two jobs, trying to exist as an adult, so I said yeah, fuck it…..lets go. So there I was an 18 year old restaurant owner with a house and a car, figuring out how to be an adult as well a business person. When I started hanging out with people from school (I went to school in Arkansas for 3 years previously) and that’s when I was introduced to rock shows. My friends needed a sponsor (money) and I had it to give so, I started going to these shows and hanging around musicians. I didn’t get into art into until I was trying to get tattooed and back then only bikers and sluts got tattoos so, I had a hard time finding work that I liked. I starting drawing out pieces, then got them tattooed. Lets just say I’ve spent the last 15 years covering up the 8 tattoos I got in the 8 months I was there. That’s how I got into art.
How would you describe your style?
I would describe my style as raw, erratic with a dash of bubblegum pink. I get excluded from a lot of opportunities because of my “fuck you” attitude and my abrasive content. What people don’t know about the art world is that it’s like everything else in life. You have to make friends, play nice, kiss ass, be friends with those who hand out the opportunities. The Coachella Valley is full of cliques and hardly any opportunities, so the competition is real — I have a hard time with that. I’m cool with almost everyone till we aren’t. I don’t like culture vultures: people who use artists and their name to benefit themselves and have no real talent. It seems like it’s a trend in the art world. I’m not down with that. I’m a real artist, through and through and I have no problem saying how I feel or what I think, but it is MY JOB as an artist to portray my truth. That is my art.
You release your first solo album recently titled “Diary of a Maniac.” When did you first get into creating music and performing?
I’ve always been into music, my mother was great singer. I was shy and never really into singing, so I pushed it to the back burner until the day I met a boy who taught me how to play the guitar and put me in a booth for the first time. I’ll never forget that day. I was shaking, I closed my eyes, my heart was pounding. They started the beat and for the next 17 minutes, I free-styled for the first time. I was hooked.
In 2001, I met a guy named Beanie at a bar I was working and he was scribbling in a book, I said, “What are you doing?” He replied, “Im writing music.” I told him I was a singer. The next day, he invited me over to someone’s house and I went with my guitar. We all got really high and played music for the next 7 years. That was my first band called Trucha. I learned about being in a band and the heartbreak that comes with it, almost like a relationship. I classify myself as a solo artist now. I make music when I feel like it. The hype is real. The music game has changed. Almost like anyone can be a musician now with no talent and it killed the game. Everyone I know is a rapper. I would really like more friends as dentists or lawyers…..don’t need anymore rapper friends. The hype is real. Along with the music and the art, I became a photographer and a seamstress. I get bored easily. I like to keep my brain motivated and occupied or I’ll fuck shit up….mentally.
When did you start using the artist name Cakes The Maniac?
My man gave me the name Cakes because I’m voluptuous, but really because my ass is big. I liked it, so it stuck. I couldn’t copyright CAKES so I added The Maniac, I thought it was fitting because of “the madness” inside. That’s what my brother and I call what we have. We’re fucken psycho thanks to our mother.
How did “THE MANIAC” become a lifestyle brand?
I wanted to make money off my art so I started printing pieces on shirts, because people were more likely to buy a $20 shirt then they were an original piece of art. Well at least in my age bracket. I’ve been selling at markets since early 2002. I feel like I’ve been hustling since I was a kid. It’s 2018 now and I’ve grown my brand into a company called The Maniac Girls and I incorporate everything I have learned into that, the art, clothing, photography…it all works. I went from little markets to festivals and music shows and I’m slowly building my brand from scratch with everything mostly hand made by me and about 40% outsourced because one thing that Americans really love is cheap shit.
How has your artwork evolved over the years?
My work has definitely evolved from the angry, “against the man” weirdo type of art to a more sellable art with a feminist punch to the throat. I wake up and let my mood dictate what I will be doing that day. Do I want to make a video, paint, sew a purse, write a song, record a track, write for my blog….it’s all pretty maddening which is why I call myself the Maniac — Cakes the Maniac.
You also host a workshop at Flat Black Art Supplies. How did that start?
I started hosting my own Paint Night at Flat Black in Palm Desert once a month and it has been so successful! I recently got a sponsorship from West Coast Cannabis Club out of Cathedral City and they will be providing my paint night with some goodies. I’m keeping it small and personal and we paint for 3 hours, smoke weed, drink, listen to amazing music in a chill environment. Everybody already wants to turn me into the lady with the headset but no, I want a joint dangling out of my mouth as I tell everyone to go for it, this is more my setting. This is the kind of paint night I would personally go to.
Is there anything you had to sacrifice for art?
I gave up everything to be an artist. I didn’t want to have children. I didn’t want to get married. I didn’t want to create obstacles for myself so that I couldn’t be an artist. I wanted to make it all possible. So now at 37, I’m getting a lot of good responses towards my art, towards my music, that makes me feel really good inside. And this past year was really hard, but I feel like a lot of opportunities are coming up and I’m starting to get a little bit more recognition as an artist — which is all I ever wanted. I feel like I’m a hard working female, I’m a hardworking artist. I don’t think I was ever appreciated here locally, I always got, you know brushed to the side. So I like that I did it on my own.
What’s your personal outlook as an artist?
My struggle for freedom as a female artist has made me what I am today. Everywhere I look, women aren’t included, and when we are it’s almost like an after thought. That’s upsetting especially if it comes from women in charge. Since the women’s march last year, I feel like we will be at the forefront of the future and no more standing in the shadows waiting for someone to hand us an opportunity. I’ve learned a long time ago that you have to create your own opportunities and not wait for someone to make it happen for you. You’ll be waiting a long time because in this funny thing we call life, everyone wants to be successful, everyone is out for themselves and if they try to tell you other wise, they are fucking lying.
WEB: maniacgirls.com
INSTAGRAM: cakesthemaniac
iTUNES: diary-of-a-maniac