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Unknown Speaker 0:00
You're listening to local programming produced in K, u and v studios. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 Jazz and more the University of Nevada Las Vegas or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
Unknown Speaker 0:19
Hey, this is Ruben with the City of Stars podcast.
Unknown Speaker 0:24
Here I'm interviewing up and coming artists in the Las Vegas music scene. Let's get into today's episode
Unknown Speaker 0:36
let's do this. I'll have my Intro
Unknown Speaker 0:45
Welcome to the fourth episode of Cydia stars today, I'm joined by my Yes, lovely guests. Oh, that's so nice of you. Hello. Yes, my name is Kevin. Yes. Thank you for having me. This is such a pleasure. I love to be a part of these conversations. Talking is always fun. Yeah. So you you're like, challenges can be no, you know, I mean, you do all kinds of stuff. I actually do. Yeah, it's crazy. I, I like to test the waters do all I'm sorry. Test the limit of the human capability. With my interests. Of course, like now with everything. I won't go crazy and say, live like Larry. But you know, if I like something, I'm gonna do my best at it. And, you know, and it's normal for people to like multiple subjects.
Unknown Speaker 1:46
Yeah, yeah. So what are firms? Do you dabble I love
Unknown Speaker 1:53
first and foremost, acting. I love the art and craft of acting as my thing. I've been into it since the second grade. Although my training didn't begin until the freshman year of my high school.
Unknown Speaker 2:08
I write now write stories as in. I wrote, I write I don't write poetry, but I write music, like rap. And it kind of delves into the r&b side.
Unknown Speaker 2:22
I would say I'm transforming Mr. and V than rap, you know, and then
Unknown Speaker 2:28
I like to draw now I'm actually pretty alright. Illustrator. Really, I really am. I'm very surprised. That's a new skill. And that's why I haven't been uploading a lot of films. Because I've been drawing I've been trying to hold my arts, and illustrating because I released a project last year called Judas duck
Unknown Speaker 2:50
about a portal. And the most difficult thing about that project was doing the portal. That was so hard. And it's especially hard if you're not an illustrator. If you don't know what you're doing and drawing at all. I didn't, and it just looked weird on camera. But I uploaded it and I was proud of it. I'm happy. It's so cool. I love it. You know, it's sci fi short film. You know, go check it out on YouTube, you know, Kevin's alias channel, that's great as a good film, I think.
Unknown Speaker 3:26
And that's why I picked up drawing because my portal was in looking now right. Now that I can draw circles.
Unknown Speaker 3:36
I can totally draw a portrait portal nowadays. Yeah. So what was the movie? About? Didn't you read a stock, um, it was about a man who was down and out.
Unknown Speaker 3:51
And it's about human perseverance. It's about, you know, keep going, and your task and the lies in the horizon. And if you just keep at it, you know, it's really corny, but you should be able to achieve whatever goal you set in your mind.
Unknown Speaker 4:12
If you watch it, it goes into, you know, we follow the protagonist, Anthony II.
Unknown Speaker 4:20
He's a scientist who has been trying to do some kind of experiment, but it's failing. But we don't know that the audience you just see a guy who can't talk to his ex girlfriend anymore. He's upset about that. His room is a mess.
Unknown Speaker 4:39
And
Unknown Speaker 4:41
he's also he's also behind our his rat.
Unknown Speaker 4:47
So it's a you know, it's a relatable American. And
Unknown Speaker 4:52
I thought that was that that will be why people would care about the character because we all have to pay something you know,
Unknown Speaker 5:00
And yeah, that's what it's about. And then eventually, you know, he sees the light at the end of the horizon.
Unknown Speaker 5:09
So nicely here. It's really cool. I liked the film. Yeah, it could have been I liked it. It could have been better the portal definitely could have been. Well, you're just starting out at directors, early films ever seen it? Like they were like Teach X to George Lucas was like it just down a hallway. It wasn't like, oh, wow, I get it. But it's true. After that, I got into theater and then I quit speech and Mr. Sivan was all like, you're gonna regret it.
Unknown Speaker 5:40
And I did.
Unknown Speaker 5:42
Why you only have one elective or something like that. And I couldn't I'll get both.
Unknown Speaker 5:49
Oh, no, I don't remember. But I quit speech. I think it was because I wanted to do film acting. And I felt like theater, which is gonna give me more experience. Yeah, with acting with other people. And people actually watching me applauding I don't know, I felt like that would just be better. So I quit speech.
Unknown Speaker 6:11
Did you regret it?
Unknown Speaker 6:16
Think it was more like I missed it.
Unknown Speaker 6:20
I missed it a lot.
Unknown Speaker 6:23
And I always wanted to win first place. And I never did. And that sucks. But it was so much fun. Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 6:34
Yeah. And then I joined theater.
Unknown Speaker 6:39
And then I quit theater.
Unknown Speaker 6:43
No, I didn't. I never quit theater.
Unknown Speaker 6:47
I remember I was I got into Jameson Giant Peach. Oh, yeah. You're I wasn't in it. I actually wasn't in that one. What happened was, I didn't go to my audition. And the theater teacher. You know, he was all like, well, you know, why didn't you ago. And I was all like I this was around the time, I finally got auditions. And I was getting casted in film.
Unknown Speaker 7:15
This was outside of high school. This was my senior year. Finally, I felt like I had enough acting experience where I could go out outside of school and find film jobs. And I did, I got cast as an extra, here and there. I've had a casting director call me back into her office and Paramount multiple times the same casting director from Paramount has called me multiple times, which is a great honor. What happened, I just don't land them teach you. But she keeps on wanting to see me to QC like every time she puts an audition, I'll submit and or my agent submits it for me. And then, you know, I have an agent. And that's why I get these auditions. And so he'll submit it for me. But and then I go and then he's just say, Oh, you just didn't get it, you know, or they don't say anything. But when they keep calling you back in means they see something in you.
Unknown Speaker 8:12
But they're waiting for something to happen. They're just, they're waiting for. They want you to impress them. That's why they call you back. They're waiting for you to do something so they can hire you. So they're just waiting on me to do something, something I haven't even done.
Unknown Speaker 8:29
So.
Unknown Speaker 8:32
Alright.
Unknown Speaker 8:34
This is the thing. All right.
Unknown Speaker 8:38
I found out secrets. All right, and this is what it is.
Unknown Speaker 8:43
You're not going to get casted. If you're not if you don't try.
Unknown Speaker 8:49
If you keep if you keep going. I promise something's gonna happen to you. Yeah, a will. You just have to keep trying because like
Unknown Speaker 9:03
statistics say that the reason why they don't get casted is because they stop trying. Because they give up because they got too many rejections. Every 100 Auditions is one callback. That's the statistics. So you gotta get rejected 100 times before you get a callback.
Unknown Speaker 9:23
So, okay, then.
Unknown Speaker 9:26
That's what I said. All I have to do is keep doing 100 auditions. It sounds crazy. I know. But that's what I did. And I got those callbacks and I got those auditions. And I got those roles, no matter how insignificant they may be compared to Hollywood. But I got them and that's amazing. And
Unknown Speaker 9:48
Reg gets in the way. hospital bills gets in the way I get it. But
Unknown Speaker 9:57
this is really what you want to do. You can have
Unknown Speaker 10:00
find the time to do it. If you really like it, yeah. If, like sometimes life gets hard, but
Unknown Speaker 10:12
I don't know. You just have to find the motivation. Like to get up in the day. What makes you want to get up every day? Why do you want to live again?
Unknown Speaker 10:22
You know, what's your motivation?
Unknown Speaker 10:27
I haven't figured it out. I sometimes I know it sounds like
Unknown Speaker 10:33
you're, you're on a journey like I am such as
Unknown Speaker 10:38
you know what everything I've said on this most humble interview, I've moved from a different middle school FeS, everyone calls it face. It is not face stop making fun of my school.
Unknown Speaker 10:53
No, it's less whatever, it doesn't matter. Right? Tomato tomahto. What is that data data? What is that? Iran Iran. Okay, whatever.
Unknown Speaker 11:04
So I get, but anyway, lonely. It was my first day. And I don't know where I saw these twins approached me. And then they were like, Hey, I was just like, I looked up. I was like, What the hell are these twins? As my first reaction I said, Artis twin. And I was mesmerized. Twins are so crazy. It's just a weird phenomena, phenomena. To me. It looks like magic. Every time I look at twins. It freaks me out. I just I'm not used to it to this day. You know, it's just crazy. Yeah. Like, tell people that look. What the heck
Unknown Speaker 11:48
no, I don't care what anybody says. That's absolutely absurd. So anyway, I was mesmerized. I still I can't believe I'm looking at a twin right now. Anyway, sorry for the glaze.
Unknown Speaker 12:01
That's fine.
Unknown Speaker 12:04
Yeah, they were really nice. They, him and his brother, they, you know, they brought me into their little group. You know, we were talking about Atlantis. I remember. Like, it was just crazy. We're two guys just come up to you. And you don't even know them. And you're the new kid at school. So we're feeling so I remember what I was doing. It was history class, Mr. Kennedy's class. And I think and I was reading a book about
Unknown Speaker 12:32
you know, is Atlantis real? Because I was thinking, do I want to be an actor? Or do I want to go find Atlantis? Hmm, tough? Yeah, it was very difficult.
Unknown Speaker 12:43
Or do I want to make a movie about Atlantis? I can't remember the you know, so I also don't remember what I was thinking. So
Unknown Speaker 12:52
this specific day, January 24. At 11am 2012 I don't know.
Unknown Speaker 12:59
2012? I don't know seventh grade. Whatever that was. Yeah, man. That's why people don't get casted they don't get cast it because where are you submitting to? Are you submitting to scams, these sometimes actors, they'll submit to a scam and they think it's the industry. That is not the industry. You just got scammed. But how do you know? How do you know? You don't pay them? I have never had to pay any buddy. I have never had to pay to go to an audition. It's in California. So I pay for the bus fare. But like that doesn't count it like I have auditions in Vegas, too. And what do I do I walk there. You know, I don't have a car DUI. But I walked there. So um, you know, I never paid for my agent. Whenever I made money. He made money. He submitted me to projects for two and a half years straight. For two and a half years. I was going to LA and back. Not too many times because they don't like to see a lot of Vegas talent. Why? Because my agent told me they, they they don't treat us too seriously.
Unknown Speaker 14:11
To them. It's like why get a Vegas? Why get talent out of town. When we're in LA. We got talent around us anyway. Just hire one of them. That's why it's hard to get casted in a
Unknown Speaker 14:25
prime cities of entertainment, like Atlanta, or Canada or somewhere and I think is Toronto and Toronto is really good with foam. And then like I said,
Unknown Speaker 14:38
and La
Unknown Speaker 14:40
somewhere over in Europe, probably I don't know. But those are the major ones. I know. I know. There's more like Oh, Houston, Texas is big film. Really? I think so. I'm pretty sure. Yeah, well, you're the expert. I'm pretty sure but I might be wrong, but I think it's there's a song town like Albuquerque, I think
Unknown Speaker 15:00
Get might have been. Oh, it was new it was that what state is that? Were breaking bad takes place in New Mexico, that's where it is. Currently, I think it's Albuquerque where it's really hot because of Breaking Bad It must be because of Breaking Bad.
Unknown Speaker 15:17
Like walking dead. It's because of them. Atlanta's crazy. Oh, la. It's because everything is from Las Vegas. We got strippers. We don't got any. Yeah, casinos. They The Hangover. Like,
Unknown Speaker 15:33
I love them as much. But you know, that's why they just hire people locally. If you're in LA, let's hire la talent. But I do get those auditions. And it's cool. And I do lie. I do tell my casting director like the one I know not that one. But I've told casting directors, I'm a local la talent. My agent has told me to lie. Yeah, he's all like, Please lie, or they're not gonna see you at all. And I lie and I see them. And it's true. And I get opportunities, but
Unknown Speaker 16:07
you never pay them. You pay them. It's a scam. You know, make money first and then pay them unless you take the trip. Unless you pay the bed bus fare.
Unknown Speaker 16:20
Yeah. So, you know scams is what throws people off. They give up. That's why they don't get casted to get blacklisted. You know, I say, you know, Martin Scorsese is a, you know, a racist term or whatever. You know, if you're a racist if you're if you're a jerk on set all the time. Like, what's that guy? That cowboy?
Unknown Speaker 16:46
Cowboy? Said that cowboy actor, you know, any cowboy actors? Like Clint Eastwood, not him. You don't know. He was, like, John Hughes or something like that. You don't know. Oh, Wayne knows. John Hughes, for I don't know. It's something I will probably think of him. But oh, is he though older? Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 17:12
Is probably him. But John Wayne, I hear is a jerk. And well, he was way too famous to get blacklisted. But what I'm basically saying, You're a jerk. No one's gonna hire you. That happens. People just don't hire you. Because they just don't like your personality. And that's why you're not getting the role. Because they just don't want to work with you.
Unknown Speaker 17:33
Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 17:35
You know, so you got to be nice. No. And what's the harm of just being nice? Not not. There's nothing. It's okay to be nice people. Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 17:50
You know, what's another reason why people don't get hired?
Unknown Speaker 17:55
They're not cold. You know?
Unknown Speaker 17:59
They're not, they don't eat babies. These are Hollywood actors. They're not the Illuminati.
Unknown Speaker 18:06
It's a business. It's a business. And
Unknown Speaker 18:12
it's a hard business. There was a lot of competition.
Unknown Speaker 18:16
That was it. There was a lot of competition. And that's why you're not getting hired. Oh, my God, this guy. He's an amazing guy. But this guy is just better. I'm sorry, buddy. That's when they're 100 rejection. Yeah. And yeah, that's where the 100 rejections come into play. Yeah. Every time I do an audition, I count them. I forget. And it's, like I said, I'm Vegas talent. I don't have a lot of auditions. You know, you know, you know what's great for here. If you're a DJ, you know what's great for you? If maybe for a theater actor, but even then, what are you doing? You're dancing. You're dancing for Cirque? Or for Circus Circus.
Unknown Speaker 19:05
You know, that's not that's not my style. But, you know, acrobats. We have a bunch of those shows here. So of course, you would do good in those. You know, I see those auditions. I've been told Do you want to audition for this show in Vegas? I say no. Because, you know, they don't know that. I'm not athletic. So they do want me to be athletic. Oh, they're gonna really they're gonna be bad. Yeah. So I'm not gonna get the part anyway. But I do get the opportunity to audition for them. That's pretty. That's pretty cool. But that's not why don't go because that's not who I want to be known as. I want to be the movie actor, even though all of my aspirations come from action, running from explosions scenes, and that's literally that's literally the reason why I wanted to be an actor, because I wanted to run away from the explosion.
Unknown Speaker 20:00
One movie was watching Die Hard to Nice. Yeah. I don't know why was the breaking point. But maybe it was a different one. No, no, no, it was Tuesday or two. I'm pretty sure. I didn't know you into those movies. I am like, when he ran it when Bruce Willis aren't I think it was Bruce.
Unknown Speaker 20:20
Running away for some explosion. I thought it was crazy.
Unknown Speaker 20:26
Sort of approaching the end. Where do you feel like you're in?
Unknown Speaker 20:30
Where do you feel like you're in your acting journey right now.
Unknown Speaker 20:36
Um,
Unknown Speaker 20:40
I feel like
Unknown Speaker 20:43
now that I got my debt consolidation, I pay a lower payment. I haven't taken into effect later this month. I'm gonna save up my money a couple more months, just because I live by myself and life is hard. But whatever. You got to keep going.
Unknown Speaker 21:03
Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 21:05
I think I'm in a place where nobody knows me.
Unknown Speaker 21:10
I wouldn't even say I break underground. I wouldn't even say I'm an underground artists. I say I'm trying to get underground. And I think I have a good head start. I think I have a good start. And I do think I have a nice foundation. You know, I I'm more I'm editing projects. You know, that will go under my director belt. I did a music video. We're still working on that. I'm working on an analog horror. You know, that is
Unknown Speaker 21:44
what it is. You know? Yeah. Have you ever seen like those like videos of like, weird, like, SpongeBob videos like, Oh, yeah. And like he's evil. Yeah. Or like, Spider Man is evil. Yeah, it's like a parody. No, that's like analog horror.
Unknown Speaker 22:01
And I'm working on one where there's like a pandemic. And there's an emergency alert system playing over the news. And then it's just telling you though, take your pills, take your pills, or else you're gonna go crazy. And I'm not acting in bomb. It's all edited, you know, like slideshows. It's not a news broadcast. It's a, it's like, you know, affects where he goes, coming up next, and he shows you like a movie lineup. I'm doing that I'm now MC, I'm creating a fake movie lineup, and then he's gonna cut to the Emergency Alert System. And then it's the film ends. So you know, I'm working on small projects like that. But now that I got my debt settle, I do imagine and maybe six months,
Unknown Speaker 22:48
maybe three, I'd say three to six months,
Unknown Speaker 22:52
I'll be able to film my next acting project. Oh, I didn't tell you. You know, we're, this is Vegas. And I have to consolidate. Like my debt.
Unknown Speaker 23:05
I have to consolidate my career path.
Unknown Speaker 23:08
The best thing to do is to become a union actor. Because to be a successful actor, that means you're going to join the union as an actor. That's the only union bro, we only got a couple unions for acting. And guess what? They're all really fucking out. And guess what? They're all so great. They all treat you amazing. But they're all like, high tier elites. You know, and it's not that hard to get into. But once you join was the best option to move to California. Also, would you join in and move to California? No.
Unknown Speaker 23:50
That's the best option for me though, is to join the union outside of LA, and then go to LA. Because if you're non union in LA, it's super difficult to be an actor because no one will hire you. People only hire union actors in LA. I have an agent. So that's how I get around it. My agent just sends me to Union projects. And they just, they see what I got. Because they know my agent or something. I don't know.
Unknown Speaker 24:17
But um, I'm not gonna I want it to in the beginning, but it's very expensive and I have to join the union outside of LA first. That way they could, you know, treat me more seriously. And that's what I'm working on. I'm working on my vouchers. You need three vouchers and then you got to pay $3,000 to join. I only have one voucher. I need two more. I know a buddy you know, or Danielle Trudeau. I remember her. She's very successful. She actually has a better Headstart to me. She's got two vouchers. And she just want to film festival. I saw that what was that about? They want best horror movie. That's crazy for her. That's amazing. Doesn't mean you see him bro.
Unknown Speaker 25:00
Yes, sir. I'm very jealous. She's ahead of me as my competition.
Unknown Speaker 25:06
Breaker knees.
Unknown Speaker 25:08
No, but um, yeah. Well, my
Unknown Speaker 25:13
I'm still trying to break under ground. I have a nice foundation.
Unknown Speaker 25:18
I have to join the union. That's where I am. Are you going to move to LA? I don't want to. Because even if I go, there's the competition just went up three, three Folds Five folds because of the population over there. And that went up with the rent to.
Unknown Speaker 25:40
And that's hard.
Unknown Speaker 25:45
Vegas has a great foundation for film though. We're getting a stirrup.
Unknown Speaker 25:52
what's that guy's name? Mark Wahlberg is opening up a Hollywood studio in Summerlin this year. Really? Mark Wahlberg? Of course that's going to attract Hollywood.
Unknown Speaker 26:06
We're growing. What am I going to do? I'm actually going to make my own projects. Now. What have I been doing? I've been writing projects. I've only released one project, Judas that I've done. I've written. I have about 11 unwritten projects I haven't done and they're, they're pretty cool. And I can't wait to show people and I can't wait to find out that it turns out, they're garbage. Or maybe they're great. Maybe they're garbage. But I can't wait to show the people. And it'll be so cool.
Unknown Speaker 26:43
So if a Vegas film community is growing, I'm hoping maybe they won't just see me as just some actor, maybe a more serious filmmaker.
Unknown Speaker 26:56
You know, if I have if I keep making projects, but I do want to start in them something like Mel Gibson. Okay. Something like that. Oh, yeah.
Unknown Speaker 27:09
I like that. Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 27:11
But I would rather focus on acting, but all these rejections and I get weird roles, like I've shown for projects where I have to play the gay character, or sometimes even a trans character. And, hey, I don't care. I'll do it. I just told you I did auditions for roles that are crazy. Like,
Unknown Speaker 27:32
you know, I'm not gay. And I'm not. I'm not transgender, but I've done these auditions. And I've have pretended to kiss other men on screen. You know, it's weird. But, you know, as I've always seen it as part of the craft, would I choose to do that? No, I did it because I need to get seen on screen. And that's when I started thinking that's a little weird. Like, what? I just want to do action. I want to be Nathan Drake, Harry Potter. You know, they're not kissing other guys. They're not, you know, they're not doing like stuff that they don't want to do. Yeah, like, I want to do some cool stuff like that. Oh, so I'm like, maybe I really should just create my own projects. Because I'm getting crazy auditions like that. Wow. So that's why I also haven't moved to LA, because I will 100% probably kiss 20 other men over there. I've never kissed a guy by the way, but I don't care. But
Unknown Speaker 28:30
it's just, it's crazy. You know?
Unknown Speaker 28:36
You know, I'm not even getting the auditions that I really want to play as.
Unknown Speaker 28:42
So I'm creating my own projects now. But I have done projects where they were really cool. Like dying. I've been killed on screen. That's amazing. That was the time of my life. Yeah. Thank you so much for having me, Alex. Problem, dude. All right. Well, thanks for joining us.
Unknown Speaker 29:03
I believe in you, Kevin. I really do. I think you're gonna it's gonna take we'll see. I'm just you know, one day I'm just gonna release here. I'm going to release this and released they're really starting and you're just gonna see start seeing something more consistent. They're coming out in a hiatus right now because I got into some money problems, but I'm telling you it's just a hiatus. Yeah, yeah. That's it. Come back. I just the year.
Unknown Speaker 29:31
Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 29:32
2024 lucky numbers.
Unknown Speaker 29:35
What is it? You're the dragon now? I don't know. You're the tiger.
Unknown Speaker 29:40
Google.
Unknown Speaker 29:42
Alright, thanks for joining us. All right. It was so much.
Unknown Speaker 29:48
Thanks for listening. Catch us again every Wednesday at 6pm on the rebel night. 1.5 HD
Transcribed by https://otter.ai