Musicians Alan Perez and Alexis Berrier. Courtesy of Perez and Berrier.
Podcast by Mercy Calvo-Cruz & Brenda Sanchez Barrera.
In this episode of The Fluidity of Art, Alexis Berrier and Alan Perez (musicians at California State University, Dominguez Hills) open up about what music truly means to them, as well as what motivates them to continue music. They also talk about their roots and how their music journey started.
For Perez, who is a music education major with an emphasis on guitar, his love for music blossomed into a career path in music when he began tutoring students after high school. When describing how music made him feel, Perez said, “Music is life, to me.”
Berrier, who is also a music education major with an emphasis in violin and orchestral music, had an opportunity to conduct her orchestra at the age of 16. This experience made her realize that she wanted to pursue a career in music. “I just couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” Berrier said.
Both Perez and Berrier are a part of CSUDH’s music fraternity, Mu Phi Epsilon (Gamma Sigma Chapter). According to Perez, Mu Phi Epsilon helped both musicians find their space on campus and helped them grow as musicians. “All of a sudden, there’s these groups of musicians that are just like me,” Perez said about Mu Phi Epsilon.
The musicians have their own podcast, Pedal to the Medal, where they talk about music, more specifically heavy metal music. Why heavy metal music? Perez explains that “heavy metal [and] hard rock, it’s fallen out of the limelight,” so a podcast highlighting heavy metal and rock music provides a space where people can learn more about this genre.
Pedal to the Metal episodes are uploaded every week. Music fans can listen to the podcast on KDHR’s Spotify and Apple Music.
Mu Phi Epsilon will have a chapter recital at the end of the semester. More updates regarding the recital can be found on their Instagram page.
