::Portrait of a Siren, Johanna Viscaino

WFK gives you the delectable chance to know a beautiful and magical character of Miami’s underground music scene, Johanna Viscaino,  singer of Sirens and Sealions. Charming, sweet, and somewhat dark are the right words to define this Miami artist – a Colombian girl who landed in this sunny land of Florida and has since created her own world of music, arts, and dreams.

WFK:Back in the day, when you were a little girl… Who was your favorite rock star or band?
I grew up in a Colombian house hold so my musical horizons were limited to vallenato or the newest of Spanish pop. My cousins were raised in the U.S. though and hanging around them led me to discover Ace of Base, Pearl Jam, Sting, Blues Travelers, Snoop Dog, Cypress Hill all by the age of 8. My favorite at the time, ironically, Snoop Dog, lol.

What kind of music was streaming on your stereo during your childhood parties?
Family gatherings consisted of cumbia or vallenato and when the parties took place at recreational facilities such as Chucky Cheese or Discovery Zone, I’m sure we were subjected to listen to Backstreet Boys or Nsync.

Do you remember the first record that you ever bought? How did you come about it? Did you save up your money?
I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure it was in middle school. My appreciation for Hip-Hop only grew since the 3rd grade and my younger brother and I asked our parents to purchase a Bone Thugs n Harmony record.

When did your fascination for music start? How did it end up at Sirens and Sealions?
A genuine appreciation for the art of music probably sparked up in high school, around the same time that I began to take my visual art seriously and began to use it as an outlet. I would always listen to music while drawing or painting and would allow a lot of the instrumental dynamics and lyrics to help me create the flow of a visual piece. In addition, music inspired me to add poetic wording to my canvases and sometimes I’d just write poetry in my sketchbooks. The music I listened to ranged from Madonna and The Ramones to Damien Rice and Billy Talent.

After high school I never stopped painting and writing on my pieces and it wasn’t until my first real crush, both in the positive and negative sense of the word, that painting what I felt would not suffice and melody came out of nowhere. I never thought the songs were good and I’d keep them hidden in my sketch books. Then finally in 2007 I got to see local gems like Rachel Goodrich, Jesse jackson and Raffa and Rainer perform and was overwhelmed by their lyrics and music. It felt great to know that other people felt something and they too sat at home and would write silly, morbid, heart wrenching rhymes. The only difference was I hadn’t shared my silly rhymes with anyone and that’s when I decided to show Chantal Meza, a friend I knew who sang at our church and had killer pipes. It was a domino effect from there, we showed Nick Deluca (guitar) and John Olin (drums) and the band came together.

 Despite music, is there any other artistic discipline that you are interested in?
Well, as I mentioned, I have a background in drawing and painting but it has always been “soul painting”. I got pretty good at it but took a break after high school when I decided to minor in fine arts at FIU, specifically in film photography. I learned that I can only give 100% to one medium at a time however, so when I began focusing on song writing my photographic productions decreased. I still shoot film whenever I have to cash to buy and process it. Photography is something that I can never give up, my courses helped me develop my eye to the point that a view finder is not necessary and I’m thankful for that.

How can you define what being an artist means?
Super subjective question but I personally believe that anyone that can translate and manifest an idea is an artist. Sounds vague but you’d be surprised how many people think of something or visualize something and never do anything about it.

What’s the process behind composing a song?
I feel like to answer this properly I’d have to have a meeting with my brain, my heart and my ears. I’m no trained musician but I can analyze the heck out of something and have a pretty good sense of rhythm and time. Our first track Thumpn of My Heart was rhythmically developed in Chanti’s room using a canvas, a wooden spoon and a cd rack. As time passed the rhythmic based process didn’t change much and our second single Let Me Go literally was created laying on my back in bed and tapping on my stomach until I heard a melody. Our tunes have evolved and get slightly more complex every time,and I have my eclectic taste of music to thank for that. Once I have a basic melody and lyrics Matt Gejewski (guitar) or Nick Deluca (guitar) come up with chord progressions and ideas to make the foundation of the song complete.

Are there any artists from Miami that you find inspiring?
Yes!!! Those who have transcended the South Floridian territory: The Jean Marie (who can always make me dance) and Rachel Goodrich ( whose slide guitar and bumble bee imagery I share with anyone I meet).

Those still Home bound: Raffa Jo Harris (whose imagery and enchanting vocals take me to the saddest happiest places), Animal Tropical ( Whose male harmonies and upbeat indie pop sounds make you smile and jump around), Afrobeta ( whose beats and vocals could wake the dead and make them dance), Jesse Jackson ( who can play a mean guitar and can break your heart with his cowboy like belts), Panic Bomber (whose sheer chaotic performances and bold execution in electronic music has brought something new to Miami) there are too many to name them all, but these are just a few of the amazing artists who I’ve been fortunate enough to get to know and love.

How exposed are you to Miami’s underground scene?
With the exception of death metal and punk (only because I’m tiny and mosh pits can crush me), I’m as exposed to the Miami underground scene as the beach bodies are to the sun in our oh so very hot summers.

Watch Sirens and Sealions performing at the Metromover::

For more info about Sirens and Sealions visit::
http://www.myspace.com/sirensandsealions