(Fo’i Meleah’s Profile Picture taken from their Facebook)
Luis Xavier De Peña is a student at the University of Central Florida and was one of Watermark’s interns this summer. As one of his final assignments, he sat down with his longtime friend (like, they’ve known each other since preschool), Central Florida performer Fo’i Meleah.
I have had an endless amount of fun discovering new events and meeting new people to report on over the last three months. As a parting gift I would like to share an aspect of the city I hold dear.
Going to performances to see either theater productions, comedians or musicians took up much of my time as child into early adulthood. A bulk of those performances came from local artists. The local art scene here in Florida is expansive and ubiquitous. Fortunate enough for me, a lot of people I grew up with are now taking the stage across various venues I frequented in my youth and I would like to spotlight one of those artists.
“I am Fo’i Meleah and I’m so stoked to be talking to y’all again.”
Readers might remember Meleah as the voice of Audrey II in the Straz Center production of “Little Shop of Horrors” last year. I asked them to reintroduce themselves for any readers that missed that issue or for any new readers we picked up in the last year.
“We touched on this during my interview last year but I went to UCF for musical theatre,” they said. “It was a huge passion in life growing up and I still make time for it but recently I’ve been focusing on being a gig artist. I perform at different theme parks, resorts, breweries, markets, theaters and private events around Florida. I’ve always had a passion for singing. I remember I had one of those journals with prompts as a kid and one of the questions was ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ I wrote veterinarian in black ink and wrote singer in black light ink. Because drama.”
I met Meleah in preschool and knew them all the way through high school. They are the type of person everyone loves. Easy to be around and talk to and ever the inspiration with their voice. Meleah explained to me where that voice came from and how they were able to build it.
“I think for a very long time I felt like my voice didn’t matter,” they said. “I think a lot of us grow up feeling that way. I’m a fat queer Filipino and Samoan artist, I never saw myself represented in any medium so it was easy to assume that my voice didn’t matter. I think I found my voice out of necessity. I write songs to work through situations, they just help me process things I can’t wrap my head around. Songwriting and therapy are very important as far as my coping skills go. A lot of the time I’ll be writing and not realize I was still holding on to something until I get a verse down.”
To see Meleah performing as much as they are now will come as no surprise to anyone that knows the performer. I wanted to know more about how they were able to break into the scene and keep consistent work available to them.
“Before I started gigging I reached out to an incredible musician and friend, Allie Sawicki,” Meleah said. “Definitely stop by one of her shows if you’re able, she’s the best. I went to one of her gigs and afterwards she sat me down and walked me through the general ins and outs. She let me know how to prepare and let me know that I shouldn’t be afraid to reach out to folks. She warned me it was very different from musical theatre, which would seem like a given but it took some getting used to. If you know a place has live music, ask if the manager who handles music/events is on duty. If they are not they’ll have a business card available. It’s a lot of self advocating and shooting a shot. There are also plenty of great entertainment companies to work through like Penguin Entertainment and MHW.”
What is any interview with a artist without the most cliché of questions: What is it about music that drives you? What brings you back every time? For Meleah, the feeling and answer is universal. But the level of confidence it has inspired in them and others is something that not many of us will ever experience.
“It’s cringe and cliché but music has and will always be a huge source of comfort for me,” they said. “I feel that is a universal feeling. I think sharing that comfort with folks drives me. I am able to do what I love and pay my rent at the same time. On hard days I try not to lose sight of that. A little Filipina girl came up to me at a gig once, she was too shy to say anything but her dad said she wanted to be a singer too. She just hugged me and it meant a lot for her to come up. I was shy when I was young too. I would hide behind a chair when we sang karaoke for the Titas and Titos. It made me really happy to meet her.”
According to Meleah, the venues and the music scene are just as versatile as the make up of our city.
“It’s a pretty versatile scene, depending on where you’re playing. Some venues allow you to sing what feels good to you, originals, covers, whatever. They give you full reign. Some venues prefer stricter parameters, it just really depends where you’re at,” they said.
Growing up and going to shows is much different than being apart of the gig community. I asked Meleah to explain to me what it’s like to be apart of the community and how are they able to express themselves.
“The community has been very welcoming, particularly the women in the music community,” they said. “I don’t particularly like to label my gender and sexuality but I’m queer in most all aspects of my life while still identifying with pieces of womanhood. I think women and enby people are vastly outnumbered in the area so I think we tend to find each other.”
Meleah is keeping their schedule busy rounding out the summer season. If you have the chance I would highly suggest seeing this performer live in any setting. Also those Insta posts are just as amazing.
“I’ll be playing at some of my favorite venues in August! Come through and say hey if you get a chance,” they said. “You can follow me on IG @foimeleah.”
You can see Meleah live throughout the month of August at one of their shows listed below.
