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Okay, well, welcome back everyone to the All Things Croatia podcast.

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If you're watching on YouTube, you're probably wondering what's with the

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tourist outfit here, and I just moved from Zagreb to Makarska down at the coast for

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the summer, and everything is buried too deep into my suitcase.

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So you've got the Hawaiian shirt for this episode.

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But more importantly, we've got an awesome guest here.

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Mia Dimsic is a very popular Croatian musician.

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She performs all over.

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She represented Croatia in last year's Eurovision.

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She's got songs at the top of the charts.

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Super excited to hear from her.

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Mia, thanks for coming on the podcast.

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Thank you so much for having me and I'm happy to be here.

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Awesome.

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Awesome to have you on.

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Always a pleasure.

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As we sort of get into things, can you start by sort of telling us about

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your background and growing up?

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Sure.

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I actually grew up in Osijek.

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Now I live in Zagreb due to my musical career.

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I was studying English and German literature and translation studies back in my college

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days before I started pursuing music professionally.

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And then along with the end of my college days and my degree, I kind of got into the

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music career quite by accident.

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I met my manager at this impromptu tour that I was a part of, and it was taking place in

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the States and Canada, which was also really significant for me because I feel like the

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Americas keep coming into my life for some reason.

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And it's just all so bound to my music and to my expression as well.

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So that's how I started in 2014.

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I released my first single in 2015.

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Then two years later, my first album was out.

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And so the whole thing kind of started rolling.

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And I'm here almost eight years now, been doing what I love most in the world.

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And I moved to Zagreb and got so many opportunities to travel the world and just showcase

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what I love to people.

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That's awesome. You mentioned the U.S.

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and North America.

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And if I'm correct from what I read on Wikipedia, that was you were doing Tamburica for the

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Croatian Diaspora in 2014 when you went over there.

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I was actually a singer with the Tamburica band who traveled there to do a series of

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shows for Diaspora people.

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And it was it was actually the tour organized by Croatian Fraternal Union.

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I don't know if the name is familiar to you, probably is as a North American, because

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they're also like really, really spread out.

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And their headquarters kind of is in Pittsburgh, where the whole tour was also happening.

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We started with a concert in, I think, Hamilton in Canada was the first one.

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And then we would go southward all the way down to Kansas City.

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So it was quite an adventure.

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We did 17 concerts in, I think, 21 days.

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So it was like super intense.

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And it really I was 21 at the time.

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So it showed me what a life of a true musician would potentially look like if I decided to

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go that path.

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And before that, I always had dreams of being a singer, but I thought it was impossible

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that you couldn't like really earn a living from it.

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So I decided to to go the standard path, you know, go to college and just pursue languages,

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which I also love.

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But up until I got the invitation to take part on that tour and I met my manager who

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was also managing that tour, I was actually always kind of, yeah, like, you know, it's

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with someone else.

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You know, it might not be for me because how could I actually sell tickets and albums to

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people when all I sing is like, you know, like, you know, like, you know, like, you

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know, like love ballads, you know, it was just a kind of thing.

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I would never expect people to want to listen to.

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I didn't have that self-confidence.

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So actually, that tour was what changed everything and made me feel like I could really

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do it.

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And that's why North America always has a very special place in my heart.

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That's awesome to hear that that tour inspired you to become your own artist.

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And yeah, you name some some cities with really big Croatian populations, Hamilton in

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Pittsburgh, of course, huge Croatian population in Kansas City, actually, I have to be

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honest, I didn't know they had a big population, but I mean, Croatians are all over

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the world.

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I'm not.

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I'm never surprised anymore when I hear whatever city in whatever country that there's a

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Croatian population.

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We're a small number, but we're kind of everywhere.

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You only need to like look hard enough and you'll meet some Croatian people for sure.

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Definitely.

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Yeah, that's how it goes.

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You always you always find each other wherever you are in the world.

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You mentioned you're from Osijek.

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I've actually I've never been to Osijek.

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I've traveled a decent amount throughout Croatia, but have yet to be to Osijek.

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Bukovar was as close as I've been.

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What's it like in Osijek?

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How would you compare it, say, to Zagreb?

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Osijek is a bit smaller, but it's still one of the top four Croatian cities in terms of

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number of people and the size.

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But it's I would call it more of like a family town where it's perfect if you really want

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to raise children who can play anywhere.

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You know, you can travel throughout the town by bike or even by foot, but it would like

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maybe take three hours, four hours.

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I don't know.

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But it's still tiny compared to Zagreb, which has its advantages and disadvantages in this

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stage of my life where I really am focused on my musical career.

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It helps to be in Zagreb where everything is taking place or most of the things related

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to the music industry.

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But Osijek is so beautiful.

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It has a lot of greenery, just tranquility.

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And people are like neighbors are more closely connected.

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Everyone knows what's going on in other one's life, which is sometimes irritating, but

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sometimes makes you feel like home.

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So, yeah, I would always recommend Osijek to anyone looking out for just quality life,

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you know, being present and mindful.

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If that's what it is about.

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But I think I feel like it's like that with all the smaller towns.

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They are always.

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I guess they offer something that cities don't, whereas cities offer more events and

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happenings and places for people to meet and exchange ideas.

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Yeah, I mean, that's sort of how it goes, I guess, sort of the younger people who want

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to be in the big city where there's lots of things to do and everything going on and

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late at night stuff.

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But yeah, I have I've interviewed people who in the hospital who have moved back to

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Osijek and they seem to really like it.

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So, yeah, my sister is actually just going back to Osijek after 10 years in Zagreb

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because she got a job and she's very happy.

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So, yeah, we're kind of all different.

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It all depends on our life goals and what we're doing.

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And what's coming up next.

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Awesome. Yeah. Well, that's I want to get back to the music a little bit.

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You know, you're a singer, of course, but you also play guitar and you know, live,

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you're playing guitar as well as you're singing.

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When did you start learning guitar and how long have you played for?

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I actually started learning guitar when I was 16.

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I was never interested in it before.

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I always thought it, you know, girls are kind of raised to believe that it's a male

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instrument, or at least I felt that was like that when I was a kid.

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I always felt like for girls are a piano, flute, violin and stuff like that.

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My dad was a guitar player as well, but like it was always in the house.

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But I never took interest in it until I met again a guy from the States.

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But it was when I was 14 years old and I was in a folklore dance ensemble.

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We were traveling a lot.

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And at this festival in Italy, I met a guy from Salt Lake City, Utah,

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who played guitar so beautifully and sang so beautifully that I was just like,

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I have to learn how to do this.

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This is just the best thing ever to be able to sing and play simultaneously.

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And so I went back home and started taking lessons and it just took off

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really quickly and I knew that was it.

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And I think the guitar playing just changed my complete

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approach to music and to writing.

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I started being very, very interested in how melodies are composed,

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especially pop melodies and how to add lyrics to it.

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I started writing in my room just in my free time and I never thought

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I would do anything with these songs.

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But yeah, much, much later on, it turned out that I don't even think

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I would be singing today without a guitar, maybe because I wouldn't

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have the confidence to get up on stage without it.

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I still have a much harder time being on stage with just a microphone

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in my hand than behind the guitar stand.

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So yeah, it changed me as a person.

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It helped me make more friends because I was more of an introvert

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in primary school and when I was younger.

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And so when you play guitar, you get to meet more people during parties,

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you know, because everyone can see you playing and singing.

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And then it's such an icebreaker for everything.

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Oh, that's awesome.

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Yeah, I would definitely recommend everyone to learn an instrument,

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not only guitar, but any instrument, at least one.

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It's definitely a skill that I think is worth having.

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I play the guitar well.

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And actually, one of your bigger songs, Netko Drugi, that you performed,

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of course, in Eurovision, that's actually, to me, it seems a little difficult

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to sing and play that at the same time.

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It's kind of got like the playing is sort of like a different rhythm

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than the singing.

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Was that true?

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Yeah, it's...

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I don't know, I guess when you play it over and over and over again,

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I think it's in my subconscious by now.

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But yeah, when I first wrote it, until I figured out the

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guitar arrangement, it was a bit different than the rest of my songs,

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because it has this beat, which I really love that kind of beat,

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but you can also play it acoustically and then you have to make the rhythm

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with your fingers, which is...

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But I don't know, I guess it's all just practice.

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I did a lot of fingerpicking back in the day when I started playing it.

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So it's natural to me.

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Yeah, fingerpicking for me is tough.

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That's always like, I really have to think like when I play

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and then I wouldn't be able to...

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Not that I can sing at all anyways, but if I could, I wouldn't be able

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to do it if I was playing that riff.

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Maybe it should just be persistent enough.

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To what? Learn how to sing or to sing badly and play at the same time?

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To both.

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Sometimes, you know, it just takes courage to start singing and then

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at first, no one wants to listen to you.

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But then over time, you feel like your voice starts refining as well.

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So we humans just underestimate so much how big of a part the practice is

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in every undertaking.

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That's true.

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Yeah.

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And that's, I have to be honest, that's one of those pieces of advice

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where I'm saying, yes, like absolutely, I agree.

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But I still probably won't start singing anytime soon in front of, in front of anyone.

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Yeah.

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I think it's like that for everyone.

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Yeah.

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But it's true.

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You're right.

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You know, as soon as you start and if you put enough practice into it, you know,

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of course you can get good at anything.

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It's just happening.

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Yeah.

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It's the saying, doing your 10,000 hours is the number one thing.

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That's what they say.

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But I struggle with that as well in some other aspects.

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So I feel like we're all struggling.

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That's true.

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Yeah.

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Everyone has their own things they're struggling with.

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I want to ask you about Eurovision because I know you're a singer.

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Because I mentioned, you know, that's the song you played for Netko Drubi,

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which translated into Guilty Pleasure is the English version of that song.

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And before I guess I asked about Eurovision, I want to ask about that translation process.

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I always wonder how that works because it's not like a literal, you can't just trans everything.

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You still have to make it rhyme, you know, in the other language and make it make sense.

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Was that something that you had help with?

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Is that something that, you know, did you have a direction in which to take that?

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How does that work?

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I guess.

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I don't know.

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Actually, the big help with these kinds of situations is that I

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did go to college for translation studies.

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So we did translate a lot of literary stuff and poetry as well.

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And there I learned that you can never really literally translate poetry

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because it's just so specific.

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And it's not just about the topic of the song.

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It's also about the target readership.

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So the readership of English lyrics may not be even mentally the same

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as readership of Croatian lyrics.

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So I wrote the English lyrics initially.

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It was the first version.

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And then when it won Dora, we were like, okay, it would be nice to have a Croatian version as well.

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It might not even come to life if it weren't for Eurovision.

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So with Croatian lyrics, I wrote them together with my manager,

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Damir, who is also a lyricist.

240
00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:58,160
So we write a lot together sometimes.

241
00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:00,320
And it was really, really tough.

242
00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:05,520
I remember we were nuts because we had to switch the perspective entirely

243
00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:09,120
and just approach the song from entirely different angles.

244
00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:17,760
So in the song Guilty Pleasure, I'm actually talking to the third guy in the chorus.

245
00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:20,400
Like I'm talking to the guilty pleasure.

246
00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:27,760
But in Netko Drugi, I'm discussing that with my boyfriend.

247
00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:32,240
So it's an entirely switched perspective, but the message is the same.

248
00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:36,880
So I think it's important to keep the atmosphere and the storyline.

249
00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:39,520
But the exact words with which you're going to do it,

250
00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:45,200
you don't have to like really be too stuck on the initial version

251
00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:46,400
because you will never get it.

252
00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:50,560
It's just completely different metrics with Croatian and English.

253
00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:54,960
English is so much, in my opinion, easier to write lyrics with

254
00:13:54,960 --> 00:14:01,680
because there's much more rhyme opportunities, much more like one syllable words.

255
00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:05,040
Also, Croatian has four kinds of accents,

256
00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:08,000
which makes it so difficult to find the rhyme pair

257
00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:13,040
because it's not only enough for two words to have the exact same ending

258
00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:13,840
at the end of the word.

259
00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:15,600
They also need to have the same accentuation.

260
00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:18,000
Which is just like, it's a search.

261
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:18,640
Trust me.

262
00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:22,720
I do hope you ever get skillful in Croatian enough to try to write.

263
00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:24,720
You will see it's very fun.

264
00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:30,800
So yeah, I feel like English is just easier to describe things.

265
00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:32,320
Also because words are shorter.

266
00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:36,720
And then in one line, one musical line, there's much more room

267
00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:39,120
to actually describe things in detail.

268
00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:41,840
That's what drives me crazy when I write in English

269
00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:44,080
and then I try writing in Croatian afterwards.

270
00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:45,280
It's so difficult.

271
00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:45,920
It's so different.

272
00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:47,520
Yeah, that makes sense.

273
00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:52,560
Actually, I didn't realize that it was first in English.

274
00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:55,200
I think when I first heard it, I guess I heard Nethkod Ruby

275
00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:57,200
and assumed that that was the first version.

276
00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:00,000
But I do love that you put in the Croatian verse

277
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:01,440
when you performed in Eurovision.

278
00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:02,640
What was that?

279
00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:03,120
I love it too.

280
00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:04,240
Yeah?

281
00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:04,960
Oh my God.

282
00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:05,760
That was surreal.

283
00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:10,880
Just now looking back at the moment when I came out on stage in Turin.

284
00:15:11,600 --> 00:15:15,040
And it's always a big question.

285
00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:15,840
How did you feel?

286
00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:16,640
I have no idea.

287
00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:17,440
I can't remember.

288
00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:23,040
I do remember going out on stage and waiting for the song to begin

289
00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:25,200
and standing there and just looking around and thinking,

290
00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:30,720
like, I got a really fearless moment because I worked so hard towards it.

291
00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:34,800
And all these months of stress, I mean, happiness,

292
00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:37,360
but also a lot of stress and a lot of hard work

293
00:15:38,080 --> 00:15:41,280
were always about this moment, about these three minutes.

294
00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:43,840
And now I'm here and what do I want to do?

295
00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:45,600
How do I want to act?

296
00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:49,440
I was just like, I really want to be present and not be afraid.

297
00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:52,160
But then when the song started, just the adrenaline kicks in

298
00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:55,600
and your feet start doing automatically things.

299
00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:59,760
You practice and your voice starts doing everything you practiced.

300
00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:03,440
And you're just like there, just like existing.

301
00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:05,520
It's really, really weird.

302
00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:11,040
I guess it's like when people are getting married or something.

303
00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:12,960
And you know how they always say they don't remember

304
00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:17,760
a health with their wedding because it was so adrenaline filled for them.

305
00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:21,360
Or like if you have a car accident or something.

306
00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:23,040
I mean, unfortunately, I did have one.

307
00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:26,480
And also, like, it's very blurry because in that moment,

308
00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:28,080
it's just such a rush of adrenaline.

309
00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:28,880
You can't really focus.

310
00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:32,960
I mean, this was a really lame comparison comparing the Eurovision performance.

311
00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:34,880
A car accident.

312
00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:40,800
Yeah, it has the connecting dots, I guess.

313
00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:42,560
Yeah, that makes sense.

314
00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,120
I'm so grateful that I got to do it.

315
00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:46,480
It's insane.

316
00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:48,880
I feel like every artist should do it.

317
00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:49,680
It's so special.

318
00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:51,680
It teaches you so much.

319
00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:56,560
You just find yourself in situations that no one can prepare you for.

320
00:16:56,560 --> 00:16:59,840
And you have to kind of learn as you go,

321
00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:01,840
which is the most powerful form of learning.

322
00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:05,680
I feel like if you do anything in life, just waiting for it to be perfect,

323
00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:06,800
you will never do anything.

324
00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:10,000
You will always be waiting for that one perfect moment.

325
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,240
So I always go with the tactics.

326
00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:17,360
I will just throw myself in there and then I will try to figure it out along the way.

327
00:17:17,360 --> 00:17:18,960
And it's the best form of learning.

328
00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:20,320
I agree.

329
00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:21,120
Yeah, definitely.

330
00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:23,920
And I have to admit, coming from the US,

331
00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:27,040
I never knew about Eurovision until I came to Croatia.

332
00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:30,480
And then I'm like, wow, this is a huge deal in Europe.

333
00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:34,960
Actually, I saw there's some movie with Will Ferrell called Eurovision.

334
00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:36,080
I don't know if you've seen that.

335
00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:37,360
I still didn't watch it.

336
00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:39,840
Everyone's like, you have to watch it.

337
00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:40,480
But I will.

338
00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:42,400
Yeah, well, you can relate to it.

339
00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:42,960
You've been in it.

340
00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:44,640
So I don't know how accurate it is.

341
00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:48,320
And actually, one of the parts in that movie, I want to ask if it's true or not,

342
00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:50,320
because everyone, I mean, of course, it's a movie,

343
00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:55,360
but all the other teams or countries are super competitive with each other

344
00:17:55,360 --> 00:17:56,880
and are out to get each other.

345
00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:59,760
Is it like that in Eurovision or is it more like everyone's?

346
00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:02,320
I'll let you describe it.

347
00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:02,800
Yeah.

348
00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:05,600
Yeah, it's a really beautiful community.

349
00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:09,200
I was feeling very supported and loved throughout the process.

350
00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:12,400
I really can't say maybe some years there are lunatics who just

351
00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:16,880
are really focused on just winning and not the rest of the experience.

352
00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:19,920
But this year, class of 2022 was special.

353
00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:22,160
We were all just hanging out.

354
00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,120
And there were a lot of those pre-parties that I went to,

355
00:18:25,120 --> 00:18:28,000
which was actually the best way to get to know other contestants

356
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:32,160
because during the contest itself, it's so busy and everyone has their own schedule.

357
00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:36,560
And we're kind of meeting in the hallways, literally, and like trying to catch up.

358
00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:40,880
And the only thing you have where everyone's together is this turquoise carpet,

359
00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:42,480
which has the after party.

360
00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:44,640
But then it's 500 people in there.

361
00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:47,280
So you can't really bond that much.

362
00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:51,360
So that's maybe what I would like for Eurovision to have more of,

363
00:18:51,360 --> 00:18:57,120
is the encounters between people or to maybe put us all in the same hotel

364
00:18:57,680 --> 00:18:59,120
in touring, maybe due to COVID.

365
00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:03,120
I don't know how it normally goes, but we were all scattered across the city

366
00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:05,200
and everyone had their calendars.

367
00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:09,840
So it was really hard to meet, maybe jam, exchange ideas,

368
00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:13,040
which I think was the most powerful thing that you can get out of it.

369
00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:16,640
But during pre-parties, we would really hang out and party.

370
00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:18,960
And it was great.

371
00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:23,680
And some of these people I still talk to, and they're amazing musicians.

372
00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:27,120
And a lot of them are so different than me and come from such different backgrounds.

373
00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:28,720
But we all have the same thing in common.

374
00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:30,960
We just love doing music.

375
00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:35,760
And I think that's the most important thing about Eurovision, that everyone

376
00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:39,200
is from different areas, but everyone becomes friends.

377
00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:42,800
And the fans are just friends with each other.

378
00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:46,480
They meet through Eurovisions and they travel to each other later on.

379
00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:47,600
I think that's so beautiful.

380
00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:48,880
Oh, that's awesome.

381
00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:53,280
I interviewed a woman who represented Croatia in the Olympics.

382
00:19:53,280 --> 00:20:00,240
And she described it very similarly, that sort of, I guess, like family community,

383
00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:04,000
that feeling of community and everyone's, you know, they're not competitive and out to get you

384
00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:07,120
when they're performing or whatever.

385
00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:13,360
But yeah, that's awesome to know that there's that sense of community in Eurovision.

386
00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:16,320
And yeah, hopefully they take your advice and can make it even more,

387
00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:22,720
give you more opportunities to mix and match and meet people and the other contestants.

388
00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:24,480
That's an awesome experience.

389
00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:27,840
And you know, I told you that I want to bring

390
00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:30,240
the US back up a little bit later on.

391
00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:34,880
And you're actually, I saw that you were hanging out with another woman

392
00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:37,680
who I'd like to get on the podcast as well, Kristina Kuzmich.

393
00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:43,040
And over in LA, I saw that you, I think you were even at her house.

394
00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:46,080
How did that relationship, how did that friendship start between you two?

395
00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:50,720
I think it kind of spontaneously started over social media.

396
00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:55,760
We had a mutual friend, Taichi, who was also in Eurovision.

397
00:20:55,760 --> 00:21:00,800
She was like a big Eurovision star in the 90s when I was growing up.

398
00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:03,200
And then she moved to the States.

399
00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:08,560
And through her, I think I learned of Kristina's name for the first time.

400
00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:13,280
Then I saw she was, sometimes she would put up my song in one of her videos,

401
00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:17,040
which meant so much to me because she's such a big supporter of creation culture.

402
00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:20,720
And she's always there for really anyone needing help.

403
00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:22,720
She's such an amazing personality.

404
00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:28,400
And then I think maybe when she got to Croatia a year ago

405
00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:31,040
was the first time we actually met in person.

406
00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:33,040
I came to her book promotion.

407
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:38,160
We had lunch together after, you know, it's always weird when you just type with someone

408
00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:42,400
and then you're suddenly there with them, but you feel like you know them so well

409
00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:46,720
because you've seen videos of their house and their family and their free time.

410
00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,960
But yeah, she was so natural and laid back.

411
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:54,320
And I fell in love with her personality like instantly.

412
00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:58,160
And then a couple of months later, my manager and I were in the States

413
00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:01,440
and we went to her house to watch the creation game

414
00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:03,520
because it was just in the middle of the World Cup.

415
00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:07,680
We stayed the night, we met her family, we started hanging out.

416
00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:11,440
And yeah, now I really feel like I would call her a friend.

417
00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:17,360
And I don't think there's anyone who can actually be exposed to her

418
00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:23,200
and not be just enchanted by her authenticity and how natural she is

419
00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:25,120
and how honest and straightforward.

420
00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:28,240
I think it's beautiful and I love her family as well.

421
00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:34,880
So I'm really happy that Croatians have such a positive ambassador outside of the Croatian.

422
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:37,280
Yeah, she's definitely a great ambassador.

423
00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:39,440
Authentic, that's a good word that you said.

424
00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:42,960
And she does seem very authentic and genuine, you know.

425
00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:44,880
That's awesome that you're able to, you know, meet people,

426
00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:49,280
meet other Croatians, you know, overseas and connect and now have these new relationships.

427
00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:55,760
I saw you were also, I guess, on that same trip at my, you know, Croatian church over there in LA, St. Anthony's.

428
00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:56,480
Yeah.

429
00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,840
Was that also a look-up party or what was that for?

430
00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:03,920
We had our friend, Jeri Giercevic is his name.

431
00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:05,520
He's a famous tambura player.

432
00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:06,240
He was playing there.

433
00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:08,720
So he invited us to come listen to him.

434
00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:13,440
We were staying in LA at the time and then we invited Kristina to come with us as well,

435
00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:18,640
which was great for me because she never before was actually connected to the Croatian community.

436
00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:25,920
And so she said later on how she was really happy that we took her there because she met some new people as well and like made connections for herself and some new friendships.

437
00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:33,760
But the funny thing is now that you mentioned also how you didn't know about Eurovision before you came to Croatia.

438
00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:37,440
Back in LA, I was with a friend who I met on a plane.

439
00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:40,640
His name is Michael and like he's originally from LA.

440
00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:46,880
He had no idea about Croatia apart from being like there as a tourist.

441
00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:53,360
And then when I visited him in LA, I told him like I'm competing to go to Eurovision.

442
00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:53,920
Possibly.

443
00:23:53,920 --> 00:23:55,440
I don't know if you know what that is.

444
00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:58,560
And he was like, of course, I know what that is.

445
00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:02,080
Like, I mean, it's not as big as in America, but I've heard of it.

446
00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:07,360
And he was like, if you win Dora, I will come to tour in and like see you perform.

447
00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:10,400
And he did it by himself.

448
00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:14,080
So like that's how I even took him to the Croatian community.

449
00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:22,640
So I love, you know, forging relationships with people that may not even meet each other otherwise.

450
00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:23,760
So it's really cool.

451
00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:24,560
Well, that's awesome.

452
00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:26,400
You just met on the plane by chance.

453
00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:28,640
Yeah, it was so funny.

454
00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:36,880
We were sitting next to each other, but I'm a huge believer in non-coincidences, you know,

455
00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,880
in the non-existence of any accidents or coincidences in life.

456
00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:46,000
So whenever I meet someone like that and I just feel like there's something, you know,

457
00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:48,160
it might be even from a past life.

458
00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:49,120
Who knows?

459
00:24:49,120 --> 00:24:52,480
So we just instantly connected.

460
00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:56,640
And now, you know, he met all of my people, my family.

461
00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:57,760
I met his family.

462
00:24:57,760 --> 00:25:01,360
So it's an amazing friendship, really.

463
00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:02,800
That's awesome.

464
00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:07,200
That's awesome to see that you're able to create these, you know, friendships and build connections

465
00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:09,200
out of them seemingly from nowhere.

466
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:12,400
I feel like you have to be an open person for that.

467
00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:13,760
Definitely.

468
00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:14,480
Yeah.

469
00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:19,280
But yeah, that's something that, you know, good will come to you if you can just stay open and be

470
00:25:19,280 --> 00:25:21,440
open to new things and new experiences.

471
00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:26,640
You can't always stay, I guess, in a box or something or, you know, your comfort zone.

472
00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:31,680
That's a big catchphrase that's thrown around, but, you know, it is true, at least in my opinion.

473
00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:32,640
So true.

474
00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:33,360
I agree.

475
00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:41,280
The best things always happened to me when I just went to some unknown place and had no idea what I was doing.

476
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:49,360
Mia, you, I mean, you've given us some great advice, which I wasn't expecting, you know, to get into sort of advice

477
00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:52,880
in this episode, but definitely you've given us some great life advice.

478
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:58,880
It's been awesome to hear about your experiences and, you know, your performances and how you became a musician.

479
00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:03,280
Sort of last couple things here as we look to the future, what does the future have in store for you?

480
00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:10,480
I'm planning to release two albums till the end of 2023.

481
00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:15,360
One will be my first record in English, which I'm very excited about, and I can't wait to share it

482
00:26:15,360 --> 00:26:19,120
because it's a bit different than that stuff I've done in Croatian so far.

483
00:26:19,120 --> 00:26:26,480
And then also my album in Croatian, my last one came out even before the pandemic, so it's high time, I think.

484
00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:32,800
So a lot of work in the studio, a lot of creativity, and I'm very excited.

485
00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:38,800
That's awesome. Do you have a tour lined up or are you still waiting on dates for that?

486
00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:45,600
I have a couple of dates in the summer, then some dates in December are even opening up now.

487
00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:53,920
And I'm doing a Lisinski Hall in Zagreb, 26th of November, which I'm also very excited about

488
00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:57,840
because we haven't done it in, I think, three years, also since the pandemic started.

489
00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:02,560
It just changed so much of our plans, but we're slowly getting back on our feet.

490
00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:10,880
And yeah, I invite everyone who is in the vicinity to look up my Instagram and Facebook where I announce everything.

491
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:15,840
Yeah, where can they find you? I'll let you plug those, your website, Facebook, Instagram.

492
00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:22,240
I have a website, mia.deemsitz.com. I have Instagram and Facebook,

493
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:29,200
even like TikTok, even though I feel like I suck at TikTok, but you know, I might be too old for it.

494
00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:31,840
That might be one of the reasons. That might be the thing, yeah.

495
00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:39,040
Yeah. And of course, YouTube and I try to be as active as possible on all of them.

496
00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:44,800
Awesome. I'll drop links to those as well, so anyone listening can go ahead and click on those links.

497
00:27:45,520 --> 00:27:49,040
Now, just I've got three quick questions for you as we wrap this up.

498
00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:51,600
Favorite concert of all time that you've been to?

499
00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:58,160
Favorite concert, I think Dua Lipa in Vienna last year.

500
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:04,480
I feel like I cried through half of the concert and it wasn't even sad.

501
00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:06,960
I don't know why. I just love her so much.

502
00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:10,000
Just overwhelming emotions.

503
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:13,680
Yeah, just overwhelming. And I had no idea what was happening. I was just crying.

504
00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:19,520
But I had a great time, even though it doesn't sound like it.

505
00:28:19,520 --> 00:28:21,520
I believe you. I believe you. That's awesome.

506
00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:25,520
This is sort of a deeper one, but what do you make Croatia special?

507
00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:34,320
I think people. People in Croatia are special, warm, hospitable.

508
00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,520
We have no trouble connecting and opening up.

509
00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:44,320
I think that's the most worthwhile thing about Croatia.

510
00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:47,920
Awesome. On that line, I guess I have four questions because this is one more.

511
00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:49,920
Favorite food?

512
00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:53,920
It doesn't have to be Croatia.

513
00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:59,920
I feel like it's pancakes. Such a cliche answer. But you know, cliches are cliches for a reason.

514
00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:03,920
Was that like Palijinke pancakes or like American thick IHOP?

515
00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:05,920
I like Palijinke.

516
00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:07,920
I like Palijinke.

517
00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:11,920
Okay, okay. Actually, I always wondered why. I mean, you studied translation.

518
00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:17,920
I have to be honest, I hate that translation of pancakes because I feel like we just call them crepes.

519
00:29:17,920 --> 00:29:19,920
You're talking about those types of like Palijinke.

520
00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:25,920
It's definitely crepes. But for some reason, we always use pancakes as synonyms.

521
00:29:25,920 --> 00:29:33,920
But most people don't know the difference, really, because most people don't know what American pancakes even look like until they travel.

522
00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:43,920
Because crepes are so standard in every household in Croatia. Like that's all you will get at the table as a kid.

523
00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:47,920
So for us, for some reason, it's pancakes.

524
00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:49,920
What?

525
00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:53,920
What's best to put inside the Palijinke? Nutella or some jam, fruit or what?

526
00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:58,920
I mean, it depends on your... even like for me, it changes throughout the years.

527
00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:05,920
Two years ago, I would have said Nutella with no thinking, but now maybe even jam. So I don't know.

528
00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:14,920
But you can do all kinds of stuff. I sometimes put bananas. I will put some fruits, cherries. I'll put like whipped cream, nuts, cookies.

529
00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:19,920
You can do anything you like. But like maybe Nutella and jam would be the most standard.

530
00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:26,920
Yeah, yeah, me too. Although I did. I tried recently like the salty Palijinke with like ham and cheese.

531
00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:29,920
Completely different thing. Also very good. Yeah.

532
00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:37,920
Yeah. You should like do both. Start out with salty and then ending with like a dessert.

533
00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:40,920
Not at the same time though.

534
00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:50,920
Like start out with this like as a main dish, like a salty pancakes and then finish with jam or chocolate. That's the way I like to do it.

535
00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:52,920
Yeah, that's not a bad idea. I might have to do that.

536
00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:54,920
To try it.

537
00:30:54,920 --> 00:31:04,920
Mia, last question for you here. If you could go back in time and see one band or artist perform, who would it be and why?

538
00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:10,920
If I could go back in time, you mean like someone who's not alive anymore?

539
00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:23,920
I guess they don't have to be not alive anymore. But just if you have like a concert that you would have loved to go to or during their prime or something, even if they're still playing now.

540
00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:33,920
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe that would be Taylor Swift. Even though I just managed to purchase tickets for her in Vienna next year as well.

541
00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:43,920
So that's something I'm really, really excited about. But it would have been also cool to maybe witness her at the beginning of her career because it was so different.

542
00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:51,920
And she was doing this country thing. And I was a huge fan of her in high school. So I feel like that would have been a very powerful experience as well.

543
00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:55,920
Okay. And congrats on getting tickets. I've heard. I haven't tried.

544
00:31:55,920 --> 00:31:59,920
Oh my God, it's insane.

545
00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:01,920
That's crazy.

546
00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:18,920
Well, Mia, that's all the time we have for this episode. But I just want to thank you so much. It's really been a pleasure having you on the podcast. It went a couple of different directions than I expected. But I thought it was great and really cool hearing all these different advice and life stories and all these things from you.

547
00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:26,920
You know, it's never just about the music. It's always about some life philosophies. We just can't go without it. I guess that's why we write songs.

548
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:31,920
That's true. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. You can't just have the music by itself. There's always a story to it.

549
00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:49,920
Thank you again so much for coming on the podcast. Thank you for having me.