By Esther Sanchez
I think it was around 7 years ago that I went to an art show in Palm Springs that was featuring works by a half-dozen or so local artists & among them was a stunningly beautiful brunette whose presence refused to be ignored. With a chic, edgy style, petite stature & bombshell curves, it was impossible not to notice the striking young woman who I now know was just getting her feet wet as an artist. That night she rocked ruby-red lips, a collection of awesome tattoos and an energy that let everyone know without question that she was in charge of the entire event.
Bay Area transplant Monica Morones, AKA La Maniaca, AKA Cakes, is a singer/songwriter who is much more than a pretty face; or even a pretty face with a pretty voice. Over the last decade or so living in & out of the Coachella Valley like a gypsy, she has steadily established herself as a talented & respected visual artist & photographer under the moniker La Maniaca (Spanish for female maniac). One visit to her website, maniacartandphotography.com will give you ample insight into her unique vision as an artist/photographer & will dispel any doubts regarding the depth of her talent. If you want to know what it takes to turn a picture of an attractive woman into a killer work of art, La Maniaca’s portfolio is an excellent place to find out. When she isn’t busy creating masterpieces she also happens to be a regular contributor to CV Weekly.
Folks, I could probably fill an entire edition of this publication with my praises of Ms. Morones’ paintings, photography & fashion designs (Oh yeah, she does that too) but, that is not what we are focusing on today. As if she wasn’t hogging up enough talent from the rest of us already, Morones is now ready to unleash her musical persona, Cakes. Inspired by her traffic-stopping, hourglass figure; the name Cakes is a play off of the term, “stacked like pancakes” and anyone who gets a glimpse of her walking by would agree that the name is appropriate in the best ways possible.
As far as being a vocalist is concerned, this is not Morones’ first trip to the rodeo. There is little doubt that, just like everything else she pursues & conquers, when it comes down to this music thing, Cakes knows what she is doing.
Morones: “I realize that my photography and art is what I have become known for in the desert and because of that, a lot of people think that singing & making music is a new thing that I decided to do out of nowhere. I fronted my former band, Trucha, for 7 years. We were a good band with a decent following. We broke up a few years ago and for various reasons, attempts at putting together another band didn’t work out. After a series of events & circumstances I eventually promised myself that I was not going to perform music anymore…….I was done. That was about 3 years ago.” But, like any true musician knows, when you are not feeding the beast inside of you that wants to make music, that beast becomes hungry.
Morones: “When you are part of a band, you are dealing with, among other issues the personalities, tastes, schedules and goals of multiple people which can make things difficult as it is. I am an extremely driven & focused person. When I have a goal I develop a clear and direct vision for how to reach it. You can’t force your vision on to others if they don’t share it & attempting to do so only causes frustration. For a while I felt as though I was wasting my time. Eventually, I came to the realization that, for me, solo was the way to go.”
Last year when I heard Morones was building a solo project I frankly didn’t know what to expect. I was familiar with her former band Trucha and remembered really liking their music, but I didn’t have any idea what direction she was taking with Cakes. Over the past several months as I have watched her vision come to fruition, it has become clear that Cakes has been taking her into an exciting direction. No longer subject to the time-constraints & perpetual need for compromising that comes along with being a member of a band, Cakes has taken full advantage of her ability to call the shots on every level of her artistic & promotional development.
Possibly the best example of her liberated creativity in action would be the video she recently dropped for her single, “Break Down” (see link below). First of all, the quality is better than one might expect from a local girl on a budget. That aside, Lord knows you can have access to the most expensive video equipment & production team that money can buy and still end up with a boring, generic video. That being said, the “Breakdown” video is really cool, you guys. From the costumes & accessories, to the setting & the story-line it was beautiful, intriguing and fun to watch. As an established fan of Morones, I was pleased to see how clearly it shows that the video was a work of art that came from deep inside Morones’ soul. It was almost as though she ripped her beating heart right out of her chest & threw it on a table for us all to behold. And if that isn’t art, I don’t know what is.
Follow Cakes!
facebook.com/cakesfordayz to stay up to date on shows & new music.
Check out Cakes’ brand new video, “Breakdown”
https://www.youtube.com/user/callejeraclothings
Follow La Maniaca!
facebook.com/maniacartandphotography for info on upcoming art shows, photography & more.
