POPMM PRESIDENT, KEYONNE BROOKS, INTERVIEW ON GIVE & TAKE: THE VIRTUES IN LIFE

Clare Rooney

Clare Rooney is a rising senior at the University of Southern California and is from Newport Beach, CA. She has always had a love for music because it has served as somewhat of an emotional refuge for her. When she is not in class, Clare likes to go to concerts at The Shrine in Los Angeles and go horseback riding.

Favorite song: “Man In The Mirror” by Michael Jackson

Weida Li

Born and raised in Chengdu, China and then graduated from DePaul University with Accounting Masters Degree in Chicago, Weida Li is an MBA student at Pepperdine University right now. WIth multi-dimensional educational background and multilingual ability, Weida hugs every challenge in her life; with the accompany of music, Weida follows the light and doesn’t give up. Besides music, Weida is also passionate about design, photography, fashion, and social media.

Favorite song: Luv (sic.) pt3 (feat. Shing02) from Nujabes

Raymond Cho

Raymond Cho, hailing from Northridge, CA, goes to California State University, Northridge, studying Hospitality, Small Business, and Event Management. His hobbies include basketball, and mixed martial arts, yoga, and having maximal freedom. Cho has a passion for all music been listening to music since the dawn of the era in his childhood getting his first album of Britney Spears and *NSYNC in his childhood, and got his first iPod classic in 2008-2009 circa. In his young adulthood, he had been tuning into music videos and on television shown on MTV and VH1 in the morning and mid-days. He is interested in all kinds of music from rock band, to R&B, and hip hop, etc. Now he has come for a change. He felt the music industry has now died down, but felt a need to revitalize the culture and passion of positive music.

Favorite song: Meditation Music

Tanya Brooks-Lewis

Tanya is the youngest of nine siblings and a proud single mother of three handsome, hardworking and intelligent young men. She is certified as an office specialist and an early childhood specialist. Her hobbies include, handcrafting jewelry, collecting antiques and completing puzzles. She also enjoys meeting and encouraging others. Her favorite scripture is the 23rd Psalm.

Favorite song: “Too Close To The Mirror” by Eddie Ruth Bradford

Arne Zargarian

Hometown: Ottawa, ON, Canada

Since his early days as a hockey playing, young Canadian boy, Arne has always been interested in the creative world; whether that has been drawing when he was in grade school, music, and now web development and design. Arne’s background on music begins in California where he first heard the band Linkin Park and taking it seriously through his best friend. However, when he first began falling in love with music was when he first heard the song “The Trooper”, by Iron Maiden. Arne heard a very low, rumbling sound in that song, particularly during the chorus. Arne did not know what instrument that was at the time. In that moment, he knew that that’s what instrument he wanted to play, and what genre he wanted to play. That instrument ended up being the bass guitar, and Arne has been playing in rock and metal bands since then. Arne truly learned his performance chops when he returned to his hometown of Ottawa, Canada for university when his former band began seeing local success and opening for touring bands that came through town. When Arne is not working as a web developer, he plays in a local Los Angeles band, Hydera. Despite its’ stereotypes, Arne finds lots of positivity in heavy music as an introspective way to purge any stresses and negative feelings in life (something that he finds is lacking in much of mainstream music), and that’s why he relates strongly with the PoPMM message. Arne hopes that the PoPMM will inspire the people of today to take music education and music appreciation more seriously for the people of the future.

Favorite song:

“And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope” by Ne Obliviscaris

Hailee Bartling

Hailee grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska and graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks with a BBA in Marketing. She is currently achieving her MBA at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising with a concentration in Merchandise Marketing. In her free time, Hailee loves running, indoor cycling and reading fashion blogs. As well, she has a blog called “Fashionably Frustrated” which allows her to continue researching and staying up on fashion trends while she is in school. Hailee played the violin and studied the Suzuki method for 15 years while growing up. Playing the violin helped her to become very disciplined, as well as develop creativity and increase her confidence. Although Hailee has less time to pick up her violin as an adult, music continues to influence her on a daily basis.

Keyonne Brooks

My name is Keyonne Brooks and I am from Tylertown, Mississippi. I was raised by a single mother in a strict household. I was taught that having an education wasn’t a choice but a requirement. That came standard because my mother was a school teacher. During my formative years, music became my muse and I was a HUGE fan of Whitney Houston! Her music was all about positivity and love and I took to that. I’ve experienced hardships and tragedy early on – from an absent father to an abusive stepfather to my mother having a massive heart attack and collapsing in front of me. This resulted in her having open heart surgery and becoming disabled. This required my siblings and I to grow up fast and get a job early. I was first employed at 14 on a farm and continued to work 2 jobs until I graduated high school. Music was my scapegoat through all this. I even began a relationship with Nippy Inc- Whitney Houston’s company- during this time after I reached out to them to them to them how deeply she impacted my life.

I went on to the University of Southern Mississippi where I was a resident assistant to the students and a budding music manager. Because of my connection to Whitney Houston’s camp, the managing part of my career began to take off. The results were a top 20 hit in the UK and touring all over the US and international. I became the first male in my family to graduate college. I moved to Los Angeles shortly after. I continued to produce shows but noticed the music changing and I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder during this time. I learned about music therapy and that there has been a rise in MDD and suicide in males. I knew music was impacting society in a negative way and there needed to be a change. The messages that were influencing people were mostly negative – resulting in more feelings of loneliness, anger, and depression. Hence, Power of Positive Music Movement was established.

“It is a scientific fact that what you hear the most will become your perception and/or your reality!”

Favorite song: “The Greatest Love of All” by Whitney Houston