name: ezmeralda "mera" paloma vasquez birthday: december 2, 1990 hometown: sonoma, ca resides: los angeles, ca occupation: musician
pb: eiza gonzalez / claim: ariana grande

discography my everything (2014) 1. intro 2. problem 3. one last time 4. why try 5. break free 6. best mistake 7. be my baby 8. break your heart right back 9. love me harder 10. just a little bit of your heart 11. hands on me 12. my everything 13. bang bang 14. only 1 15. you don't know me christmas kisses (2013) 1. last christmas 2. love is everything 3. snow in california 4. santa baby 5. santa tell me yours truly (2013) 1. honeymoon avenue 2. baby i 3. right there 4. tattooed heart 5. lovin' it 6. piano 7. daydreamin' 8. the way 9. you'll never know 10. almost is never enough 11. popular song 12. better left unsaid


All of his life - well, in his early years, Rian Thiesen had dreamt of being absolutely nothing. If anyone had ever told him that he would become a musician of any higher standards than the guy that would pull out a guitar once and a while to strum it just to make sure it was still in tune, he probably would have laughed in their face. It wasn't that he wanted to be a nobody, per se, but it wasn't as if he were jumping at the chance to be anything more than a writer, or a teacher, or even just professional do-nothing-er. So, maybe he was a little bit lazy, but it wasn't as if that would matter to anyone other than himself. When he'd been five years old, Rian had dreamt of being a marine biologist - but that was before his parents had ever let him watch Jaws. That dream had been squashed a year later when he watched the film at a friend's house and then, suddenly, he simply just wanted to become a veterinarian (another one that would go down the drain when he got his hands on Pet Sematary later on).

Throughout the years, he'd wanted to be everything under the sun that a boy of his age could eventually become (at one point, he'd even wanted to sail the Seven Seas and be a Pirate), though they never stuck. The one thing that he had never wanted to be was a musician. He had the talents, and he had always been praised for his vocal abilities as he grew older (though his voice changed when he reached puberty, but it still sounded good to those of whom that had to hear him); so much so that he had even considered going to university eventually to get a degree in music. It wasn't something his parents wanted him to do, but they would never argue with him about it because if it made him happy, then it would make them happy. Truth be told, if his father had his way, Rian would go into the field of medicine, following in his own footsteps as well as his father's, grandfather's, everything. It was something that the Theisen men and women all tended to end up in. It was never put into stone, but it was something that the family would hope for him.

Before his first year at University (when he was about fourteen years old), Rian had decided that he would, in fact, follow in his father's footsteps - something that was ranked as a major victory in the Theisen household as they all had assumed that the teenager would have gone into the music side of life instead of doing what was known and expected of him. Over the years, he had shaped up, wanting his grades to be good enough so that he could attend the family alma mater, Oxford University. It was the hardest years of his life, but it was always worth it, wanting himself to do as good as he could, wanting to make his family and his parents the most proud of him that they had ever been. Because of his change (and possibly the fact that his grandfather knew people on the board), Rian Theisen had been accepted to Oxford University. Even though it wasn't what he completely wanted to do, it was something that he was going to do, to make his family and his parents happy.

For two and a half years, Rian studied, made as good of grades that he could make, kept himself busy with school and things that could keep him busy, keep him at par with all the other students that were doing their best to get into Oxford's Medical School program. The thing was, in one of his elective courses, Rian had met a few other guys in one of his classes: one that revolved around music. Throughout the years, the biggest consolation for Rian had been that he was such a good guitarist - at least to his own ears, anyway. He'd written a few songs and did continue to do so to keep himself from completely stressing out, but the fact was that he still doing the music thing should have been an alarm, something that could have sounded loud and across plains, simply because it was, in all ways, his ultimate passion. Rian had always wanted to be a musician, he'd just never actually known about it at the time. The music thing hadn't been a fluke after all. The guys that he'd met, little did Rian know at the time, were going to become his best friends, the guys that he would stick things out with through thick and thin of it all.

It was in 2006, a year before he would be graduating from University, that Rian changed his degree goal. Although it was against what his parents wanted him to do, Rian knew that he had to do this for himself now. He wanted to get a degree in English instead, something that he could use if the music thing didn't last, but he also knew that it would hopefully just be the fall-back option since the three guys that he met in his electives class had formed a band with him; Rian on the lead guitar and vocals, and the other guys doing the other instruments. It wasn't something they all thought would last, though they did find it to be amazing and fun, two things that lead to the fact that he had to continue on and to keep going forward with himself and his love: music.

The band formed in 2007 (which they named The Black Wings after a quote out of Lord of the Rings), where they would gather and practice in their dorm rooms, recording on a laptop and playing sometimes rather soft due to the fact that they did live in a dorm and the quiet hours were enforced at the time. It was a good time, they were able to record and write, having used a lot of the songs Rian had written over the years. After graduation, the four of them moved to London and into a two bedroom flat, both rooms equipped with bunkbeds and the living room had been designated their recording and practicing space. Of course, they were still rather soft and low in playing, but despite that, they did from time to time get in trouble for being "too loud" which was a complaint tossed out by their downstairs neighbor, a 76 year old woman named Eileen Gibbons. Though she did complain, she did often give them compliments saying at least they "sounded nice" from what she could hear through their floor/her ceiling.

It took them several years before they were comfortable enough to sign with a record label, wanting to make sure and perfect their album works. It wasn't easy, though they all did have to find jobs, despite wanting to just practice all the time. It wasn't that easy, and they all knew it. They released their first EP in 2011, and their debut album An Awesome Wave in May 2012 under Infectious Records. Their very first tour started just four days before their debut album's release (they had mostly played festivals, but it was enough to get themselves out there, which was exactly what they wanted in the first place)! It was amazing, though difficult, despite the fact that they were completely confident in what they were doing and how they sounded as a band. Their tour lasted in several spurts, and ended their debut tour in America in December that same year. In 2013, their biggest delight had been being able to play at Reading and Leeds Festival, as well as Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Coachella, Glastonbury, Optimus Alive! and Laneway Festival, which was held in Australia in the summer of 2013.

The feeling of being on stage had, by that time, become a second limb almost. That next year, in 2014, they released their second album, This Is All Yours. It went straight to being #1 on the UK Albums Charts, a feat that none of them could have ever imagined. Although one of their main and founding members had withdrawn from the band, wanting to leave and do something else, the band stated that they would, in fact, be staying together. It wasn't going to turn them away from being what they wanted and doing what they wanted. In fact, they continued on and found a new bassist for their band, despite still being close with the former member of the band that had decided that it was time for him to leave. The band, however, did take a small break for a little while to find a new bass guitarist to set them for their 2015 tour dates. At that same time, they had begun writing material for their third album, which they still do not have a release date for. All of this had never been a real dream of Rian's, but now that he was living it, how could he resist?


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