MiChelle Garibay-Carey is a singer-songwriter and recording artist currently based in San Antonio, Texas. She has performed professionally for 32 years and counting! From Jazz to Soul to Gospel to Pop, she pours her heart into every tune reaching every audience.
Her 2020 breakthrough album “Love Dance”, released on the Big Bib Entertainment label, is her first as a solo performer. The album is gaining momentum while MiChelle continues as the lead vocalist of local band PM Soul, a group she founded with husband / bassist Pat Carey.
Daughter of San Antonio R&B/blues legend, the late Randy Garibay, Sr., this Latina’s talent is deeply rooted in soul music. Besides songwriting, recording and performing, singing the National Anthem at the AT&T Center for San Antonio Spurs, SA Rampage, SA Stars, and Harlem Globetrotters games, she has shared the stage and sung with well-known artists Diane Schurr, The Rippingtons, Kirk Whalum, Rick Braun, Ronnie Laws, Tom Browne, Warren Hill, Paula Atherton, Ron Brown, Blake Aaron, Steve Oliver, Vincent Ingala, Doc Powell, Will Donato, Darryl Williams, Jonathan Fritzen, Richie Cannata, Jeff Kashiwa, Althea Rene, Nathan Mitchell, Rayshun Lamarr, EC3 and Tyrone Jackson.
Her influences include Nancy Wilson, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, and Anita Baker. From Jazz, Pop, R&B, Jazz Fusion, Neo-Soul, Classic Soul, to Gospel, there's not a style in which MiChelle's powerhouse vocals can't soar. Singing professionally for 30 plus years, MiChelle continues to draw in fans who love her voice, her heart, and her commitment to giving her "all" every time she performs.
Alan Mercer: MiChelle, I know you have been working on major life changes and improvements recently. Can you elaborate on what happened to get you to focus on this?
MiChelle Garibay-Carey: Sure, a lot of this came about due to the pandemic. I know for a fact that everyone has been changed significantly in some way by the pandemic. One of the big factors for me was how it woke me up to the fact that life is very precious and fragile. Tomorrow is not promised. I also learned that I am an empath. The sadness can really take over your spirit and you can get depressed. None of us knew what we were heading into when it first started. I started realizing that if there was something I wanted to change in my life, the time was now. I missed performing and I was just sitting around "stress" eating way too much.
AM: Like everyone.
MG-C: Like everyone. I used to bake a little for church or my daughter’s birthday cakes, but I found myself saying, let’s put some more biscuits in the oven, or let’s bake cookies. I found myself eating things I don’t normally eat. My lifestyle was pretty sedentary, so I found myself gaining even more weight than I was already carrying. It got to a point last October when I was so depressed. I had released my debut album in January of 2020 with all these hopes and dreams of touring behind it. You know, striking while the iron was hot. That was no longer an option as time continued passing and the country was shut down. Concerts and events were not happening. I had at least five major concerts scheduled that I was looking forward to get cancelled, so all those things and the pandemic played into a little too much heaviness, mentally, emotionally, and physically. I was not eating right or taking care of myself while feeling down in the dumps.
AM: What happened to get you to change all that?
MG-C: I just reached a point last October where I decided I had to turn this train around. I began being more mindful of my diet. I started walking and bought a bicycle. I had always had an issue with weight. I had the knowledge to lose weight. I just didn’t have the drive or the will to do what had to be done.
AM: Most of us understand that.
MG-C: I also had to promote my album on virtual interviews with radio stations and such. I had to really think about how I looked.
AM: That is harder than ever over zoom. Nobody can look their best.
MG-C: I bought a ring light and tried to get the lighting somewhat flattering. Some colleagues suggested I make a video but I’m not a video artist. If I’m on stage with a band and there’s a lot of energy in live performing and people are dancing, they are not looking at a screen staring at you from every angle. I realized I needed to concentrate on my health and focus on my image. Also, I turned fifty in 2020, so that’s another milestone. I now know that a person can make their life events negative or positive. I realized it was up to me to make them positive milestones and get the most out of it. It wasn’t up to the people who produced my album or the promoters who do marketing, it really was only up to me to put my best self out there and create my best life from within. You have to create your own fountain of youth by your thoughts.
AM: I know you are a person of faith and I feel like this ties into that. It’s not just about praying for something. It’s about honoring your higher self.
MG-C: Absolutely and being more grateful. We tend to be faithful regarding our homes or our jobs, but are we faithful about our health and our own mortality? I want to be grateful that I am still here. I wanted to take my life to a better place, so I began my weight loss journey. That was fifty pounds ago. My weight loss came from lifestyle changes like better food choices and adding walking and biking to my exercise plan. So, after all that I decided I needed a photo session to capture my current look. I know I’ll look different in the years to come. That’s when I decided I needed a photo session with you, after seeing all the people you had already photographed. I wanted you to photograph the best me I could be.
AM: I somehow found your album on Facebook and when I heard it, I was so surprised and pleased by how good it is and how talented of a vocalist you are. You are a unique artist unlike anyone else and just as talented as any of the Divas I have photographed. I ordered your album immediately. I played that album over and over again.
MG-C: Thank you for your encouragement and support. It means the world to me. I’ve been singing for 34 years now. When you start recording, you do uncover who you are as an artist. For many years I was only covering songs by Aretha, Gladys, Whitney, Patti and Chaka Khan, all the divas I adore and practically worship.
AM: You are in the same category as all of them.
MG-C: I pray that there is a little bit of them in me because I have listened to their music, but when you record and listen back, you start hearing your voice. So, you learn who you are as an artist, and you don’t want to sound like anyone other than yourself and you hope that people enjoy that. When you sing from your heart, you hope that people will feel your spirit and love you for that. I know I sing from my heart because I went through a battle of postpartum depression after my daughter was born with a lot of health problems and I could not sing. Music would not come out of me. I could not sing. That’s when I learned it was connected to my spirit, my heart, my joy, and my love. If I’m unhappy or heartbroken, I can’t sing.
AM: You have released one song after your album came out and I love it. ‘Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly’ is an instant classic. Have you recorded anything else, or do you have any plans to get back into the studio?
MG-C: I do have some songs I have co-written with my husband, Pat. We recorded that last single in our home studio. Yes, there are plans to continue recording. I have a studio session scheduled to record a new Christmas song I wrote. One thing I’ve learned about the industry is that people consume music differently now. People release singles now more than albums. You don’t have to worry about recording twelve songs. Just complete one and get it out there and you can continue working on more songs for an album but release them a little at a time. I’m an independent artist and not signed to any label. I can put songs on YouTube and distribute them on my own. I’m blessed to have fans that follow me, and I let them know when I have something coming out.
AM: Before we finish, I want to know if you were always a singer, and did you get attention and praise for it as a child?
MG-C: I did sing as a child. My mom claims that I was singing by the age of 3! I grew up on pop radio and listening to Casey Kasem Top Forty. I had my first band when I was seventeen. We were the quintessential music garage band. We had paying gigs too! I was always very shy about my singing. I was pretty intimidated being my father’s daughter. Those were impossible shoes to fill. I didn’t sing the Blues or any bilingual music like my father did. I decided to delve into jazz, soul, funk and pop music. It took me a while to get out there. Notoriety as a solo artist is still pretty new to me. I’ve been in a band with my husband for 25 years. People never knew my name. Our band was called Planet Soul and people would see me and yell, hey Planet Soul. Now I do more shows under my own solo name.
AM: I’ve noticed the critics are very kind to you now.
MG-C: They’ve been very kind, and I think it boils down to not giving up on yourself. If you keep learning and growing and staying active, you will eventually make a name for yourself. Also, you have to connect and appreciate your fans. We’re nothing without them. That is one of the things I missed the most with the pandemic. I need that connection with an audience. I hope they haven't forgotten about me and I hope they come out to shows as things open back up.
