Meet Nicole Bandoquillo | Musician & Digital Marketing Manager

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicole Bandoquillo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicole, let’s talk legacy – what do you want yours to be?
I want my legacy to be my music, artistry, and compassion. I want to create music that’s healing, validating, and empowering. Growing up, I never really saw musicians or artists that looked like me, so I want to inspire and motivate other communities to create and empower each other.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
St. Kio is a dream-pop, shoegaze, alternative, noise-rock project that has been in the works for 3 years! I’m super excited to finally be producing my music and have complete creative direction in it. Alongside St. Kio, I’m currently working with various bands and artists (Frosty + the 5000s, Ceramic, kelz, MARG, Polartropica) whether it’s composing drum parts, playing shows, recording, etc. In the past, I’ve been on different projects over the years with a lot of people who just didn’t understand my creative vision so I decided it was time to venture out and finally make my music with my vision.

I grew up in a musical family so I ended up teaching myself drums when I was 4 years old. I knew from a very young age that I wanted to become a drummer/musician, which led me to attend Orange County School of the Arts from 2012-2016. I wanted to become a multi-faceted musician so that’s when I started teaching myself guitar and bass. After high school, I played a bunch of shows with different bands and artists I just got frustrated with not having any creative input.

During the pandemic, I started recording some demos in my bedroom. I didn’t think any of my demos were good but I sent them over to my friends who were super encouraging and helped give me the confidence to take my music seriously and publish it. I had so many doubts about pursuing St. Kio just because the music industry hasn’t been kind to queer people and Asians and I didn’t think I was good enough as a musician and as an artist. I was apprehensive because I thought I’d get discriminated against, but thankfully, I’ve received so much love and support! It took me 3 years but I finally released my first single, “Heavenly,” in November 2022 and I’m so grateful for all the love it’s received.

I want the world to just be able to enjoy and relate to my music. I write a lot about my trauma, depression, and anxiety but I don’t want my sound to be depressing or melancholic – I want it to be the soundscape for when you’re going on long drives by yourself, when you’re hanging out with your friends and just want some background music, a source of comfort for when you’re depressed or just want something to dance to.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
One of my favorite places ever is Huntington Gardens in San Marino, CA. They have so many different beautiful gardens and they have a ton of art there! I also love going to the Broad, LACMA, the Getty, and MOCA – they have some of my favorite artists there like Yayoi Kusama, Helen Frankenthaler, and Basquiat. I also really love shopping so thrift stores, flea markets, and garage/estate sales are some of my favorite places to go. If I want to see a new movie, my favorite place to catch a movie is the Paramount Drive-In movie theater.

Some of my favorite places to eat are Fogo de Chao, Din Tai Fung, BCD Tofu House, really any Asian food, and a big shoutout to Raising Canes haha.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to shout out a few people, first and foremost – my sister, Natasha! She’s motivated and helped me so much in every aspect of life and I could not have accomplished what I have without her.

I’d also like to shout out the queer community and Asian community for giving me so much strength and allowing me to be vulnerable. I used to be so ashamed of being queer and Asian, but I’m so grateful for all the people I’ve met in these communities because they’ve genuinely empowered me and helped me feel comfortable in my skin.

I’d also like to shout out my dogs – Baby, Penny, Tyra, and Mimi haha.

Website: https://linktr.ee/stkio

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stkioband/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-bandoquillo/

Image Credits
Robin Truong Chloe Daniels