Meet C.J. Pizarro

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful C.J. Pizarro a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

C.J., we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

The story starts 20 years ago. I was an activity leader in a convalescent facility, handing out cookies and singing songs to the sick and elderly. Golden oldies, rock & roll, karaoke hits. I met a woman visiting her mother and would bump into her regularly. We fell in love. She was a mother of 2 and, as time passed, her kids became my kids. Becoming a dad this way was very special to me. I began writing songs for our kids, testing them out with the folks at the hospital. Writing songs for the young at heart was a natural fit and that’s when I became Mista Cookie Jar. Since then, a handful of my tunes made it onto Sirius XM Radio, Kids Place Live — and suddenly, my music was pumped out in cars across the nation. I’ve performed all over the country – art venues, music events, non-traditional performance spaces, and festivals, including appearing at Lollapalooza and sharing the bill with Paul McCartney, Tyler the Creator & Metallica (Mista Cookie Jar & the Chocolate Chips are at the very bottom of the 2015 t-shirt!). The kids sometimes performed with me as the Chocolate Chips. But now they’re adults and I rock out as just me, Mista Cookie Jar.

The Love Bubble became my first song, and every song I’ve written to this day is an extension of The Love Bubble. It was inspired by a conversation about the power and protection of love that I had with the kids’ grandma, Victoria, seventeen years ago. Confined to her bed, she expressed an eternal desire to look over her grandkids. This desire inspired me to write a song about a forcefield built from one magic ingredient: love. The more love you give the Bubble, the bigger and stronger it gets. You can travel anywhere in the world with the Love Bubble. Now that she has passed, I believe her spirit and love lives on with the music.

Needless to say, my family (and it’s a BIG family!) is the center of the Love Bubble. And the music is nothing without family. My beloved parents who raised me in a loving home. My siblings & cuzzos. Titos & Titas. Uncles & Aunties. Lolos & Lolas. Grannies, Grandads, G-Mas & Grumpas. The homies. The besties. The nieces, & nephews. My SOUL kids. And of course, ALL the honorary Chocolate Chips out there following the music. They ALL make it magic. Every song I write is a continuation of Love Bubble— 17 years of “universal love anthems,” I like to call them. While we may experience our run-ins with heartbreak and tragedy— like any family (how can you not have a pit in your stomach from the disparity in the world?) — I can’t imagine the love I feel nor the music ever stopping.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

As a 1st generation Filipino-American immigrant, I have an unquenchable compulsion for connection, no matter the distance. Even though I cannot travel as often as I would like, I am very close to my family in the Philippines. The experience is always rich— full of laughter. It always ends in tears — a beautiful kind of crying. And I feel so close to my cousins scattered across the world. To all Filipinos. All immigrants. There’s a kinship. An understanding. By virtue of shared commonality. There’s a Tagalog term, kapwa — community & connectedness. Perhaps without even being conscious of it, the idea has always been prevalent in the Love Bubble universe. “Love over oceans. Love out the shadows.”

Last month, I released my 5th children’s music album, “& the never-ending haint blue melody.” A triple album— taking the Love Bubble to the moon & the stars. Haint Blue represents the blue of the Love Bubble sheen. Haint blue— like ceilings of porches in the Deep South, where I grew up in the 80s— the color of the sky, a protection from ghosts. Originating from Gullah-Geechee traditions, brought over from enslaved Africans —it is known to be a guiding blue for wandering spirits trapped between worlds. The magic qualities of color resonated with me poetically, as it was a visual and lyrical symbol of the sounds and music rooted in African-American heritage, loaded with wisdom and beauty through such adversity and resilience. Serenity amongst entropy. I wanted to pay homage to the tone and melodies that inspired me. The blue sky in the sheen of a bubble is so striking. That extra bit of magic. A safe space connecting this world to that. The celestial. The spiritual realm. This is where my vision as an artist thrives. Creating and performing for the elderly and children — people returning to and coming from spirit. I’m in the blue period of my career. My music chases elation and celebration, but it’s born from darkness. From struggle. Through roots in the dirt. Through blues. Through jazz. Through folk. Through rock and roll. Through hip hop. Through house. It’s for everyone. The young and the old. It’s for the inner child in all of us. It’s simple, really. But its magic only works with the blue.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Gratitude — Learn to communicate your gratitude. Let your actions show your appreciation. Be fair and open with your business dealings. Never take for granted the countless invisible ways your inner circle supports you.

Research — Study the artists and works of art that give you wings. Know the shoulders of giants you stand on. Know the shoulders of giants they stand on. Appreciate your genre inside and out. Understand and appreciate the members of the community, artists, pillars, movers & shakers. Respect what they bring to the table. You will be a better artist.

Persistence – Stay resilient. Never stop learning. Practice every day. Keep your mind moving. Keep the energy high. Keep it fun. If you’re a dilettante, make rounds with your talent. Put effort towards your weaknesses. Learn your ignorance. Seek balance. Next thing you know, years down the line, you’ll be a master of a lot of trades

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

As an artist in my 20’s, I grappled with chaos. The avant-garde spoke to me. Though I couldn’t get through it, my favorite book at the time was the Thomas Pynchon tome, “Gravity’s Rainbow.” Then I met a saxophone player named “Gravity Rainbow” on the streets of DC. His name was ironically similar. I have come to realize with age, this man had taught me great lessons on the beauty of simplicity. He popped up in and around my college campus, playing with a red, gold, and green rainbow painted on his nose, spouting beautiful melodies from his soprano sax. I took to him so much that I asked him to mentor me. And I would join him, I with my alto, him with his soprano. Gravity taught me many lessons, and I still hold them with me. He praised my skill for ornate melodies but urged me to slow down and master the simple ones, like Hickory Dickory Dock and Row Row Row Your Boat. I took it to heart, not just with saxophone, but with my artistry and beyond. Little did I know I would grow to become a children’s musician. Decades later, here I am, refining my craft. And I don’t see it stopping. Gravity Rainbow taught me the beauty of one perfect note. I’ve long lost contact with him — those were the days before social media. But if you’re out there, Gravity — thank you for your eternal gifts.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://callmemistacookiejar.com/
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/mistacookiejar
• Youtube: https://YouTube.com/mistacookiejar
• Other: https://Bandcamp.com/mistacookiejar