Before COVID-19 took over everything and shut it all down back in March, Providence soul-funk act Grizzlies were primed to rise to new heights in the local music scene. They have a groovy sound that the senses can’t deny and they were steadily gaining new fans every time they played a show.

Leading the band on vocals is Cranston native Cynthia Munrayos, who conveys charisma and vitality every time she grabs hold of the mic. Her soulful style comes from a bunch of different influences, which is what makes her stand out. She also has a pure love for the craft and it’s an infectious approach within the entire band.

We recently had a talk about what got her to start singing, her first influence being a ’90s pop star from another country, going crazy during quarantine and Grizzlies putting out some new music later in the year.

ROB DUGUAY:  How long have you been singing and what inspired you to feel comfortable with singing in front of an audience?

CYNTHIA MUNRAYOS:  I’ve been singing since I was around 10 or 12. That’s when I started taking it more seriously and I started singing on stage around that age as well when I was in sixth grade. My English teacher in middle school actually pushed me to pursue it because I spoke to her about a talent show that was happening. I auditioned for her and she asked me why I hadn’t auditioned before, since I was one of the last ones that auditioned. She told me “You need to do this, I think you’re very talented,” and she mentioned a very famous Mexican singer named Selena.

She died in the ’90s but she’s a huge staple in Mexican music and she crossed over into singing in English and stuff. I actually performed one of her songs for one of my first talent shows, and that’s really where I started to take singing more seriously and perform on stage. I did talent shows all throughout middle school and high school, I really wanted to continue singing when I got to the University of Rhode Island but I was scared of pursuing it as a career because I was unsure about it being a job. I was also very nervous because I wasn’t classically trained even though I did choir all throughout high school. I guess I was just scared to do it as a performance major.

I did love writing and that was my second go-to if music wasn’t there for me, which is very odd because it’s always been there. I was an English and journalism major for my four years at URI, but luckily during that time I met my current bandmates in Grizzlies, Josh Zenil who plays guitar and Mike Villani who plays bass. They were both in a club called the URI Musician’s Guild and they would jam, mess around, have fun and stuff like that. I was like, “Hey, would you like to jam sometime?” Because they were really friendly and nice to me and it turned out they were looking for a singer. I really didn’t want to let go of that music part of me because I always wanted to continue it rather than leave it in the corner and let it die off.

That’s what really got me into more singing and being more comfortable with it. I was always very nervous to sing on stage but I would always push myself because my dad would say, “Cynthia, if you really love doing this then it won’t be a problem for you to go up there. You just gotta keep doing it.” I would think about that and it pushed me to continue going on stage along with becoming close friends with Josh and Mike making it more comfortable. It was just a matter of doing it more and more.

RD: It’s awesome that you have that approach with the more you do it then the more you feel comfortable with it. Speaking of Grizzlies, what do you enjoy the most about performing with the band and being part of this funky sound that you guys create?

CM: What I love most about Grizzlies is that we’re a family first. That’s always key because if you’re not going to connect well with your band members, then it’s just not going to work out. That plays a big role in us connecting so well on stage and my favorite part of it is that once we’re playing live we all know our parts and we mesh into one act. After practicing for a couple of times with the setlist and all of that, once we’re up there we know what we have to do and we just do it. We connect well musically and that’s what is really important.

RD: Definitely, I totally agree. Who are some of your favorite musicians and bands? Who have you been listening to a lot lately?

CM: I listen to too much music but I always go back and listen to Hiatus Kaiyote. They’re a neo-soul band from Melbourne, Australia.

RD: Yeah, I know who they are. They’re fantastic.

CM: I think their aesthetic is definitely what we’re going for in Grizzlies. I would definitely put them in my list of people that I’m influenced by in my performance and my singing. I also listen to a lot of other singers like Amy Winehouse, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James and so many others I could name, but those are some pretty big ones.

RD: What have you been doing to stay creative during this strange and crazy year with the COVID-19 pandemic? Have you been working on any new music or other projects?

CM: At first, we were all staying quarantined so we really couldn’t practice or meet with each other. Our drummer Harrison Dolan lives in New York and Mike lives in Massachusetts. We had some projects that we had started so we all gave our input on what we wanted our new material to be like. Once we have something in the works, I’ll listen to it a couple of times to get a few different vibes from it and I’ll start writing some lyrics. As for music, that’s been about it along with listening to stuff we were working on before the virus hit.

Other things I’ve been doing to stay busy have been doing creative writing. I do a lot of poetry and stuff, I would let that keep me tapped into my creative side. You create something to do and I have so many things that I go to so I can keep myself busy. I have music, I do freelance writing and I also write poetry, so I go back and forth between those things. If I can’t do one then I’ll go to the other, so I always try to find something to keep me busy. I get so bored without it and after a couple days in quarantine I was going crazy. I needed to do something, so those are the things that filled my creative cravings.

RD: Does Grizzlies have any plans to work on new music before the end of the year? You kind of just alluded to it, but do you guys plan on getting together to rehearse or even doing some recording?

CM: Before COVID-19 happened, we had started to record with a friend of ours. We had all of the instrumentals done and stuff, but right when we were going to do vocals, this whole thing shut everything down. We’re currently working on having those two singles we were working on being released sometime by the end of 2020. They’re two singles that only need vocals, but people should definitely look forward to that. One is a song that we’ve played live before and the other is one that folks really haven’t heard.

To learn more about Grizzlies, follow the band on Facebook or visit www.grizzlies.bandcamp.com.