Milestones

My road in life has taken me all over.
Wanted to be a guitarist.
Taught myself how to play at 13.
Started a band at 15.
Played terrible music at terrible shows.
Realized I had more learning to do.
Got better at guitar and taught myself digital music production.
Released a solo album.
Built a band and raised over $10,000 on Kickstarter to fund our second full length record.
Keep following my journey

Education

High School
Santa Teresa High School

Career

Musician

I write songs on guitar and Gameboy.

Career Roadmap

Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Music
Writing
Communicating / Sharing Stories

Day to Day

As a songwriter my day kind of gets divided into the technical aspect and the creative aspect; I'll decide which part of a song to work on, the lyrics, the music or perhaps both, and then assemble the tools I need, usually recording equipment to keep track of ideas, notebooks or a laptop to write down lyric stubs, instruments (I primarily write on guitar and Nintendo Gameboy - look up Chiptunes if you're unfamiliar how that works). Some days I'll just write, other days I'll just arrange.

Advice for Getting Started

Here's the first step for middle school students

Never stop writing. The music I wrote in middle school was terrible but I just kept doing it. Record everything you do - that was harder to do when I was a kid because digital recording devices weren't as plentiful. If you have an iPod or a phone with a voice recorder, record everything you do and listen back on how you can improve. YouTube tutorials about audio engineering are amazing. Play with Garage Band if you have access to a Mac or an iPad.

Recommended Education

My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Parents:

"You need to finish college to have a real career."

Challenges I Overcame

Financial