We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Storm Guevara. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Storm below.

Storm, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

If I could go back in time, I would have tried to start writing music sooner. Music has always been apart of my life but I never thought about creating my own until much later.

I can’t remember exactly when but I was gifted my first guitar in grade school. My fingers couldn’t fit around the neck and I was easily discouraged. I learned chords here and there but didn’t take learning how to play it seriously until high school after my mother signed me up for a couple of lessons. The best piece of advice my teacher gave me was to look up tabs and chords on ultimateguitar.com. I’m a 90s kid, so that meant logging in and printing endless amounts of chords and tabs from bands like Blink 182, Paramore, and System of a Down, just name a few. It’s easier to learn your instrument when you’re learning what you WANT to play.

My last year of high school I needed an elective credit to graduate. The class I chose was vocational band class, which had students create bands who played different genres of music. The genre I chose to join was reggae. I played lead guitar and at the time my rig consisted of a Yamaha Pacifica and a Roland Cube. We would perform in front of the class where our teacher and classmates would critique us. Outside of class we played football games, or sometimes put on a show at lunchtime. We were covering alot of Tribal Seeds and Rebelution back then.

Once I graduated I left my guitars and enlisted in the Air Force. I ended up getting stationed in New Mexico then deployed to Ethiopia. So for the next several years I would go without playing or performing.

After separating from the Air Force I moved to San Antonio and started playing with the church band my cousins were in. When we weren’t playing for church we got paid to play reggae music at a Mexican restaurant I used to wait tables at. That band covered alot of Rebelution, Soja and The Expendables.

After a few years I got a job selling cars at a nearby dealership and was extremely passionate about that job to the point that I thought I was never going to perform again. I would still make time to see some of my favorite reggae bands when they would come to town and eventually I felt called to write my own music.

Fast forward to today. I am the songwriter, vocalist and guitarist for the reggae rock band Kaya Kotura. Since starting this project we have released 11 original songs and I have guest featured on two other artist’s respective albums (Michael Sky and Stonetribe). We’ve captured listeners in 110 countries within the last year and I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the stage with some of my favorite reggae bands. Huge shoutout to my bandmates Joel, Aaron, Alex and Brad for helping me bring this project to life the past several years.

Once in a while I take a break from music but it always seems to find it’s way back to me. Naturally I’m curious what life would be like if I could turn back time and started writing and creating sooner. Even so I’m just glad I started.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Storm Guevara. I write, sing and play guitar for the reggae rock band Kaya Kotura. We’re based in San Antonio, Texas, so you might catch us playing at venues like Vibes Underground. The Rock Box or if you’re in Austin, Flamingo Cantina on 6th street. You can support us by checking out our music catalog and sharing it with a friend!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

If there is one particular goal I have that drives my creative journey it would be to inspire other creatives to put their art into the world and see how far they can take it. I meet so many talented people who haven’t taken a chance and I try my best to encourage them to create as well.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think a great way to support artists and creatives is to share their art with friends we think might be interested in it. It takes minimal effort and doesn’t require payment! Even if you can’t relate to the art or the product you might know someone who will.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kayakotura.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaya.kotura.music?igsh=aG1yMWkwOGFoOXJn
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kayakotura?mibextid=ZbWKwL
• Other: Linktree to music:

  https://linktr.ee/Kayakotura?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZJneG88Lsuj4RqX40IYCGXUU820-_L7_QHlZTPMHSDtVMG_qbEX2bSKyQ_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw

Image Credits

Personal photo cred: Jay Hawkins