We caught up with the brilliant and insightful David Rios a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
David, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
We came from a small town called Snyder in Texas. It’s one of those small towns you see in movies where everyone knows each other. We all were in high school together throughout the early to mid 2010s and knew of each other not knowing we were all walking the same path. A couple of the boys wanted to play at a talent show for the school and that’s when they reached out to me to drum for them for that one specific show. From the moment we got into our guitarist’s (Pete) cellar and started to play our first song, we knew we had something special. Even though we may not have been really good or even sound remotely close to what we do today, we knew that this was meant to be. We had to pursue this further because nothing else in our world’s felt better than playing music together.
David, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
For me personally, being from a small town, there wasn’t a whole lot to do. We had a two screen movie theatre, a bowling alley, and a park. I grew up pretty introverted so when I got a guitar and a bass for Christmas, I dove in completely. I fell in love with music from a young age with my step mom playing Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder around the house and then when I discovered my own taste, I was completely obsessed. The rest of the band shares similar stories and I believe that’s what helped us discover the spark we had together. There’s nothing else in the world that felt right other than playing music.
Even though it hasn’t always been an easy ride, I’m very proud of the fact that we have maintained our relationship together since 2014. And now, over 10 years later, we’ve gotten to do things through music that none of us ever dreamed of. Playing shows for crowds, hearing people tell us how our music has helped them, meeting incredible friends and all the fun opportunities (recording, music videos) and endless memories we’ve made along the way.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Being in a band requires a lot of sacrifice and the biggest one we made was moving away from our hometown in Texas to Los Angeles for a bigger opportunity. We’ve missed so many big moments with family and friends to do this thing. But every decision we make has brought us more fulfillment and the universe keeps reassuring us we’re on the right path.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
Any goal you want to accomplish requires so much work and dedication. When we knew what we wanted to do with our lives, we completely dived in. We were young and naive but we were so high on life. Even when it gets tough now, we have to tap into that fire we felt when we made those first few decisions. It’s a journey, not a race. There’s never a finish line in sight but every step of the way is a step in the right direction. When you have the right people by your side, things are easier. When you do what makes you happy, no one else’s opinion matters. Even if it’s scary, you have to do it scared.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herestonowband/
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4tppxqyiuwhwHnMPv4mdGI?si=Q5vhcaHhQierAge-kmoYtg
Image Credits
Raquel Vasquez