We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Antonio Duran a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Antonio, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I am a firm believer that risk is directly correlated to the reward that comes after. High risk does in fact equal high reward. Years ago when I started to realize that I was very comfortable in my own little world or bubble, I felt like the world was pushing me to open up a bit more in my field, and it meant taking a huge risk of moving not only out of my home state but across the country. I needed to move in order to earn my bachelors degree, and I was completely bought into the idea of having to suffer through a few years to see what will happen afterwards. Now that I am a few years removed and have earned a Masters degree in Jazz, but back then my Jazz playing had not gotten me anywhere just yet.
Moving to a new state by myself and away from everything I knew was the experience I needed because I was broke, but not poor minded. I was struggling, but the happiest I had been in life. I slept on the floor of my apartment for 7 months and had as much food as I did furniture; none. It forced me to alter my perspective and take each day as it came, which I look back on now as my own personal renaissance. It was a complete overhaul of my inner self, and I had a hyper focused attitude on becoming better. All of this was directly correlated with becoming the best I could at my craft. I loved the journey so much that it changed me.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a hired guitarist and singer, as well as an educator in music. My path has changed over the years, but it is always focused on the current path I am on. I started my career in Los Angeles and Southern California playing my own written music with the bands ILKA, The Union Drifters, and my own music under Anthony Duran. Once I got into the academic world I decided to focus more on teaching and educational content. I then moved into contracted work which had me playing at amusement parks across the United States, and now I work on cruise ships with a few talent agencies and travel the world playing in cover bands across many genres. Getting to this point took me around 2 years of trying to break into a new industry, but getting denied for the entirety of that time frame. It took a lot of learning and experience, but also an unbreakable confidence and curiosity about an industry I knew nothing about. I would fly across the country for an hour long audition, only to get denied. I started to apply to work endlessly and basically made it my day job, and rejection just became part of the process. At some point I knew I would get my foot in the door, and it came at the perfect time.

What sets me apart is once you are near me, I lead by example and try to elevate everyone around me. It doesn’t involve being vocal, it is seen from my actions and my willingness to get better. I am a team oriented person from playing sports growing up, so a certain type of attitude is needed to show up every day at your job and know that you love what you are doing. I have an endless curiosity about playing guitar, and my craft in general. When it is something you approach with curiosity, you will always find something to keep you motivated. I decided I wanted to play guitar for crowds when I was 10 years old, and the goal has never changed. My work ethic has, and to me that seems like the perfect combination for success.

I am most proud of how I can reset myself every day and realize that I am doing what I love. I am most proud of the fact that I dedicate my playing each night to my mother, who passed away suddenly in 2021. She was my biggest fan of course, and I now paused playing as a sort of communication with her. I don’t count the wrong notes though. It is part of the love for doing this, and now I get to play all of the songs that she use to use in her dance routines back in the day. I have a custom guitar built by my best friend Andrew Cuellar from Fender that is my “means of communication to the heavens” as I like to say.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In 2021, my mother passed away very suddenly from Covid-19. The entire process took only a week, and at the time I was half way through finishing my masters degree in Jazz Pedagogy at West Virginia University. I was also stuck in West Virginia due to restrictions, but I had also tested positive for the virus. The virus spread so quickly that my mother had left home to get a check up at the hospital but never came back. All the while I had to take endless phone calls from the doctors an entire country away, as she was in Southern California.
It was such a huge loss because my entire goal in life was to buy her a house after I “made it big”, and had specific plans to do so, or at least try and give her a better life. When she passed, I had no purpose any more for anything, and that became my biggest struggle. I no longer had a goal to chase, just anger at how the world could be so cruel. I had so many unanswered questions, that I didn’t know how I was going to live my life with the story not finished. But then, I realized that those moments were my story, and I could endlessly pursue something to fill that void of unanswered questions. Music and projects became my way to communicate. I had seen so many signs of her popping up around me, and for me they would manifest as cardinal birds visiting me during huge opportunities in my life. I couldn’t ignore the signs, and I used it to drive me. Now, I play each night on that custom guitar I named “Cardinal”, for its deep red body color and unique features. Also, it is my only way to communicate directly to my mom every time I hit the stage.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the most important lessons I had to unlearn is the mindset that life had to be “fair”. Many times, as humans we want there to be a reason behind why something fell through, or didn’t go our way. Sometimes it just happens to be that way, and for me it seems more like these events are placed in our lives to test our character. You can see how someone’s true character when times get tough, and that’s where resilience comes in. While I was going to school for Jazz, I was never the best player around. Likewise, I was probably the worst because of my attitude. I was so wrapped up in the world being fair or not, and would think it was unfair when my professors would scold me or say something hurtful. But in many ways, they were a test of my character. Luckily I dropped the attitude, and gave myself to learning as much as I could. I would then earn more respect from my mentors, and I was able to turn myself from a college dropout with a 0.2 GPA, to later earning Associates, Bachelors, and Masters degrees in Jazz 10 years later. This shift in mentality of course still helps me today as I travel the world and deal with industries far more powerful than me. No opportunity is promised, and we are not owed any opportunity. I believe that if we can get past ourselves and not think that we are owed anything, but work with gratefulness and passion then the world will hand us rewards more often. It allows one to be in the moment, and realize that the present opportunity was given at the right time to the right person, so don’t take it for granted.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @antonio_duran_official
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/antonioduranmusic
• Youtube: @antonio_duran_official

Image Credits

Picture 1: unknown
Picture 2: Victor Duran Photography