Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Anthony Garcia. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Anthony , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

In 2001 I moved to NYC to pursue a career in music and to seek my fame and fortune and live out the rest of my days in a high rise overlooking Central Park. When I arrived I realized I needed a job. I perused some want ads for various jobs and came across a “Music Therapist” position. The pay wasn’t great, the commute was going to be a relatively arduous one and a half hour trip each way from my Brooklyn apartment to Hewlett, NY in Long Island’s Nassau County. But I needed a job and figured it might be easy enough. I would be working with Alzheimer’s patients in an outpatient day program and, although I was a little nervous at the prospect, I figured I could handle it. My grandmother had had Alzheimer’s so I was familiar with the progression of the disease first hand as I watched her helplessly in her final days. I took the job and was employed there for nine months before moving on to a similar job in closer Manhattan, only leaving because of the commute. While I was there, I led music sing along and performance time and over the weeks and months not only got to know the patients as people through hearing their stories of old NYC and WWII but through their favorite songs that they would ask me to learn. By learning these songs I felt transported to another time and imagined these people, who were now in their final years, as children playing int the streets of the greatest city in the world whistling and singing these songs that I was now learning and playing for them. Some of them were so taken by the disease that I got to know them through their caregivers, spouses and children. Sometimes in conversations after program, recounting old stories. And sadly sometimes at their funerals where I would stand in awe at display tables full of old photographs and letters. I couldn’t possibly summarize in any number of words the perspective I was given on life and mortality during my time working in the day program, but suffice it to say that I came out the other side with a different answer as to why I was led to New York City. I hadn’t come to achieve any professional or financial gain in my music career. I was led there to be given this humbling gift of perspective. I was handed a living portrait of the beauty, the frailty and the potential that life holds, and saw a different kind of power that music has and truly cherished it as a gift for the first time in my life. Instead of being consumed with the pursuit of something elusive and practically intangible, I saw the value in seeking within and that to improve myself as a human first was the goal worthy of my energy. As a result, I not only approached life with a new perspective but my art and creativity shifted focus as well: creating for myself first. Honesty.

Anthony , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a guitarist, classically trained pianist, vocalist and songwriter. I call my music Cinematic Americana. I treat each song as if it were a short film and the music is built to accompany the story of the lyrics and is sometimes a story within itself. I perform live with my four piece band around TX, out of state and in Europe annually. We’ve recently released a single and are currently working on several music videos.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Support live music. Encourage it and take part in listening when you find an opportunity. And I do not mean paying high dollar for admission to a corporate music festival. I am talking about the times you are in a small cafe, bar or restaurant and there is a local, working musician playing in the corner or a tiny stage. That musician is a part of what is keeping the concept of live performance alive and he or she has dedicated a part of if not all of their life to practicing, buying gear, hitting the pavement to book that gig, driving, setting up and tearing down all the gear to make the show possible. Tip them. Tell them you enjoy their music. And if nothing else, put your phone down and turn around and give them a little bit of your energy. As a listener, you have no idea how much simply putting your phone down and listening means to a performing musician.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

It is most rewarding when you are met with the challenge of creating a new song or piece of art. When you are presented with the vision and you know you have to do it but don’t want to or are afraid to in some way for fear of it now turning out perfect, or perfect to you. This is what I go through when writing a new song. And the best feeling is when I put in the work, take the creative risk. Once the song is completed, I am still unsure whether it is a good or terrible song, but the only way to find out is to play it for someone, sometimes for the first time in front of a crowd. The best feeling is when the audience gives an overwhelmingly positive and honest reaction. There is no better feeling than being on the other side of that process with an immense feeling of validation.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.anthonygarciamusic.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/nthonymusic
• Facebook: facebook.com/AnthonyGarciaMusicAustin
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AnthonyGarciaMusic
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6wsef765kConaXFjqDqoPX?si=71n_CTphTkaB9CmkgqHhRg