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

Hi Anthony, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Growing up I wasn’t surrounded by many professional creatives or career artists. I knew plenty of hobbyists though, which left me thinking I had to stay on some middle ground, playing music always on the side, making records, touring here and there but always working house painting and service industry trades. The moment that I knew I was destined to make a living professionally playing music was during the recording of my latest album in 2020. I knew that it was going to be a lot of work, but that I needed to start strengthening all of my creative muscles if I wanted to succeed. I slowly began turning away “normal” gigs for new opportunities, old ways of thinking for new songs of living, little by little transforming my life into the life I could envision. I believe that we must be fully immersed in our art in order to grow our skills and experience, at a rate that satisfies our desires and live a life congruent with our values and outpouring of creative being.

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

Colorado has been a great place for opportunity and growth. I have a little studio where I teach lessons, write songs and record demos. It’s place where I rehearse with local bands, and a creative place where my musician and artists friends can come to feel inspired and charge the studio with their energy!

Being a songwriter for the last 10 years or so, I have toured both coasts and Europe singing my songs, self released ep’s, recorded and played around in Nashville. All the things that you might expect and I am very grateful for every opportunity that comes my way. My solo project “Anthony Arras”, is Vogue Americana project. Currently I am a part of a residency in Fort Collins, Co. at Wolverine Farm Publick House and am working towards my debut full length record release “Toothy Grin” that is coming spring 2023. I also currently play drums for an artist named Mr. Fredo as well as record drums for local and national acts alike. As a multidisciplinary musician, I am glad to be in different projects as a drummer, and songwriter around Denver and Fort Collins.

It took me a little longer than I might have liked to start building my other artistic loves, and working towards the vision of what I am doing now. As a child I was given piano lessons and and a drum set when I was in my early teens; but I never liked the part where I had to work hard to achieve milestones in my playing and theory knowledge. I only wanted to create, write, have fun. Thankfully he universe holds onto your dreams. I’ve since learned that you must put in the time and the work; we must spend a lot of energy pursing our passions and discovering our own unique ways of solving problems and finding new ways to do the same old.

My goals for the next few years are to focus on community building and to be apart of a developing scene where there is healthy rivalry among artists. I work best when I am finding new connections, and bringing people together to create something new. My mission is to cultivate opportunities where creatives, young and old, have the resources available to access their full potential and to feel supported fully, within that community.

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

To be honest It has been a struggle to find the center of what drives me towards my goals, I’ve been a people pleaser a lot of my life and I spent a lot of time chasing dreams and sometimes, other people’s missions. When it came time to find my own motivations and values I was glad to discover my experiences pointed towards what matters to me most; sharing love with one another, and being vulnerable to art and to people. and trying to open people to feel their best.

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

Artists need you to buy their art. buy records instead of streaming, commission original pieces for gifts. There are numerous ways that people can engage with the artists. The last couple years has given the world such a unique insight into what a “creative” life really looks like and I am grateful that society is reevaluating what what it truly means. Society is doing alright, they are learning how to value artists and a flourishing creative environment. My only words are those of encouragement! Keep showing up to the things that matter to you, support those artists and spaces authentically, and you will help grow a healthy eagerness among young artists in your local scene.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://anthonyarrasmusic.com
• Instagram: Anthony Arras
• Facebook: Anthony Arras
• Other: [email protected]