We recently connected with Gabriel Garnes and have shared our conversation below.

Gabriel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

When I was younger, I was always interested in movies and the actors in them. I knew it wasn’t real, but I appreciated how someone could make you believe something was real when it’s not . I also remember playing make pretend and being very into it as a child. You can do that for a job? I always thought, “I could do that”. So began my initial dream to be an actor. My parents took me to local theater classes and auditions, and I was able to perform all around Columbus, Ohio. With theater also comes musicals, so I learned a lot about singing and how music works (although I had taken piano lessons at a young age prior, so it wasn’t a new concept). As I grew older, I worked with adult actors, and learned that they were getting paid (my first example of getting paid to be an artist).

Fast forward to high school, I’m still acting in school productions and locally, but entering high school I started mingling with newer peers, and got invited to a concert with a group one night. I had been to a few concerts before but it was a massive arena, so it felt less personal. This show was smaller and more intimate. When the band came out I could really feel the sound and music in my bones, and I loved it. I was fascinated not only with the performance, but the sounds they were creating, to the lyrics of the songs. It all hit very deeply for me. Granted, it also helped to smoke a little joint that my buddy snuck in to enhance the experience.

From that point I started diving into different bands, artists, and albums to really study and see who and what is out there. My parents also had their favorite albums and music which I also appreciated and was influenced by, but I enjoyed going on my own listening journey as well. Obviously most of these artists were getting paid for their music and to perform, right? As high school came to a close, I decided I wanted to be like the people and artists I admired, and also wanted to learn more about how or why a song sounds good, how they make that noise, etc. That is when I began my journey to learning to create professionally by persuing a degree in Music Production.

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

Well my name is Gabriel Elijah Garnes, I produce music and write, whether its for myself, other artists, or small companies. My moniker is Localcolor, I got the name from an art teacher that was on set while I was living with my brother in Florida after I graduated high school. She was asking who I was since I wasn’t a student, but I was still on set. I said I just live down the street with some other students. She responded with “oh I see, I wasn’t familiar with the local color around here”. I liked the way it sounded when she said it. I googled it later, the first definition was “the customers, manner, speech or dress that contribute to a certain place to give it character”. The second definition was “the natural color of a thing in ordinary daylight, uninfluenced by the proximity of other colors.” I liked the concept behind both meanings, and felt I wanted to represent elements of that in my music. Therefore that is why I chose the name.

I am very excited to continue my journey and experimentation with music and I would love to bring along anyone willing to listen with me. I love amazing work and that is what I strive to create through not only just music, but many other mediums.

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

The best thing that society can do to support smaller artists is by simply giving them their attention. Meaning, watch that content, stream that song, share the content. Even the smallest thing of just pushing play helps artists immensely. Right now the most valuable commodity we all have (that is free) is attention. If you can give that even in the smallest way, I think many artists would benefit and be kept driven.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is working with other likeminded creatives. Although there is a lot of time I spend creating on my own, I find the most inspiration from other people. Sometimes another perspective is what I need to have an idea fully flushed out or taken in a direction maybe I wouldn’t have thought of. Not only this, but bringing a project to completion is quite rewarding. Over time a project may attain a different meaning than when you initially created it, and its cool to see that happen. Anything you create will automatically give you experience and room to grow. And like a planted seed, it grows over time. Lastly sharing what I’ve made with others and hearing how it impacted them is always a pleasure.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://iamlocalcolor.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabegarnes/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-garnes-6b6676190/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4VHjA1X52vFagdD8er3CIj?si=Mh58-wB5Sa-9yailzoZPEQ

Image Credits

Seth Garnes