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

Hi Gabrielle, thanks for joining us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

I’ve worked a few “real jobs”, and I’m still surprised how many of the lessons that I’ve learned in real jobs that are applicable to life as a creative. But, I think the most important lesson I’ve learned in a “real job” is how to teach myself on the fly. The same skills I’ve used to pick up programing tricks and engineering skills are the same ones I’m still using to teach myself writing and production. I don’t have a ton of formal musical training, but I do have the ability to learn.

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’m a musician and producer based in Vancouver, BC.

My project, Eva X is my baby – I write, record, and produce all the music for it. I released my first album, “I Dream of a Reality” last year. I love to blend genres – it’s a hybrid of electropop, goth, metal, and dance music.

I love playing live and I’ve been across Canada and the US playing shows as Eva X. Some of the events I’ve been lucky enough to play are Terminus Festival in Calgary, Mechanismus in Seattle, and I’ll be playing Dark Force Festival next year in the eastern US.

I’m fascinated by how humans shape and interact with technology – I was an engineer in another life. Some of my favorite tracks that I’ve created are about how we see ourselves, whether through social expectations or through media.

In addition to making music, I’m active in creating videos for Eva X and for other creatives and businesses in the Lower Mainland with my husband’s video company, Erik Gustafson Cinematography. My focus as a photographer and videographer is on creating striking, vivid images.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Like many artists, I had to make a major pivot in 2020. I had just released my first EP and was lining up shows across Western Canada and the US when Covid hit and ended all of those plans. I had to regroup and figure out what to do to get the EP out there. I did my first livestream only a couple of weeks after lockdowns started – it was just me in my basement at my computer, streaming from my phone. It worked well enough, and it got the word out to promoters that I could stream – I started picking up streaming gigs with promoters all over North America.

I don’t do it much anymore, but streaming really worked out for me – it got my music in front of a lot of people who I might not have otherwise connected with, and it really jumpstarted my career.

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

The most rewarding part for me is getting to connect with people who my work has connected with, whether online or at a show. It’s truly humbling to hear that my art speaks to people

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eva-x.band/
• Instagram: @eva_x.exe
• Facebook: facebook.com/evaxband
• Youtube: @eva_exe

Image Credits
Jon-Christian Ashby, Esme Louise, Erik Gustafson Cinematography, Montegraph