We were lucky to catch up with Gerald Cerda recently and have shared our conversation below.

Gerald, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Yes I have. The first step into making a full time wage in the creative space is pretty much a leap of faith and hoping for the best. I was waiting tables when I decided to pursue my creative field full time. I decided to quit my full time serving job after 2 months of making my rent solely on production and songwriting for other artists. The first few days were a bit weird, not being on someone else’s schedule takes some getting used to, but eventually you fall into a routine. Financially I was able to live from day one, however it was definitely a struggle, most months barely making rent and enough to sustain myself.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I first got my start in the industry on stage, performing in various bands, but it wasn’t until I moved to LA where i started writing, and producing for other artists. After a number of years on my own i took an apprenticeship under Platinum producer Brian Alexander Morgan. I engineered and studied under Brian for about 5 years before eventually leaving to pursue more on my own. I have released various solo records, since and have started a new rock project called “NVM, ILY”. I still take on new clients whether it be production, songwriting, or mixing but in recent years I have moved into the creative tech space and have put more focus on my artist projects.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My family plays a huge role in my creative journey, I come from a family that you wouldn’t think I did upon first glance. However I grew up in what some would call a “ghetto” with plenty of family members in and out of correctional facilities. With this sort of childhood upbringing my parents did an amazing job at keeping me and my siblings eyes forward on our goals. Though it wasn’t until my father saw my band perform at halftime for a spurs game that he began to realize this was more than a hobby they were always very supportive and taught me how to be resilient and hard working.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Fake it till you make it. This saying in my opinion has no place in the arts. I spent some time in my early LA career trying to subscribe to this model, and to be honest I come from an honest hard working musical scene where you can have 10 monthly listeners or 2 million and still sing along to the same blink record that you both grew up on. In my experience Faking it only leaves you creativity a little less genuine.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/geraldcerda
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/geraldcerda
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerald-cerda-680569256
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_tHN435JKHQEp_8oS0BRtA

Image Credits

Hi Res (Caitlin Allen @caitlinallenphotos) Troubadour live (Rex Windland @rexwindland) Other live photo (Mark Yirrel @yirrellmark)