We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kevin Capacia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kevin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I believe, like any job/career, there are your highs and lows, but as a whole I would say I’m quite happy and fulfilled so far in my career as a musician. The thought of choosing a more “conventional” 9-5 kind of job does come about from time to time when I’m dealing with struggles in my own work, but then I remember that I any job will come with its own issues whether its monotony, lack of fulfillment, or challenges from authority. The biggest challenge in my life is maintaining my own accountability being my own “boss”. Being a business owner and musician the majority of consequences will fall on me so I just have to ensure that whatever I’m doing, creative or business related, is done with focus and intent to maintain my standard for quality!

Kevin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started the Escondido Music and Art Co (EMAAC) with Mat Rakers in 2022 after years of teaching music at various studios. With my own studio it provides me the infrastructure to be much more openly creative with my own personal musical endeavors whether its composing, piano playing, or drumming. The studio is a response to my belief that the pursuit of music, as a career, should always consist of creating new music, performing, and teaching/sharing. EMAAC allows me a space to practice my craft, share it with my students, and provide me a sense of sustainable financial stability in my career. The space also allows me to build a community of musicians and artists to collaborate with, bounce ideas with, and just be in inspired by their own creative endeavors!

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

Societally I believe that people just need to continue supporting the type of art and music that resonates with them! I, for instance, am deeply inspired by the artist work of the BIPOC community, in particular Fiilipino-American works as I am part of that community. What I think needs a serious overhaul are the opportunities available to local artists and musicians. Part of starting my own business was to allow me the financial freedom and creative influence to pursue my own artwork and be able to easily share it within my community, while simultaneously providing those opportunities to the musicians and artists that work in our space.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

A goal of mine is to continue learning and interacting within my music. Whether its performing or composing I want to continue honing in my craft and explore new musical ideas. That exposure to new ideas is predicated, however, on listening and interacting with other artists and new cultures. Keeping an open mind to possibilities maintaining a sense of humility to my broad understanding of the world is vital, in my opinion, in continuing to grow not only as a a creative, but as a human being in general!

Contact Info:

• Website: kevincapacia.com
• Instagram: kcapacmusic
• Other: escondidomaac.com Instagram @escondiomusicandart