We were lucky to catch up with Krystal Garcia recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Krystal, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I wish there was some cute anecdote or interesting story behind this, but the truth is, I’m just not that creative. “Distorted Heartbeat” is a song by INVSN, the Post-Punk band of Dennis Lyxzén (Refused, The (International) Noise Conspiracy). Lyxzén is one of my favorite front men and performers and I always admired his ability to constantly reinvent himself with each band he created. I had been a fan of his since the early 2000s so needless to say, my inner goth child was elated to discover that he had a Post Punk project with INVSN. “Distorted Heartbeat” in particular spoke to me, specifically the line “Broken dreams rarely mend, but they turn you into somebody else,” I guess because I first heard it during a pivotal point in my life. My first booking company had just come to an end and I was sort of at a crossroads on what to do next and where to go. I had definitely turned into “someone else” – I just wasn’t aware of who that “someone else” was till now.

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 am the owner of Distorted Heartbeat, LLC. I book shows for national and international touring bands wanting to make a stop in Dallas/Fort Worth and I manage the band SEVIT. I am also the vendor coordinator for Flea Harvey’s a monthly pop up market at Lee Harvey’s featuring vendors, DJs, and adoptable dogs from the Love Pit. I loved music from an early age – some of my best memories were driving around town with my mom just so we could listen to music. Unfortunately, I wasn’t gifted with any musical talents of my own – I can’t hold a tune and I don’t have the patience to learn an instrument. When a local band that I met online in a message forum for the Swedish band Kent (true story) in 2001 asked me to help book their shows, I said why not. I didn’t think I was particularly great at it – I booked them at some pretty shady places and with bands that didn’t match – but I got lots of compliments from the band about how they had never played so many shows and from venues exclaiming that I had made some of the most professional press kits they had ever seen. I also had a local DJ tell me I was very persistent. I didn’t think I was doing anything exceptional at the time (and sometimes I still don’t) but then over time I started to see how many folks got into this business for a quick power grab and would treat bands more like numbers and less like humans. That’s never been my ethos.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Being honest. It costs absolutely nothing to be a good human – but it can cost time and money to be a rotten one. Even though I’ve been booking shows for well over 20 years now, I still make mistakes. I’ve learned that instead of deflecting blame, its more productive to just say, “I goofed and here is how I plan to fix it.”

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

How about a real estate agent who also promotes shows? I am also a licensed REALTOR® and apartment locator. Although the two businesses are actually distinct, I never realized how similar they were till I was having coffee with a mortgage lender and he said, “So it sounds like you do the same thing you do with real estate just with a different product!” He was right – booking shows, like real estate, is all about identifying needs, negotiating, marketing, and representing your client (in this case, the band). There’s also been some crossover where I’ve helped vendors, musicians, and their family find homes and I always love it when my two favorite worlds collide like that.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.distortedheartbeat.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/distortedheartbeat
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/distortedheartbeat
• Twitter: distotedheartb
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLU3sHo-9GBG8fYb0kO-drg
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@distortedheartbeat