Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marc Rodriguez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Marc, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on has also been a very recent project for me. Fool in Utopia (my musical solo project) released the album Arcadia in 2022. This project began before the pandemic, and some of the songs were written throughout. I was very excited to finally share this work with the world, and at the same time I was very excited to start on a new journey of attaining my PhD in Toxicology. When first trying to balance these two parts of myself, the album sort of fell flat on its face. I wanted to give the album the effort and recognition it deserved, so I pushed to rerelease Arcadia (Deluxe) which contained a previously unfinished song, Gemini, and some other live versions of songs. I came to a realization throughout my first year in my PhD, and it was that I would not be able to live my life giving up something that made it worth living.
Marc, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Fool in Utopia started as a solo spin-off project from my first band, the Frites. I started to record music in my dorm room throughout my undergrad, and have since released an EP and 2 albums. The theme of FIU is this idea that we live in this world, this utopia, believing that this is just the way things are — that this is as perfect as things can be — and for that, we are all fools. At least I am. I wanted to change something in the way that we interact with the world, with our planet. It’s very easy to exist in this world and not think of the consequences we have on the health of our planet and ourselves, which is why I wanted to do something about it. I have started my PhD in Toxicology and Environmental Medicine, in an effort to learn more about human effects on the planet and how it impacts us. This is intertwined with the ideas behind FIU, and I want to continue educating myself and spreading these thoughts through my music in the future.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
The goal of Fool in Utopia is to break open the communication barriers behind talking about consumerism, protecting our planet, and what we are really here to do as humans.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding part of being an artist is experiencing the energy that’s created when people are brought together for live performances. I love the unspoken connection that is celebrated under the guise of music. 
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.foolinutopia.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foolinutopia/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foolinutopia
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-rodriguez-61a18b1a1
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/FoolinUtopia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@foolinutopia