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

Mike, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I learned by listening. By that I don’t mean I learned everything I know about music and my craft by ear. Certainly it is important to listen to music and players you admire in an attempt to learn from them. However I listened intently to the great teachers I had regarding their advice on my development. I listen intently to every colleague of mine that I perform with to make sure I am complimenting the performance to the best of my abilities. I listen to my heart daily in order to check in and make sure I’m on the path that’s most important to me creatively.

With regards to speeding up the learning process, it’s not something I ever concerned myself with. Progress happens on it’s own schedule. As long as your goal is self improvement you’ll land on your feet. I just try to enjoy the journey given the skills I have while trying to improve upon them

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born in Lowell, Massachusetts. to Greek immigrants. My first instrument was accordion but that journey was short-lived due to the advent of MTV. I of course soon discovered the music of Van Halen, Huey Lewis and the News, Bryan Adams, Def Leppard et al. I was very much a pop and rock child until making the decision to attend Berklee College of Music after high school. It was during this time that my musical palette expanded as I was exposed to other styles such as Jazz, Funk, Fusion, and Classical. The talent that existed within both the faculty and the student body motivated me and sent me down a path of self-improvement that continues to this day.

After graduating from Berklee as a music education major, I immersed myself in the Boston music scene. I taught in various capacities during the day and played in every type of professional situation I could at night and on weekends. Wedding, rock club, jazz spot, musical theatre, big band, and solo performances were readily available at the time and Boston is a rich musical breeding ground. I took full advantage of what it had to offer. I soon enrolled in graduate school and earned a Masters in performance from the University of Massachusetts Lowell as well as forming the Mike Valeras Group. This was my first outing as a leader and afforded me the opportunity to focus on my composition and explore my individual voice on my instrument. My commitment to self-improvement never waned as I continued to study privately with local legend Bruce Bartlett as well as the late great Charlie Banacos.

In 2009, my wife and I made the move to Nashville. After a few years of battling it out in the trenches of music city, I was offered a job on the guitar faculty at Belmont University. The position provided a reprieve from some of the work I was not passionate about and allowed me to once again focus on my interests of guitar performance, pedagogy, composition, and improvisation. I currently lead a new incarnation of my original project, The Mike Valeras Trio featuring Wes Little on drums and Brian Allen on bass. I also enjoy sideman work for many of the talented jazz artists here in town as well as taking on private students of my own.

The past 13 years of living in Nashville have been some of the most formative and fruitful of my career. I’ve had the opportunity to play and work alongside musicians such as Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan, Keith Carlock, Jeff Berlin, John Scofield, Kirk Covington, Adam Nitti, Roy Vogt, Bob Harsen, and Michael Whitaker. I’m very grateful for what this town has given me and I’m very excited for what the future holds.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Moving to Nashville with zero connections from a completely different musical culture was by far the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. I quickly learned that you can not rush anything of value in life. Any ability, craft or opportunity needs to be nurtured over time. It took about 10 years before I felt that I had found my place here. Working hard every day was paramount. Any thoughts of despair or impatience had to be replaced with hope and attention to an overarching goal. I also learned that good relationships made early on are the seeds to the opportunities you will get down the road. Don’t take anyone that crosses your path for granted. They could become very important in your future.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

When I was younger I felt that command over my instrument was something I had to have over the next person rather than a means of personal expression. Competition in the creative arts is a figment of our imagination. When I was coming up younger musicians and artists were always looking at the people they viewed as their competition and comparing themselves to their achievements. What we do is not the Olympics. There is a place for everyone in our field because we are all innately unique people. Find a scene that inspires you and support it. Help those around you to be their best selves. Your own endeavors will thrive as a result.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mikevalerasmusic.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/mikevaleras
• Facebook: Facebook.com/mikevaleras
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-valeras-b54263250/

Image Credits
Mike Valeras