We were lucky to catch up with Rene Guitarrista recently and have shared our conversation below.
Rene, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
When was the first time you knew you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally? Give us the backstory, so we can understand the context and the circumstances and re-experience that moment with you.
Hello. My name is Rene Guitarrista, and I am a professional musician. I create the music, write the lyrics, and play lead guitar with my three-piece band, the Hedonistic Punk Vatos. We are from the DFW, Metalplex in Texas and we only play original music, no covers. I emphasize this because it is much harder to create new, original music, than it is to cover a song or sound like someone else, and this differentiation is a source of deep pride for me.
Honestly, I think we all know at a young age if we are creatives. It doesn’t mean you are naturally talented because there are naturally talented people who don’t pursue the artistic path to a professional level. This is different. This is something of an innate drive and belief in oneself. There has to be that something, that uncomfortable feeling which pushes you to complete whatever you’re working on and make it as close to perfect as you can. This drive to spend hours crafting your art and honing your skills is what I am talking about.
Honestly, I am not a natural musician, and I have seen better skilled people give up or not reach their potential, but I am still here, still making music for 37 years since I first picked up the guitar I received for Christmas when I was 14. I’m still driving to gigs, loading, unloading, spending hours upon hours working out a riff or daydreaming all day thinking of lyrics or topics for lyrics. This isn’t a fad, it’s a way of life. I NEED music just like how our world needs the sun.
With regard to the first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path, it was more of an inspiration when I had my first show. I won’t say professionally because I don’t think people say when they grow up they’re going to be a professional this or that. This path just happened from my dedication to music. I eventually just started getting paid for doing what I was doing for free, only I’m not just a guitar player or just a singer songwriter, I am a musician. That’s a term I don’t use lightly. Anyone can be in a band, play music, and be a player, but those of us who know understand what being a real musician is and I’ve dedicated my life to being worthy of that moniker.
I joined a band when I was in 8th Grade in my hometown of San Benito, TX. My friends from school band said they needed a singer, so I showed up to the audition with my guitar, parents dropping me off with the station wagon full of kids, my first time going to anyone’s house not family. I couldn’t sing or keep a harmony, but I did have a guitar, so my friends Larry and Arnold showed me some power chords where all I had to do was count and there I was in my first band just because I was the only guy they knew who had a guitar! Gotcha! was our name and we stayed together until we graduated high school when went our separate ways to college and the military. It was the 80’s and we played New Wave music. Our first gig was at a girl’s birthday party from our 8th grade class, and we only knew five songs. Our singer Larry couldn’t face the crowd so he sang facing the drummer and our bassist Arnold spent the show whispering to him to turn around and sing to the pretty girls. After the third song, the parents went inside and we were left with a group of girls cheering us on in the garage. When we had played our five songs twice, the birthday girl, the prettiest one of the lot, wanted to play a game where she proceeded to deliberately point a coke bottle towards me and whisked me to the back of the detached garage where we had to swap shirts. Not only was it my first ever show, but that night I got my first real kiss. Under the moonlight, she said I was the coolest guitarist she had ever seen, and I knew then to the depths of my being, that I would play guitar for the rest of my life.
Rene, 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?
Well, I think I’ve pretty much gone over this in my first response, but I will say that I go by Rene Guitarrista. I purposely misspelled guitarista because people don’t trill their R’s so I just wanted to emphasize that as my name is in Spanish. Most people tend to call me renae instead of rrreh-neh so I’ll introduce myself correctly at first, and when they stumble at the Spanish pronunciation, then I’ll tell them it’s okay, they can call me Renee. I speak about this because this is the type of attitude I have, and it is reflected in my music. I am a musician who writes music for myself to enjoy first and I only write about what I have experienced or spent deep thought and soul searched about. If other people like it, then even better.
My attitude has always been that if I were to walk into a bar and I see my band on stage playing, it would be the type of music I would love to sit down, order a beer, and listen to the whole set. That’s the kind of music I want to make. I’ve written stuff that friends have told me they liked a lot, but if I even get a hint it sounds like some other band, I’ll scrap it. I don’t want to be like other bands. Because of this, I think the music I make with my bandmates is wholly original, and it sets us apart from a lot of other bands. We have diverse backgrounds and influences so after everyone adds their little flavor, the music reflects that mix, and it sounds nothing like what it started off as. I’ve been playing with my drummer Scotty “Too Hottie” Hamilton for 13 years now. Our bassist, Matt Küss has only been with us for two years. When our original bassist retired, we started searching for the right person for two years. There were times we just wanted to pick someone close to what we were looking for; however, my attitude was to stay the course and get the right person. It was hard. I would say our search was well worth it, and now we are clicking really well as a group. The music comes easier to make because we are all having a great time making it. You can find us at www.hedonisticpunkvatos.com to see for yourself.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I think one of the main things people struggle to understand who are not ‘creatives’ of a particular form of art or content is that they believe it is easy to make or they believe it isn’t something which takes a long time to create, or an oft-used line is that they can make something better. What is easy to overlook is that they only see the finished product, but don’t have a real sense of the blood, sweat, and tears it took to get to the point of ever making the finished product. I can apply this to anything. We see the mechanic take a look at an engine and listen to it and he knows exactly what it needs to run, and people will get mad because he charged them $200 for fifteen minutes of work, but they don’t blink when a Dr. charges $50 for five minutes of asking questions, briefly looking at you, and writing down a prescription. You aren’t paying for the finished product as much as you are paying for the years of dedication and hard work it took to get the skills to be able to make that finished product. I think if there is one misconception about creating anything, it is this type of attitude. Once a person can respect the process, I think they can appreciate the finished product even more, contemplate its beauty, and assign it greater worth.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I firmly believe the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the deep, personal fulfillment, and happiness I feel inside the depths of my soul when I’m on stage playing the music I create and love. I must admit growing up there wasn’t much to do in my small town, and I started drinking and smoking at a young age and experimenting with substances. However, I learned early on that the best drug I ever took was when I was playing my guitar on a stage. After years of learning to become a musician, I started to really write my own material, and that is when I came to finally understand the only way I would truly be happy in life was to keep creating.
Honestly, I’m not thinking about being rich and famous, I have a job which pays me, but my real job in life is making music. I have been grinding for years, packing up my gear, unloading, setting up, playing, tearing down, loading up, and heading home at all hours of the night. I’ve never complained nor regretted any of it. People sometimes ask why my girl isn’t at my shows, but I know that when I’m doing my thing, I don’t have time for her then, and I don’t want her sitting by herself all night. Even after my set, I’m networking and talking to fans, or keeping an eye on my equipment, or setting up the next gig. I took her to a gig once, before we were married, and I went over every bit of what I do on a typical night when I have a show because I wanted her to understand me, and especially understand this way of life, which I have been doing since I was a kid for many years before I even met her. If there was a time I could have quit, I don’t remember, and it would have happened long ago. She knows when I’m gone all day on Saturday to rehearsal, or getting home at 4am after a show, or spending a few days on the road, I will come home to her and give her everything my soul has to offer. And I’m very lucky she understands that me playing my music refills that well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hedonisticpunkvatos.com
- Instagram: @hedonistic_punk_vatos, @rene_guitarrista
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hedonistic.vatos
- Twitter: @punkvatos4life
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hedonisticpunkvatos
- Other: Drummer Instagram: @richardscotthamilton, Bassist Instagram: @uncommonbass, Bassist TikTok: @uncommon_bass, Band Email: [email protected]
Image Credits
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