We caught up with the brilliant and insightful RJ DeMarco a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
RJ, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I knew I wanted to pursue music when I was in middle school- I was always kind of picked on by other kids, and I honestly found my community with the music nerds (because I that’s exactly what I am!)
I was just learning how to play guitar in 7th grade, and I remember daydreaming about playing in front of the whole school in the auditorium. By my senior year in high school I was playing shows pretty regularly and knew that I really didn’t want to spend my time going after anything else- it was around that time I started getting into recording and production as well so I was making demos and learning how to record and edit way back then. I started out in a four track recorder, then moved onto a torrented version of FL studio on my moms laptop (sorry mom) until I finally got my own pro tools rig around 2012
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I started playing sax at a young age, and that lead to me teaching myself how to play guitar- throughout high school I was in a few different bands, I remember going to friends houses and plugging into old line 6 pod farm interfaces and recording guitar demos- I think that’s where I first got interest in recording. Fast forward a bit, I started making records around 2016 out of my parents basement. I was working at guitar center to build up my studio gear and I would spend every night and weekend honing in on my mixing and engineering skills.
Currently I’m living in California running a home studio out of my spare bedroom and producing/mixing music full time- people hire me to mix music they’ve recorded, they hire me to produce/record their music, all kinds of stuff- whatever a project needs. I can also play a bunch of instruments at this point so not only does that kinda set me apart a bit from other engineers but i think it also helps me be more versatile.
I think what I’m most proud of today is the fact that I’ve spent the past 10 years of my life working incredibly hard and now I’m 30 years young, living in California, getting paid to make art. Being a creative person often comes with a certain type of baggage, so it’s nice to take a breath and realize how far I’ve actually come.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Growing up I was always afraid that my peers weren’t going to like me for whatever reason- so I held back in a bunch of social interactions and situations, which in my young adult life lead me to be somewhat of a recluse. I had to readjust my perspective and realize that not everyone is out to get me all the time
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I love the idea of bringing to life ideas that have only existed in someone’s head- before songs are recorded, they’re just ideas, flashes in the pan, here and gone. When we record audio, we preserve it in time forever. I love building something that nobody thought was possible, making people feel things they didn’t know they could feel. It’s crazy that me in a room with a computer and a bunch of guitars and synths could create something that resonates with a human being on the other side of the world
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rjdemarco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rjdemarco?igsh=dmk2MjZ2Ympxdmk1&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rj.demarco?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Other: My band Fernway-https://www.instagram.com/fernwayofficial?igsh=enI2dHg1cmRsaThu
@fernwayofficial https://www.facebook.com/FernwayOfficial?mibextid=LQQJ4d
Image Credits
Karalyn Hope