We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tanner Puzio. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tanner below.

Tanner, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I started learning music from a young age. When I was 8 I took guitar lessons, not because I necessarily was interested in playing guitar, but because my parents felt it would be good for me. Plus, I wasn’t particularly sport-inclined. I had always enjoyed music so it was great learning more about it. I took lessons until high school, learning how to play and write music. I joined a band in middle school playing the bass, and played the flute for 6 or so years. Ultimately, as I took lessons longer, I felt my love for guitar waning, and quit. I didn’t play again until I took my guitar to college. All of my roommates played instruments and it was a really inspiring environment. I started learning songs I actually knew and liked. It became really comforting to me, and I was sad that I ever stopped playing it.

My learning process felt so slow. I spent years learning songs I didn’t know as a kid and grew up with the greatest hatred for Bob Dylan an 8-year-old could ever have. I think those things really put me into a rut with guitar, but I’m glad that I had all of that foundational knowledge so young, because when I eventually wanted to play guitar, there wasn’t much learning I had to do. Now, I feel I’m constantly learning new things about music, and always seeking out more.

Tanner, 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?

I have been making music for six years as Lake Avernus, my solo indie project. I write, record, and mix every song by myself in my humble basement “studio.” I have produced several tracks for other artists, and am also a graphic designer in fashion.

When I started making music, I wanted no one to know about it. Growing up as an artist and a graphic designer, I was used to sharing my work. But music felt different. It felt too personal for others to hear, and I was afraid I was no good at it. My music, and my process, has evolved a lot since the beginning. I now see it as an essential part of who I am, and a necessary form of expression. Unlike other client work, music is made as entertainment. You dont get revisions when you work solo, so you have to check yourself. You need to push back on your own ideas and critically think about all of your decisions. It was really tough to learn at first. It was a huge barrier in releasing or showing anyone my work. Nothing ever felt finished.

I have now self-released 2 full-length records, 5 EPs, and a total of 60 songs under the Lake Avernus name alone. I have gone from creating folk music to rock to indie pop, and I know that Lake Avernus will continue to evolve as I continue to experience and learn more. I think it’s amazing to be able to look back and see this diary essentially of all of my feeling and experiences that I have documented through my music.

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 everyone can understand the feeling of failure, but it can really hurt as an artist to get bad feedback, or even hate, on something you make. It’s a different feeling than messing up at work, or missing the bowl when you pour your cereal. The first time, it can feel life crushing. Depending on how you hear it and from who, you might decide to never create again. You might decide to not be an artist. Every kid draws when they are growing up, but only a few keep drawing. Only a few kids grow up and decide to create for the rest of their life. I think a lot of people are told by someone or another that they aren’t good enough, or that they’ll never make it. I’ve seen it stop young kids, and I’ve seen it stop people from going to art school, or from getting a job in a creative field. That all creates this weird environment where creatives are constantly trying to do more and show that they have succeeded.

From my own experience, you are going to be critiqued, and some of it will be helpful and some of it won’t. If you have confidence in what you create, and can stand behind your creative decisions, you are going to be able to brush off the comments that don’t matter. Anyone who gives you a critique is ultimately trying to help you, and has your best interest in mind. It’s good to take in as many other opinions as you can and see how it might influence your work. You might love the result.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Being an artist is unlike anything else in the world. To be able to create something brand new that didn’t exist prior, whether it be music, or a painting, or a film, and be able to add that to our world, is incredible to me. It will never stop being amazing to me that we can create something from nothing. That we have the ability to influence culture, people, and history. To hold or hear or see something you have made on your own—something no one else has seen before—is an insane privilege that I am so happy to have known. I can imagine it mind sound ridiculous to others who haven’t experienced it, but it is addicting. I wish that every single person create something and feel how good it feels to add to what exists in people’s hands and minds. It is really just an unbelievable feeling to me, and it’s why I will create for the rest of my life. Music, t-shirts, posters, films, experiences. It all feeds that feeling for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lakeavernus.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/lakeavernus
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lakeavernus/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanner-puzio-95954a119/?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lakeavernus
• Other: New album “How to Relax”: https://album.link/us/i/1649005906

Image Credits
Parker Daniel, Tanner Puzio