We were lucky to catch up with The Licata Brothers recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, The Licata thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
We feel our parents found the right balance of giving us the freedom to pursue our interests but having enough discipline and structure to ensure that we stuck with it for a reasonable amount of time. When we were five and eight years old they saw we had an interest in music so they let us take music lessons but made sure we stuck with them for a full year. We felt this was smart because kids quickly change interests so having them stick with something long term gives them discipline to see commitments through to the end. This discipline and delayed gratification has given us a consistent work ethic in our career and got us through many obstacles because we knew they could be overcome if we continued to put in more time and effort.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
We are The Licata Brothers, an inspirational-rock duo from Arcadia that has been playing in the greater Los Angeles area for over fourteen years. We blend the classic rock and roots music we grew up on with more contemporary styles of music while having an uplifting message that has a positive impact.
We started our music careers at ages twelve and nine, attending a local open mic in Altadena every week playing classic rock covers. Playing regularly allowed us to fall under the mentorship of several adult musicians who gave us voice lessons and got us in venues, first as opening acts and then as headliners. Over the years we have performed across SoCal and have expanded our radius to other parts of the country and even around the world (Canada, Ireland, and Samoa to name a few).
Aside from releasing music which we hope will empower people, we also perform classic songs at nursing homes to remind the residents of their youth, teach guitar lessons to beginning musicians, and record new artists at our home studio to encourage them as they start their careers. We are happy that we have gotten to a point where even though we still have so much to learn and grow, we have gained enough experience that we can give back and help young artists who are just starting out, just like the professional musicians who did the same for us fourteen years ago.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Our mission is to serve others through our music. This informs the songs we write in that we choose to release music that is empowering rather than materialistic and demeaning. This has inspired our goal to create an ethically run record label. Many labels are driven by greed, which means artists are demanded to meet unrealistic expectations and left in debt to the label rather than being given the time and resources they would need to grow as artists and create music that innovates rather than chases the latest trends. Our label would instead nurture artists to realize their full potential and only take enough money to cover administrative costs, not create the lopsided contracts we see in current labels that rob the artists of the money and ownership of their material they have worked so hard to create.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
One thing that would help nurture a creative ecosystem would be the elimination of the pay-to-play system that many venues use. We understand that businesses need to keep the lights on; however, these contracts often leave artists playing for free or owing the venue money because the venue takes virtually all the ticket sales. This makes it difficult for musicians whose income depends on gigging to make a sustainable living. Many musicians will instead play at restaurants. Since restaurants often ask musicians to play only for tips, encouraging businesses to pay their musicians would be another way to help artists grow and make a sustainable living.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelicatabrothers/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Licata-Brothers/61567187259744/
- Twitter: https://x.com/licatabrothers
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Licatabrothers
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-686843738
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thelicatabrothers?lang=en
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0DkIIie4kFLJXAJMWiOvZa
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/the-licata-brothers/1472800162
Image Credits
Mathias Fau
Tyler Randles
Lynda Kay Bruton
Jamie Higgins