We recently connected with Wes Gonzalez and have shared our conversation below.

Wes, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. So, we’d appreciate if you could open up about your growth story and the nitty, gritty details that went into scaling up.

I’m definitely still in the process of “scaling up,” but when I think about how much has happened in the last couple years of playing music and booking shows, a few important themes come to mind.

It’s always seemed important to focus on:

1) what I have to offer and

2) how it can benefit my community, the music community.

I’ve found that having that focus usually makes for the best experience and the relationships I build along the way often means that help/support from the community comes back tenfold. The community feels like a garden. And tending to that garden benefits everyone, including myself. Sort of like a rising tide lifting all boats, but I don’t know how that saying fits into my garden analogy. The point is, there’s ALWAYS a way to contribute and everyone can win. And the big boats should help the little boats…in the garden…¯\_(ツ)_/¯

…so for example, I moved back to San Diego and started playing open mics in January 2023, I felt like I didn’t have much to offer, but I started a spreadsheet to keep track of the music open mics I was going to. It was a great conversation starter, “hey, I’ve never been here, have you? Are you looking to play more open mics? I’m sharing this spreadsheet with anyone looking to play out more…” Every time I went to a new mic I asked people if they knew about more mics and the list grew. I’ve probably made more connections that have helped me “scale up” my music through that spreadsheet and playing open mics than anything else. You can still request access to that spreadsheet here: https://bit.ly/sdopenmics

As another example, I used to book shows for music venues and I had an old PA system laying around. I’ve never been formally taught how to do live sound, but I’ve played in enough indie/emo/punk bands to know how to turn a microphone up loud enough to play over a band, so I started booking/running DIY shows. The same thing occurred here, I made plenty of connections and friendships through these shows that I’m very thankful for. They’ve helped me “scale up” my music because I learned about so many new spaces and artists to work with in the city in the process. I don’t know how else to put it; the more time you spend in a creative space, the more you learn about that creative space. I’d spend more time in that space and stop working altogether if I could haha

I guess that’s a good segue into a third guiding theme for me; folding what I have to offer and how it can benefit my community into what naturally draws my interest. For example, I really enjoy putting events together and creating intimate show experiences where people leave feeling like they got something special by experiencing that event in person…where seeing it over their phone felt like didn’t do it justice. And doing that with different artists in different spaces and curating those bills feels like a puzzle. And I don’t usually enjoy puzzles. And I think that says something.

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.

My name’s Wes Gonzalez, my stage name is Beige Radio, and I’m a solo acoustic musician who also produces concerts. Oh, and I sell beige radios: https://beigeradio.bandcamp.com/merch/bluetooth-beige-radio-speaker

You can stay updated with all things related to my music at beigeradio.com or my Instagram at @beige_radio. I’m working on my first full length album and have already released two singles from it with two more on the way.

I produce concerts under the name “I Hate You Presents” and I co-produce a monthly show at Mission Brewery by Petco Park in San Diego with a friend under the name “Tasty Beige Presents”. These shows can also be found on my website and Instagram

I’ve been playing music since time immemorial, but my most recent iteration began a couple years ago after taking a long break

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

One book that really affected my way of thinking and approach to music and art is called “Our Band Could Be Your Life.” It covers a handful of bands from the American indie underground in the 80’s that paved the way for a band like Nirvana to be able to explode in the early 90’s.

My key takeaways were that it showed that each band had radically different approaches to how they learned their craft and created their art. And how roles and dynamics within their groups differed wildly. Basically, it showed me that there were no rules aside from the rules you create for yourself and that while money can be a limitation, you can always get creative to work within your means. Oftentimes, the places where these bands were getting started didn’t have much of a scene and it meant working to create one. Oh, and it also taught me to not be afraid to get a little dirty or think any job is below me.

While I did read the hardback, books can be tough for me. Then I realized how much time I spent listening to podcasts and downloaded the Libby app to listen to free audiobooks from the library. I highly recommend Libby.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

This is a lesson I’m always having to unlearn, but to not focus on the outcome of any given effort. I remember a comic named Chris Distefano saying his dad always used to tell him “focus on the output, not the outcome.” I try to remember that because it helps me keep my focus on the work. On the art.

I can try to control how any given song or show is created, marketed, or presented, but its effect on people is largely out of my control. I’ve found that what moves and excites me is a decent barometer which is nice because it feels like I can create for myself while creating for others. But fine-tuning that barometer has really just been listening to what’s moved me in the music I love over years and years. So I’m always listening to new stuff, watching new shows, and taking in audiobooks so that I’m creating for myself, but also have plenty of inspiration to keep the process of “output” interesting.

Thinking this way also helps me because I really enjoy something once it’s created, but the process of creating it can seem tedious. I love when a song is done and performing it on the road, but writing it or being in the studio can seem really daunting to me, so finding ways to keep it interesting so I can keep my head down and get it done can really help.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://beigeradio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beige_radio/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BeigeRadio

Image Credits

Personal Photo by Gabriel Patterson (@gabriel.anthony.patterson on Instagram)

Additional Photos:
Live Performance Photos (Photos 1-3) by Rabbithutch Punk (@rabbithutchpunk on Instagram)
Nostalgia Cloud Artwork by Kael Cabal (@kael.cabal on Instagram)
Show Flyer Artwork by Beige Radio/Wes Gonzalez