Being a ''forever sideman'' - Being a beginner again - Another Freewrite.

Hello Steemit!

So , today I wanted to get away a little from my usual ''serious posts'' and just share some more of my personal side in the form of a freewrite , as some may or may not know , I'm a supporter of free writing.. (have you heard about the Week of Thoughts? ) So I thought I would tackle one today .. expect some rambling, going off-topic, contradicting myself maybe... who knows hahaha.. If you are with me until the end I'll give you a cookie :) .

- Being a forever sideman.

For as long as I can remember I have always been a project sideman , I always have avoided the ''main light'' but have aggressively pushed to make the things I'm interested in happen , this has kicked quite and interesting career for me since I have been involved in so many projects but somehow stayed quite unknown ( apart from my brief moment with a TV career that @meno spoiled on one of his MSP shows and now I am a meme hahaha ) or as my brother would say : ''anonymously famous''

I have been lucky enough to work , play , tour and produce for some of the big names back in my country , make music for TV shows , produced albums that made it to the radio ,been featured in quite a few music videos (one became viral even :P ) have a partnership with an independent label , my guitars and arrangements are in quite a big number of records .. so .. yes.. I've been one of the lucky ones . Just the fact that I can somehow make a living just from music is a win , I do struggle with bills as the music business is getting tougher but as with everything , we adapt , we keep going.

It's funny how this whole adventure that started when I was 11 years old when I picked a guitar is still going.. almost 19 years later .. yup.. birthday is close :P .. hitting the 30's soon. It all got started by a music teacher that ''found me out'' at high school , I have always been of a reserved nature but on High School i was extremely shy .. so I only played my guitar in my room and in school recess for myself ( and on presentations that I had to do in the conservatory.. boy how I shaked on those.. they were torture ). But after I was pushed to play Live with my electric guitar for the first time I kind of took over the challenge .. I would shake , miss notes, lower the volume , stop playing. And Omar (my teacher) was quite mean, in a good way though, to pushing me to gain confidence and ''earn'' the stage , I played my first professional gig at age 17 and apart from certain stages in my life where I quit to focus on other parts of my life , I have been pushing my journey through music.

One of my first professional gigs as a teenager , with singer Andrea Espinoza

After many spins of life I found myself involved with many of the most important artist in the country like Daniel Betancourth, Maykel, Los Intrepidos and then becoming a quite prolific session musician.. Since I kinda grew up fed up of living ''in the noise'' I invested money in recording gear and started shifting to production .. kicking another whole area of work for me .. I was mostly directing behind the scenes than actually performing.

It's ironic that I am a professional musician that dislikes city life and crowds hahaha... that's why I find myself investing time an energy towards my own studio and of course over here in this platform... it's all about networking in the end.. If it becomes sustainable then I could move away to a more simple and peaceful place and make my income from my own desk ..working on that! As a little achievement I did cover my bills this month from online studio work :D .. I'm not touching my STEEM earnings yet.. I only cashed out for the recording of my album.. we'll keep saving.. this is my bet after all..

This would be my office back in the day

I've been appearing in quite a few music videos.. unnamed though.. hehehehe.. but It's kinda fun to know ''you were there'' .. on a viral video , on a music video that made it to an MTV playlist and such... it's fun in the end :P

Look mom.. I'm waving my hair on an MTV video

Cheesy music video capture... again .. blurry on the side :P

Here is a live capture video from those days , fun moments indeed:

I also produced the music presentation for the Ecuadorian X-Factor to be premiered nationally a couple years ago , I ended up directing that session with three of the most important artists in the country: Pamela Cortes, Maykel and Jorge Luis del Hierro.

directing the session .. Maykel on the right

Pre-release gig with Jorge Luis del Hierro , Pamela Cortes and Maykel

Then the actual TV release happened , with my pre recorded guitars , again , no one knew I produced the thing hehehe:

After a few years of producing and working regularly in pop and commercial records I shifted into another direction and started to produce and promote music that was closer to my soul as an artist , hence why along Sergio Vivar and Gabriel Garcia we joined forces to push an Independent label called : La Real Sociedad from where we are actually pushing independent artists that have a more original sound to them. I was then involved in co-producing Stanley Parker's first album:

Stanley Parker - Bajo La Piel (Official video)

Again , my guitars all over the place but I'm going anonymous one more time :D

The whole thing is on spotify :

https://open.spotify.com/album/3uyTrj65ulzi4UFqAeTgZ8

I've been jumping around so many projects I don't know how to compile them together in a way it makes sense hahaha.. I'm a mess.. I know...

Chela Kills

La Chicha Power

Pablo Tevez and Anfibios

hahaha.. in the back.. with closed eyes... rockstar!

Pili Kay

JJazz

The list goes on... different projects.. different styles.. it's just kept going over the years :P... Oh.. I also got a song of mine played on a brazilian TV show :D .. yep.. I went with a pseudonym for it though hehehe:

This is the original song that I wrote alongside Carla Vera:

- Being a beginner again.

So , one of the reasons I never shared much of these around here it's because I am still of shy nature , even if you go to my Instagram account there is nothing there more than guitar noodling hahaha .. and I also wanted to have a fresh start here .. I'm quite simple and for the ones that know me I'm very approachable , I'm always up for an informal chat and joke a bit , if I can help in any way I'm always around.. it's just my nature.

From my previous experience , when someone creates an image around you.. some sort of barrier appears and I've always been against that .. I like informalities .. I'm the guy that can't find a matching pair of socks and not the rockstar hahahaha . Even with some of the important artists that I've worked with I have treated them like normal people.. some like it.. some don't... I don't care. I'm not changing my ways hahahaha.. Even after 10 years of knowing Daniel Beta he still doesn't get my humor completely hehehe... we are buddies though but I do ''bring him down'' of his cloud often... sowwy.

After many years of being a sideman, director and right hand of so many projects I am finally starting to push my own project .. crazy that it took me almost 19 years to gather the courage to get my own name on a small promotion flyer , and boy it was nerve wrecking... irony.

First time I got my name on a flyer as a songwriter to play for around 20 people.

I sincerely have no idea of what is the next step here as this is complete new grounds for me , at least I was able to get the recording of my album on the way.. at least that part is clear .. I have to finish putting the record together.. but what comes after? .. Also .. I never put a portfolio myself.. and I have little to now idea on how to compile all the work I've done over the years... so.. yes.... a noob again.. I'm fine with it tough , we are always learning and I guess at some point I need to put ''the two worlds'' together , of course here I like to be the geeky piggy that posts his songs but at the same time all of that comes with all the experience I have carried from the years before .. all of that part of me I should stop hiding I guess... ( one step at a time.. putting myself out like this is reaaaally out of my comfort zone but I guess I have to accept it all at some point hahaha ) Time to step out! hahaha

I'm still playing and doing work as a sideman , I enjoy it .. that part of me will always be active but I am setting my own personal goal of actually pushing my own personal life project and come up to the front with it , it's part of growing up I guess.

Even here I have followed that pattern , a lot of people don't know I am one of @helpie's co-founders , of course it works because of all it's members but it originally started with just @meno , @ankapolo and myself .. crazy how it has grown so much.. I can't believe it still !

I just put myself as a @helpie co-founder in my profile description... as silly as that may sound.. it's a little big step for me...

So .. yes... it's some rambling at this point from me.. but that's the beauty of free writing... it's releasing! Phew.. i feel lighter now hahaha!

Oh.. I did say I appear in a viral video right? ... ok .. here it is .. just to give a nice smile to @paintingangels for sharing it hehehehe ( love ya Serena) , get some popcorn and prepare to laugh

Ok , that's it for me today! ... As I promised.. if you got all the way over here:

you have earned this cookie!

Thanks for reading!

Pechi