Today we’d like to introduce you to Louis V.
Louis, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I got a guitar around the time I was in high school and grew up listening to classic music like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, etc, and in that order! My neighbor Kevin got me into guitar and taught me the Alien Ant Farm cover of the Michael Jackson classic ‘Smooth Criminal.’ The rest is history. I was hooked. It wasn’t until I went to college at SDSU was I introduced to jazz. There was something about it that really caught my attention and I could tell that it was worth a lot. There was an honesty and wisdom to it that I knew I needed to understand. And looking back I was right. I am glad I took what seemed like a leap of faith. It’s like surfing, you have to commit if you wanna get a wave.
It was a lot of work though especially when you are putting yourself through school and trying to get better to get gigs. I felt like I had a late start, a lot of my friends in school had been playing jazz in high school. I was from Lakeside, no one listens to jazz in Lakeside…closest I ever got looking back was my friend Sanders’ grandpa used to take me and my twin sister Cristina home in his dark maroon car with leather seats and he used to put on smooth jazz, which is pretty hilarious and kinda foreshadowed my interest in jazz even though smooth jazz is not what I would consider ‘real jazz’ sorry smooth jazz but then again what is jazz really. I like the comedic element to it, so it’s perfect. We won’t go down an existential rabbit hole but if God is real, then they definitely got a sense of humor.
Eventually, I got to a point where I was playing some gigs and teaching a lot to then moving to playing only gigs and not teaching as much. I started playing all sorts of music besides just jazz, including Afro-Cuban music, Persian music, Latin jazz, top 40 ‘pop music’ and then a lot of gospel music when I got a church gig. This was a turning point also for me musically. I had been studying even after I had graduated on my own everyday and through my gigs or as we say ‘on the bandstand.’ I started playing every Sunday at a predominately black church so we are playing black American gospel music. Immediately I knew there was something to it. I had the same feeling as I had when I listened to ‘real jazz’ for the first time. The conversation musically was amazing. The music felt really good and you could tell these guys knew what was up just as they did in the jazz world. In the church, though they don’t write anything down, it’s all by ear. This really forced me to listen like I never had had to. These guys taught me so much they had HUGE ears.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
Right now I am working on writing my own music and recording. I have gotten into the recording arts and helped open a music and recording arts school in Eastlake called Avant Garde Music Company (AGMCSD.com)(@agmcsd) I plan on recording a jazz record and then another record of my own songs that I have been writing. I like the idea of recording an album that is in the spirit of jazz but still is my own interpretation of it through the tunes I write. Then I plan on the second record being a more produced album of my own tunes. Like actually singer-songwriter songs.
Produced in the studio Electric Ladyland style (hendrix album) in the studio at AGMC at my leisure. We have all the recording gear and software to do it on my own. Then part two of that would be to record that album live in the studio there as a live studio recording. And then after that whatever else I can continue to explore and write. With my songs, I just try to be as human as I can. Just be honest and feel. I seem to me humans are inherently artistic. There’s an art to everything you just have to find out what your art is.
What do you know now that you wished you had learned earlier?
Like I said earlier its like surfing you gotta commit if you wanna catch a good wave. Keep your head down and continue to try and progress. They say it’s about the journey and I think they might be right haha. It can’t happen overnight. Be proactive and focus on the good things.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
Every Monday Jazz Jam session at Rosie O’Grady’s pub in Normal Heights 9pm – 12am I have had this jam session going for about three years now and we are going stronger than ever. It’s a great place to hang and listen to music and to interact with a diverse scene of people. This jam is in the spirit of the jazz tradition and is a place to learn and relax. Some of sd’s best musicians show up and perform here. The house band is full of sd pros in the jazz community and is a place where other musicians and artists hang out on Mondays. The vibe is great and the word is starting to get out cause its packed every week. It’s all the people that come and support that really make the vibe what it is. The music is great and the people there are a reflection of that. Some of the best people I know.
Every Tuesday at The Riviera Supper Club in La Mesa 7pm – 10pm
R ‘n’ B, Soul jam session
Every Sunday at Total Deliverance in Spring Valley 8am & 10:45am services.
And throughout the week playing gigs all over town and supporting my other musical family at their own happenings including Every Tuesday at Seven Grand in north park Charlie Arbalaez’s Jazz Party 10pm, Gilbert Castellanos’ jazz jam at Panama 66 every Wednesday 6pm-11pm, every Tuesday At Prohibition downtown Mike ‘Miguelito’ Benge’s Afro-Cuban Havana jam 8pm-12, and Bill Caballero’s Latin Jazz jam every Thursday in barrio logan 7pm-10pm at Border X brewing.
People can support by following on all social media @__louis__v, www.louisvalenzuela.com.
Also please come visit AGMC in Eastlake and on the web @agmcsd www.agmcsd.com come see the school and the studio!!! Meet our wonderful and experienced teachers all of which are professional musicians, educators, and artists in SD.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9133 Attisha Way Lakeside CA 92040
- Website: www.louisvalenzuela.com
- Phone: 619-248-5427
- Email: louisvalenzuelasound@gmail.com
- Instagram: @__louis__v
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/louis.valenzuela.58
- Twitter: @___louis___v
Image Credit:
Alan Nakkash
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