Check Out Mauricio Pineda’s Story

Mauricio, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin? 
I knew I was pretty good at drawing when I was in first grade. I drew a rabbit from my imagination on the corner of my paper, and I couldn’t believe how good it looked. And from then on, I have never stopped. All my assignments and papers had little drawings on them, even on my desk. The teachers and my parents were not too fond of that. A lot of times my classmates would ask me to do their art assignments. They were always happy to get a good grade. They were not really thankful, so I quit doing that.

In my life, I went from being an artist and painter to working with engineers and architects to becoming a superintendent of construction, and now I am a home inspector. Equally as important for me during those times is that I was really interested in music. I heard a Beatles song when I was about 10 and it floored me and made me really pursue music. My brother was taking some guitar lessons and so I took some drum lessons. I would practice on this snare all the time. When I was 13, my dad took me to a music store and asked me what drum set I liked, so I just pointed to a little silver 3 piece. He ended up buying it, and I was completely blown away. I knew he worked hard as a mechanic, so I didn’t take it for granted and took very good care of it. I never expected that and was always thankful to him doing that for me. I think he kind of regretted it because as we got older my brother and I played louder. We couldn’t play our noise when he was home. As my brother and I went our own ways, getting married and having kids, the music was put on hiatus for about a decade.

In 1994, I went to Chile in South America to be with my kids because I had separated. I did what I knew and went around to all the construction companies to offer my work as a draftsman. I had brought my computer and convinced a company that computer drawings were better than hand-drawn plans, so I got hired. And so, 7 years later, I worked for architects, mining, and construction companies. One funny thing I did is a lot of work for architecture students where I would draw their plans for their projects. In those days, architects were not taught computer-aided drawing (CAD). It reminded me of when I was in grade school doing other kids’ art assignments, but this time I would get paid. Later on, I would ask them, “What grade did I get?”

During those years I was able to be present in my kids’ life and teach them things. I would take them to museums to try to show them the world and explain stuff. Some of the paintings, photographs, and sculptures may have been a little shocking at times, but I would tell them, “this is the world, and sometimes it is kind of dark, but I’d rather you experience it with me.” During the week I would look in the newspaper for free events and shows to go to on the weekends. We took the bus everywhere. It wasn’t easy, but I knew that I didn’t want to look back and regret that I didn’t do anything. I am very happy because I know I did it right and that my efforts were worth it. Both my kids were able to graduate from college and be successful in their own right.

While I was there, I was able to be in a couple of bands. I would pack my small car with my drumset and go jam. I looked at it as more of a hobby as opposed to my professional career as an architectural draftsman. It was all fine and dandy until the recession hit Chile in 1999, and to top it off, my drumset was stolen out of my car. So, with no work for anyone, I decided in 2001 to go back to California. It was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever made because my son was 9 and my daughter was 13. I promised them I’d be back within the year, but that turned into many years. I got a job as a laborer on a construction site, and 8 years later, I was a superintendent running jobs. Every year I would arrive on an empty dirt lot and leave when the complex was completely built. I went from town to town doing that. Also, within a year of coming back I started a company with my brother renting jumpers out for kid’s parties. It was going well, so we built a warehouse to store the jumpers. When the recession hit in 2008, it put a stop to everything. Nobody was building anything, and nobody was having any parties. It was kind of rough for a good 7 years. I even delivered newspapers to make ends meet until in 2015, when I got a job as a home inspector.

I saw my kids grow up from afar, and that was very difficult, but when each one turned 18, they came to live with me. We were able to bond and get to know each other again and that void we had in our hearts was filled up. That is the thing that I am most appreciative of because I never thought that I would be living in the same city as them. And now I even have a granddaughter.  I’m able to enjoy that to the max.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As a young student, it was tough to get good grades because I have some dyslexia. When I was a kid, I couldn’t understand why it seemed so easy for others. People thought I was disinterested or lazy, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I studied twice as hard as everyone else, and still, it wasn’t enough. Some kids and teachers were not too kind about it. I found this out later into adulthood, and I understood why it was so easy for everyone else. But one thing I did know is that I was good at art. I was always a hands-on and visual person. In other words, I would rather draw you a map of directions than write out the directions.

When I graduated high school in 1985, I figured that I would be an artist, so I took all the art classes at a local Jr. College. Two years later, I got married, and so my priorities changed. To make some money, I would go around asking businesses if they needed artwork or a billboard to paint. I got some good jobs out of it but one day I got frustrated to see the work and presentation of other artists and that it was so well done. I figured the competition was too good, so I shifted gears. I always wonder what would have happened if I continued. I noticed a Jr. College offered architecture classes, so I took all the classes. I then looked into architectural degrees but found out that the universities cost way too much, so I shifted gears again. While driving home I saw some drafting tables through the window of someone’s house. So, I knocked on the door, and it happened to be a structural engineer who was starting a new company out of his house. I ended up working for him for 6 years. By then, we were in an office. Engineering plans are far from being considered art, and that is true, but I was privileged to work with dozens of architects. After that, I worked for an architect for a couple of years. He was a professor at USC, and I would go with him to the critiques of his students’ work. He would sometimes ask me for my opinion. We did 3d computer drawings and physical models to present to city meetings. So, in a way, I indirectly went to school for architecture and ended up learning a whole lot more.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Today, I am a home inspector and have been for the last 10 years.  It’s what I know, and it pays the bills. Again, it’s far from art, but it is a culmination of everything I’ve done all my life.  From the words I write to pictures I take. I make sure that those 100 pages and 300 pictures look good on that report.

But as far as what I really love to do, that would be music.  In 2017, I decided to dedicate my life to music.  I had done a lot for many companies but never really anything for me.  I had a van, and I put my drumset in there and tied it down with bungee cords.  I called it “Rockin Rollin Studio” with the intent of actually recording in it.  I would go to friend’s houses, park in their garage, slide the door open, and jam with them. After a couple of years, I was able to create a little studio area in the same warehouse that I had my business in. I then started a band, and we were together for 6 years until our singer/guitarist passed away. We were called “Austin Jons & The Immortals”.  We rehearsed 3 times a week and played many dive bars.  We were very dedicated, working on about 20 original songs and about 30 covers. Those were some great times, and even though we didn’t make a dime, we gave it our all.  We managed to put out 3 songs and were very happy.  One day I plan to put out a collection of outtakes of all the songs we did.   When he passed, my other bandmate and I were pretty devastated, but we decided to keep on going and to get together once a week to at least hang out.  Little by little, we started writing and recording songs in my studio, and as of today, we have put out two songs, and we call ourselves MOTO.  That stands for Moe and Tommy, hence MOTO.  I have recently finished mastering two more songs and they will be coming out next month.  This is something that I am very proud of, being that I played the drums and sang on these songs.  The other thing is that I am producing it, spending hours and days recording the instruments, mixing, and mastering.  The future for me is about recording many more songs with my bandmate and also with my daughter, who is a very talented singer and guitarist.  In fact, my daughter and I have already recorded a song and are in the process of finishing it.  This journey into music started when I was very young, and now, I am fulfilling all those dreams, and it’s only taken 50 years.  The ultimate goal is to take my music out on the road, to keep recording my music and to expand into recording the music of other bands.  It’s gonna take a lot more hard work, and I am ready to do just that.

And how art ties into music is simple.  I have been drawing up my band’s logos, making flyers, and taking pictures for a long time.  I’ve always written short stories and songs ever since I was 16 years old, and I still have them.  And now, for the past 5 years, I have been writing songs, producing them, creating artwork, and putting them out there.  It’s nice to know that I’ve used lyrics that I wrote 20 or 30 years ago.   The knowledge and love I have for arts has definitely carried over into music.  The music ends up being like a painting because it conjures up images and some kind of mood with the addition of having a nice groove.

Don’t get me wrong, the pursuit of a musical career has not been easy.  Like a 9 to 5, it’s a sacrifice of long sessions alone at the studio, hours on end of writing & performing, to perfect your craft.  I realized this and even told my family that I was gonna be a little busy doing this.  Just like a regular job, you are away from everything else in your life.  To pursue this, I fall back and rely on my abilities, like I always have, to put bread on the table.  Everywhere else in between, I try to be present and do stuff with my family and friends.  It’s a fine balance just like it is for everyone.

How do you think about luck?
I think that having a little dyslexia has been a blessing for me. I’m able to troubleshoot many problems by looking at the big picture. I know people who have photographic memory and always got good grades but couldn’t figure out solutions to simple problems. I just have a knack for figuring things out in a logical, common-sense way, and so I always get calls from people asking for help. It makes me feel good that I can do that.

Today, kids that have dyslexia are told to get into careers like engineering, art, and music. I was never guided in that way. It seems that I just gravitated to that. I never saw myself as an accountant or a lawyer because of all those numbers and letters. I have always seen myself as someone who creates something from nothing, preferably something original. For the past couple of years, I feel that I have been accomplishing that in music. It’s nice to know that my grandkids can hear something I did that is purely original and from the heart. Of the many construction projects I’ve done, from 20-story buildings to custom homes, no one will ever know that I was part of it. But the music is different, it is something that I’ve created, and in my mind, it is bigger and stronger than anything I’ve built in concrete and steel.

Art has always been there for me to get any point across to expressing my imagination. And while the schools were just words and playtime for me, I really didn’t let anything else bother me. Yeah, it was disheartening to get bad grades, but it seems that I turned out just fine.