Today we’d like to introduce you to Sid Srinivasan.
Hi Sid, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I must’ve been 6 years old the first time I saw an acoustic guitar; it was at a friend’s house, I had no idea what to do with it but the image of seeing it for the first time propped up on a chair is burned into my memory. For whatever reason, I was immediately drawn to it. I understand why now, but it was just this strange fascination back then. From that point on, everything from a tennis racket to a broom got flipped sideways to mimic a guitar. One evening, as I walked past the TV in the living room, the video for Guns N Roses’ Sweet Child of Mine was on. I saw slash (the guitarist), shrouded in mystery, cigarette loosely hanging from his mouth, clad in leather, and playing a Lespaul guitar. That image has stayed with me and served as an early inspiration.
I went through a whole host of other instruments like flute, violin, and veena (all south Indian classical iterations of these instruments) before finally, the same family friend whose home I saw my first guitar in brought me a broken classical guitar years later, I was 14 years old. Needless to say, I was in such a hurry to learn I absorbed everything I possibly could and played tirelessly for up to 8 hours a day sometimes. I went on to join bands, starting many musical projects and winning awards for my guitar work. As a young musician in India, I started to get calls to play for films and work with music directors including the great A.R Rahman. I had co-founded a band called Junkyard Groove and we got signed to a record label. I ended up traveling across India, playing at countless venues, and went on to support legendary acts like Iron Maiden, Robert Plant, Incubus, The Prodigy, Mr. Big, Machine Head, and Megadeth to name a few.
In the midst of all this success, I decided to pursue a master’s degree in music business and so I went to the UK and lived there for a couple of years pursuing a graduate degree. From there I ended up moving to the US to pursue a degree in music performance at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, CA. Being one of the major hubs for talent, culture, and opportunity, I found a home here in California and I’ve lived and worked in the Southern California areas for a decade now. It’s been a major life goal to live and work in Cali as a musician, artist, and entrepreneur and I’m grateful to have had the life experiences that this move has brought me.
I’m currently SoCal based and spend time in LA, SD, and Vegas working on various projects. I spend time as a music educator, a session artist, and an independent artist. A large chunk of my work involves teaching music, making music for placements, and playing music for live events. In addition to that, I work with brands to bring music-related gear to their audience. I’m working on new music that is slated for a late spring/summer release. I’ve got a ukulele album in the works that will be released under my banner, Saint Sid. I’m also excited to be bringing more educational content to my audience.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. But that’s what makes it fun and worthwhile. I doubt that I’d have the mental fortitude and skills that I have now had it not been for those challenges. They really forced me to grow in every way. Being a foreigner living in the US, there was a steep learning curve. Everything from communication style to social/cultural references is different.
I got to California not knowing anyone. On my first day, I checked into a Motel 6 and walked around the neighborhood with a water bottle looking for a place to rent. For the longest time I didn’t have the means to buy a car and getting to gigs, rehearsals, and work events while carrying guitars and music equipment can be a real struggle depending solely on public transport. Meeting people was also a lesson in adaptability. I had a lot of catching up to do in terms of understanding the humor, mindset, relationships, work ethics, and morals.
Needless to say, but being so far away from home was no walk in the park either. I had left behind 2 decades of experiences and familiarity in pursuit of my goals. The time difference didn’t help either, so while I slept my friends and family in India were going about their day and while I was awake and eager to catch up, they slept. It’s been a game of cat and mouse ever since.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I consider myself a music artist first. I’m a music educator and entrepreneur second. The lion’s share of my work involves music creation and music performance. I love making music with other musicians, it is what I do best. The guitar is my instrument of choice, it’s the medium through which all the music gets written. The genres of music I gravitate toward are Rock, Country, Blues, Funk, Soul, and Pop. I also sing and write songs. Songwriting is something I stumbled into early on in my late teens. I have an ongoing love affair with the craft of songwriting. Synthesizing life and its various shades into a musical structure is a delicate art that thoroughly fascinates me. I’m currently working on a Ukulele project and hope to be the first musician of Indian origin to release a Ukulele album recorded and produces in the US. I also have a whole library of music that is waiting in the pipeline. I’m looking for the right people to collaborate with to bring it to fruition.
On the music education side, I teach guitar, ukulele, and bass. I’ve spent thousands of hours teaching hundreds of students to play. Being able to condense complex musical concepts into simple, accessible terminology for people is another passion. I’m currently working on creating more content to support better music education. I’m doing this through my social media platforms and also writing an ebook that will be complete and ready for distribution before the spring of 2023.
What sets me apart from others is my willingness to cross cultural borders and discover more about this world. It’s not uncommon to find individuals who are locked into a certain way of life (to each their own) never having traveled outside their country or even state. At the core of my being are curiosity and a burning desire to be free from the trappings of what society deems “worthy.” This attitude has taken me to a dozen countries, and I’ve had this multicultural experience that has shaped my view of the world.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
1. Consistency is key to anything.
2. The ability to shut the world out from time to time and listen to yourself.
3. Having a realistic understanding of what makes you tick.
4. Developing empathy and compassion for people. The real kind, not the variety that gets shoveled on social media.
5. Belief in a higher power.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.saintsid.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theofficialsaintsid/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theofficialsaintsid
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theofficialsaintsid
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/saintsid
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@theofficialsaintsid
Image Credits
Daria
