Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Silvestri.
Hi Michael, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
It’s funny because I actually started off playing guitar, but what got me into guitar was guitar hero. I picked up guitar hero around the age of 14 because I used to play Dance Dance Revolution, and I was really good, so I thought, “Well, I’m probably good at guitar hero too!” Then I loved it so much, I picked up actual guitar, and the rest is history, so I guess I can thank DDR haha.
Once I moved into the dorm as a college freshman at Eastern Illinois University at 18 years old, I thought just playing guitar solos on my acoustic was stupid since I couldn’t have a loud amplifier in the dorms. So, then I started singing. I was terrible – ask any of my friends/family.
Eventually, I worked a handful of 9-5’s after I graduated in 2014 until November 2016. During that time, I was in 2 different original bands, and they both ended bad. I also was playing very part-time as a solo act and would rush to gigs from my 9-5 – it was a hustle for sure! I realized that if I quit my job, and just treated finding shows for my solo act as my new 9-5, I could probably go full time, so I quit my corporate job, did just that, and made more money in my first year than my corporate job!
Fast forward, I decided it was time to move to a music city – Nashville, NYC, or LA, so I chose LA, and have been here for 3 years now, and loving it. I moved here in Oct 2019 right before the pandemic, but the move turned out to be excellent for my career, and I’m finally ready to take full advantage of all that LA (and San Deigo!) has to offer now that restrictions have lifted, and things are getting back to normal.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I previously said I was in 2 original bands (this was all while working a corporate full-time job), and it was with my best friend at the time, and we were just about to work with a big producer and won 2nd place out of 100 in a huge battle of the bands contest. Sadly, we had a falling out, and it dissolved the band instantly. So that hurt my heart, and soul everywhere.
The other major struggle was, I spent 8 months finding gigs, and even paying my stepbrother to help me so that when I moved out to California, I’d already be a full-time musician. It did happen, but when C19 hit, it destroyed 8 months of intensely hard work, and over 2,000 cold calls I made, plus countless emails, and relationships. The ENTIRE landscape of the music industry changed – places stopped doing music, other places started, place shut down permanently. So, I had to redo EVERYTHING, and FAST, because I had ZERO leeway now.
Turns out I’m grateful, because it lent me to develop a system, which I still use of course, on how to do all that 8 months of work in less than 1 month, and now I have this AMAZING system, which I call the Soundheart Gig Getting Program.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
So, this year I moved into a 1-bedroom condo in Long Beach, all in efforts to transform my living room into a recording studio, which did happen. At 30 years old, 2023 will be the most creative year of my life, and I will start working on my debut album by writing and demoing songs out of my home studio. I will release singles in 2023, but the album will drop sometime in 2024 – ahh it seems so long away haha!
With my Soundheart music gig-getting program, I plan on pushing my Instagram page @soundheartmusic to reach more and more musicians who desire to get a full-time (or even part-time) income by performing live – even if they have ZERO fan base! We’ve changed the lives of soo many of our students, and just seeing how grateful people are puts the biggest smile on my face
On top of that, I plan on pushing my national booking agency to new levels, and hopefully build a platform that artist & venues can use to easily connect with each other!
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory was definitely the vacations I went on with my parents. My mom lives in NC, and my dad in IL, so looking back I really really cherish those moments.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mikesilvestrimusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikesilvestrimusic_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikesilvestrimusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcX7Lso3hIu1WhkGD4R1vjw/videos?shelf_id=0&view=0&sort=dd
- Other: https://instagram.com/soundheartmusic
Image Credits
Andy Kovalsky
