Today we’d like to introduce you to Thea Tochihara.
Thea, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story starts when I first moved to San Diego 8 years ago. It was the start of a new life, a new leaf, and each day since has unfolded in ways I couldn’t have imagined. For better, for worse, but always just right. Before moving to San Diego, my life looked just as I thought it should. I was months away from getting married, I had a job in the field I received my master’s in (Clinical Psychology), and I was getting to travel the world. I’ll spare you my singer-songwriter rendition of my heart break, but I will share, that, had I not felt completely broken, I don’t think my true self would’ve felt the urgency to emerge.
San Diego was the fertile soil that allowed me to do just that.
The last time I had written a song I was 6 years old, twig as my microphone, top of our old camper as a stage, my sisters as my back-up singers, and flood light spotlights. The song was entitled “Black & White,’ and touched on wisdom well beyond my years…” streets are black and white…people are black and white…everything’s black and white tonight.” Oddly, there were no record labels banging down my door.
So when, in my late…late 20s, feeling the need to adult and piece my life back together, but instead giving the stream of lyrics that were crowding my head to make their way to paper and manifest themselves into songs space to come hither(what???I’m not a singer! I don’t know how to write songs?!), I can admit I was very surprised. But I had never felt more certain about anything in my life. This was a whole new kind of love I had so foolishly spent my life seeking to feel from others, finally recognizing it could only come from myself.
I needed to learn…a lot…about music since I was getting a late start. Luck was on my side. In response to an ad offering free beer as payment, I landed a gig managing a local band you may know, Trouble in the Wind. I couldn’t have asked for a more magical, genuine, talented, and truly special band to have worked with and learned some of the ropes from. A few years quickly passed, and I found myself missing creating. I needed to devote time to mastering my own artistic craft.
It was then, recording with a blues trio I started called ‘Ray-Mo’ that I first met my now husband, when we hired him as a session drummer for an EP we were recording. From there we played in multiple projects together that have since faded. We were ready to put everything on the line to keep building our musical craft. SRCY.CO Production Studio is infused with our blood, sweat, and tears. I can confidently say, without faith, this space would not have been completed. But feeling the magic in what we’ve created, it’s been worth it. We want to share that magic with others.
The gift of creating can be a priceless blessing one day, and a hell-inducing curse on another. So, while we are a for profit studio/ event space, I have some ideas up my sleeve geared towards non-profit that I hope to bring to fruition. Music is so extremely therapeutic in and of itself, but I see too many fellow musicians struggling with addiction, undiagnosed mental illness, and some (too many) resorting to suicide, to not feel like perhaps that MA in Clinical Psychology was not for nothing, but rather part of my musical mission as well.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
If the road were smooth, I would probably find the biggest drill I could to create my own holes just to feel at ease. Perhaps it’s how I was raised, with the mentality that ‘life isn’t easy, so you better be strong,’ or purely the knowledge through my own experiences that even when life is seemingly ‘smooth,’ that does not mean ‘easy.’ But when you are following your passions with drive, discipline, and the desire to improve every day (or at least the majority of days) you wake up, the road is just the road. Can’t get smoother than that!
We’d love to hear more about your business.
In a way SRCY.CO Productions was the natural next step for us as DIY musicians/artists. You work every day to master your craft. These days that means learning more about recording, sound, production, promotion, and so on and so forth. We approached the line of choosing between investing in ourselves and the long run or continuing to find others we could afford for the short run. It just made sense, even if it made no sense logically or financially at the time…but most great leaps seldom do! It has truly felt like the path towards mastering our craft.
My husband is a genius in more ways than I might acknowledge on a regular basis, but it is displayed in his abilities to create, produce, mold, and control sound. Film/ TV/ video/ music…no boundaries really. He works closely with Pretzel Logic Productions providing sound needs for film/commercials, everything from Valley View Casino to indie films. We have a live recording room, a tasty little lounge/bar area, and a fully 100% Jeffrey Searcy designed, built, and created, mathematically sound control room.
Aside from getting to have my own recording studio to record whatever, whenever I want (dreams do come true!), I love putting together boutique events to utilize the space for others…and to have some good ol’ community fun! Kind of a speakeasy vibe if you catch my drift.
SRCY.CO specializes in sound design, recording, production, boutique events, and ultimately anything tied to the arts and forward movement. Whatever your creative expression needs might be, chances are, if we can’t be of service, we can help you find who can, or help you discover how to accomplish some of those tasks on your own.
What were you like growing up?
I was a girly girl. Pink and purple were my favorite everything. I had no idea what a ‘filter’ or keeping a ‘secret’ was. But I had a strange side too. I remember playing my recorder in a somber funeral march for a moth I, myself, had killed. I swear there were lines of ants that heard my musical call to mourn their friend. I saved Saturday’s around noon for this ceremony on a repeat basis. A strange kind of evil.
My parents kept us all active. All eight of us. I loved being the youngest of so many amazing siblings. They were my best friends growing up. Sports were mandatory. No television during the week. Don’t waste food. Don’t use too much toilet paper. Get good grades. Go to church. And don’t talk back!.
Sports are what paid for education for some of us, so music was not a highly supported hobby. Had music not found me, I don’t know if I would’ve found it. A free piano was literally placed in our home, so I learned how to read music. Learning someone’s story through the sound they composed was such a powerful thing to unfold.
I feel blessed with the gift to continue sharing my own stories in that manner, and helping others do the same. What better way to connect than by sharing our stories with one another. The truest of the true. That is what we do, what we want to help others do, and what we want to share with the world…or at least San Diego😊
Contact Info:
- Address: SRCY.CO Production
2109 El Cajon Blvd - Phone: 817-874-3753
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SRCY.CO/
Image Credit:
Matt Lopman
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