Closing out 2021 and a Major Chapter of my Musical Life

It's been over 30 years since I started performing in night clubs. For over 10 years I worked with original bands as I chased the rock star dream. During that time I made life long friends and learned a lot in terms of what it means to be a good performer, the recording process, the music business along with the creative process in an ever changing industry.

After that I focused on being a working musician, which took me to many stages all over Southern California and the state of Arizona. I was blessed to work with so many great bands while also having the chance to track drums and percussion for so many great artists in the recording studio. Again, I learned a lot and made even more lifelong friends.

The summer of 2021 was a very interesting time for me because as my performance dates increased it would also be my final season of hitting it hard as a working musician. I am not exiting the stage completely but I have decided to appear mainly at smaller venues in a more intimate setting with performance times that start and end early enough for me to be in bed before midnight, even on the weekends.

It's Complicated

The pandemic hit me hard. I lost several close friends and witnessed how it became a source of tragedy for so many families. Upon returning from my best friend's memorial I faced a lot of realities in terms of what I needed to do with my life while realizing that a big part of my life was now gone. It gave me a chance to not only focus on what was most important in my life but to also get on the ball and do what I had to do, especially for my family as well as those closest to me.

The late nights had taken their toll on me. Having to more or less give up the following day in order to recover caused me to miss a lot of time with my family along with time needed for other projects, which included non-musical projects. More than that, I was also faced with the reality that the local country scene had changed quite a bit with me feeling like I was no longer fit to be in such places. With that being said, it did not take long for me to realize that the money or exhaustion was not worth the discomfort of putting my career and ministry at risk.

I work full time as a high school theology teacher and while I have no problem with people whose lifestyle differs from mine I must remain conscious of how I appear in public. I am far from perfect but I am also not one to provoke a response from anyone, even in the context of being an entertainer so I had to ask myself if I was in the right place, especially since my efforts as a working musician are in fact a part time gig. Teaching has been my full time job and vocation for the past 25 years and most importantly, the way I provide for my family so there is no mistaking my priorities.

I am also the co-founder of a non-profit ministry that has been making a lot of progress so maintaining that credibility to the communities that we serve was a big part of my change in direction. My partner and I have worked hard to get where we are right now so while music is a big part of my life I had to admit that it is not all that I am nor is it the most important part of my life outside of my personal life and career. I am a Catholic who believes in the work that my ministry is doing so I need to focus more on practicing my faith and all that requires of me as .

In other words, there has been a change of priorities. I need to give more of my attention to https://www.hcdtalks.com/ and this became more apparent after an unfolding of so many events and situations over a period of several months. Aside from considering my ministry partner I also have to honor to fact that our ministry has received the public approval of two Catholic bishops so it is crucial to consider how my activities and associations reflect on them.

Future Musical Plans

In 2020 I released my second solo album as well as a drumming book with both of those projects taking quite a bit of time to complete because I had to work on them when I had a break in my performance schedule. (See https://www.sunmirrorproductions.com/) A day was not always enough when it came to finding time to work on such things as I also had to be in state of focus where I could be productive. I don't want to deal with such time frames again as it certainly impacted my ability to be creative.

I certainly don't regret the fun times or the friends that I made during my time in the local country music scene but I no longer want to compromise the artist within me. Now that I am giving more of time to family and non-musical endeavors I prefer to use whatever time is left to work on my music and not just performing other people's music.

Working on new music is fun because I also get to pull out the other instruments that I play. I am working on more drumming concepts while making plans to write another drumming book. Now it is not about the music coming from the stage or the applause from an audience It's about the creative process as well as the end result. It's also about being more than a drummer as the working band situation did not give me as many opportunities to stretch myself as often as I wanted to. I was burned out and needed to find that part of my musical soul again and it wasn't going to happen unless I made time for it.

I am blessed to have a couple of musical endeavors that will give me opportunities to perform from time to time. I have already worked with these groups in small patio/dinner settings and I love it. There is less pressure with earlier hours that still allow me to exercise that performer muscle yet, the hours do not impact the following day and in some cases, the rest of my evening as I have been able to come home after some performances and still have some time for myself. (Please see: https://www.facebook.com/sonoransoltucson and https://www.facebook.com/javelinablu).

I will also continue to do session work for a number of local artists here in Tucson. I always enjoy the challenge of delivering drum tracks that such artists envision while also accepting their invitation to try and create my own parts that they think will work for their songs. If my ideas work well then check that off as a great day as it makes me feel like I took in the song well enough to deliver something that was pleasing to the songwriter.

Aside from my drumming books I am also making some long term plans to overhaul my You Tube Channel, which will include a premium option that will feature extensive videos of my best ideas and methods. I will probably start shooting material for that sometime in the summer of 2022 as there is so much to do from now until then.

Conclusion

It has been a long time since I felt a great sense of fulfillment when it comes to both my music as well as my life's direction. My practice time has been challenging and I can feel myself growing as a drummer. As I track new ideas in my home studio I feel refreshed as my playing has a sense of purpose that I have not felt in a long time. Aside from that, it's nice to take out my other instruments and try out some new ideas before hearing the songs come together. I plan to put out some music real soon but I already have a sense of fulfillment because I am feeling the satisfaction of being the complete musician that I am

The extra time with my kids has been such a blessing to me. The best way to summarize it is that I am able to give them my best, which at times was not the case when so many other things were weighing on me. My kids always deserved my best and sadly, those moments of fatigue and distraction caused me to fail as a father. Something had to be done as another wasted day was simply unacceptable.

Focusing on my non-musical endeavors allows me to live as the complete person that I am but the musician within me still needs to live. For too long I have focused on the drummer and while I plan to continue having those moments from time to time I will continue exercise those songwriter muscles. I need to do it because there was such a loss for me when I allowed myself to put it aside.

The Desert Drummer continues on but Carlos Solorzano the musician will not step aside again.