Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Carlos Fiori.
Juan Carlos, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am a Singer/Songwriter living in the beautiful Golden State for over 15 years.
I was born in a tiny town called Mexico City and grew up there.
But thanks to my father, a retail expert, and his job, the family moved constantly, so we never settled in one place we could really call our home town, although Tultitlan in Mexico State was the closest I could call a home town.
My sisters and I endured becoming the new kids at school more often than we would have like back then. But in my opinion, it helped me build character greatly and perhaps that’s why it’s not very difficult for me to build strong friendships.
I think my love for music started very early in life thanks to my parents, both of them appreciate music. I remember my dad’s music collection that included hundreds of cassettes, cd’s and records. Even though he didn’t sing well or studied music, he always encouraged us to listen to good music. I think it was because of his mom.
Mi grandmother Lydia had a beautiful voice. She got to perform with famous singers from her time but it was not to be for her, as she didn’t find any support in her family.
She was really the one always encouraging me to sing in front of others since I can remember and I was only three or four years old when I first performed with a live band.
She often would tell me what a great singer I could get to be when growing up.
My mom is a very different story, she sings beautifully and likes to harmonize songs.
Her mom used to write poems, Her dad mi grandpa played guitar and used to sing very well, I did learned a thing or two from him.
But it was my uncle Abraham my mom’s cousin who was about the same age as myself the one who taught me how to play guitar when I was around thirteen.
He passed away only four years after that. By then, I was playing with the school band and in my own project.
Some people believe that difficulty makes us stronger, and maybe there’s some truth to that, but I believe it makes us come back to what we love.
When I was seventeen, my parents separated out of a sudden. So shortly after that, we were in LA my mom, my two sisters and I.
I found myself playing and writing more than ever before, my guitar helped me during those difficult times.
Coming to the U.S. was a struggle as most new things are, but also a great adventure.
Because of my age, I could have continued my High School but we needed money so I started working in a warehouse and then as a union laborer as soon as I turned eighteen.
At the same time I was pursuing my music dream, I have meed this amazing guitar player with an extraordinary talent, he could play from flamenco to speed metal and with Luis Marquez, I did my first demos.
Not too long after we meet Ruben Chavez a drummer from Riverside that was into Spanish Rock and Heavy Metal.
I picked up the bass and we began to play at different locations around the IE, OC, and LA as Espuelas Negras.
Around that time, I wrote a few songs two of which I have recently recorded and made part of my new album, those are “Inocente Otra Vez” and “Limbo”.
The project continued even after our guitar player left, soon Roberto Garcia “Betito” filled in very organically since he was already starting to practice with us and eventually we found a bass player by the name of Martin Arredondo, that was the line up for Espuelas Negras for a couple of years until the band split up.
We recorded videos of covers as well as originals and upload them to myspace and YouTube.
People was responding very well to our music. But in a matter of three months everything changed, Martin disappeared for a while, Betito moved to Mexico and Ruben got married and retired from the band.
That was a bit too much for me to continue. So I focus on trying to make a name for myself elsewhere and decided not to continue with a band.
That’s why my album’s title is “INFIEL” it means disloyal in Spanish, I feel like during those years, I was being disloyal to my dreams and to my music.
But back then It was a time for changes, that was right around the 2008 financial crisis, I started with Multilevel Marketing in which I did pretty good, but decided it wasn’t for me after a few years in it.
Then an opportunity fell into my lap. Some dude by the name “Dario Zazueta from Entice Media Group” was looking for help with his promotions company so with my hustle and with all the marketing skills I had acquired in my previous endeavor I was the perfect fit, so I became a nightlife promoter.
Soon Dario and I became friends and business partners. We were everywhere from small clubs in the IE to the top clubs in Hollywood and Las Vegas we became well known and that opened many doors for us.
After a seven-year run, we grew exhausted of the nightlife and each of us moved on to try other businesses. Together we tried business after business. But music was always in the back of my mind I continued to write songs but didn’t try to pursue it.
It was until my son was born that I started to think more about music for some reason, and I started to fantasize in my mind a way to come out with an ep or a single at least. So I started to build a small recording booth in my garage and recorded some demos.
By then, the daughter of Cesar Cardoza one of my closest friends was diagnosed with brain cancer, I was lucky to be able to play for her some of my songs after I did it when she was little so many times.
I started writing a song for her when she was in the hospital. About how brave she was during those days, but Andrea at twelve years of age left this world, and the promising future everyone saw in her was not to be.
It was then when it hit me. Our time in this world is limited and unpredictably short and now is not soon enough to work on your dreams and what you want to accomplish.
So I wanted to record a full-length album. And so I did, it took me a year and a half but here we are with eleven songs two music videos and getting ready to release the forth of my live sessions videos soon.
Has it been a smooth road?
The journey hasn’t been a smooth ride, there are always ups and downs, but in the midst of chaos I will continue to write songs and try to express my feelings and ideas through music and hopefully on the way I will touch some people.
Also the road can never be so hard when you do what you love and when you have the kind of support I do, my family is very supportive and my friends are always there to help out.
What else should our readers know?
They should know that my album Infiel is available everywhere, I’m also working on more music videos.
Also I’m working on my second album, this time helping me with the production is my dear friend Carlos Diaz or as many people know him Poncho Daniels from the band Los Daniels, also I will have other surprises in the second album like the participation of my friend Cesar Cardiel from Camilo VII and Poncho himself amongst others.
I’m also working on a collaborative project with many bands from Mexico and the US.
If you dont want to miss any of that follow my instagram and my YouTube channel.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
It is really easy to see that there is a booming market for Latin alternative music in all latin countries and even some parts of Europe because of the many festivals they have going on all year round. That is what we didn’t have as much here I the US but I see this changing for the better in this upcoming years with festivals like Tropicalia, Los Dells Fest, Ruido fest and others.
I see myself coming up with more music as often as I can. It is just something that brings me joy.
Soon we will start the promotions in Mexico and we will see how my music is received.
Finally I want to thank my family and friends and all the people who follow and share my music.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://juancarlosfiori.com/
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juancarlosfiori/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juancarlosfiorimusic/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/AVeryTalentedMan
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