Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Luévano.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ryan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started the band while I was in college as music student. I wanted to find a way that my friends and I could earn a living while doing what we love–making music. The band started modestly with only a few members and performing a few gigs a year. As time went on the size of the band grew and we were performing regularly at many events both in our area and all over Los Angeles. As the manager of the band my top priority is to make sure that the clients are happy and get exactly the kind of musical experience they want.
Additionally, we began offering many different types of combinations of musicians to custom tailor the experience to the customer’s needs and budget. Our flexibility and high caliber musical performances allowed us to grow as a business and provide top quality music all over L.A. while still generating work for musicians.
Has it been a smooth road?
Rarely is any music business a smooth road, and running a live musician based business is particularly challenging. Even today, the challenge remains the same: people simply do not want to pay for live music, or they want to pay very little. Given the immediacy of music in today’s society (radio, Pandora, iTunes, Prime music, YouTube etc.) people are accustomed to having music at their fingertips. They don’t think about where music comes from, or see the value in the art. Given that these sources for music are inexpensive people are making the comparison between recorded music and live music for which there is no comparison. These are the struggles of any live ensemble of any kind. It’s my job to remind people about the awe and raw electricity in having live music at their events–we must provide an experience that no speaker or computer can duplicate. We are trained musicians who have studied and practiced our craft for years and are ready to create art on the spot for anyone who appreciates the value in what we do.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Crown City Combo – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Like any other jazz musicians, first and foremost, we are as Art Blakey put it, “Jazz Messengers”. Meaning it’s our job to spread the message of this great American art form and keep this music alive through our performances. However, what makes us different from other jazz bands is that we are flexible in both the type of jazz music we play, the size of the band the client needs and our ability to create custom arrangements that are no in our standard repertoire.
If a client’s only needs a piano and a saxophone for their wedding cocktail hour that’s what they’ll get. If they want us to play 1920s music for a Gatsby themed party, then that’s what we’ll play. If a bride wants to walk down the aisle to the Gilmore Girls theme song after she’s married, we’ll make that happen. It’s our flexibility and our ability to adapt to any situation that we are most proud of and what sets us apart from other bands out there.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
People love to celebrate in this city! The people in Los Angeles know how to throw parties from a small birthday party, to a 5oo-person wedding. And what’s more LA is ready to host all of these events with all of its beautiful and unique venues. We love traveling around the city–we’re like a traveling band bringing music and energy to all of these fabulous events. Of course, since we can’t just teleport to all these events, I have to say what we like least about L.A. is the traffic, it seems to never stop. But rest assured it will not stop us from getting to the party on time and tooting our horns to get the party started.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.crowncitycombo.com
- Phone: (747) 333-8870
- Email: crowncitycombo@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrownCityCombo/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CrownCityCombo
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/crown-city-combo-pasadena
Image Credit:
Leila Cole Ciszewski
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