Justin Emmanuel Sanchez of Glendale on Life, Lessons & Legacy

Justin Emmanuel Sanchez shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Justin Emmanuel, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
I’m proud of songwriting and building songs when the inspiration strikes. I love arranging and putting together demos on my own time so I can show my bandmates the idea of a song we could potentially incorporate into our project.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Justin Sanchez and I’m a musician and most recently an audio producer. I play in an indie rock band called Bed Cadet along with various other projects. I’ve also taken a liking into producing music with my friends and started a recording company, Justin Recordings.

Last summer a couple of my friends wanted me to record their bands. They knew I had experience because of Bed Cadet and how I had a reputation for self-recording. I agreed to their requests and it was actually the first time that I collaborated with real artists. It was a fun and challenging experience because I was learning new things about my own recording techniques and tendencies that I never would have tapped into.

After these experiences, both my friends were quite satisfied with the results. From here, I thought, maybe I can do this with other artists as a service. I love writing songs and I love collaborating musically. I know how important it is to have an extra set of eyes on a project and that’s what I would like Justin Recordings to acheive.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
One thing that has been a constant in my life since I was a child was music. I loved singing and dancing as a child and eventually I picked up the guitar. I have been obsessed with guitar to this day and constantly learn how to play my favorite songs and guitar riffs.

I also grew up in the age where the internet was just starting to grow in popularity. New advances in media creation were coming out and it was becoming a lot more accessible to write songs from your home computer.

As a tech savvy person and a musician, I eventually found programs that assisted in creating demos and executing full arrangements. I’ve used these methods and programs for years and I feel like now in combination of learning how to collaborate with artists, I can start producing, not just my own musics, but my friends that also want to create and flesh out their ideas.

Do you remember a time someone truly listened to you?
When I was working with a band called All Along, my friend, Sam, was doing vocal takes for some song. I remember it being a long, grueling session in the middle of summer. The AC in my apartment had issues so we were sweating our asses off.

During his session, his voice was very monotone for the chorus and I remember asking him candidly why he sounds so bored when this section of the song is supposed to be exciting. He sat for a minute a little flustered, maybe taking it a little offensively. “Why don’t you yell here? It’s a rock song, dude!” I exclaimed with sweat beading down the side of my face.

Sure enough, he tried it and it emphasized that moment in the song. Excitement and frustration but it was finally believable.

After that session, he thanked me and has since incorporated that message into his live performances and other songs that he records.

The lesson for me, at least for writing music, was to be very honest with your feelings and how you write the songs. I think it’s important to be brutally honest and accept feedback from others. It may shoot your ego down a little but it doesn’t hurt to explore those options if they haven’t been attempted.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I’m most likely going to do music for the rest of my life whether I get paid for it or not. It’s so ingrained in me and I can’t really imagine myself doing anything else. I’m not sure what “success” looks like for this kind of vocation, I just know I have to do it in some way shape or form.

I’m currently working a 9-5 job and so my perspective is that I”m just funding this habit while also supporting myself and my wife.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
I started a UX design freelance business for a year and I was able to survive on it for a short amount of time. It was definitely something that was short-lived.

I took a bootcamp course while I was working for a big corporate company and after I graduated, I was offered an internship. From here I started looking for gigs and looking for work as a designer. I found my footing on Upwork and was able to hold down 3 longer-term clients.

However, after completing their projects, I didn’t feel as fulfilled as I had thought I would be. It just felt like something I had to do.

On the other hand, I had just finished recording my friend’s band, Tumble, and I did that work for free. There was a huge sense of accomplishment once it was completed, felt like I earned a million bucks, even though I didn’t.

Biggest takeaways here was, I learned how to start a business and have a good sense of customer service and people will stay with you especially if they like your work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://justinrecordingsla.carrd.co/
• Instagram: @justinsancheezy_

Image Credits
James Duran at beinabandordie.com