Today we’d like to introduce you to Apryle Dalmacio.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Music has always been a part of me. I always tell people when I was born, I wasn’t crying, I was singing… and I was singing LOUD. The nurses at the Riverside Community Hospital would ask my mom, “Do you hear that baby crying down the hallway? That’s your baby.” My strong vocals would not be possible without my mom and dad, so that’s why I have to start my story off with my parents.
My mom was born in Cagayan De Oro, and my dad in Dipolog City, PHILIPPINES. My mom was the daughter of the town Preacher and school Principal. My dad was the son of a Mother of 13 and a Real Estate Investor.
They met in the Philippine Army while my mom worked as a Civilian Researcher and my dad, a Soldier. After they married, my mom and her family traveled overseas to become United States residents. Soon after, my dad followed. They moved to California in the 80’s and began their family as American citizens.
I grew up in a town whose name has changed over a handful of times in history, most recently called Jurupa Valley. A developing city on the outskirts of Riverside, California known for agriculture, horses and rodeos. At one point, it was called “Wineville”, and after some disturbing incidences, was later changed to “Mira Loma”, and was famous for the movie “Changeling” starring Angelina Jolie. Growing up in the Jurupa Valley Unified School District in the 90’s was a definite separation between race. I was 1 out of only a handful of Asians during my education K-12. As a kid, I had friends of all races, but still felt like an outsider. In addition to looking a little different from everyone else, I was an over-weight, oily-faced kid, that always brought the weird-looking and sometimes smelly lunches to school. My elementary school was predominantly Caucasian and Hispanic, and I found myself making closer friends of the Hispanic race because their culture was similar to mine. In fact, 3rd grade is where I found my best friend, Alejandra, who is Hispanic. She heard me singing one day and told me about an after school program called “choir”, and from that moment onward, I began my musical studies and involvement in music.
In my household, from what I can remember, singing was always around me. At a typical Filipino get-together, no matter what house you went to, there was always Karaoke or some type of musical instrument laying around. All my aunts had a keyboard or piano, and someone in the household was always taking piano lessons. In fact, I took lessons at one point, but did not enjoy it as much as my older sister. I would listen to her practice. She was taking lessons from the Music Director at the church we went to, and would practice hymns while my mom would sing along with her, (just like my mom did when she was a kid, singing with her sisters while my grandpa played hymns on the piano in church). One day, my mom and sister were practicing a song, and my mom picked up one of the guitars off the wall (mostly there as decorations). She played Mrs. Robinsonby Simon and Garfunkel, with some of the chords she could remember. The moment I saw my mom playing, I knew I wanted to play guitar. Over the years, I started to show my mom my interest in guitar while teaching myself how to play with a “How to Play Guitar for Beginners” book. When I turned 13, my mom gave me my first acoustic guitar, a 1963 Japanese Aspen, Martin D40 Lawsuit Guitar, she bought from a local pawn shop. From there, I started writing and expressing myself through songs, and to this day, I still perform with it.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No. It has not been a smooth road. I’ve had people tell me I’m not good enough. I’ve had people tell me I’m not skinny enough. I’ve had people tell me how I should wear my hair, how I should dress, and what type of personality I should have. And even today, as an accomplished full-time musician, I still have strangers, mostly older men who believe they know what it’s like to work in today’s music industry, tell me how I should run my business.
On top of the music industry, and those who think they know about today’s music industry, telling me how I should live my passion, my hardest struggle came from my parents. They were not supportive. I understand my parents wanting more for me… after all, they worked hard and lived through racism, segregation, and starting a new life in a new country hoping their children would have the “American Dream”. When I was a kid, I think my mom and dad thought it was nice to have their child involved in extra curricular activities, but when I got into college and wanted to pursue it as a career, they did not see that this was a passion I could financially support myself with. College was one of the hardest life decisions I had to go through. I had changed my major almost five times trying to figure out what I was “Supposed to be” for the rest of my life! I felt so pressured by my parents to choose a career with stability, such as a doctor, a teacher, or even a lawyer.
In fact, when I changed my major from nutrition to music, my dad flipped. It was the typical argument I had with them time and time again about how music can’t pay for your bills and that there are no Filipino Frontmen in bands or famous Filipinos. At the height of this particular argument, I walked away while yelling, “You’ll see… I’m going to be making music, selling CDs, and one day I’m going to be so famous, I’m going to buy you a new house!” When I changed my major, my dad stopped paying for my tuition and I started to save money from summer jobs and gigs to pay for my education. I was determined to prove them wrong and prove to myself that with hard-work, passion, and determination, you can achieve anything.
Unfortunately, I was attending a Cal State University. At Cal States, you’re only given a certain amount of credits for certain classes. By the time I decided to major in music, I was already burned out from being in school for three years, in order for me to graduate with a music degree, it would have taken another three years to finish. So, I changed my strategy and changed my major to communications with an emphasis in Radio and Television. In 1 year, I graduated, interned for local radio stations, and promoted/marketed myself as a musician with the PR education I received.
No, I didn’t major in music, but I took the music knowledge I already had, combined it with the business education I learned in college, and applied both to benefit my Music Career in real life. While everyone else was using their MySpace and Facebook Profiles for their personal life, I was already using social media to promote my business. The path I took to get to where I am now, was not the easiest and was not as smooth as I thought it was going to go, but I got here.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am known as a one-woman band. I sing, play guitar, and create percussion on the back of my guitar, while recording live loops. I perform all over Southern California, have toured around the world, and have won several awards. I’m most proud of not giving up on myself. After so many years of people telling me I couldn’t do it, I kept going, and now I am living my dream.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Passion. Passion keeps you going. It is what drives you to success. Passion is what gives you the determination to work hard and achieve what’s deep in your heart.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.apryledalmacio.com
- Phone: 951-295-3567
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instragram.com/apryledalmacio
- Facebook: facebook.com/apryledalmacio
- Twitter: twitter.com/apryledalmacio
- Other: youtube.com/c/apryledalmacio
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