Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Martinez (AKA Tunez From The Crypt).
Hi Daniel, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Definitely! We all have our strengths and our weaknesses, and as children, we explore different interests. Looking back on my life, I’ve always been more of a creative person rather than an athlete or a science type. I grew up being around music constantly as my father was a musician always playing the guitar and writing songs.
I was raised on oldies, and at an early age, I grew fond of my Dad’s old records and cassettes. He raised me on artists like Earth, Wind and Fire, The Bee Gees, The Beatles, The Beach Boys… Kool and the Gang. Music with that groovy, funky, disco sound. My father grew up in East LA to Mexican immigrant parents, so Spanish songs were also commonly heard in our house.
As a kid, I enjoyed writing stories and playing music. I won awards for my writing, and in elementary school, I played in the school band.
As I grew up, my love for writing and music always stuck with me. I always journaled, and in 2008, I attended my first electronic music events. I immediately knew this would go on to be something special for me.
In 2012, I started creating hip-hop music with a friend. At first, it started as me just helping him gain experience working with artists in his home studio. Out of college, he needed hands-on, real-life experience to start up his music studio business, so I let him practice with me. This helped him start building his portfolio with me as one of his first case studies.
We were just messing around at first, but then I started to notice that music just flows so freely out of me! During that time, I was always into going to music festivals, shows, and concerts.
I knew that I wasn’t cut out to be a rapper, it didn’t feel like my authentic self, but I knew I wanted something in music. Being a DJ seemed like a dream, a faraway goal, but a deep desire.
I have always been storing away all of my favorite music and building up my library from over the years waiting for the right moment… The pandemic was that moment.
City closures and lockdowns gave me the push I needed to sit down, focus, and finally bring my vision to life. The pandemic has been a scary, emotional time, but the best art is usually created out of the hard times!
I knew that I could sit around and waste away the time, or I could take advantage of this moment and learn a new skill. I bought a simple DJ setup, started practicing in my room and started building out my digital presence. I built my artist persona and my brand and practiced for a few months until things opened back up. I set a goal to play a live show once nightlife started to open back up and in May of 2021, I played my first show at The Hideaway in Downtown Riverside.
Tunez From The Crypt was created out of my bedroom during the global pandemic of 2020.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not smooth at all!
I’ve grown up in a poor, dysfunctional, and broken family, but everyone has their own battles and struggles.
Life isn’t fair and it’s all about making the most out of the hand that you’ve been dealt in life. I’ve always at least had a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and food in my stomach, so there are no excuses. There’s someone out there who always has it worse. Some people are better off, others aren’t, so it’s up to you to make the life that you want. The hard truth of life.
Navigating college was hard, with no sense of direction and no support, I had to figure things out on my own. My parents never went to college, so even though they wanted to help, they couldn’t.
College was my priority because I knew that for me, it meant a better chance at a better life. I knew that I needed to finish college to be able to better support myself and my passion for music. I didn’t have any connections or any marketable job skills, so I knew it was necessary.
Most students finish college in four years, it took me nine. Some get the luxury of having parents to pay their way through school allowing them to have all their energy and focus on school and extracurriculars. I had to work my way through school to pay off debts, purchase my own car, and afford to live.
This created extra stress, sleepless nights, suffered grade levels, and time off from school which delayed things a bit. But even though it took me nine years, at least I finished! We all go at our own pace.
Now in my music career, I live to fight some more. I fight to be given opportunities, I fight to prove my worth, and I fight to get better with my craft every single day.
I’m not even a year into this chapter of my life yet, so I’m excited to see what’s to come as I grow along this journey!
I also would like to show a huge appreciation to my mom who has always supported me and been by my side no matter what. My father as my inspiration, and my mom as my motivation. With their unconditional love and support I have been able to make it to where I am today.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Tunez From The Crypt is my artist persona/music project where I play dance music in the electronic music scene. I am a DJ and producer with a focus on house music. What makes me different is my sound and the amount of time I spend digging the digital crates for fresh sounds to play in my sets.
Tunez From The Crypt is my artist name which to me represents my ability to play unique and tasteful music. Tunez represents music, and crypt represents my underground vibe. The crypt is also referencing my library of music.
I’ve also taken inspiration from the TV show “Tales From the Crypt” as my love for horror growing up. I’m an October baby and have always been into Halloween, horror, spirituality, and mysticism. I’ve also had a strange paranormal experience, so I felt as if the name embodied the direction I’d like to take this project perfectly.
I play the kind of house music where you hear it, and immediately you are dying to know what it is. A lot of artists these days just go to Beatport and play those top-charting tracks. There’s no originality. This is what sets me apart, my ability to be unique. My ability to play what the crowd wants while also playing stuff they never knew they needed!
Like a great chef who curates a tasteful menu for the guests, I curate a tasteful musical menu for the crowd.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking? This is a great question, I’ve definitely taken my share of risks!
We all know the saying, high risk equals high reward. Calculated risks can do wonders for your life.
You can always play it safe and live a normal average life, but if you want more out of life, you are inevitably going to have to take some risks.
I’ve taken risks such as leaving jobs and relationships that no longer served me. And although it might seem terrifying at that moment, making the difficult choice is what will help you level up in life.
Every time I get on stage, I’m taking a risk. The equipment could be faulty or messed up. The crowd could have a bad reaction to your song or performance. But that’s the risk I’m willing to take.
I can either sit on the sidelines and wonder what if, or I can get up there, play, and give it my best shot. I’d rather the latter. Put me in coach!
But to each their own. Some people are okay with a normal, average life. There’s nothing wrong with that. They might actually be happier people and less stressed. But less risk equals less reward.
The risk-taker takes the risk of failing but also has a chance at major success. High risk equals high reward.
The choice is yours.
Contact Info:
- Email: tunezfromthecrypt@gmail.com
- Website: https://sites.google.com/view/tunezfromthecrypt
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tunezfromthecrypt/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tunez-From-The-Crypt-101955438485930/
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tunezfromthecrypt
