Daily Inspiration: Meet Juan Arguello

Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Arguello.

Hi Juan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I actually started music as a violin player when I was really little. I liked music and that was the only instrument I could learn at my school in Quito, Ecuador. At some point, I guess I got tired of it and the only other instrument in my house at the time was my grandpa’s acoustic guitar. So after kind of learning some songs I liked, I begged my dad to buy me an electric guitar. After like a year or two of learning guitar, I gravitated towards bass. When I first played bass with a band, it felt like something had clicked and I realized that that was the instrument I was meant for. I studied university in Ecuador for a while but moved to LA when I got the chance to study at Los Angeles College of Music in Pasadena. I finished my studies at Musicians Institute in Hollywood and it was during these time that I met the people with whom I’d work in the future. Now I play in a couple of bands (like every bass player since there’s more bands than bassists) with whom I’ve had some of the most amazing experiences.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It’s definitely been a rocky road. It really started in the least smoothest way possible because it took me all of my senior year of high school to convince my family that I wasn’t gonna starve as a musician. From there on, there’s been more smooth times in my career but I definitely think that one of the hardest things was starting a life away from everything that you know and having to learn from all the mistakes you make alone. At the end, it’s really worth it to keep going and to keep finding the place where you fit as a musician and person in general.

Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I’m a bass player and although I now mostly play rock, I specialize also in funk and R&B. I think that’s something that helps me get a different perspective than people that maybe only play rock, and that inspires me to write bass lines I enjoy playing and that also compliment the songs I work on. I think that’s a big advantage now since a lot of the modern styles incorporate techniques that are more traditional in other genres. I think one of my proudest moments was being part of the 25th Anniversary of Warped Tour as well as hearing songs I recorded being played in the radios of my home country.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
One of the biggest supporters I’ve had happened to also be the person who was completely against the idea of me studying music and becoming a musician in general. My mom. Once she was ok with the fact that there was no stopping me, she made sure I’d never give up (even if sometimes I felt like it) and that I always find a way to get to where I need to be. I truly think that every person I’ve had the pleasure of being in a band with played huge role in my life and helped shaping the person and musician I am today (for better or for worse). Specially I gotta thank a few people. Firstly Tiaday Ball (the singer of The World Over) for trusting and helping me with so many things I would make this unnecessarily long if I tried to name them, and secondly to Kira Alexi (singer and rhythm guitar player of Survive the Tide) for always reminding me of how beautiful music can be, showing me that there’s more to music than just chords and a melody and for allowing me to be a part of her journey as an artist.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: eonbass.com
• Instagram: @eonbass