Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Quintana.
Hi Joseph, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Picked up the drums in church at the age of eight years old, started taking lessons at a local music store. Continued music throughout middle school & high school with concert band, jazz band & marching band. Went to Citrus Community College where I built most of my experience gigging, recording, touring & educating within the styles of jazz, pop, rock, Latin, world, orchestral/ symphonic music & musical theater. Have assisted in clinics with the likes of Rick Lawson, Abraham Laboriel Sr., Randy Brecker, Donald Barret & Gregg Bissonette. Has performed musical production ‘A Wild Party’ at Cal State Fullerton. Has played Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’ with Stevie Wonder, has performed on Holland Americas cruise to the bahamas with Gospel trio The Martins, pianist Michael Sanchez & saxophonist Uriel Vega. Has toured Hawaii’s Sheraton Waikiki with big band artist Jimmy Borges & Melissa Manchester. Currently acting, gigging locally with multiple LA-based artists, teaching guitar, piano, ukulele, drums & percussion throughout Los Angeles & Inland Empire.
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?
This pandemic was a big halt on my career as it was picking up along with most of my colleagues. I was living in my rehearsal studio at the time & had very little work during the pandemic, I contracted covid and developed an anxiety with what the world was going through. I decided that I would get my life together & go on a diet, exercise frequently and practice my craft while preparing to move to LA. Since then, I have lost 80lbs and feel better than I ever have. I am not anywhere near my goal & continue to maintain a steady routine of working out, teaching, gigging & practicing.
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?
I am a freelance musician & educator whose primary instrument is drum set & percussion. I teach beginner piano, bass, guitar & ukulele at Glendora Music & Arts School as well as Pico Music Academy. I play every week with either one of the many local LA artists I play with, church gigs throughout SoCal, country gigs out in Temecula or private events & parties. I am known for my ‘pocket’ as a drummer, staying busy with multiple gigs within a day as well as bringing a hard work ethic from my preparation of writing out charts & utilizing my knowledge of music theory to benefit my memorization of multiple songs within a few days. I am proud of how sustaining my life can be as a musician during this time, if I can pay my bills & take my family out for dinner with my own earnings through music full time then I am a happy man. What sets me apart is how I am able to adapt to multiple styles of music, that I can read & write music, that I can learn multiple songs within a short amount of time & can manage my time to accommodate a steady routine of working out.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
My grandmother introduced me to Frank Sinatra & his big band who on some records had the Count Basie Orchestra. This is what provided a diverse source of musical interest for popular jazz. I grew up in a Christian home which was conservative from the roots of its religion, naturally through my adolescences I strayed away from the church and turned to hardcore punk rock in the San Gabriel Valley playing backyard shows throughout Southern California including cities in Compton, East LA, Orange County & more. I found that in high school, there was a higher expectation of playing within the drum-line which helped me learn how to practice and how to physically condition myself for marching season. I studied the rudiments and my drum instructors from high school are still close friends of mine who have mentored me throughout my career.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: JosephQuintana.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWKYEHEF7GV/?utm_medium=copy_link
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/pages/Joseph-Quintana/1431049297185221
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jbqdrum/status/1459014022246797318?s=21
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/QaESNhYnMNc
Image Credits:
Isaac Garcia
