Today we’d like to introduce you to Sebastian Lorenz.
Hi Sebastian, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Born in a small town in western Austria, I first picked up a stringed instrument at the age of four. About a year later, I started taking classical guitar lessons until I quit at age eleven due to my increasingly strong interest in different genres that included the music of such greats as Steely Dan, James Taylor, John Hiatt and many more.
I grew up in a somewhat musical environment with my maternal grandfather being a professional drummer in the sixties and seventies, both of my brothers playing various instruments and my father having a big record collection and an intense relation to music.
My family’s relation to a local jazz festival gave me the chance to experience and witness world-class musicians such as Pat Metheny, Al Jarreau or Larry Carlton up close and almost in a private way on a frequent basis from age ten onwards. This of course significantly influenced my taste in music and gave me a chance to learn from long-time professionals. Around the same time, I started taking lessons again to increase my musical knowledge and to adapt to the new sound I was hearing. By the time I was fifteen, it became increasingly clear that music was a fundamental part of my life. Having had a teacher who studied in Los Angeles and by meeting three of LA’s great session musicians, Taras Prodaniuk, Billy Watts and David Raven, I subsequently made the decision to move to California and study music to pursue a life full of music.
I was fortunate to start playing professionally in my early teens around the local and international club scene and learn from the musicians I was lucky enough to play with, including such greats as John Lee Hooker Jr., Danny Bryant, Marcus Bonfanti (Ten Years After), Tim Hockenberry, Creed Bratton (The Office) and many more fabulous players.
Alright, 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?
I am convinced that the will to master literally anything always comes with certain challenges – nothing comes easily. For me, it has always been a matter of using these moments to recollect and get exposed to unfamiliar territory. That seemed to be the only way on how to handle a problem – turn the struggle into a lesson. After all everyone faces that sooner or later, whether it’s the time you have to put in on your instrument, being honest about who/what your creative self is, taking the risk to not fulfill expectations or wishes, opening up or handling people who don’t agree with your artistic outcome.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have been playing guitar all my life and can only remember a mere number of days without seeing one. Growing up listening, experiencing, seeing music and artists every day created this deep love, which never faded and I hope I manage to translate into my playing. I’ve always been and still am really fortunate to be part of great projects with even better people. Those people really keep moving me into different musical directions, from Blues to Jazz, Soul to Country, Bigband to Solo shows. While trying to get better at one thing, they also taught me the will to be versatile, get out of my comfort zone, start playing different instruments, playing a little bit of Mandolin, Lap Steel, Pedal Steel. Having had the chance to collaborate with a broad range of artists gave me the opportunity to try myself in many different situations and incorporate that into everything I do.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Feeling comfortable seems to be the key – but that doesn’t mean lazy or easy. Find someone that makes you feel comfortable enough to try things you are not used to, people you are comfortable with struggling in front of, that makes you think outside the box. I have always learned a lot from people I never tried to impress because I knew I couldn’t fool them. Get to the bone and just do what you need to do – some of the best mentors I’ve had never gave me a pre-made plan but helped me to come up with my personal step-by-step map. I feel like by working on your craft that way and treating people with an open, friendly and respectful mind you will end up meeting the people you need to meet.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_sebastianlorenz/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sebastianlorenz.music
Image Credits
Pran Lorenz, Julia Wiesmann, Lukas Bischof, Matthias Rhomberg, Tobias Neugebauer, Dominik Geyr
