Today we’d like to introduce you to Zachary Groll.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Zachary. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I dreamed about being a performer as long as I could remember. I would ask my parents to blast their music as loud as they could while we danced in the living room. I performed daring stage dives off of my bed in my underwear with an imaginary microphone or my air guitar. I listened to music religiously, and I always hoped that it would be my performance medium. My mom filled my ears with soulful harmonies and rocking horns from the likes of The Eagles and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. My dad introduced me to hotshot guitar slingers like Eric Clapton, Slash, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Jimi Hendrix to name a few. The issue was that I was not learning how to play any instruments.
I started playing trumpet in middle school band when I was 12. I enjoyed it for the social aspects, such as making friends and playing at sporting events, but I wanted to perform at a higher level. I wanted more. I considered quitting when I got to high school, but my mom encouraged me to stay and try the marching band (Thanks mom!). I loved it and I continued all the way through college, eventually competing and touring the United States for two years with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps. I also started playing guitar when I was 14, forming a band with some high school friends and making noise in our drummer’s garage (much to the dislike of our neighbors in the quiet, suburban town of plain-old Plano, Texas). I felt high and mighty while ripping on my guitar in Dallas bars at the ripe age of 17. Unfortunately, I knew that the “Rockstar” major did not exist in college at the time, so I decided to move my musical career forward with the trumpet.
I loved my high school band directors – Glenn Lambert and James Hannah – so much that I enrolled in Music Education at Texas Tech to become a great music educator like them one day. However, nearing the day I would graduate with my Bachelor’s in Music Education and be on the hunt for a teaching position, I realized that I still had the itch to perform. I prepared three solo recitals while at Tech while needing only one to graduate. I played in wind ensembles, jazz ensembles, brass quintets and community orchestras. I practiced religiously as though my life depended on it and I was not ready to retire to the band hall yet. I started the arduous process of auditioning at other universities to pursue a Performance degree, and I was accepted to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. For me, that was the moment I realized I had a chance to make my dreams a reality.
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?
Moving to a large city like Los Angeles was an immense wake-up call for me in a variety of ways. Realizing the amount of talent and competition in this city was initially more soul-crushing than it was inspiring or motivating. I feel like any artist of any medium could relate to that. I also have no immediate family in LA, and I do not get to see them as much as I would like.
I spent much of my Master’s Degree fixing old habits with my trumpet playing, and those habits were dying hard. Let alone not having formal lessons until I left high school, I also have complicated genetics that led to numerous dental surgeries during my career, causing constant readjustments. Most people are unaware of this fact, but most of my teeth are porcelain! This issue caused me a great amount of frustration and, at times, it made me fear losing my livelihood. If I was not able to feel confident and consistent with my work, I had no clue how I was going to be a successful musician in the business.
Another difficult thing about my art is consistent income. Inconsistencies in my workflow have put me in tough spots financially, and in turn I have learned to be versatile in my industry.
Please tell us about Mariachi Alma y Corazòn, South Central Skankers.
I continue to work as a music teacher part-time. Perhaps the greatest thing I have ever done for my career is explore different musical styles, which I believe makes me a better asset to my students. I used to think of myself as a single-style player before I started freelancing, but diving out of my comfort zone has been a very rewarding experience. Other than church orchestras and musicals, I have been fortunate enough to record new music with independent composers, join horn sections in Rock and Ska bands, and even help form a Mariachi group. I have performed in venues spanning Mexico, Europe, and all over the United States. I am the Co-Founder of Mariachi Alma y Corazòn, and also a member of the horn section for Ska-Core group South Central Skankers. Mariachi, especially, has been a window into a new world of cultural exchange that adds so much value to what I do.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Playing my guitar was something that always came easy for me. If there was something I was struggling with, I had no problem of finding a way to resolve it and squeeze all of the enjoyment I could ever want out of it. Playing my trumpet, however, did not come very easily. I wrestle with it all of the time, even to this day. When I was 12 and I had just started taking it home to practice, my mom and brother would sit at the kitchen table in the next room and exchange concerned looks with each other. “He just HAS to get better”, my mom would tell herself! Having worked with elementary school students for years, I am well aware of the ungodly sounds that can come out of a trumpet. My family were not always quick to compliment my playing, but they never allowed me to quit. For that, I am eternally grateful and will always remember that.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mariachialmaycorazon.com
- Phone: (323) 538-0077 (Mariachi Alma y Corazòn
- Email: [email protected], [email protected]
- Instagram: @zach_atecas (Personal) @mariachialmaycorazon @southcentralskankers
Image Credit:
Jose Jimenez, Can’t Fake The Funk Photography
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