Today we’d like to introduce you to Luke Metzler.
Hi Luke, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was desperate to perform and create from a young age, so I started teaching myself guitar from my Dad’s chord charts at age 10. At a school talent show I performed a song I wrote called “Girl With No Place in My Heart”, which was sufficiently dramatic for a young boy who’d never kissed a girl, and ever since I haven’t gotten enough of the euphoric feeling writing and performing gives me.
Growing up in Rochester, NY I was in musicals, a high school band with some amazing friends, a college a Capella group that taught me how to sing, and I performed my original music at any area college that would have me, from Penn State to Colgate. All of this focused me on a drive make music my livelihood.
I moved to LA in 2017 and started teaching voice lessons and getting booked at small private events as an entertainer. I was able to quickly cobble that into something like a living, and I’m so proud to call myself a professional musician. A big break on YouTube in 2019 opened another revenue stream of making parody songs, and now I’m on a path to sharing my original music with the world.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Losing my sister in 2014 was a heart-wrenching and brutal struggle for my family. I have never known anyone braver than Hannah was facing that brain tumor. I’m so proud to be her brother and I miss her every day, She’s also my inspiration to say yes to that adventure, to stay out a little later with friends, and to keep making music even if the journey can seem futile.
As a working musician in LA, money can be a fickle and fleeting thing. As my good buddy and comedian Michael Monsour says it can be “feast or famine”. Sometimes I get booked at a bunch of high-paying events in one week, and some months I get hired once. Besides the money, it can also be tough to feel as though I’m spinning my wheels as an original artist. Maybe I don’t have momentum on Spotify or I’m not penetrating on TikTok. The passion for making music is always gonna be there, it’s the other grinds that can get demoralizing.
My parents have always been 100% behind me on my journey as a musician. That is a blessing I can never thank them enough for, and our relationship is meaningful to me in ways that are hard to describe. There are struggles but I have incredible love on my side, and I’d rather have the worst day making music than the best day doing anything else.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I write and perform music! I’m probably best known for a parody song on my YouTube channel called “Old Thanos Road” which was about if the Avenger villain had made Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road”. That video opened up a wild path where I now make parody songs all the time for the channel. It’s a ton of fun and took my music production skills from almost nonexistent when I moved to LA to being able to produce and release my own stuff now.
I also perform all over Southern California as a musician for hire. Private events, celebrations, fundraisers, weddings, proposals, you name it and I’ve played it.
I’m most proud of my song “Green Hill Zone”. It’s my most listened to song on Spotify and in its short runtime I think it captures a wistful and nostalgic remembering of time-gone-by that might not even have been as we remember it. I’m so excited to keep making original music and sharing it with the world.
I think what sets me apart from others is that I’m constantly seeing people interact with my music and myself as a performer. Not just at a “Luke Metzler” show but at people’s private parties and weddings. At these special events with the people closest to them, I get to see what makes them move and what moves them. That tunes me in as a writer and entertainer with the soul of the audience I’m trying to reach.
Any big plans?
I’m so excited to keep bringing joy to people as a performer and to have the most amazing job to support my music dreams. I can’t for the release of my next two songs, “Secrets” and “We’re Gonna Make It”. They’re both driven by acoustic guitar and more laid-back yet poignant emotion, and I hope people enjoy the tunes as much as I enjoyed making them.
Pricing:
- I can be booked as a performer at any event you can imagine in SoCal and beyond! As long as we can make the transportation costs work I’ll perform anywhere. Transport aside, my rates are $300/hour.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0olbhZ7fjaHGUhMqlwCxzO?si=OyCPbBcZSWKzbgXUxGUS_g&dl_branch=1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFoSIcxfoVJVTSpr5XIlFtA
Image Credits
Matt Coughlin
