The next episode of “KRWG Music Spotlight” will air Saturday night at 10 on KRWG-TV, featuring Santana Garcia. In a preview of the episode, host Scott Brocato talks with Garcia about his musical influences, the evolution of his guitar playing, and more.
Scott Brocato:
Tell me about growing up in Anthony. You were born in El Paso and your family moved to Anthony?
Santana Garcia:
Yeah, when I was very young, my parents bought some land in Anthony by the river. And it was a beautiful place to grow up. I didn't have very many neighbors.
Scott Brocato:
Was that good or bad?
Santana Garcia:
That was a good thing! I think it was a good thing because it allowed me to just enjoy the outdoors and also just kind of have space to myself away from school. And a lot of pecan trees and cotton fields, chile fields. It's a very peaceful, very peaceful place for a young kid to grow up.
Scott Brocato:
Very aromatic, too, with the chile?
Santana Garcia:
Yeah, depending on the seasons.
Scott Brocato:
When did you first get your guitar? Your dad bought you and your brother, I believe, your first guitars?
Santana Garcia:
Yeah.
Scott Brocato:
How old were you?
Santana Garcia:
I was like eight years old. My brother was...he's three years older, so he was 11, almost 12.
Scott Brocato:
Is he also a musician?
Santana Garcia:
Yeah, he's a guitarist. He picked up guitar before I did. He took a class in 6th grade and I was in second and third grade. And he kind of just taught me everything he learned from the guitar class he took.
Scott Brocato:
Was it pretty easy for you to pick up?
Santana Garcia:
Yeah, it was pretty easy. It's always been...I guess the word would be “natural.” It's always felt pretty natural to me.
Scott Brocato:
He bought you your first guitar, your dad. How else has your family been encouraging, as far as your musical interests?
Santana Garcia:
My poor mother has never had her living room to herself. (Laughs) She's always had it full of instruments when I was growing up with me and my brother playing in bands. We always had, like, amps and drum sets and guitars and bass amps and bass guitars. So that was big support because, I mean, that's not normal, but they were there to support it.
Scott Brocato:
It’s normal if you're a musician.
Santana Garcia:
I know, right? We make it normal. (Laughs)
Scott Brocato:
It's our normal!
Santana Garcia:
Because of my family's support, I'm at where I'm at right now. So yeah, they're big in the musical (support).
Scott Brocato:
Do you remember who some of your musical influences were growing up? And did you get a lot of it from your dad? Did he pass along some favorites of his to you? Or were there some acts you picked up on your own?
Santana Garcia:
So my dad introduced me to Jim Croce, and I love Jim Croce so much. He's a very big reason why I play fingerstyle guitar now. And just the style of folk and, you know, country, Americana music. And my brother introduced me to the Beatles at a very young age. And I was like in second or third grade. And that really, really pushed me towards a beautiful musical journey.
Scott Brocato:
What were some favorite Beatles songs?
Santana Garcia:
Well, the first song I ever heard from the Beatles was “Strawberry Fields Forever.” And I remember hearing it on a CD player. And it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced when listening to that.
Scott Brocato:
Let's talk about the process of creating music, especially Instrumentals. We mostly have guests on here that talk about their process with their songs. Often they write the lyrics first, then the music. What goes into creating instrumentals?
Santana Garcia:
Well, for me, it always starts with the feeling. I always get a feeling of inspiration, but also just love. And I guess, what's the word? Almost like a naturistic feeling. And so that always leads to me just kind of picking up my guitar and start like noodling around and just kind of playing and feeling it. And it always turns into a composition at the end of like a week or, some songs take longer than others, but it just creates itself, and it starts with just a good feeling, yeah.
Scott Brocato:
It's a long way from your background and some of the music you played before. I mentioned in the intro that you played “Midwest emo roots and punk.” I know what punk is, but what is Midwest emo roots music? How would you describe that?
Santana Garcia:
Well, a lot of that came from like the Midwest area of the country and like the East Coast. A lot of those bands were experimenting with different tunings and they were playing, you know, unique style of like emo and punk mixed together. And they kind of like created this like Midwest emo sound. Also, it's a little along the lines of math rock, but not fully.
Scott Brocato:
What is math rock?
Santana Garcia:
It's a lot like a lot of like tapping guitar, if you will. A lot of like odd time signatures and like very Van Halen style-like technique and stuff, but more modern.
Scott Brocato:
And you were in bands?
Santana Garcia:
Yeah, I've been in bands growing up.
Scott Brocato:
We were talking off the air about you had an early gig at 14 in a bar. What was that like?
Santana Garcia:
That was fun! Yeah, we opened for this band called the Bad Assets. They're from California. They were touring and we were able to get on their opening bill with them. They're at this place in El Paso. And yeah, that was fun. That was a good experience to be able to be so young and to be able to open for a band, especially for a touring band from California. They were really good.
Scott Brocato:
What's next for you? Do you have any new music coming out?
Santana Garcia:
I'm working on a self-titled album. It should be out in the summer, and I'm really excited about that. I've been working hard on that and putting out all of love into that and time.
