“I will persist until I succeed,” said Chris Vazquez, SoundLife Program Director, in his opening remarks at the 2019 SoundLife Summer Showcase. The quotation, which comes from the late Og Mandino set the tone for an afternoon of incredible…

We really hesitated on the title “Dressed to Kill.” If you are familiar with Kiss, Dressed to Kill is the title of their third album. The album cover shows the band wearing suits while still in full make-up. If you…

What exactly is a “Session Musician”? Often we hear this term, and it makes us think of the recording studio. However, the truth is that the studio is just a small sliver of what a session musician encompasses. There was…

Enrique Lara is more than just an incredible musician and music educator. He also happens to be an inspiring five-star human being, which makes him a perfect fit for the SoundLife family. Enrique joined SoundLife Music Academy in 2018 and…

Once a week, a student sits across from their music teacher for a period of anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour seeking guidance on how to play their instrument. In their hands, students hold a type of mystery box…

For the last three years, I have been an on-call substitute for the band Air Supply. Their main guitarist―who has been in the band for the last ten years, has a family, and is still playing 100+ dates per…

It’s a new year. It’s a new day. Anything is possible. Everything is possible.

This is the mindset that most people have on the 1st of January. Students learning to play an instrument should be no different. Batman and Superman…

On average, I play around 150 gigs per year. When I was in my 20s, that number would often reach above 200. The only difference now is that I say "no" much more often, and I imagine that will continue…

“Quality is not an act, it is a habit” - Aristotle 

Musicians are often referred to as “weekend warriors.” During the days when others are at home watching football and fighting over the popcorn, musicians are racing around town from…

Halloween is my family's favorite holiday. That is not because we’re crazies. It mostly relates to being from the east coast and growing up around the beautiful shades of orange and brown every year. We look forward to decorating our…

Jurassic Park is an amazing movie. I don’t think anybody would question this statement. To be clear, I’m talking about the original movie from 1993. The rest of the franchise is up for debate. I can clearly remember seeing dinosaurs…

Dear Parents, Students, Family, And Friends... 

My wife is sitting across from me, lying on a hospital bed and set up on a machine that monitors our babies' heart beats. We are three weeks away from bringing twin baby girls…