Today we’d like to introduce you to Gary Alfonso
Hi Gary, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
When I was 17 I listened to Led Zeppelin’s ‘The Rain Song’ and for some reason that day – I decided that I would become a musician. I didn’t come from a musical background, nor did I excel in music classes in school. But I found that song so moving that I knew all I wanted to do was write my own songs. With no hesitation I bought myself an acoustic guitar and piano and set out to begin writing my own songs.
I faced a fair amount of criticisms and put downs of people telling me ‘You can’t just learn how to sing’ or ‘You can’t learn music by writing your own songs’, but I stubbornly ignored them and proceeded to do the things I was told I couldn’t. It’s fairly common for people to take music lessons or learn cover songs to teach them music, but I just knew that wasn’t what would work for me. I would learn by doing that which I sought to do.
Music to me is an unusual art in the sense that some people can be musicians without writing their own songs. But the thought of becoming a musician to play the music of others just didn’t appeal to me. I likened it to an painter tracing paintings of their favorite painter or trying to paint that which had already been painted before. That was never going to work for me.
I obtained some modest recording equipment and started writing and recording hundreds of pieces of music. In my first couple of years of being a self taught musician, I’d estimate I wrote north of 100 songs.
Many years later I’d finally mustered the courage to start releasing my music and in 2020, I released my debut album ‘Greatest Hits’. This album contained a collection of songs I’d written through the years and really helped show me that it was possible to become an independent musician. After releasing my first album I vowed to release at least 1 album per year. I’m happy to report that I’ve been able to meet this goal, and in 2024, I actually ended up releasing 2 albums.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Art is seldom a smooth road. I often find myself grappling with delusions of grandeur and the impostor syndrome in equal measure. To some extent, I feel that those two mindsets sort of cancel each other out and keep me grounded. However for many years the impostor syndrome held me back from releasing my music and exposing myself as an artist.
My main struggles came and still come from trying to balance a life that isn’t fully devoted to the arts. Having to work a full time job deprives me of a significant portion of time which limits how much art I’m able to produce.
I’d really hoped that my first album would’ve set the world on fire and allowed me to dive 100% into making music, but when that didn’t pan out, I doubled down on my artistic endeavors and decided to challenge myself with releasing at least one album per year. The challenge remains the same – finding inspiration, making time for friends and family, self care, relaxation, and ensuring I don’t starve!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a composer, singer-songwriter, visual artist and software engineer. Professionally, I work in software development and have worked for Fortune 500 companies writing software.
For the artistic part of my life, I have released 6 self produced albums. I have also made and released 2 short experimental video games.
I am most proud of the fact that I’ve been able to release 6 music albums.
I think what sets me apart from others is that I learned music by writing my own songs, so while my influences are probably fairly apparent, I think that the way I string together my sounds and blend my influences ends up sounding fairly unique.
What’s next?
My plans for the future are to continue releasing at least one album per year. Though having released two albums in 2024 has made me think it might be time to aim for more than one album per year. I’m currently working on two new albums and I’m aiming to start imbuing my music with more humor.
Pricing:
- 9.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.GaryTheBard.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garythebard/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@garythebard
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-970852151
