An Interview with Jose Gaspar from SVNR
Born and raised from a family that really loves music, this handsome guy learned to play songs at an early age. I asked Jose Gaspar himself why did he named it SVNR (Souvenir). Jose told me that he have three reasons why. I'm pretty sure you guys are very curious right now about it haha okay let's know more about the man behind SVNR music and why he came up with that unique name!
Why SVNR?
One would be kaya SOUVENIR kasi commonly referenced word siya sa mga lyrics ng favorite kong artists. Second, I had an upcoming gig that time but didn't want to use my own name for the performance so I just went for it as a pseudonym. And also in a deeper sense, for me kung ano mang music ang ginagawa ko ngayon, ano mang memories and experiences meron ako today, will one day become souvenirs of my youth.
What got you involved in this in the first place? What inspired you to make music?
"To start off, I was very eager to play in a band even back in high school. I got to form a lot of bands in my college years, and it involved different genres from Post hardcore, classic rock to emo-punk and it kind of continued up to my earlier years as a young professional after graduating college with two of my bands, Time's New Romance and Farcaster, where we played mostly our original music. Then, we stopped playing live shows in order to focus on each of our day jobs. So, during our hiatus, I had a lot of spare time to write music, as a bedroom musician, since really had no plan to perform the songs live. I was listening to a lot of City and Colour back then so Dallas Green, inspired me a lot for this project."
What genre?
"For this project, I drew a lot of inspiration from different genre's of music from Folk, Pop, Soul, R&B to Emo."
How has your music evolved since you first began?
"I started making straight up Folk music when I started with SVNR, then I incorporated a few Soul / R & B elements to the music, especially with the way I sing, because I kind of feel more comfortable singing that way, and with the new stuff I'm playing, I went back to my Emo-Punk routes and incorporated it with the lyrics and in my branding."
Is your family musical?
"Well, music was very much present in the family. Everyone from my Grandmother, my parents and my siblings are singers. When it came to influences my father pretty much opened me up to a lot of pop, rock, and even hip hop and r & b songs, because he was pretty much into whatever music MTV or the radio stations were playing back then. I remember he would pop in Parokya ni Edgar,True Faith, Michael Jackson, Boyz 2 Men, TQ, Bone Thugs, Nirvana, even the Backstreet Boys and a whole lot of other cool artist's records into our car's cassette player every time he'd pick me up after school."
Describe your first instrument
"I originally wanted to be a drummer, but owning a drum kit was very expensive and my parents could not afford buying me one, so instead, they bought me a cheap acoustic guitar for a beginner, since I told them I wanted to learn how to play one as well. I pretty much taught myself how to play with the help of a song book and a chord chart, and by the time I could play the songs I loved singing to, I just couldn't stop learning new songs and techniques."
What songs do you perform more frequently? Do you play any covers?
"For my live performances, I usually play my original songs; "Ghost of Regret", "Uneven", "Second Chances", "TSS", "Piercing Through", and "Sweetness". Occasionally, I do play covers from Drake, Gin Blossoms and City and Colour."
What do you like to do outside of music?
"I do like working out in my spare time. I think that as a musician going to the gym helps you take care of your health and your body, plus you get to look good and feel good."
How do you balance music with other obligations?
"Probably, just time management and setting your priorities for each day, since besides my day job and SVNR, I also play for Lunar Lights wherein we have a much more constant gig schedule. So I really have to keep my schedule on track so I could do music and my obligations responsibly and without sacrificing one for the other."
Any musical icons/influences.
"For SVNR, I drew a lot of inspiration from Dallas Green of City and Colour / Alexisonfire, Dashboard Confessional, The Early November, Jeff Buckley, Ed Sheeran, Drake, Tyler Carter and Jonny Craig. Just a vast selection of my favorite, singers, song writers and bands."
What are the main topic for most of your songs?
"The songs I write for SVNR are mostly very personal, so its usually about my relationships, my personal struggles and some of the experiences of me and my friends. A classic example would be my song "Sweetness" which I wrote for my wife for our anniversary. It's kind of my ode to her and our relationship, so there. :)"
What has been your biggest challenge as a musician and how did you overcome it?
"The biggest challenge for me was just getting the music out there, and having a constant gig schedule. The independent music scene has just so much great music to offer that it kinda feels competitive to this point and you really have to promote your music consistently, follow through and use every social media tool you could get your hands on. "
How fans to be gain access to your music? Do you have a website?
"Well, most of my songs are up on my soundcloud page and I also have a Youtube page. I've put up a few covers and some live performances there."
Jose also told me he's planning to release an EP before the year ends so that's something to look forward to. Kakilig, right? Will definitely wait for it. SVNR also have facebook page here. And twitter for more updates!
Disclaimer:
Photos are not mine.
Photographed by Chelsea Dale, Caloy Encluna and April Gaspar
One would be kaya SOUVENIR kasi commonly referenced word siya sa mga lyrics ng favorite kong artists. Second, I had an upcoming gig that time but didn't want to use my own name for the performance so I just went for it as a pseudonym. And also in a deeper sense, for me kung ano mang music ang ginagawa ko ngayon, ano mang memories and experiences meron ako today, will one day become souvenirs of my youth.
What got you involved in this in the first place? What inspired you to make music?
"To start off, I was very eager to play in a band even back in high school. I got to form a lot of bands in my college years, and it involved different genres from Post hardcore, classic rock to emo-punk and it kind of continued up to my earlier years as a young professional after graduating college with two of my bands, Time's New Romance and Farcaster, where we played mostly our original music. Then, we stopped playing live shows in order to focus on each of our day jobs. So, during our hiatus, I had a lot of spare time to write music, as a bedroom musician, since really had no plan to perform the songs live. I was listening to a lot of City and Colour back then so Dallas Green, inspired me a lot for this project."
What genre?
"For this project, I drew a lot of inspiration from different genre's of music from Folk, Pop, Soul, R&B to Emo."
How has your music evolved since you first began?
"I started making straight up Folk music when I started with SVNR, then I incorporated a few Soul / R & B elements to the music, especially with the way I sing, because I kind of feel more comfortable singing that way, and with the new stuff I'm playing, I went back to my Emo-Punk routes and incorporated it with the lyrics and in my branding."
Is your family musical?
"Well, music was very much present in the family. Everyone from my Grandmother, my parents and my siblings are singers. When it came to influences my father pretty much opened me up to a lot of pop, rock, and even hip hop and r & b songs, because he was pretty much into whatever music MTV or the radio stations were playing back then. I remember he would pop in Parokya ni Edgar,True Faith, Michael Jackson, Boyz 2 Men, TQ, Bone Thugs, Nirvana, even the Backstreet Boys and a whole lot of other cool artist's records into our car's cassette player every time he'd pick me up after school."
Describe your first instrument
"I originally wanted to be a drummer, but owning a drum kit was very expensive and my parents could not afford buying me one, so instead, they bought me a cheap acoustic guitar for a beginner, since I told them I wanted to learn how to play one as well. I pretty much taught myself how to play with the help of a song book and a chord chart, and by the time I could play the songs I loved singing to, I just couldn't stop learning new songs and techniques."
What songs do you perform more frequently? Do you play any covers?
"For my live performances, I usually play my original songs; "Ghost of Regret", "Uneven", "Second Chances", "TSS", "Piercing Through", and "Sweetness". Occasionally, I do play covers from Drake, Gin Blossoms and City and Colour."
What do you like to do outside of music?
"I do like working out in my spare time. I think that as a musician going to the gym helps you take care of your health and your body, plus you get to look good and feel good."
How do you balance music with other obligations?
"Probably, just time management and setting your priorities for each day, since besides my day job and SVNR, I also play for Lunar Lights wherein we have a much more constant gig schedule. So I really have to keep my schedule on track so I could do music and my obligations responsibly and without sacrificing one for the other."
Any musical icons/influences.
"For SVNR, I drew a lot of inspiration from Dallas Green of City and Colour / Alexisonfire, Dashboard Confessional, The Early November, Jeff Buckley, Ed Sheeran, Drake, Tyler Carter and Jonny Craig. Just a vast selection of my favorite, singers, song writers and bands."
What are the main topic for most of your songs?
"The songs I write for SVNR are mostly very personal, so its usually about my relationships, my personal struggles and some of the experiences of me and my friends. A classic example would be my song "Sweetness" which I wrote for my wife for our anniversary. It's kind of my ode to her and our relationship, so there. :)"
What has been your biggest challenge as a musician and how did you overcome it?
"The biggest challenge for me was just getting the music out there, and having a constant gig schedule. The independent music scene has just so much great music to offer that it kinda feels competitive to this point and you really have to promote your music consistently, follow through and use every social media tool you could get your hands on. "
How fans to be gain access to your music? Do you have a website?
"Well, most of my songs are up on my soundcloud page and I also have a Youtube page. I've put up a few covers and some live performances there."
Jose also told me he's planning to release an EP before the year ends so that's something to look forward to. Kakilig, right? Will definitely wait for it. SVNR also have facebook page here. And twitter for more updates!
Love,
Eya
Disclaimer:
Photos are not mine.
Photographed by Chelsea Dale, Caloy Encluna and April Gaspar
0 comments