Meet Monica Guardado | Singer/Songwriter, Musician & Lab Technologist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Monica Guardado and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Monica, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
This is something I wrestle with a lot as an independent artist. Often times it can feel like the odds are stacked against you, and the ability to actually earn a decent income as a musician feels increasingly difficult. You look around and see some of your peers who are further along than you, they have more followers, streams, play bigger stages, etc. All of these things combined can make giving up feel like the right thing to do.

But go further and really visualize what that looks like. When I feel like giving up, I close my eyes and picture what my life would look like without music. Then I realize life with music now, even without fame, recognition, or money, is more alive and full of possibility than a life without it. It’s good to be ambitious, but if you get too focused on a goal or reaching a certain destination, you can’t enjoy what you’re doing and you run the risk of burning yourself out. As long as you love what you do, keep going. But make it sustainable for yourself financially, emotionally, and mentally. A career in music is a marathon, not a race.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I set myself apart from other artists by simply sharing exactly what I’m feeling at the time of writing and recording – because that can truly only come from me. Then I put it out into the world in the hopes that someone who needs it will find it.

With this particular set of songs on the Night School EP, I tried different styles and sounds for each of the five songs. What has really gotten me excited is seeing how people have reacted to them and what got them excited about the music. By far the biggest surprise, to me anyways, was how many people latched onto Scorpio Moon as their favorite. I guess cut-a-bitch astrology rock is having a moment! I’m really proud to have found a lane that most listeners didn’t even know existed and to have them really like it.

I’ve gotten to where I am today by challenging myself to go way beyond my comfort zone in going out there and continuing to share my music. I have nauseating stage fright, and that anxiety exists for weeks prior to a show up until the moment I play my first note. But deep down, I know that this is what I really need to be doing. Reaching out to other artists to collaborate or seek their advice has also been so important. It took me a while to realize this, but I don’t need to do this alone! And I certainly don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We are all in this together, so knowing that we are a community and can help one another figure out what works, what doesn’t, and to all move in the same direction down this path has been key.

My journey has been a lot of practice and a lot of frustrations, especially when music releases didn’t meet my expectations or shows didn’t go well. But the thing that always puts one foot in front of the other is my consistency in writing and expressing myself. That is what pushes me to keep going out there and share these feelings. I’m pretty sure that if I didn’t I would explode.

There are a lot of other things, too, that I need to give myself credit for. I have a full-time job and self-fund all my stuff. Doing music after a full work week is not freaking easy! I also have adhd, so fluttering my way through all the whirlwind thoughts and distractions that pull me in every direction to even sit down and create is really tough. It’s a lot of late nights and self-doubt and grief at missing another self-imposed deadline. But the key is to keep going! Something will always get made – it definitely never is in the exact way I thought it would be, but something meaningful and real gets made nonetheless.

I genuinely feel that the pursuit of music or art in and of itself is a strange sort of spiritual test. One of my favorite authors, Stephen King phrases it in a perfect way : the pursuit of making art is an act of pushing against the force of uncreation. In order to do that, I’ve had to learn to stop being my own enemy. I’ve had to learn to speak to myself with kindness and drive myself to pursue my passions because I am someone worth doing that for.

I guess if the world at large where to take anything away from my story it would be this: if it is in your heart to create, do it. You are not doing anyone a service, least of all to yourself, by hiding away your art in fears that it won’t be good enough. Get out there and fail, and fail again, and one day you might pleasantly surprise yourself with what you’ve managed to accomplish. No great art is born without that innate struggle.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I had friends or family visiting town, I’d start off their visit by taking them to Headquarters Coffee in the Nations. It comes across as a tiny little hole in the wall at first, but when you step inside it’s full of local art, fun merch, and of course, delicious, high quality coffee, tea, and lattes. Then, I’d take them vintage shopping at Mirror Mirror in Donelson, and stop by Fanny’s Music House in East Nashville to peruse through some beautiful vintage guitars. For an evening activity, depending on who’s on that night, I’d take them either to The Basement or The Ryman for a show. To close out the evening, I’d take them to my favorite speakeasy called The Patterson House for a nightcap.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have many people to thank. But first and foremost I have to give a shout out to my fiancé. He’s gone to every single one of my shows, he helps me load in, load out, he takes photos, he helps me film content, provides me with emotional support, and is always encouraging me to keep going. I can’t tell you how many times along this journey I’ve felt overwhelmed to the point of tears, and just wanted to quit, but he has a way of calming me down, and reminding me to focus on what’s important.

I need to give a shoutout to my close friends and fellow musicians. I don’t know where I would be without their camaraderie. When you inevitably encounter obstacles, it’s so helpful to go to your peers and have them mirror your own struggles. It makes you feel less alone.

And lastly, I want to give a shout out to my producer Allan Fine for believing in my songs. It took almost two whole years to write and record this EP and I’m so proud of the work that we’ve managed to accomplish together.

Website: https://www.monicaguardado.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monicamoment/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/monicagmusic/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLeeBcQZ3JbbcHZJZCw4yQg

Image Credits
Derek Jones, Kirt Barnett