Meet James Custodio | Singer & Artist

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

Hi James, how do you think about risk?
I think risk is necessary in order to succeed. I am always one to believe that in order to float, you need to swim in the deep end of the water. Without taking risk, you place yourself in a comfortable position. With comfortably comes complacency, without the need to ever progress. In my career and life as a whole, taking risks is everything. When it comes to doing music, there’s a lot of times where taking risks could return benefits ten times the amount. I have a lot of close family that doubt what I am doing but every time I make a leap forward, they throw their support behind me. One huge risk I would say I’m taking right now would be moving to the Philippines to pursue my music career in that market. My manager, Reno Ludwiga, made the necessary moves and got me in contact with several huge artists from Manila. Seeing a lot of support and success thus far has made me cement the decision to move from my comfort in Los Angeles to Manila.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
To simply put it, I do music. But the thing that sets me apart from others is my vision of storytelling and utilizing my Filipino heritage. I use a lot of Tagalog in my songs and always make them with the idea of my homeland in mind. I am definitely proud of how far I’ve come, especially expanding into the Filipino music industry. From touching base with artists such as John Roa, KingPromdi, and others whom I can’t mention just yet. I’m always excited to work more with people from the other side of the pond. I got to where I am today through educating myself and having fun. It wasn’t an easy road, but I had to learn how to properly do things such as produce, engineer, and song write. All that paired with just enjoying the craft for what it is. Some of the lessons I learned thus far is to stay persistent despite the odds, keep living life in the moment, and to reach beyond the stars. The one thing I would want the world to know about my story is that regardless of whatever pain, struggles, or conflicts I go through, I kept going. I lost my mother not too long ago, and I barely met my real father right after. It’s okay to cry about things like that, but I turned that fuel into fire. It became my ultimate drive to see this all through the end. There is always a sun at the end of a storm.

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 we’re talking about Los Angeles? I would definitely say Porto’s, Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, and most of all: Max’s Restaurant, an authentic Filipino restaurant located in Glendale.
If we’re talking about Manila? For a great restaurant is has to be Mulligan’s Main, a Fil-American gastropub in Parañaque. I would also have to tell people to go to the Greenbelt Mall in Makati City.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I honestly would like to give my biggest thanks to my manager, Reno Ludwiga. Without him I wouldn’t be as knowledgable in the music industry as I am right now. I consider him my best friend and my brother.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jcustodiomusic?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/james.custodio.1232?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@j.custodio252?app=desktop

Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KSDVkPC6Ain4fTzUrSJ1H?si=3_oy4d3xQLKAgOfTSKY5-g
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/j-custodio/1634742101

Image Credits
Photographer (Instagram):
@Gabella.Photos