Meet Andy Estrella | Performing and Recording Artist

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

Hi Andy, what is the most important factor behind your success?
In all things, I think the key to success is consistency. As a student, I found that making routines for which work gets done when was instrumental in my success in music school. I used to dedicate certain hours of the day outside of class time to specific assignments or projects so I can finish the work well ahead of the due date and avoid cramming. As a guitarist, constant daily targeted practice is a key step in keeping my chops up and continuously improving. For example, I think that an hour of practicing a particular skill, such as improving technique or studying theory has done a lot more for me than six hours of mindless playing. In my case, setting up routines to keep myself productive is an important facet of performing at a level that is acceptable to me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a guitarist that draws influence from such artists as Dream Theater, Opeth, Symphony X, and Steve Vai. It was because of them that I eventually found myself studying in Berklee College of Music in Boston. It was here that I got to meet Carson Ezell, Anthony Rocazella, and Veronica Robledo — my band mates in the progressive metal band Lacedaemon. I am very proud of the work that we did in our debut EP Created//Destroyed. This album served as my capstone project before I graduated from Berklee and is a good representation of the music that I like to write and listen to. Currently, I am working with band mate Carson Ezell on a different project and album that focuses more on accessible progressive music. There were many challenges that I had to face to get to where I am professionally right now. Chief among them would be finding musicians talented enough to play in a technically demanding setting. The solution to this was finding like-minded people with similar musical foundations and establishing a fixed schedule for writing and rehearsing music consistently.

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 a friend was visiting for a week, I would probably think of places to eat first since I am a big fan of the restaurant experience. Some places I could think of at the top of my head are Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, Star of India Tandoori Restaurant, the Farmer’s Market in 3rd and Fairfax, Mirate, and Shabuya Shabu-Shabu near DTLA. As a newcomer to LA myself, I could only recommend Scum and Villainy, and No Vacancy in Hollywood for bars. For live music, I would go to the Sun Rose in West Hollywood, and the Hollywood Bowl.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would need to write a book to properly acknowledge all the people in my life that contributed to getting me to where I am today. However, some of the ones I can think of right now is my parents Conrad and Sandra Estrella for unconditionally supporting me in all my passions in life, my partner Roxanne Cauchon for always being my number one fan, Reuel Ibanes, my original guitar mentor for giving me the best musical and technical foundation anyone could ask for, and my Berklee classmates and professors, for helping me reach a new level of musicianship.

Website: https://www.andyestrella.net/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andyetoile4/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/conrado-andrew-iv-estrella-417424154/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kaliguitaracademy

Image Credits
Speve Kayne, Timothy Mah, Asher Thomas