Meet JC De Luna | Teaching Artist & Guitarist

We had the good fortune of connecting with JC De Luna and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi JC, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career? I started taking risks from that day I’ve decided to pursue music. It is a sink or swim industry and that means that you are taking a risk all the time. You have to bring your “A” GAME every time you perform, every time you teach, and every time you communicate with anybody because you could get cut any second. There is a small room to learn your ways around the industry and making that one mistake could derail your career. It is important to understand that you have to prepare and practice even if you are not expected to perform. There is this one quote that I would like to share from one of my guitar books and it just hit me when I’ve read it the first time (“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” – John Wooden.) You can definitely have a different interpretation to that quote, but for me, I took that in a different level and it helped me understand how to set my goals especially when I practice. The biggest risk that I made was I GAVE UP A CAREER THAT OFFERED ME A GENEROUS SALARY, AN AMAZING RETIREMENT PACKAGE, A COMFORTABLE LIFESTYLE, AND I GAVE THAT UP TO FOLLOW AN ARTISTIC PATH. For more than a decade, all I did was practice, perform, practice again and I did it over and over again. It is like living in a routine that I still do to this day. I do understand that I am not the only one competing for any music jobs around and it includes performing and teaching. I always knew that everything I did before was to prepare myself for my future career in music. I used all of the resources that were available to me at the time to get that extra juice and to gain an extra skill that I knew would be valuable in the future. The question now is how are you going to make it if there are no gigs available? To survive as an artist, teaching is the best way for me to make it. As a musician, and to give myself a chance, all I can do is to make sure that I am always prepared and ready to roll. I don’t know when I am getting that call to perform and the challenging part about that is to not know what kind of program to prepare like if it’s classical music (which is a very time consuming program) or popular music, which is also difficult. It takes a different type of motivation to keep your chops in-shape. When it comes to getting ready, I do it for fun and that for me makes practicing exciting. I challenge myself to learn new music, I arrange music that might seem impossible to pull, and I also do it for personal growth musically. Mentally, it is challenging to practice because sometimes, there is a drought and no one is calling. What would you do to still be excited? I use my time to work on other projects like composing, arranging new music, and recording new videos. The biggest role risks played in my life/career is I’ve learned how to be mentally prepared for everything. Not just my career, but also making basic decisions in life. Because of taking risks, I’ve learned how to balance my lifestyle and I understand how to organize my time and how to weigh short term and long term goals. Do not be afraid to take risks. Nothing is easy! Work hard, always listen, make adjustments, control what you can, be happy, and stay motivated! JC De Luna, M.Mus. info@juancarlosdeluna.com juancarlosdeluna.com

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a Los Angeles based guitarist. I enjoy promoting modern and classical guitar music by arranging, composing, and performing as both a soloist and ensemble member. I performed premieres of new compositions, including ones dedicated to myself. I’ve been described as an engaging and sensitive performer with a soulful touch. In addition to performing, I am a prolific arranger, creating original guitar adaptations of music from variety of artists. I also enjoy arranging music of all genres from pop to video game. I do understand that I am not the only one competing for any music jobs around and it includes performing and teaching. I always knew that everything I did before was to prepare myself for my future career in music. I used all of the resources that were available to me at the time to get that extra juice and to gain an extra skill that I knew would be valuable in the future. The question now is how are you going to make it if there are no gigs available? To survive as an artist, teaching is the best way for me to make it. As a musician, and to give myself a chance, all I can do is to make sure that I am always prepared and ready to roll. I don’t know when I am getting that call to perform and the challenging part about that is to not know what kind of program to prepare like if it’s classical music (which is a very time consuming program) or popular music, which is also difficult. It takes a different type of motivation to keep your chops in-shape. When it comes to getting ready, I do it for fun and that for me makes practicing exciting. I challenge myself to learn new music, I arrange music that might seem impossible to pull, and I also do it for personal growth musically. Mentally, it is challenging to practice because sometimes, there is a drought and no one is calling. What would you do to still be excited? I use my time to work on other projects like composing, arranging new music, and recording new videos. Do not be afraid to take risks. Nothing is easy! Work hard, always listen, make adjustments, control what you can, be happy, and stay motivated!

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?
I don’t have a list of favorite places to eat but I do like going to Grand Central Market and 626 Night Market. I do love coffee and I go to Blue Bottle Coffee and Philz Coffee a lot. There are few good bars in Burbank that I like, but I am a fan of IPA’s and Single Malt Whiskeys! Lagavulin is probably my favorite. List of my favorite spots in the city: 1. Hollywood Bowl 2. The Huntington Library 3. Disney Concert Hall 4, Grand Central Market 5. I like the beach so Santa Monica beach, Venice beach, and I like driving along PCH and stop where ever I think I can get a good photo!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
If you’re interested in learning high quality music education, please visit my friends at The French Conservatory of Music in Beverly Hills and Prado Music Academy in Granada Hills, CA.

Website: http://juancarlosdeluna.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jc.deluna/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcdeluna/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/delunajc
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juancarlosdeluna.jc
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jcdelunaguitar

Image Credits
JC De Luna