Today we’d like to introduce you to Julian Loida.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Beatles and Ella Fitzgerald filled my weekends growing up with strict cleaning on the weekends before or after soccer games in Kirkwood, MO. I imagined I’d the fullback for a pro-soccer team, but never imagined I’d be playing drums and percussion, let alone singing on stage. The Irish-Catholic grade school I attended two blocks from home had seasonal concerts that our music teacher would put on for church with the whole school and sometimes, even worse, for the weekend services which anyone could go to. I was terrified of doing anything in front of a crowd, I was generally scared of crowds and hated singing or doing anything musical on stage or in front of people.
In third grade, I heard the Sex Pistols and fell in love. Even though I was and remain a kind and gentleman, music was a place to express those deepest emotions, a safe place to embrace yourself and the moment. I found my way to playing the drums in late grade school and eventually found myself to the music of Bach, Glenn Gould and Phillip Glass admit playing in a successful high school rock’n’roll cover band. In all of this jazz found it’s way into my studies as well as Cuban music and Arabic Music…I just loved everything.
Music quickly became more than a passion, but an obsession. Though be leaders on the field, I quit everything and practiced as much as I could in every crevice of a break I could find before, during and after school. Though being a late starter, I found myself going to college with kids who had been playing since they were kids and I just kept practicing and pushing. I continued to play back in St. Louis during holidays and summers being known there as a drum set player, while at school being known as a percussionist. I practiced like the audition was tomorrow everyday through grad school in Boston. Boston took me in, accepted the more intellectual music that I was making and a part of…and I got lucky. I found my way into some stability working part-time at the historic folk venue, Club Passim and working with Brian O’Donovan of WGBH as the Celtic scene of Boston particularly support me initially. I continued to play, tour, even started making, recording, and touring my own music.
After years of saying yes to everything, the pandemic hit and everything changed. It was a time of reflecting as to whether I should’ve ever decided to be a musician or was that a selfish short-sighted choice, managing an abusive girlfriend who I eventually left in (basically) the middle of the night for my own safety and mental health which left me unraveled as I spent the next 14 months completely dedicated to myself, self-reflection, who I was, the lessons I hadn’t learned, and how I would never let that happen again.
This led to a bit of moving in and out of Boston to landing where the Pilgrims first landed also, in Plymouth, MA. I’ve found myself working between Boston and Cape Cod as head of Music & Events at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod, Children’s Music Coordinator for Shelter Music Boston, a freelance musician, filmmaker, making dance films, a piano album, debuting string arrangements, employing my friends as much as possible and loving my wonderful and loving partner.
Always when introducing myself I tell them that I’m from St. Louis. It’s a place not many people have been and not many people from St. Louis come all the way up to Boston and the Cape. It often feels like being from a different country being from St. Louis and living in the heart of New England. We have two different ways of life, needs, ways of communicating, taste in music and art…it’s a trip! Also, when people in New England talk about BBQ I can’t help but roll my eyes and when people in St. Louis talk about seafood I also roll my eyes, depending on what type they are talkin’ about.
Just thinking about St. Louis makes me feel calm. It’s a place where I know a community loves me, cares for me, and routes for me. It’s one of the most important places in the world to me, but like anywhere you grow up, at some point depending on your personality and goals, you might find you have to leave to love what you’ve left.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I don’t know anyone who has had a smooth road, I guess some people do, but life is hard. I just heard a Cape Cod poet talk about how death feeds on life, it’s so true…we grow only to perish…so yes it’s been a struggle in every way imaginable.
Being an independent musician, self-funding your projects, getting resources, advocating for yourself to people who are getting busier and busier with more free high quality options at their fingertips…it’s hard, it’s actually impossible and a miracle when it works.
One of the new struggles is letting the people around me know that I’m a performing musician and active musician as I have a couple of jobs that might make it appear that I’ve mailed it in, but it actually quite the opposite.
I’m currently working hard on a piano record that I’m just thrilled about and I’m figuring out how and when to release and promote it to make it worthwhile. It’s hard to dumb so much personal funding, heart, soul, and time into project knowing that they will be released for free…tough, but working with what we got.
The environment is ever changing, moving to TikTok, but I try to stay grounded and keep a healthy distance from fads. In the end, music might be one of the most important things after food, water, clean air, and shelter. Though I can’t build a fire, I’ll be able to entertain and bring joy to people in the apocalypse, though wouldn’t be surprised if I’m voted off the island well before the skilled hunter-gathers, no offense taken.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a classically trained percussionist who loves all music. I’m someone who doesn’t like to be put in a box because I genuinely do many dozens of things at a professional level. I play hundreds of instruments, but people do often ask what are my favorites or things like that and I lean towards vibraphone or mallet percussion, tambourine, drum set, congas, polyrhythms, experimental and avant-garde work, and collaborating with different artists as well as singers.
Essentially what has happened is that I’m known for different things in different places by different communities and I’m always trying to let each community know I also do this and this and this…because I love to work and I love to do many different things.
For those interested in checking out my work, I encourage you to go through my website, JulianLoida.com and search my name in Youtube and get curious. You can find my albums on all streaming platforms as well and encourage you to save to your playlists, follow, and send to your friends.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
One of the first painters I ever worked with use to say, “Julian would find someone to collaborate with even if he was mid-air after falling off a cliff”. Sounds a bit crude, but was a very endearing compliment as she had seen me collaborate with at least 50 artists in the couple years we worked together.
All to say, I love collaborating with people though I’m being more selective. I’ve really been enjoying making short films and would love to collaborate with more actors and filmmakers.
As independent artists, we just need money to be very honest. If it makes you feel better to just buy 3 albums or buy extra tickets to shows that’s great, but it just takes money to make art and as importantly promote the work. Also, tell your friends about the work you love, bring them to shows, influence your immediate community, share posts and bring new people into the know.
Supporting fundraisers for projects is so helpful and sharing those is so helpful. Writing emails connecting me to other artists and likeminded artists is great and it’s all about bringing people together and the community.
That’s what I would suggest. Just know we put everything into everything we do and it’s great to know people are enjoying it or at least interacting with it.
Contact Info:
- Email: julian.loida@gmail.com
- Website: JulianLoida.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julianloida/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julianloidamusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYJmBCf7bhX1CSYTzO7Z2Wg
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/20EomqsVPTQ1IbcHJAOyZe?si=cl9zmvj6ThW6nQZLSK3bKg&nd=1
