WEBVTT - Juanes 0:00:15.276 --> 0:00:23.156 Pushkin. I was crazy. When I get to the United States, 0:00:23.196 --> 0:00:27.436 I didn't have like anything really, you know, just inside 0:00:27.436 --> 0:00:29.476 of me. It was something that was moving my heart, 0:00:29.596 --> 0:00:32.636 my soul. Every day. I have to do this. There 0:00:32.716 --> 0:00:35.476 is no other way. There's no mistakes here. You have 0:00:35.596 --> 0:00:40.196 to do this or you die. That's Colombian singer Juans 0:00:40.316 --> 0:00:42.756 and to me, he's one of the best examples of 0:00:42.796 --> 0:00:46.036 an artist whose success was hard one. He didn't grow 0:00:46.076 --> 0:00:49.116 up with connections in the business. It was his incredible 0:00:49.156 --> 0:00:51.236 work ethic that got him where he is now, the 0:00:51.276 --> 0:00:54.316 winner of two Grammys and more than twenty Latin Grammys. 0:00:54.796 --> 0:00:57.596 You might have heard his most popular song La Camisa 0:00:57.676 --> 0:01:01.556 Negra or one of his many hit albums like Undia Normal. 0:01:02.116 --> 0:01:05.956 His commitment to music started young. My first community I 0:01:05.956 --> 0:01:08.116 have a a small video and I am playing guitar 0:01:08.196 --> 0:01:12.276 with my brother is probably I don't know, around seven 0:01:12.356 --> 0:01:14.996 years old something like that. Since I was a kid, 0:01:15.636 --> 0:01:19.956 I always saw my brothers, all brothers, playing guitar and 0:01:20.036 --> 0:01:24.156 singing music from South America. So since I have memory, 0:01:24.396 --> 0:01:27.436 I just have my guitar, you know, all the pictures 0:01:27.436 --> 0:01:30.756 and videos from my family. Always the guitar bigger than me. 0:01:31.396 --> 0:01:34.716 But I was always so inspired by by the sound 0:01:34.756 --> 0:01:38.156 of the guitar and the singing and all these music 0:01:38.596 --> 0:01:43.916 from all South America. This is Backstage Pass and I'm 0:01:44.036 --> 0:01:47.556 Eric Betro. I'm a vocal coach to some pretty successful singers. 0:01:47.916 --> 0:01:50.636 On this show, I talked to my students about their lives, 0:01:50.716 --> 0:01:54.196 their biggest insecurities, and how they keep building their careers. 0:01:54.596 --> 0:01:57.676 People think the great singers only rely on their natural talents, 0:01:57.876 --> 0:02:00.836 but finding your voice takes a lot of work. Together, 0:02:00.956 --> 0:02:07.276 will explore what it really takes to make it. Dare Now, 0:02:07.356 --> 0:02:10.236 did your parents play music too or just your brothers? 0:02:10.756 --> 0:02:14.476 Just my brothers. But my father used to sing tango 0:02:14.596 --> 0:02:17.196 music when he was at home, and he was not 0:02:17.316 --> 0:02:19.876 like a professional singer, but he used to do it 0:02:19.916 --> 0:02:23.036 really well. And then my old brother started to sing 0:02:23.156 --> 0:02:26.236 also tango music. So I just became a fan of 0:02:26.636 --> 0:02:31.196 this kind of music. And then when I became fifteen 0:02:31.316 --> 0:02:36.276 years old, I get crazy with rock music, like totally crazy, Eric. 0:02:36.436 --> 0:02:39.636 So for me, it was like a game changer because 0:02:39.676 --> 0:02:42.876 when I started to listen to rock music, I completely 0:02:42.916 --> 0:02:47.036 forgot everything else. I just wanted to listen to Metallic 0:02:47.156 --> 0:02:50.956 as Layer, Zeppa led Zeppelin, Black South at you know, 0:02:51.116 --> 0:02:53.916 vine Hell and all these bands, and I get so 0:02:54.076 --> 0:02:59.316 crazy about that. That was the same time that MTV start, 0:03:00.116 --> 0:03:04.276 so I used to watch MTV like crazy, and I remember, 0:03:04.716 --> 0:03:07.916 you know, Metallica, of course, when they released the first 0:03:07.996 --> 0:03:22.516 video on MTV, O my bread, I would say, Metallica, 0:03:22.676 --> 0:03:25.516 it's like my ferry band of all time. And also 0:03:25.716 --> 0:03:27.916 a lot of rock music from South America as well. 0:03:28.276 --> 0:03:31.516 Right right the middle of the eighties, Spanish rock music 0:03:31.796 --> 0:03:34.956 start to become like a very important for us. So 0:03:35.196 --> 0:03:41.276 bands like Sola Stadio and Charlie Asia, Fito Pies San, 0:03:41.996 --> 0:03:45.156 all of those start to be part of our culture 0:03:45.156 --> 0:03:49.356 and I was so inspired by them. I start to 0:03:49.516 --> 0:03:51.836 learn how to play the electric guitar, I start to 0:03:51.956 --> 0:03:54.076 learn how to play a little bit of drums, and 0:03:54.196 --> 0:03:57.076 then I became part of this metal band. It was 0:03:57.236 --> 0:04:00.116 very positive for me because at that time, managing was 0:04:00.156 --> 0:04:04.956 a very complicated time, you know, for the city. Columbia's 0:04:05.036 --> 0:04:08.916 drug bosses struck back today, bombing and burning buildings and 0:04:09.116 --> 0:04:12.396 homes and Madigan a stronghold at the drug cartel where 0:04:12.436 --> 0:04:16.556 troops this week carried out dozens of rains. We were 0:04:16.796 --> 0:04:20.396 living very difficult moments that I found through music, and 0:04:20.716 --> 0:04:23.876 especially through rock music, a way to escape and just 0:04:24.036 --> 0:04:28.316 to feel saved somehow. Wow. And actually we start to 0:04:28.396 --> 0:04:31.636 play a lot in Colombia, like almost every weekend. And 0:04:31.996 --> 0:04:36.516 I was finishing my eleventh grade, going to the university, 0:04:37.156 --> 0:04:39.196 and I remember that I was working a lot with 0:04:39.516 --> 0:04:41.916 this band, and I couldn't believe when they were paying 0:04:42.036 --> 0:04:45.236 us to perform. I was amazing, you know, the feeling 0:04:45.596 --> 0:04:49.476 like Okay, now I can just live doing this. This 0:04:49.636 --> 0:04:54.436 is fantastic. Wow. Yeah, that must have been like that's 0:04:54.476 --> 0:04:57.076 about dream right, come true? Do what you love. And 0:04:57.196 --> 0:05:01.476 it was crazy, Eric, because we record, we I mean 0:05:01.996 --> 0:05:04.276 we know knowing how to do anything. We were just 0:05:04.436 --> 0:05:08.996 like little kids, imenergine. We didn't have like a great 0:05:09.196 --> 0:05:12.676 gear to play, like a great amplifier, guitar techniques or anything. 0:05:12.836 --> 0:05:17.996 We were just dreaming with this idea of being rockstars 0:05:18.036 --> 0:05:21.996 and musicians. Now what'd your parents think? Where they like, 0:05:22.196 --> 0:05:25.276 wait a minute, No, they were so so worried about me. 0:05:26.196 --> 0:05:29.076 Oh they were. They were worried, but because he I mean, 0:05:29.156 --> 0:05:31.316 they were listening to this music and they were thought 0:05:31.356 --> 0:05:33.916 that there was like you know, satanic music or I 0:05:34.036 --> 0:05:36.116 used to I try to have my long hair at 0:05:36.196 --> 0:05:38.596 that time. But I was fighting with my parents, fighting 0:05:38.876 --> 0:05:42.236 at school. It was so complicated for me to let 0:05:42.316 --> 0:05:45.276 them know that I was really really serious about this, 0:05:45.476 --> 0:05:47.636 you know that I really wanted to be a musician 0:05:47.756 --> 0:05:51.436 and just to leave making music. They understood now later 0:05:51.516 --> 0:05:53.396 on they said, okay, this this is I mean, this 0:05:53.516 --> 0:05:56.156 guy's taking this serials list, so we have to support him. 0:05:56.276 --> 0:06:00.556 And then that was it. I was obsessed, obsessed, eric 0:06:01.036 --> 0:06:04.996 so obsessed that I say to my mother and my family, Okay, 0:06:05.036 --> 0:06:06.756 I have to go to the United States. I cannot 0:06:06.796 --> 0:06:09.476 stay here. I have to go. But what you're gonna 0:06:09.476 --> 0:06:10.916 do that you do have no, no, no, I have 0:06:11.036 --> 0:06:12.916 to go. I have to go. I have a couple 0:06:12.956 --> 0:06:14.916 of friends that can help me, and I'm gonna go. 0:06:15.036 --> 0:06:17.396 And I was like a jumping from from the airplane, 0:06:17.836 --> 0:06:20.476 you know, in no parachutes. I was crazy. When I 0:06:20.756 --> 0:06:23.396 get to United States, I didn't have like anything really 0:06:23.836 --> 0:06:26.716 just inside of me. It was something that was moving 0:06:26.796 --> 0:06:29.756 my heart, my soul every day. I have to do this. 0:06:30.036 --> 0:06:32.876 There's no other way, there's no mistakes here. You have 0:06:32.996 --> 0:06:36.716 to do this or you die. Wow, you really took 0:06:36.716 --> 0:06:39.796 a leap of faith, Like that's a true leap of faith. 0:06:40.116 --> 0:06:43.876 Faith was really important in this process eric Apart from 0:06:43.996 --> 0:06:47.716 music and everything else, faith something that my mother teached 0:06:47.756 --> 0:06:52.716 me through Christian religion. I don't follow any religion. I 0:06:53.116 --> 0:06:55.076 have my own concept of God, but at that moment 0:06:55.156 --> 0:07:00.036 when I was in LA, faith became a super weapon 0:07:00.116 --> 0:07:03.716 for me to stay alive every day. I moved to 0:07:03.916 --> 0:07:06.716 LA in ninety six, and that was probably the worst 0:07:06.796 --> 0:07:09.836 time for me, very difficult time because I was by myself, 0:07:10.796 --> 0:07:13.436 not too many friends. I had no morning, no label, 0:07:13.796 --> 0:07:16.756 no deal, nothing. I was just like trying to survive 0:07:16.876 --> 0:07:20.156 and make my dream come true. I was renting some 0:07:20.396 --> 0:07:23.036 motels and then finally I get contact with a friend 0:07:23.076 --> 0:07:25.636 who invited me to his house for a couple of weeks, 0:07:25.676 --> 0:07:28.556 and then I needed to move because the manager done 0:07:28.596 --> 0:07:31.076 and allow me to stay there. How old were you 0:07:31.156 --> 0:07:35.436 at that time, twenty six maybe twenty seven, and I 0:07:35.596 --> 0:07:39.516 was walking on the streets thinking, Wow, okay, I am 0:07:39.756 --> 0:07:43.396 one among a million of musicians trying to make it here, 0:07:43.956 --> 0:07:45.876 so this is not going to be easy for me, 0:07:46.276 --> 0:07:48.836 but I need to try it. I was like, so 0:07:49.396 --> 0:07:53.276 decided to take that road. When you were starting out, 0:07:53.556 --> 0:07:56.436 was there any major artists that you met who gave 0:07:56.476 --> 0:07:59.116 you some great advice. The first time I was in LA, 0:07:59.356 --> 0:08:02.556 I met Paul Stanley from Kiss. He didn't know who 0:08:02.636 --> 0:08:04.676 I was, but I was in the rehearsal place and 0:08:04.756 --> 0:08:06.916 he was there and I said to him, Hey, I 0:08:06.996 --> 0:08:09.436 am a musician too. I'm here in LA to make 0:08:09.676 --> 0:08:11.916 my dream come true. And he was like, man, you 0:08:11.996 --> 0:08:14.156 have to be very discipline and work hard and believing 0:08:14.236 --> 0:08:17.996 yourself and all these things. And they, okay, this is 0:08:18.076 --> 0:08:20.436 very important. Yeah, that was very important. Yeah, those things 0:08:20.516 --> 0:08:23.116 are so important. I always tell the people i'm working with, 0:08:23.636 --> 0:08:27.076 you know, if you're talking to someone younger, really encourage 0:08:27.116 --> 0:08:29.716 them to work hard, because it's not just luck. It 0:08:29.956 --> 0:08:32.036 takes a lot of work. Yeah, and more. In these days, 0:08:32.156 --> 0:08:34.476 everything is so fast, you know. So you know, I 0:08:34.596 --> 0:08:39.196 have three kids teenagers, so they think everything is right now. 0:08:39.396 --> 0:08:41.436 You know, it needs to be now, and everything take time, 0:08:41.956 --> 0:08:45.876 and you have to work and get prepared to next level, 0:08:45.996 --> 0:08:47.876 you know. But I think it's just part of the 0:08:47.996 --> 0:08:52.436 process of growing. The work in preparation really paid off. 0:08:52.476 --> 0:08:55.236 For one as and two thousand, one of his dreams 0:08:55.316 --> 0:08:57.756 did come true. He made it to the radio as 0:08:57.796 --> 0:09:02.956 a solo artist. Was the first single released by me 0:09:03.156 --> 0:09:06.276 as a solo artist and Scholfie Hativien, And it was 0:09:06.396 --> 0:09:11.516 very particular time because I wrote this song about Colombia. 0:09:11.796 --> 0:09:14.836 We're having having a big problem in Colombia with drugs 0:09:14.916 --> 0:09:19.716 and narcos and mafia's and guerrillas, and because of all that, 0:09:20.036 --> 0:09:23.516 there was there was a landmine situation in Colombia, a 0:09:23.636 --> 0:09:27.036 very serious Linelan situation. So I wrote a song about that. 0:09:27.236 --> 0:09:29.436 But when I went to the radio with that song, 0:09:30.156 --> 0:09:34.076 the lyrics were not too nice, you know, it was 0:09:34.316 --> 0:09:51.836 it was not it was like serious stuff. I record 0:09:51.996 --> 0:09:55.796 my first solo album in La. Actually, what a beautiful 0:09:55.876 --> 0:09:59.236 moment because after all those years that I was having 0:09:59.436 --> 0:10:04.556 difficulties in La, finally Universal Music through Circle Music signed 0:10:04.636 --> 0:10:07.196 me as an artist. So I was like in a dream, 0:10:07.276 --> 0:10:11.276 you know, leaving a dream in La quoting my first album. Man, 0:10:11.436 --> 0:10:14.716 I was so incredible moment for me. How long had 0:10:14.756 --> 0:10:18.276 you been in La before that happened? Almost three years? Wow. 0:10:18.436 --> 0:10:20.876 That's good for people to hear because I think that 0:10:22.756 --> 0:10:25.876 quite often people forget, like sometimes it takes a while, 0:10:26.036 --> 0:10:29.156 but it's worth while hanging in and working at it 0:10:29.196 --> 0:10:33.236 because eventually it can happen. You can't give up too quickly. Yeah, man, 0:10:33.956 --> 0:10:36.436 And it's a good thing he didn't, because his first 0:10:36.476 --> 0:10:39.876 solo album won the Best Rock category at the Latin Grammys. 0:10:40.316 --> 0:10:43.396 Then just a few years later one has released another 0:10:43.556 --> 0:10:59.876 huge hit like that song is very inspired by Glasgow music, 0:11:00.356 --> 0:11:03.116 which is a kind of music that is very popular 0:11:03.236 --> 0:11:07.636 in my area from the countryside. Back in the sixties. 0:11:07.796 --> 0:11:11.636 It was like a revolutionary music with bad words and 0:11:11.876 --> 0:11:15.396 very funny thing, very smart. I grew up listening to 0:11:15.516 --> 0:11:18.076 all this kind of music in my house and it 0:11:18.316 --> 0:11:20.956 was inspired in that music, which is like a mix 0:11:21.516 --> 0:11:26.996 between reggae and funk. It's a break hard song means 0:11:27.076 --> 0:11:31.236 the black shirt, So when somebody passed away, you were 0:11:31.276 --> 0:11:34.876 in black right, So I was kind of an association 0:11:34.956 --> 0:11:38.036 of that when you are when you feel so very 0:11:38.076 --> 0:11:40.316 hard because you'll break up with your capital and then 0:11:40.396 --> 0:11:45.916 you feel so sad, So you were a black shirt, right. Oh, 0:11:45.956 --> 0:11:49.356 I got it now, totally makes sense, yeah man. You know, 0:11:49.396 --> 0:11:52.476 it's very local, like the sound and everything is very 0:11:52.556 --> 0:11:57.396 local and became universal because I can go around the 0:11:57.476 --> 0:11:59.916 world saying that song and I couldn't believe it when 0:11:59.916 --> 0:12:03.156 I was in German, in Japan, everywhere, and what is 0:12:03.276 --> 0:12:08.756 happening here. Did you keep visualizing yourself like as successful. 0:12:08.876 --> 0:12:11.316 Did you go, all right, I know I can do this. 0:12:11.796 --> 0:12:15.756 I never think I am successful. You know, sometimes I think, okay, 0:12:15.956 --> 0:12:18.796 I am thankful with life in music because I mean 0:12:18.916 --> 0:12:22.796 never in my biggest dream, I never realized that I 0:12:22.916 --> 0:12:24.516 was going to be like this. So I feel proud 0:12:24.556 --> 0:12:28.876 of that. I remember especially a moment probably wasn't two 0:12:28.916 --> 0:12:32.836 thousand and three and four. I was in Madrid doing 0:12:32.916 --> 0:12:36.196 promotion and shows and I listened you know, my song 0:12:36.276 --> 0:12:38.516 on the radio in Madrid, and then the next day 0:12:38.596 --> 0:12:41.196 in Buenos Aires, and then two days later in Colombia, 0:12:41.196 --> 0:12:43.596 and then three days later in Mexico, and I said, 0:12:43.636 --> 0:12:46.836 I mean, this is happening. Yeah. I've heard people say 0:12:46.956 --> 0:12:51.236 that when people sing along know the words to their song, 0:12:51.476 --> 0:12:55.516 that's when they feel like, ah, I've really accomplished something exactly. 0:12:55.636 --> 0:12:59.636 And the feeling of being on stage, seeing the audience 0:12:59.716 --> 0:13:03.796 singing the songs, and when people on the streets go 0:13:03.996 --> 0:13:06.156 to you and say, hey, you have no idea how 0:13:06.236 --> 0:13:09.036 your song helped me when I was in these difficulties, 0:13:09.476 --> 0:13:12.676 and I say, really, well, I get married with your song, 0:13:13.276 --> 0:13:18.356 will get married with your stories? Really? Those stories just 0:13:18.956 --> 0:13:23.156 fool my soul of happiness, and I feel so you know, 0:13:23.436 --> 0:13:27.556 thanksful with the music because of that, don't go anywhere 0:13:27.876 --> 0:13:31.356 when backstage passed returns will here Juannas play his own 0:13:31.436 --> 0:13:43.316 rendition of an American classic, and we're back with juan As. 0:13:43.876 --> 0:13:46.356 Now you might be wondering how he started taking singing 0:13:46.436 --> 0:13:49.316 lessons with me. A few years ago, Juana saw one 0:13:49.356 --> 0:13:52.956 of my students, at Rosalia, performing at a theater in Madrid. 0:13:53.596 --> 0:13:56.076 I remember that day when I was seeing her performing, 0:13:56.276 --> 0:13:58.996 I was like almost dying there in my seat. I 0:13:59.076 --> 0:14:01.716 was like, I couldn't believe what I was watching, what 0:14:01.876 --> 0:14:04.396 I was seeing, what I was hearing. I mean, why 0:14:04.556 --> 0:14:08.076 Rosalia need to take singing lessons? You know, she sings, 0:14:08.196 --> 0:14:21.276 She sings so perfec it. I never had the opportunity 0:14:21.356 --> 0:14:26.716 to really to study music, and Rosalie I was starting 0:14:26.756 --> 0:14:29.476 with you, so I said, well, can you please connect 0:14:29.516 --> 0:14:33.036 me with Eric. That concept just inspired me so much 0:14:33.076 --> 0:14:35.596 and I just wanted to get better and better and better. 0:14:35.876 --> 0:14:38.436 And I start to work with you now, like in 0:14:38.516 --> 0:14:40.956 these days when I record here in my studio, when 0:14:40.956 --> 0:14:44.836 I rehearse with my band, it's like another world. I 0:14:44.916 --> 0:14:49.396 feel more secure about my voice and tuning in everything. 0:14:49.476 --> 0:14:52.556 You know, I feel like relaxed and just enjoying the 0:14:52.636 --> 0:14:55.316 processes of singing, which is what I love since I 0:14:55.436 --> 0:14:57.836 was a kid. Oh, I'm so happy to hear that. 0:14:57.996 --> 0:15:01.036 Thank you. I want to keep growing as a musician, 0:15:01.636 --> 0:15:04.236 so I want to learn to play guitar better. I 0:15:04.316 --> 0:15:07.196 want to learn about harmony. I want to learn to 0:15:07.316 --> 0:15:10.396 sing better. I want to try to make better songs. 0:15:10.836 --> 0:15:13.636 So I keep, you know, my energy and my love 0:15:14.196 --> 0:15:18.316 from music alive a lot. Well that's really admirable because 0:15:18.356 --> 0:15:20.196 a lot of people who would have had as much 0:15:20.276 --> 0:15:25.076 success as you have would probably not continue to try 0:15:25.156 --> 0:15:27.596 to work as hard to improve, you know. They feel 0:15:27.676 --> 0:15:30.356 good about where they were and go, Okay, I've made it, 0:15:30.796 --> 0:15:33.636 you know. So I find that very admirable. Yeah, thank 0:15:33.676 --> 0:15:38.516 you so much. I leave music so intense, to be honest, 0:15:38.916 --> 0:15:42.716 sometimes I suffer, but most of the time I enjoy it. 0:15:43.356 --> 0:15:45.316 What do you mean you suffer? You have to be 0:15:45.516 --> 0:15:47.676 ready for the next song, you have to write something 0:15:47.756 --> 0:15:51.196 different that you didn't do before. So that's kind of 0:15:51.276 --> 0:15:54.316 a pressure, you know, for me, But I really enjoy 0:15:54.396 --> 0:15:56.716 it because it's like something that I really want to 0:15:56.956 --> 0:15:58.996 make happen. Every day when I come to the studio, 0:15:59.076 --> 0:16:00.956 I have probably no ideas, and I come and I 0:16:00.996 --> 0:16:04.396 start to improvise, I start to search for something, and 0:16:04.516 --> 0:16:07.876 then five hours later I have a song. And I 0:16:08.116 --> 0:16:11.436 really love that feeling, you know, it's so cool. And 0:16:11.556 --> 0:16:13.836 then when I go to the studio to record a song, 0:16:13.956 --> 0:16:15.916 and then when I play with my band, it's like, 0:16:16.196 --> 0:16:18.396 I mean, this is crazy. I mean six months ago 0:16:18.516 --> 0:16:22.236 it was nothing. Now I have a song and people 0:16:22.236 --> 0:16:24.596 are singing that song with me, So that's great. Wow, 0:16:24.956 --> 0:16:28.196 that must be an amazing feeling. Yeah. Man, I'm so 0:16:28.316 --> 0:16:31.036 glad you said that though about the pressure, because I 0:16:31.196 --> 0:16:34.196 think that fans don't realize that there is that pressure. 0:16:34.236 --> 0:16:36.396 I think they think, oh, it's easy, he sits down, 0:16:36.476 --> 0:16:38.676 he writes a song, he records it, puts it out. 0:16:38.836 --> 0:16:42.756 I don't think people realize that most artists do get 0:16:42.876 --> 0:16:47.156 a bit anxious or they feel a certain pressure, like 0:16:47.356 --> 0:16:49.116 I have to do this again, I have to do 0:16:49.236 --> 0:16:52.116 it even better, or I have to keep evolving, And 0:16:52.276 --> 0:16:55.036 there is a lot of pressure with that. Yeah, definitely. Eric, Actually, 0:16:55.436 --> 0:16:57.676 ten years ago, I never told you this before, but 0:16:58.116 --> 0:17:01.076 ten years ago I was in the middle of a 0:17:01.156 --> 0:17:04.436 tour and I was so tired, you know, because I 0:17:04.916 --> 0:17:09.276 was ten years on the road, like like literally like 0:17:09.396 --> 0:17:13.996 ten years on the road. I missed most of my kids, 0:17:14.116 --> 0:17:17.556 you know, growing up, and I was always traveling and 0:17:17.676 --> 0:17:20.956 working with a lot of success, but inside of me, 0:17:21.116 --> 0:17:25.236 I was kind of try. I was so tired, and 0:17:25.396 --> 0:17:28.076 it was very hard for me to realize that I 0:17:28.196 --> 0:17:30.196 needed to stop for a moment, that I needed to 0:17:30.476 --> 0:17:34.156 take a break and just put everything together again because 0:17:34.196 --> 0:17:37.196 I was on stage singing and doing shows and I 0:17:37.356 --> 0:17:41.516 was not enjoying the process, and so that was kind 0:17:41.556 --> 0:17:43.916 of harbor. It wasn't also like a big lesson for me, 0:17:44.076 --> 0:17:47.716 just to understand that there is always a balance in life. Right, 0:17:47.956 --> 0:17:50.236 so now finding the balance, Like how do you find 0:17:50.276 --> 0:17:53.716 the balance? Now? Do you schedule time off so that 0:17:53.876 --> 0:17:57.156 you do have some time to just recharge? Yeah? Yes, 0:17:57.476 --> 0:18:00.556 because now I have a little bit more of control 0:18:00.596 --> 0:18:03.316 of my life and my career. And now yes, I 0:18:03.396 --> 0:18:06.356 can say, well, after twenty years and all the success, 0:18:06.516 --> 0:18:09.676 thank god, I can have a little big, you know, 0:18:09.836 --> 0:18:13.636 kind of approach to my career. And I am not 0:18:13.876 --> 0:18:16.316 looking for a number one heat on the radio or 0:18:16.396 --> 0:18:18.916 things like that. I'm just trying to keep finding my 0:18:19.036 --> 0:18:24.236 own style my own way to create music, and that's 0:18:24.476 --> 0:18:27.316 something that I really really love and I feel happy 0:18:27.436 --> 0:18:31.476 that now I can do that with no stress from outside. 0:18:31.716 --> 0:18:35.196 I don't know. I'm just more relaxed now, and clearly 0:18:35.356 --> 0:18:38.076 it's an approach that's working for him. One has just 0:18:38.276 --> 0:18:41.756 won his twenty fourth Grammy for his most recent album, 0:18:42.116 --> 0:18:45.556 which was named Best Pop Rock Album. I play guitar 0:18:45.676 --> 0:18:48.996 like almost all day, Eric, like, I have a guitar here, 0:18:49.076 --> 0:18:50.676 I have a guitar in the living room. I have 0:18:50.756 --> 0:18:54.516 a guitar close to my bed. So I am all 0:18:54.556 --> 0:18:59.356 the time thinking, practicing, watching some lessons on YouTube or 0:18:59.556 --> 0:19:02.996 special lessons that I pay for that when I find something, 0:19:03.116 --> 0:19:05.476 Oh this is cool, this progression is really nice. I 0:19:05.596 --> 0:19:08.796 like the chords combination. So I come to the studio, 0:19:09.716 --> 0:19:13.996 record the guitar, and then I start to improvise melodies, 0:19:14.116 --> 0:19:16.876 like a lot of ideas, and then I listened to 0:19:17.036 --> 0:19:19.556 the whole thing, and then I choose the pieces that 0:19:19.636 --> 0:19:22.636 I really like and I make like a main track 0:19:22.956 --> 0:19:25.596 of vocals with that, and then from that part I 0:19:25.636 --> 0:19:28.436 start to build a song. Oh so you do the 0:19:28.596 --> 0:19:31.516 music first and then the lyrics. Yeah, Like the melody 0:19:31.636 --> 0:19:35.796 comes first. Yeah, melody most of the times can first, 0:19:36.476 --> 0:19:39.676 and I am always writing, so when I'm not in 0:19:39.716 --> 0:19:43.476 the studio, I'm probably thinking in ideas to write a song, 0:19:43.676 --> 0:19:46.276 a story to tell, or something from the past that 0:19:46.396 --> 0:19:50.116 I feel any feeling basically, and then I try to 0:19:50.236 --> 0:19:54.356 connect those melodies that I wrote before with the lyrics 0:19:54.596 --> 0:19:56.956 I have in the works. For me, most of the 0:19:56.996 --> 0:19:59.836 time like that. So let me ask you this, because 0:19:59.956 --> 0:20:03.836 you haven't you don't you sing in Spanish. I mean, 0:20:03.916 --> 0:20:06.236 you did some English and the covers, but you sing 0:20:06.316 --> 0:20:08.436 in Spanish. You haven't done the crossover. Is there a 0:20:08.596 --> 0:20:11.916 reason for that? Eric? Yeah, at the beginning, you know, 0:20:12.236 --> 0:20:14.756 I wanted to sing in English, but then when I 0:20:14.876 --> 0:20:18.116 try a couple of times, I found out so complicated 0:20:18.316 --> 0:20:22.516 for me, so hard to do it, and I realized 0:20:22.516 --> 0:20:24.756 that I preferred just to sing in Spanish because it's 0:20:24.796 --> 0:20:27.356 my language. When I sing in Spanish, I can close 0:20:27.436 --> 0:20:30.476 my eyes and feel. When I sing in English, I 0:20:30.676 --> 0:20:33.356 really need to think in the pronunciation. When I was 0:20:33.436 --> 0:20:36.516 in Colombia, when I was in Managine, I never studied English, 0:20:36.596 --> 0:20:40.356 like for real, you know, I never So I came 0:20:40.396 --> 0:20:43.356 to the United States and I didn't speak a word. 0:20:43.436 --> 0:20:46.676 I was totally lost Wow, when you came here, you 0:20:46.716 --> 0:20:50.076 didn't speak any English, no, no, no, nothing nothing. I 0:20:50.276 --> 0:20:53.596 was learning with close caption and watching TV, going to 0:20:53.716 --> 0:20:57.876 the bookstores to read English Spanish books, listening to the 0:20:58.076 --> 0:21:02.436 Beatles and music in general. Reading the lyrics. Well, that 0:21:02.636 --> 0:21:05.396 was crazy. At some point, I just needed to learn 0:21:05.636 --> 0:21:10.516 just to survive now. But it was a process just 0:21:10.636 --> 0:21:13.916 to learn, very difficult process. But I grew up as 0:21:13.916 --> 0:21:16.916 a person and as an artist a lot because I 0:21:17.076 --> 0:21:20.516 had to go through that difficult moment. So some of 0:21:20.556 --> 0:21:22.516 the songs on the last album you did do in 0:21:22.636 --> 0:21:26.236 English the original, like Bob Marley's Could You Be Loved, 0:21:26.756 --> 0:21:30.516 but you translated Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark. Was 0:21:30.596 --> 0:21:33.436 there a reason you did that? Yeah. The reason why 0:21:33.476 --> 0:21:35.836 I did that was because when I was trying to 0:21:36.156 --> 0:21:39.236 do the translation for Bob Marley in Spanish, it was 0:21:39.356 --> 0:21:42.516 kind of weird just to sing that lady, you know, 0:21:42.756 --> 0:21:45.636 I was no, no, this doesn't feel good. I think 0:21:45.636 --> 0:21:49.436 it's better. But when I started to do the translation 0:21:49.676 --> 0:21:52.556 to Dancing in the Dark, I was like, what is 0:21:52.716 --> 0:21:57.396 this because it was so vulnerable and so deep human 0:21:57.596 --> 0:22:01.476 like I was feeling that way somehow, and then the 0:22:01.596 --> 0:22:05.716 translation just came like beautiful in Spanish. Can you play 0:22:05.756 --> 0:22:07.876 and sing just a tiny bit of it in Spanish? 0:22:08.396 --> 0:22:16.956 Because it didn't really did come out so beautifully. Yeah, mississitomasity, 0:22:17.876 --> 0:22:28.476 no brand, little Figo, no bring the simple, the honey 0:22:28.636 --> 0:22:41.676 stadio e vio limbs are killous school. That was so beautiful. God, 0:22:41.716 --> 0:22:45.156 I wish I had taken Spanish class more seriously. So. 0:22:46.036 --> 0:22:48.196 You know, a lot of people artists I work with, 0:22:49.196 --> 0:22:54.396 talk about feeling anxiety, or they'll also talk about having 0:22:54.516 --> 0:22:57.196 stage fright. They get nervous before performing. Has that ever 0:22:57.276 --> 0:22:59.556 happened to you? Or You've been pretty lucky with no? 0:22:59.796 --> 0:23:04.476 No a lot Eric sometimes sometimes now I'm all the 0:23:04.556 --> 0:23:06.756 times I would say, all the times before I am 0:23:06.836 --> 0:23:10.676 going to perform, I feel insecure and I feel like 0:23:11.516 --> 0:23:13.476 why I choose to do this in my life. I 0:23:13.556 --> 0:23:17.196 should be at home, relaxed, you know, no pressure at all, 0:23:17.316 --> 0:23:20.996 just in the countryside. You know, I don't know. For example, 0:23:21.036 --> 0:23:23.756 you're gonna give the four show on the road in 0:23:23.836 --> 0:23:26.676 a weekend, you feel so tired, and you go to 0:23:26.756 --> 0:23:28.716 the sound check and feel like maybe you can sing 0:23:28.836 --> 0:23:31.756 and say, oh, I'm so tired, I feel headache. I 0:23:31.796 --> 0:23:33.796 don't know what to say to the audience tonight. But 0:23:33.996 --> 0:23:38.796 then I really I really feel so alive when I 0:23:38.916 --> 0:23:41.716 go to stage and the first moment until you play 0:23:41.756 --> 0:23:45.396 the guitar and everything sounds perfect, and then it's like, wow, okay, 0:23:45.756 --> 0:23:48.636 this is it. I'm here, this is who I am. 0:23:49.356 --> 0:23:52.116 Everything goes away and you are just like a superstar. 0:23:53.196 --> 0:23:55.676 A lot of energy. Man. That's that's something that I 0:23:55.876 --> 0:23:58.876 really love and I trust. Like when you say in 0:23:58.956 --> 0:24:01.396 the lessons that you have to trust your voice, that's 0:24:01.436 --> 0:24:03.636 what I do. Like, Okay, I know I'm very tired, 0:24:03.836 --> 0:24:06.716 but tonight I know that I'm gonna make it happen. Anyways, 0:24:06.796 --> 0:24:11.436 I'm gonna kick it. Everybody says there, yeah, well it's good. 0:24:11.516 --> 0:24:13.876 Once you've done it a few times, then you know, okay, 0:24:13.956 --> 0:24:17.316 I can count on that. Yeah exactly. I think my 0:24:17.756 --> 0:24:22.076 connection with music since that, you know, early time just 0:24:22.276 --> 0:24:25.556 changed my life and save my life. And definitely, you know, 0:24:26.476 --> 0:24:28.836