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Issue link: https://digital.miamilivingmagazine.com/i/496873
PEOPLE 114 MIAMI LIVING Do you have a favorite restaurant? "A lot —in LA there's a Korean BBQ place, in Miami an Italian restaurant run by Argentineans on Flagler, opposite of the court house. I like sushi too. In Berlin there is a great restaurant that makes soups, I get inspired." You have been doing this for so long and have a list of accolades, what stands out as your biggest 'WOW' moment? "I've had some crazy, major, super-duper, mega wow things. The stuff that means even more to me as a person, as well as an artist when I'm in the studio is the dedication and passion they [fans] seem to have for my music. Just yesterday there were people virtually from all over the world, a whole group from Argentina that came… They came from everywhere. There were people that actually tried to come up from Miami and they had to take four different flights. They had this whole thing of tickets because everything was oversold, canceled, a journey through the states —and their passion. Also, when people tattoo themselves with lyrics of my songs on some body part —this is more like, Wow-moments, because you can't just take the tattoo off. Of course, it's a great feeling when you're on a big stage, and there's lot of people and they enjoy the music you make, but to me, the little intimate things actually have an even bigger wow impact." How do you know that your fans traveled so far? Do you talk to them? "Obviously with Facebook and Twitter, there's a lot of Hey, I'm stranded here and I'm there. Some of these guys from the U.S. group have seen me 100 times. They've really been everywhere, wherever I play in the US, I see them. They're going to be in San Diego and LA next week." Wow! So you recognize them? "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Of course. Of course. Sometimes it's like, Is that person looking very similar? No, it's actually them. It's great, and it gives a homey feeling wherever I go." Are you responsive on social media? Do you interact? "With Facebook you always have to be careful, if you write too much your algorithm goes bonkers and then nobody sees anymore what you actually write. Twitter, yeah, it's me responding to the direct questions and comments and stuff. Of course, we also use it to tell people, hey, new record is here and there, but it is mainly a direct contact." Best part of the job? "Best? I get to do what I love doing, worldwide, and I'm even paid for it —its great [laughs]." Worst part? "When you're an artist, you express yourself through your art form. Obviously, there is one person, especially with the internet, you always seem to find people that lose a common sense of respect for each other in how they attack, write, comment, whatsoever, and they seem to forget that despite that they might hold a CD or have a download of some album, I'm an artist who is actually passionate about what I do. And sometimes these things, I don't let them too close of course, but they hurt, you know? If you're making music with the right passion, then you give a lot personal things into the music, and obviously if somebody is like [he makes a splat sound], it's painful. It's like you're telling someone, This is important to me. And this person is just like, ha, ha, ha. But I guess every artist has that —if you do paintings, photography or whatever… But then on the other hand, what I just described with the fans and stuff, there's so much of that. I love what I do and I'm very, very lucky and I know that." To what do you owe your success; are there any words that you live by or words of advice that have kept you in the business for so long? "I have a great team that I work with. All these things that I'm doing I couldn't do on my own. I'm very dedicated to what I do, so I'm focused as much as enjoying it. I just love what I do and I think it's just coming across. I'm not some kind of marketing muppet. As much as I sit here now, I was on stage yesterday. I'm not playing someone else's role. I think this is authentic and this is probably why people are relating to it and connecting to my music and to me as an artist." Does the constant traveling ever get tiring? "It gets tiring every time, but the energy again, I'm really lucky. They [the fans] give so much energy. Yesterday, I was really sick, there were moments when [he makes a sick feeling sound] and then you see how much it means to my audience, what I do and then I'm jumping like a little flower boy. It is tiring, of course, plane, hotel, plane, show, in and out —but as an artist to have a global audience. It is great!" Do you get to see a lot of places while you're traveling for work? "We try to find time in the day to see a few things, but when it's tour mode it's focusing on that. Last time we went to Australia and drove through The Twelve Apostles, rocks in the oceans, Philip Island and saw kolas and weird stuff. We do stuff. We try. This is all a source of inspiration. It all end ups – like that little sound goes back to the kola that pooped on my tour manager. They don't move, and then they turn around and there's another day. In that moment, my tour manager passed, and [he makes a splat sound]. I'm a very well-liked victim of birds flying around and losing it. I've had it a few times. People say it's good luck. Now we know — that's my secret to success, constantly getting shits from birds. Yeah, [laughs] —these are the stories and many more." ML