One of the hardest lessons for us to learn as we chase our dreams is that nothing is handed to us. Hard work and time spent perfecting our craft are the key elements to unlocking our success. Knowing this is half the battle. The other half is having the mindset to follow through, even when times get tough.
For David Solano, this lesson was learned early on. From situations in his personal and early life flowing into his professional career, keeping his composure and staying on the lookout for new ways to improve was of utmost importance. In doing so, Solano was able to live out not one, but two of his lifelong dreams.
“I had lots of childhood dreams, but two stood out the most. I wanted to be a soccer player. Luckily I was able to live out a part of that dream. I played college soccer in the U.S and I also played in semi-pro leagues in Colombia. Unfortunately, I had to stop playing due to a couple of knee injuries, but I definitely experienced the lifestyle of a professional soccer player and it is something I will never forget. My second dream as a child was to be a rockstar. This dream became a reality not with a band, but through the DJ world. It has been a truly incredible journey. I have travelled the world playing my music for my fans and I couldn’t ask for a better life.”
From the moment David had his first big time gig in Tallahassee, Florida, he knew that this was the dream he was meant to follow. After feeling the connection he had with the crowd, which even chanted his name at the end of this show, it was a vibe that stuck. Since then, David has been chasing that connection show after show, song after song.
Coming from humble beginnings, however, a career in music was not always a guarantee for David. Growing up, money was sometimes tight. But what set David apart from so many aspiring artists was his drive to make it no matter what. He worked two jobs seven days a week in order to buy his own equipment and get started with his career. Making music was his passion, so he did anything he could to make that happen. As he tells us, nothing is handed to us in this life. If we work hard, the universe will reward us when the time is right.
One of the largest obstacles David has faced, however, was his adjustment to the United States.
“One of the biggest struggles I faced growing up was when I had to leave my home country of Colombia at 14 years old. The situation in Colombia was very violent and dangerous at the time. I went from living a very comfortable and happy life to one filled with fear and struggle. We lost a lot during this time and sometimes we weren’t sure of our safety so we decided to move to the U.S. At first, adjusting to the U.S. wasn’t easy. The culture was completely different. I left my best friends, my band, soccer team, and girlfriend back in Colombia and starting all over again was not easy. After some time I finally adjusted and realized how blessed I was to be able to live in the U.S, and eventually I had new best friends and a new band. Everything I left behind, it somehow came back to me. This experience really taught me that it’s okay to make big changes in life and never stop evolving as a person.”
This major life experience and lesson learned in the process has spilled over into his professional life as well. Evolving as a person also has an effect on how your creativity functions. For David, it is extremely important to evolve as an artist as well. Our industry is constantly twisting and turning, and keeping up is imperative. When asked about advice he would give to his younger self, the same sentiment came through.
“I would say work hard and be disciplined. Try to learn something new every day. It’s a blessing to be able to do what you love for a living. Never get comfortable or else things can slip away. Every day I should try to improve myself not only as a DJ, but also as a person. Never stop learning…even the legends like Laidback Luke or Tiësto will tell you that they still learn something new every day, especially in the music industry, which changes and evolves very fast.”
Looking to the future, there is still a lot that David hopes to accomplish. Just some of the items on the list include a platinum record, collaborations with superstars like Coldplay or ALT-J, and even dreams of a GRAMMY award.
Beyond this, David is very aware of the achievements that we have yet to reach as a community and a society overall. Within the music industry, David hopes to one day see more production schools that are actually effective without leaving students broke and unprepared for the real world.
In more of a worldly sense, David would like to see our community become more environmentally conscious— administration included.
“I’d love to see more awareness with the environment. We are consuming our planet as if it was disposable. Many people are allowing this to happen and one day we will all regret this, yet it will be too late. It’s really hard for me to see certain politicians not support any of the environmental changes or regulations that the other countries are implementing to protect the planet. It’s devastating what we do here in America and the people need to realize this. I’d actually like to make a song about this too. I have a couple of ideas in the works and I hope to release it in early 2018. We all need to stand strong together and help protect our home…planet earth.”