Marcelo isn’t a name we’ve featured on the site previously, but given the young Sydney-sider has recently supported the likes of Conrad Sewell, Taylor Henderson and Little Sea on their respective national tours, his first appearance here probably isn’t going to be his last.
With a trio of live performances across the East Coast kicking off from late next week, we decided it was high time to find out just who Marcelo is and what makes him tick in our latest Get To Know feature.
01. Name : Marcelo de la Vega (aka Marcelo).
02. Where are you based? Sydney.
03. How did you get your start in music? I started out (as a lot of people do) playing in a not-so-serious rock band mucking around with my mates, just having some fun. Most of my friends gave up and moved on but I was the one who just didn’t. Going to shows as a kid I always got this sense excitement with the thought of being on stage. To be honest I’ve always been a bit of a show off and I feel like music is the perfect platform for that, for expression – especially through writing. Everything about being a musician just resonated with me so I kept learning everything I could.
04. Tell us a little bit about your sound and how it developed. As I got older and more serious about being professional, I took a step back from the idea of being in a band and did a couple tours where it was just me, my acoustic guitar and my piano. This was a surprising period of growth for me and now I feel like I have found my feet and who I am as a musician. I want to create really fun and/or emotional pop music that people can connect with.
05. Who have been your musical influences? My musical influences are pretty wide but I’ve always been into British pop rock – right now I’m really loving the 1975, Catfish and the Bottlemen and the Arctic Monkeys and then I have always loved people like David Bowie, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. I generally look for modern bands where you can just hear all of the classic references in their sound.
06. What are your favourite songs of all time? I’ve always been a sucker for a piano ballad. My favourite songs of all time would have to be ‘Vienna’ by Billy Joel (which I have tattooed on my arm) and ‘Your Song’ by Elton John.
07. Give us a little fun fact about yourself that people might not know. I’m extremely dyslexic, I couldn’t really read until I was 14 – so as you can probably guess music was totally a revelation and salvation for me.
08. What’s the best advice you’ve been given in your career? Keep yourself in check. I’ve always wanted to be known for being a nice guy – I’m not into artists who think being a musician means you can be an ass (for lack of a better word!). So make sure you stay a good, grounded person no matter what.
09. Tell us about your latest release. My latest realise has been an acoustic version of my song ‘Cold’. It’s your classic love song about an awakening and self-growth.
10. What do your future plans involve? A lot of touring and writing, which is cool because they are two things that I live for.
11. Where can our audience catch you live? I’m heading off on my first head line tour in Jan – Feb;
January 30 : Sydney (Oxford Art Factory)
January 31 : Brisbane (Zephyr Hall)
February 06 : Melbourne (Bella Union)
WEBSITE : www.marceloofficial.com
FACEBOOK : marcelo music official
TWITTER : marcelodlv
INSTAGRAM : marcelodlv
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