Walking around campus students will encounter sweaty athletes studious mathematicians and sage writers. Junior Donovan Brambila fits into a different category. He possesses artistic talent as seen through his creative songwriting and guitar skills. Despite this though he remains humble which makes him stand out from the crowd. Brambila is a passionate skilled and smart young man whose talent deserves to be recognized.
Q: How long have you been playing guitar?
A: I wouldn’t call myself a serious guitar player a couple years maybe three. My brother started playing but didn’t really like it so I was kind of trying to copy my older brother. But I did like it so I kept doing it.
Q: How do you create songs?
A: Usually it happens when I’m walking around or standing somewhere or I’ll hear something that gives me an idea for a melody or something. If I can remember it I’ll write it down. I’ll leave myself a voicemail and figure it out later when I have a guitar with me.
Q: What genre would you say your music represents?
A: It’s kind of like blues or indie blues. One of my friends is saying it is like a bluesy heartfelt razzle. I don’t know what that is but I like it.
Q: Why aren’t you majoring in music?
A: It crossed my mind at first. I could learn a lot about theory but it wouldn’t teach me why a song is catchy or what it is about music that changes people’s lives.
Q: Do you perform at events like Coffeehouse?
A: I haven’t played at Coffeehouse in a long time. I played with some of my roommates from time to time. When I was a freshman when they told us we couldn’t play at the International Coffeehouse so we played it on our own. We walked into the HAWC set up and made our own non-international Coffeehouse and it’s been an ongoing tradition that we do. We haven’t done it this year so far for whatever reason.
Whenever I go home I play on the street; I’ll post up on a street corner and play some people try to give me money but it’s kind of embarrassing. I say ‘I’m not here playing for money. I just play.’ It’s fun though it’s different than sitting in your room playing music where no one can hear you or in my house where my mom says ‘Oh sweetie that sounds great.’ I just like providing a soundtrack for people’s day.
Q: Do you get nervous?
A: Well no one really listens. A few people stop and listen and one time a mom stopped with her baby and the baby was smiling a lot but no one is really there expecting much.
Q: Do you ever play in Santa Monica?A: No that’s really a different vibe or culture than what I’m going for. For most people I get the sense they’re selling something or trying to ‘make it.’ I’m just trying to play.
Q: What will you do with your music after college?
A: In terms of taking it farther I just play for fun. If it ever gets to the point where it’s not fun anymore – well if someone wants to pay me to play music then I’m not going to turn that down. But I’m not going to go out of my way to suit someone’s desire for what I should sound like or mold my craft into something that would earn money.
Q: Where do you get ideas for your songs?
A: It’s hard to write about things that I haven’t experienced because then that’s pretty much pretending what someone else is going through. All I have to go off of is my experience.Plenty of people go through the same stuff and can relate to things I have to say. If someone can find something in a song I write that relates to their lives then I’m stoked.
Q: Why do you play music?
A: All I have to say is that there seems to be a lot of music right now that’s being overly serious and to the point where it’s almost contrived and whatever happened to fun? If I can’t keep to fun then I don’t know why I’m doing it. I’m not starved for attention; I’m just trying to have a good time.
