Today we’d like to introduce you to J.M. Solis.
Hi J.M., can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My name is J.M. Solis, and I’ve had a passion for music for as long as I can remember. Being inspired by listening to classic bands like The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel, I picked up the guitar at 15 years old and have been playing away ever since. However, it wasn’t until my late college years I began to really hone my craft by writing my own songs and doing a bit of amateur/experimental recording at home and uploading them online. After I graduated from University of North Texas in 2018, I wanted to take my passion further and begin collaborating with other artists, so I formed a band with some longtime friends of mine called Sea of Stone. For about a year, we wrote rock songs together and played some local open mics/shows at Six Springs Tavern in Richardson, TX.
During this time too, I branched out and began playing bass guitar for another psychedelic rock band based in Garland called The Void. I played in this band during my time in Sea of Stone and for a couple years after. During that time, we played shows all around the DFW area, such as Richardson, Denton, Arlington, and Ft. Worth. Along with playing shows we also produced singles and an album together while also making some visual media as well.
After my time in The Void, I continued to work in the music scene by playing bass guitar in a band called Soma Sky for a few months playing gigs in Irving and San Marcos. During that short time, I also co-founded a band called The Hazy Chambers. This was a real passion project of mine because it included all of the earliest material I wrote when I began writing my first songs in my college years and I finally had a chance to properly record and produce them. It was also my first time being the frontman of a band while playing guitar and singing lead. While working for The Hazy Chambers we produced 5 singles and 1 album while making music videos as well. Some of these songs even made it to the airwaves by being featured on 97.1 for their local hour.
Aside from recording and producing songs we played gigs in venues all around the DFW area like Denton, Deep Ellum, Arlington, Ft. Worth, and more.
I played in The Hazy Chambers for 2 years before I decided to leave the band and pursue a solo music career, which is what I am currently doing today. This wasn’t an easy decision for me, but it wasn’t working out for me personally, and I also wanted to challenge myself by self-producing my music allowing complete creative freedom. However, I will always be grateful for my experiences in The Hazy Chambers and the production knowledge I have gained during that time.
So, this leaves me to where I am today. Now, I am currently a solo artist and making music entirely from the comfort of my own home. I began doing this since September 2023 and have released two singles since then as well as a music video, which you can access everywhere; I also plan on playing live shows and continuing to release new music and videos within the coming years.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely hasn’t always been a smooth road for me. Even though playing in bands can be a very fun and rewarding experience, collaborating with other artists and trying to make a band work smoothly can be a lot more challenging than people realize, at least in my experience. Sometimes there’s disagreements or communication issues, but that’s the reality of working with other people, and that’s okay. The most important thing to do is respect other people’s perspective and be willing to compromise with them if you want to make something work. If not, just move on.
There’s also professional issues like the occasional show being cancelled or having to work with last-minute changes, but I find the best way of handling situations is maintaining a positive attitude, keeping your cool, and going into these gigs expecting that plans may potentially change or not work out.
One last thing I find to be a huge obstacle is continuing to pursue music when you feel like you’re not really being heard. I think a lot of artists struggle with this, and it can be very discouraging especially when you see others getting lots of attention, and it feels like you’re not. The reality is that the music market is heavily saturated, and there’s constantly new material being released from bands/artists everywhere. It can be challenging trying to stand out to be noticed when there’s many others trying to do the same thing, and it can be easy to lose sight of why you started making music or any kind of art in the first place. I believe that if you keep reminding yourself of why you got into your craft, staying persistent, cherishing every small accomplishment, and staying true to your vision, people will notice, and word just might get around.
For me, I make music as a way to express myself artistically and self-enjoyment before anything else, and that’s what keeps me going.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a solo musician who writes and self-produces music. I also make videos and graphic design as well. I currently have released two singles ‘Recollections’ and ‘Nothing to Bear’ released on all platforms with a brand-new track and music video ‘Facade’ coming out very soon. In these tracks I write and record almost all the instruments and vocals myself and send them to Nomad Studios to get mastered by Gary Long. Even though I’m doing all the recording right now, I am also highly open to collaborating with other musicians in the near future to help with some recording elements or instruments I might not particularly specialize in. I look forward to see what me and other musicians can come up with.
Right now, I suppose I’m known for being the frontman and writer of The Hazy Chambers. Even though that chapter of my life is closed, I am very proud of our song ‘Anything In Every Way.’ I love that track a lot. It came from a personal place, and the positive feedback we got from that song felt really great it was a really cool experience hearing it play on the radio.
Aside from that song, I am also very proud of my latest track, ‘Nothing to Bear’. That was the first official song I produced entirely on my own and it felt like a big undertaking at the time, especially with making a video along with it too. Finishing that song felt rewarding and made me realize that I’m capable of making music on my own, and now I really want to continue with that, it’s so much fun.
I believe what sets me apart from most other artists is that I’m doing everything (producing, making videos, album art) all on my own. Even though there’s plenty of other people in Dallas that do that, I think a lot of others feel the need to work with others to make things come to life, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. We all have different methods that work for us, and if you work better collaborating with other people, go for it.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I believe the most important characteristics for success is consistency, persistence, and organization. Things that I think helped me a lot through working with bands and on my own is having a regular release schedule for my music and strategically coming up with a plan with how I’ll promote it. Sometimes there’s setbacks, and things might get delayed, but it’s important staying on track. If you maintain a consistent release schedule for long enough people will start to anticipate the next song or video, and your audience will grow from there. It also helps persistently promoting my music through social media, playing open mics/shows, and pitching them to different playlists and radio stations. It may take some time, but that can help a lot with getting your song to reach more people and can help with your work getting noticed. Doing this by organizing your plan and vision will help you out immensely in the long run. However, I’m still learning things along the way and am always trying to find new ways to help me find success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/jmsolis?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=665e4efe-9e34-4569-8371-5fb4a50ebf97
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jmsolismusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553199487932&mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@jmsolismusic
- SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/DfY6K
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7qcXa0IILx9tg4LIf05qAq?si=IetDdUbZR-yK8VB6u4OgjQ
Image Credits
J.M. Solis
Gabriela Garcia
Axel Alvarado
Brent Clifton
