Theo Miserlis AutoBio
Composer | Multi-Instrumentalist | Producer | Engineer
Currently Residing: San Diego, CA
Thank you for allowing me to share a very personal and special part of myself with you. Music has always had a profound affect on my life. From a very young age I was aware of the dynamism of music; it had the ability to impart a range of emotions to the listener and was a unique art-form in the sense that the medium itself was never tangible, yet experiential.
My background as a musician started in my late teens. At that time I was playing (beating) my friends guitars much to their derision! Once I could play a bar chord I had no interest in anything else other than composing original music.
My first band in San Diego, CA was a late 80's punk/thrash band where I was vocalist and one of the main songwriting contributors. I played in a handful of bands over the years that ranged from punk, alternative, prog rock, to singer/songwriter where I was usually the main or only songwriter. My ambition always seemed to supersede my ability and background, but I continued to work at guitar, acoustic and electric, and bass guitar while taking classical guitar courses and performing in jazz ensembles.
Late 90's/early 2000 is when I started to get into computer based music and picked up MIDI programming/sequencing and audio recording. This really opened up the world of composition for me, and I was able to channel the ideas in my head into a more elaborate and concrete musical expression. From this point on music would continue to be a large part of my life, however, it always seemed like school or career would inevitably put my musical ambitions onto the back-burner. I had run a landscape design/build business and went back to school to complete a degree in architecture while continuing to embark in that profession. Consequently, my musical ambition never had the appearance of being anything more than a hobby.
But I hated that term and those ambitions never ceased. My music was much more of a passion and a necessary outlet to me. Being a songwriter was always a very intimate form of expression and a way that I could reveal a part of myself that most people would not see otherwise. I continued to work on my songs as well as my recording and production skills. I always knew it was unique to have as many original compositions as I did from the mere standpoint that I was never a full time musician. With the ubiquitous home studio scene continuing to become more affordable and better sounding, the ability to record songs that were no longer just demos was now a reality.
The EP As Long As I'm Breathing is a group of songs that I solely composed, performed, recorded, and mixed during 2019. Some of the songs I've had for some time now, some are relatively new, but after one of my best friend's passed away in 2017 (also a fellow musician, band-mate and the inspiration for “The Last Time”; keep an eye out for a future blog that will detail his life and backstory), I had a real compulsion to get some of my music out there. I chose these songs because they were what I considered to be some of my more essential singer/songwriter compositions. All of these songs were originally acoustic guitar/vocal compositions that I would spend more time developing through the production process.
In 2019 I was also very happy to reconnect with an old friend Mark 'Robbie' Robinson who has run professional recording studios and a record label. He is now a Grammy award winning Mastering Engineer in Orange County, CA who has worked with Jason Mraz, Chance the Rapper, and Gregory Page among others. He's the only other person to have their hands on this EP and really helped to give the songs a sense of continuity and cohesiveness. I'm extremely grateful for his work and consider him to be a mentor. He was someone that I could really pick their brain about the recording process and had real insight for me about my mixes which was priceless for me at points when I felt as if I was way too deep down the rabbit hole while trying to wear so many hats for this project!
2020 will continue to see more singles being released, to compliment As Long As I'm Breathing, with another EP or LP being projected for early 2021. I'm excited that this digital age empowers individual artists like myself and look forward to sharing more of my music with you in the future. I appreciate you taking time to learn about my path, and I welcome you to reach out to me and connect!
- Theo Miserlis 2/2020