This Month we made our 2yr anniversary as Nashville Residents. I can’t believe how fast time has gone! Seems like just yesterday we made our way into a new city. A TON has happened since! We’ve been fortunate to have survived in a new city for 2yrs.

I was able to work a ton of odd jobs and pay our bills. Some months better than others

Reina has kicked major butt yet again at Watkins School of Art and Design! She is an amazing artist and designer!!! Hire her! She’ll hook up your place! Reina is a rock-star! Full time student, amazing wife and mother… All while being prego with # 3!!! You deserve a cruise next year!

We made a new baby boy! His name will be ___________   __________ Santoyo.

I was super fortunate to serve at our home church Cross Point and help  launch a college campus in downtown Nashville! Definitely an amazing season and journey.  A very special thanks to Justin Davis, Jenni Catron, Wayne Baird and Stephen Brewster for being part of our journey in a HUGE way! Thanks for helping us feel like home  @ CP while away from home!

Diego started Pre K this year! My boys are growing up too too fast!

To our Community group! You guys are awesome. Thanks for making Tuesday night’s an evening to look forward to every week.

I was finally able to produce and record my first ever SOLO music project. If you haven’t picked it up get it HERE! It’s also a great Christmas present, so don’t be selfish! Buy it for your friends and family too!

Special thanks to some amazing friends that were part of my EP.  Couldn’t have done it without your brilliant talents and passion! Chris Bevins, Jeremy Larson, Roy Mitchel Cardenas, Leif shires, Craig Swift,  Amanda Young, Eliot Torres, and my great friend and live show companion Erika Hastings!!! This is just the beginning.

This EP could not be possible without the faith and financial support from my beautiful wife Reina, and more amazing friends!!! Erik Garcia, Michelle & Joseph Bulger, Lance & Jamie Lockhart, Mark & Mary Similey.

Special thanks to my friend Paul Alan Jones for helping my first music videobe a reality! Thanks to Stefani Elrod for her amazing presence and performance!!!

In Early November my Momma suffered a stroke in Chicago. She fought hard for her life and won! So grateful for her strength and the power of prayers!!! She is a walking Miracle! Thank you for all who prayed for my momma!

So much has happened in 2011. Nothing has been easy, but it’s been an amazing journey for Me, Reina, Diego & Zion. I look forward to meeting our new baby boy and welcoming him into our beautiful chaos!

I wish EVERYONE a Merry Christmas. Please take time to remember the true meaning for this season!

I am looking forward to the new stories, chapters, opportunities challenges and blessing in 2012!!!

Just in case I don’t see you… Have a Happy New Year!!!

Yours truly,

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#FuserEP Teaser from Jesse "fuser" Santoyo on Vimeo.

Please go to twitter and facebook and type #FuserEP with your comment. Let us know what you think!

Thanks,

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Foo–ser   Example.

You can thank my lil bro Alejandro for knighting me with the nickname. I got the nickname based on the story of Ernesto Guevara De la Serna depicted in the film Motorcycle Diaries from 2004. The dramatization of a motorcycle road trip Che Guevara went on in his youth that showed him his life’s calling. Since then I’ve been nicknamed “Fuser.”

At first I thought it was sill, but as more people seriously began referring to me as Fuser, it kinda stuck with me. I took it on as an artist nickname. So there you go…just in case you wondering.

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Did you hear the EP track preview? Let me know your thoughts below!!!

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Sometimes I sit back and over analyze things.  Sometimes I wonder if there is other Raza in East Nashville? Sometimes I look around the room at 3Crow and wonder what life is like for the strangers all around me. Are they singers, writers, actors?  I always hear of all these picture perfect family trees. Father was a touring musician and now you happen to be a touring musician. Parents were both Doctors and now you are on your way of becoming a Doctor. Father was a Pastor and a preacher and now you inherited the pulpit. Or maybe you were given an inheritance worth 2 life times. My parents came to Chicago with the clothes on their back, worked in factories and city jobs just to make ends meet. They never really said I could be anything I put my mind to. They never really told me to dream. They never really knew I loved music till I was about 18.  They did teach me one thing. It takes hard work and dedication to be successful at anything you put your mind to. Even tougher when you are a latino.  Tough love was the only love I knew…

When I came to Nashville I was warned of the overwhelming amount of singers and songwriters that are here. I was told one of 2 things would happen, I will either work my tail off and become the best songwriter/artist I can be or I will quit. I knew I needed to be in a city where art and music flourishes and dreamers dream the impossible.  I would be lying if i said I don’t get intimated by the amazing talent here in Nashville, but as a song writer myself, I believe I have something worth sharing thru my music. Something happens in a town like this though… You can easily be swallowed in the status quo culture that exists amongst a few. In Chi town that gets old, I am sure it does here to… You’re cool by who you know and not so much by what you can offer.  I realize that sometimes you need to know the right people to enter the music ent/social pipeline but I truly believe the best ground work for a successful artistic career is staying true to YOU.  Don’t buy into the hype nor lose yourself to it. Be who you are and create what is in your mind, heart and soul.  I enjoy being inspired by those who have worked hard and have overcome the challenges of being a new artist. I always reach out to those that are influencing our culture today in hopes that I can learn… Some will reach back out, frankly others don’t give a crap…

I don’t have a glamorous background nor a wealthy family tree but I do have  simple dream. A dream I’ve carried inside  since I can remember. Growing  up in the Pilsen  was pretty tough on the soul. It was hard to dream, but I knew inside there is always something more then the hood.  I’ve been blessed with some amazingly talented and genuine individuals that have encouraged  me & my crew on this new journey in Nashville. With just a year into Nashville, I was ready to bail on why we came here in the first place. But I am forever grateful for the friendships that continue to pour life into who we are as creatives here in Nashville. I’m also grateful for those who haven’t given me the time of day! You are the fuel that keeps me going.  I wouldn’t have it any other way…

For all the young artists out there in pursuit of a dream like myself, don’t be discouraged nor afraid. Do what you do best! You may feel lost in the city where you dream, but it’s meant to be that way for a season. You can’t find something that isn’t lost. I’ve been knocking on the wrong doors and hitting up the wrong crowd… As long as you do the work of creating, sometimes you just gotta let God orchestrate your steps and the people that are meant to be part of your journey.  It really works out better that way. I am learning that as I go. I am so glad to be lost in the city of Nashville! I love this town.

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

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So I spent the evening in a very chill recording studio in Franklin TN to mark the beginning of a new musical journey. I will be recording 5, maybe 6 songs that I wrote specifically for this Acoustic project. It was I, a guitar, my lyrics and my great friend Chris Bevins who was engineering and coaching me as I sang and played my guitars.

One of the songs on this record is very close to my heart & soul. The song was written after a very dark season for Me and Reina. As I sang the lyrics in the padded room, I remembered that time and space…So glad we made it thru and now there’s a song about it. Can’t wait for you all to hear it!

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The new musical journey for me has begun. I am heading to the studio to start recording what will be my first ever Acoustic solo project. I’m beyond nervous. This is the first time I record an EP on my own without an actual band. I’ve been writing songs for this project for almost 2 yrs now, and I am finally going to record them and hope you guys support & enjoy them I am excited to have some great friends collaborate with me to help make this project a reality.  That’s about all I can say for now, so please stay tuned and join me on this Adventure.

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What do you think?

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I usually dread the question, ” So what do you do?” It should be an easy answer right? Well, it’s kinda tough for  me. I came to Nashville to surround myself with other singer/songwriters to become better at it or maybe realize I suck at it. So far it’s been a great journey of growing in the art of music. I definitely enjoy performing my music live at local venues. Then I get this question, “So do you sing christian music?”  The reason I get this question is probably because I serve my church as a coordinator for one of our campuses and I really love being part of ministry.  Truth is I don’t really ever sing or perform at a Church. When I do perform you will most likely find me a the local bar or club singing to my friends and a few random strangers. I just prefer it that way. I don’t ever try not to be one or the other…I write what’s in my heart and my mind and play music to it.

My wife and I are actors. We have a few auditions that we go to monthly. Sometimes we score the gigs and sometimes we don’t. Our kids recently started auditioning as well. It’s just something we’ve always enjoyed doing and probably always will. Like many people, we have regular day jobs to pay the bills and our boy’s school. These are just a few of the many things  we do.

The problem is I get so wrapped up in the world of what I do sometimes, that I Identify myself by it. I am an actor, I am a singer/songwriter(like everyone in Nashville), I work for my church, I’m a blogger, I am this, I am that…Then BAM. I forget who I really am…Don’t get me wrong, I am not hating on what I do, I freakn love what I do, but it is not who I am. Sometimes I feel like I am back in High School. I am working hard to get noticed and in hopes to hang with the cool kids of the school. Become what I do, so I can enter the circle of social popularity. I realize networking  and marketing is a vital tool for any organization, company, product and movement.  Without a good solid plan, well… nobody will ever know what you do.  But I am learning  that what I do is not who I am. My true identity is found in the beginning of this journey. I am a regular dude, that loves God, love’s family and is grateful for life. I grew up in broken streets dreaming to someday be somebody. I am still trying to figure what that really means…  I get so lost in my projects  sometimes that I steal time from those I really love. Time I will never get back from my beautiful wife and my awesome boys.

A few nights ago I promised my boy I’d tuck him in to bed, but I got so tied up in what I do, that his eye’s closed before I could do so.  Every extra effort I put into what I do, was not worth missing out on that moment with my son. I love the genuine lessons  I learn from my kids. I can be the greatest songwriter ever, the best actor ever, the best filmmaker ever, the best church leader ever, the best communicator ever, the best____________ ever. But in the eye’s of those I love and love me back,  I am just a son, a father, a husband and a friend, everything else is just gravy

What matters most is who you are, not so much what you do. When you remain genuine to that everything else falls in place.

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Last night Reina and I went on a “Hot date.” Literally, it was a super hot evening. East Nashville’s FooBar was our destination.  When we arrived we realized the AC may not have been working at that venue. So for about an hr or so  it was blazing hot inside! On a cooler note, we got to see a great Chi town friend who sings with the band “Cory Chisel & The Wondering Sons.” Always great to run into friends in a new city! Adriel Harris is not only beautiful but has an amazing&Chill voice with an amazing talent on the keys as well. We don’t know Cory Chisel, but the dude has the coolest voice ever and lyrics that take you on a journey in every song.I totally did their vibe on stage..I guess we’ve become  fans!

I’ve seen and heard the band online but never live. It was definitely one of the coolest Live duo’s I have ever seen.  If you haven’t heard their music you have to! It was Haunting, heartbreaking, Soulful and Beautiful!

What new band or artist have you discovered recently?

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