Meet Caleb Hinojosa: Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Caleb Hinojosa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Caleb, is there something you believe many others might not?
The biggest piece of conventional advice I disagree with is the old adage, “do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”. Even though I absolutely love being a musician and a creative person, It is still a job like any other and I must work every day to make my dreams a reality. Being a musician is not easy, you must be devoted, willing to work long hours for little to no pay, and be constantly available when ever an artist calls. There are days that I wake up and the last thing I want to do is create music. Those days are the days that test your love for you do the most. I find that on those days the thing that helps me push through is thinking back to how far I have come in my journey and thinking about the dreams of where I want to go. To be a successful creative person, you will have to work everyday – but if you love what you do enough, you will always find a way through the hard days. 

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a singer-songwriter, youtuber and musician for hire out of the DFW area. What sets me apart from other songwriters is the way I approach writing songs . At my core, all I have ever wanted be was a story teller. When I found music at a young age, it simply be came my vessel to be able to tell the stories I wanted to tell. When I listened to other people’s songs, the most important thing to me was always the lyrics – the music came second. In the age of pop and beat driven music, my songs are meticulously crafted with the lyrics and story at the forefront of the song. The thing that made songwriting so interesting to me was its short nature. The idea of a song is to share a complete story or idea in as few words as possible, since a “average” song can only be around 3-4 minutes. I was also drawn to songwriting because I realized I could say so much more of what I thought and felt through music. Instead of being judged and told that my thoughts were weird or emotional, when I put those same thoughts and feelings into to songs, I was told they were beautiful and inspiring. While my true love is songwriting, what pays the bills for me is being a musician for hire! I play gigs around town as much as possible as well as playing at churches 2-3 times a week. Lately during the time of Covid-19 what has kept me a float is recording for churches online services every weekend! This is has been an incredibly difficult time for people in the creative industry, but I feel so lucky to still be working during this time!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The great thing about the DFW area is that there is an awesome city life and amazing nature spots all around. Some of my favorite things to do in the area are walking around the streets of downtown Fort Worth taking some urban photography and skateboarding. I also love hanging out with friends and getting work done at Kindred coffee in North Richland Hills (I don’t even like coffee, but the vibe is so dope I go there anyway). If you find yourself in NRH and like to longboard, one of my favorite things to do is to go to the streets of a small neighborhood called “Hometown”. It is PERFECT for casual long boarding but also has some huge hills you can bomb for all you adrenaline junkies out there. In Dallas (pre-covid), Deep Ellum is the place to be. Every night there is always shows going down that are worth seeing. Sometimes it is fun to just go out with out a plan or a ticket and follow the music that you can hear from the street! It is always a good time to let Dallas lead the way! Lastly, one of my favorite things to do in the area that I don’t do nearly enough is camping. Cedar Hill State Park is one of my favorite places in the world and it sits right between Dallas and Fort Worth. The views of sunset at the lake are amazing and it is super cheap. There is so much more to the area then what I just described but those my favorites!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shout out my mentor and first band director, Lori Rooke. She taught me the basics of music, but more than that she taught me how to be a humble leader and how to always be excellent. I am who I am today because of her. I also want to shout out my parents for always being supportive of my creative endeavors.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caleb_hinojosa_music/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Caleb-Hinojosa-Music-473003886815990
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtvD5WxWfSk5x4MIaMFcHVQ

Image Credits
Kinsey Gibson and Anthon Plake