Meet Jesse Valencia of Show Low, Arizona

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesse Valencia.

Hi Jesse, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started playing and writing music as a teen. In the early 2000’s fellow Northern Arizonan Michelle Branch gave me my first songwriting lesson before she was signed. Not long after that, I started my band, Gorky, which has recorded and released music independently for twenty years since then. I’m also a writer and an actor. My first book was published in 2019 about the band Brian Jonestown Massacre, and my first onscreen role was opposite Tom Sizemore in “Durant’s Never Closes.” In 2020 I graduated from the David Lynch MFA in Screenwriting program. I focused on screenwriting and filmmaking as I continued to record and release music with Gorky and as a solo artist.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been smooth at all. If anyone has had a smooth ride, it’s because they had help and a nice cushion to fall back on. I didn’t have any help. I had to join the Army Reserve in 2006 to be able to afford adequate band equipment and get our first album started. Then, in 2008 I was at fault in a DUI car wreck that cost $45k in restitution to the tune of $750 a month, 5 years probation, 360 hours community service, and a month in jail on top of a permanently disabled leg. Not to mention the pile of unforeseen expenses that come with a mistake like that, which is twice as hard when you work minimum wage. I had to go to college, which I did not want to do, to take loans out so I could afford to eat. I didn’t have my restitution paid off by the time I was done, so I had to keep going, which led me to all my graduate degrees. Eventually, I paid my debt to society and got my civil rights restored, and what I have to show for it is an honorable discharge I don’t need and all of these degrees I don’t want. But the good news is we were able to get the band on track and do some things with some of that student loan money that we wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise, like music videos, studio sessions, touring, and so forth. I don’t recommend college or the military to anyone unless it’s something you want to do. It wastes of fucking time, as far as I’m concerned. I just wanted to play rock and roll.

Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
I specialize in making music, writing, acting, and visual arts. I’m known mainly as an actor and writer, but music is my focus and always has been. I’m most proud that my band of twenty years has generated hours of music, minutes of which have transformed some peoples’ lives. There’s nothing more important than that to me. I’m not sure what sets me apart from others, but if I had to choose something, I’d say it was the fact that I don’t care about fame or money. I want to work. I’m all about the work.

Can you talk to us about the role of luck?
I’d imagine the same as anyone else. You have to make your luck. The more you work towards a goal, the more your luck will be applied to the goal.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.GorkyTheBand.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/Gorkyrecords
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GorkyTheBand
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GorkyTheBand
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoBoc7xbOg6svX7jjDEtkrQ
• SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/gorkyrecords

Image Credits
Image: Jesse Valencia