Story & Lesson Highlights with Jonathan Gabriel Jr. of Flagstaff, AZ

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Jonathan Gabriel Jr.. Check out our conversation below.

Jonathan, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
Coffee, quick triage, then prior-auth work – matching requests to coverage criteria and documenting cleanly so people get their meds. After that, 20-30 minutes of tiny creative reps for ThanatoGlyphs or ExxoStack. I’m a night owl, not a 5 a.m. superhero, so I aim for small, repeatable wins – survive the day, move the art forward a little, repeat.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello, I’m Jon, a working creative who splits time between pharmacy-benefit prior authorizations and two small, personal projects: ExxoStack (cinematic heavy music) and ThanatoGlyphs (ink-driven illustrations). I’m not a 5 a.m. machine; I’m a late-chronotype introvert doing my best to move the work forward a little each day. What makes my lane mine is the mix of structure and noise: the day job trains patience and precision; the art soaks up that discipline and turns it into high-contrast sound and line. I’m big on small, repeatable wins and sharing process over hype – notes, templates, little tricks anyone juggling real life can use. Right now I’m shaping a short motif suite for ExxoStack and a series of compact, monochrome pieces for ThanatoGlyphs. Nothing flashy – just honest work at a human pace, trying to be useful, pay the bills, and keep the creative lights on.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
A handful of people did. A parent with drafting pencils and a guitar taught me that lines and chords both tell the truth. A teacher who slipped me extra paper made room for the quiet kid who fills margins. They described me simply: introverted, pattern-obsessed, more interested in systems than spotlights, and that still holds. My family and the colleagues I work with now would probably say the same. ExxoStack and ThanatoGlyphs are the same puzzle in two languages: contrast, rhythm, restraint. I’m not the prodigy in the front row; I’m the person who keeps a small promise most days and lets the work add up.

What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
I used to think progress meant heroic marathons. All-nighters, huge goals, a perfect draft before anyone saw it. It looked impressive until it didn’t. I burned out, missed small deadlines, and started dreading work I actually love. I changed my mind. Small, repeatable reps beat drama. Twenty minutes of ink drills or a single motif sketch is better than a grand plan I never finish. I build around my real rhythm, not a fantasy schedule, and I ask for help sooner. In the pharmacy world, it means one clean checklist, one clear call, and learning to keep composure in environments that run on urgency. For ExxoStack and ThanatoGlyphs, it means ship a tiny piece, rest, and come back tomorrow. Not flashy, just steady.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I’m committed to building a small, durable body of work at a human pace. Not viral, not perfect, just work that still feels honest a few years from now. The belief under it is simple: consistency beats intensity, and kindness beats cleverness. For ExxoStack, that means cinematic heavy music that stands up without a trend attached to it. One motif at a time, arrange it, revise it, release it when it’s ready. For ThanatoGlyphs, it means ink pieces that hold up in black and white, where contrast, rhythm, and restraint do the lifting. I judge progress by repeatable days, not by spikes. If I can show up, deliver accurate work in the pharmacy world, then move a creative piece one step forward and still be a decent human to the people around me, that’s the project I’ll keep doing, no matter how long it takes.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
I’m planting slow seeds. For music, I’m building a small catalog of finished cues and themes for ExxoStack, with stems, tempo maps, and notes filed so future me or a collaborator can find and reuse them. For ThanatoGlyphs, I’m drawing a black-and-white series with a consistent visual language, scanning clean masters, and keeping high-resolution files and vectors organized. I train in short daily blocks: ear and harmony drills, pen control, simple rhythm studies. It isn’t glamorous, but it compounds. I also protect the machine that makes the work – sleep when I can, light strength for shoulders and wrists, and short walks to reset. My medical history taught me that the body is part of the studio. On the 9-to-5 side, I try to earn a quiet reputation for accuracy, patience, and kindness, especially when misunderstandings or unnecessary back-and-forth happen because of mixed communication styles and cultural differences within teams. I return messages, keep promises, and document processes carefully. On the administrative side of my music, art, and filmmaking aspirations, I track rights, filenames, BPM, keys, ISRCs, and print settings – the boring details that make future projects easier.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/ExxoStack
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/exxostack_band/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathangabrieljrmusic/
• Twitter: https://x.com/ExxoStack
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ExxoStack
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ExxoStack
• Other: Art IG — https://www.instagram.com/ThanatoGlyphs/

  Art FB — https://www.facebook.com/ThanatoGlyphs/

  Art X — https://x.com/ThanatoGlyphs

  Backup hub — https://linktr.ee/ExxoStack

Image Credits
Christopher Sheffield