BIOGRAPHY

JUAN S. GARCÉS was born in the city of Quito – Ecuador on March 21, 1987. He is the second child of Juan Carlos Garcés and María Sol Paz y Miño. His father has always been an avid music lover and collector, so JUAN lived his early childhood in a home where this art was an essential part of the day to day. Sounds from The Beatles, Camel, Deep Purple, ELP, Genesis, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, Marillion, Pink Floyd, Queen, Rush, Yes (and so many more…), intertwined in the air with Latin-American folklore and popular music, classical music, and various other genres and styles, creating a rich and diverse listening environment.

Watching concerts on video was a regular family event, and so were social gatherings where his parents’ friends would join in with their guitars and voices to sing their hearts out for hours on end. JUAN’s father would lead these occasions with his powerful voice, playing his nylon guitar or a variety of other instruments. So, it can be said that JUAN’s love and interest for music were truly always there.

His first encounters with a musical instrument were at about age 5, but not with a guitar, because it was too big for him. Instead, he experimented with a “cuatro”, which is a Venezuelan folk instrument shaped like a classical guitar, but much smaller and with only four strings (hence the name). At the beginning it was just pretend, but soon enough he would learn some notes and chords instructed by his father. JUAN got his first guitar in 1997, at 10 years old. Gifted to him by his parents during a trip to the USA, it was a black Squier Stratocaster with white pickguard, that came in a pack with a Frontman 10G tiny amp. He was irrevocably hooked from then on.

During his teenage years, JUAN took music and guitar lessons at Conservatorio MozArte. He also spent a lot of time listening to records, reading magazines, watching videos; and when the internet became more accessible, downloading charts and tablatures to study. He formed the first band at his school, where he gave his earliest performances to an audience. In this same period JUAN broadened his musical palate greatly, listening to bands like Angra, Children Of Bodom, Dream Theater, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Metallica, Nightwish, Pain Of Salvation, Pantera, Porcupine Tree, Symphony X, Tool, etc. He also discovered the world of instrumental guitar music and its heroes: Andy Timmons, Eric Johnson, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Satriani, Neil Zaza, Paul Gilbert, Richie Kotzen, Steve Morse, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, etc. It would be impossible to name them all and the influence they each had on him.

JUAN studied at the College of Music (CoM) of Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) from 2005 to 2010. There he attained a B.A. in Contemporary Music, and a B.A. in Music and Sound Production, graduating from both careers with honours (Magna Cum Laude). Perhaps due to the strict and predominant focus of the curriculum there on jazz, JUAN’s musical taste steered in the opposite direction, delving deep into the heavier side of metal. Arch Enemy, Caliban, Chimaira, Heaven Shall Burn, In Flames, Killswitch Engage, Lamb Of God, Mercenary, Opeth, Scar Symmetry, Soilwork, and Trivium, are just a few of the bands he started listening to.

In 2007 JUAN joined Viuda Negra and worked with them until 2010. They toured all around Ecuador and played a couple of dates in Colombia. During his stay in the band, they shared the stage with Kraken and Medina Azahara, performed at QuitoFest alongside Paura and Darkest Hour, and opened for Sebastian Bach and Guns N’ Roses at Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa in Quito. In 2011 JUAN performed with Colapso, on the bill with Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder and Suicide Silence. From 2017 to 2019 he played with Descomunal. And from 2018 to 2020 he performed several dates with Madbrain, including opening for Slipknot at Coliseo General Rumiñahui in Quito, and Tattoo Music Fest in Bogotá – Colombia.

Making a living as a musician in Ecuador is incredibly difficult. Throughout his career, JUAN has ventured into many different activities. He has worked as session guitarist, “dep” (stand-in) guitarist for bands or artists, performing function or tribute gigs, as stage or production staff, music transcriber, teacher, guitar-tech, etc. In 2016-2017, JUAN got a job as Lounge Technician onboard a cruise ship. He lived and worked onboard for eight months. By the end of his contract JUAN gained new perspective on his priorities, so he decided to invest all his time and energy into developing his personal projects.

Currently working as an independent artist, JUAN has devoted the last few years to fulfilling his lifelong dream of composing and producing his own music. He now presents part of the fruits of his labour with his debut album PERSONAL WARFARE.