Gavin Mendoca is a Guyanese Musician that travels all over the world to spread his fusion of Guyanese folk music and Punk Rock known as Creole Rock.
Gavin recently came to Full Sail to do a performance. While he was here, we were able to do an interview with him!
Creole Rock is a rock and folk musician. He plays in a heavy metal band called Feed the Flames. He is a member of the first Inter-Carribean punk-rock band called Sugar Caned. Sugar Caned consists of Gavin, a friend of his from Trinidad, and two members from Suriname. Last year, they debuted at SKYY Rock Festival.
While Gavin was in his band, he realized he wanted to put more of his identities in his music rather than playing rock music. Creole Rock came about when Gavin decided to become a Guyanese Rock musician. This decision led him to invent Creole which is a fusion of Punk Rock, Guyanese folk songs, and Creolese dialect. To create this kind of music, Gavin created rock versions of some Guyanese folk songs.
When asked how he was able to receive the opportunity to travel internationally and perform his music, Gavin responded with:
"I helped direct a music festival back home called Rupununi Music and Arts Festival. Through that, I was able to meet other festival directors and artists from around the world and in 2017 I was invited to participate in an annual music conference called Circle Arts in Columbia. I went to represent there Guyana for the first time and it was there that doors started to open because it was my first time I got to interact with an international audience and meet people from across the world. From that one trip, a bunch of doorways opened. I ended up going to the Dominican Republic a couple of months later to do some gigs.
That is when I realized if I want to make it as a musician, I can't just sit down at home in this little box called Guyana and wait for gigs, I have to go out and get them myself.
I just started to save my money and I decided to travel. I picked my guitar up and headed to the UK. My mentor took me to the WOMAD Festival, World of Music, Arts and Dance and that is the largest music festival in the world. It was amazing. Just to being able to be there and experience it, really blew and opened my mind to the potential that exists not just within me, but around the world. I played some folk songs for some people, and I realized the product I have is the most unique product in the world. I realized I just got to travel and meet as many people as I could."
"How I accomplish all this stuff, I use the Law of Attraction. I firmly believe in myself and my abilities. I never doubt myself, I just believe that I can accomplish anything and I do. That is all you gotta do. Just follow your dreams and never give up and you can accomplish anything."
Gavin and his friend Chucky found a book in Guyana of over 100 Guyanese folk songs. Because folk music is dying, Gavin and Chucky decided to record all 100 folk songs in a series of albums called Folk it Up. Gavin toured this album in New York and received a call from the Guyanese Embassy in China. They saw what he was doing with folk music and they needed a cultural embassador to perform at the Horticultural Expo in China. After Gavin's performance there, he is now considered to be a cultural embassador. You can listen to Folk it Up down below.
Love what you do and it will love you back
You can read more about Gavin Mendoca on his website
Keep up with this Guyanese Punk Rock artist on Social Media! Instagram: @creolerock Twitter: @creolerock
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