Produced By a Musical Entertainer

     I know I'll never be rich nor famous in the music industry and since I've seen what it's done to some of my friends in it. I don't need it nor want it. All I've even needed was the music. 

Coming from a long line of musicians in my family, some professional and some not. I've always had an affinity and passion for music or what I'd like to call it. The real and true " Healing Arts ". When I was very young and could distinctly remember some family members who were musicians would get together and jam, mostly around Christmastimes.

I would be that kid sitting there, imitating the movements of the drummers or mimicking the instrument's sound. Then replicating it later on to see if I got it down. I've always been able to mimic things I hear & see. 

I found one of my 1st instruments in the Trumpet around 1984 at the age of 10, I practiced like a demon and hardly hung out with my friends in the neighborhood. But when I did, I learned the hard way that hanging out in the streets would just lead me down the wrong path to trouble or worst. Which it almost did.

My mother Ana, was happy that I found music because she told me once that she saw it as a way for me to stay out of trouble. I unfortunately, got into some trouble like most kids when they're young, dumb, and hanging with the wrong crowd. And with an minor incident which scared me straight by seeing the fear in her eyes that she would lose me to the streets. 

So when I reach my teenage years with a few bums and bruises. I just fell in total love with the horn & practicing and never ever looked back. And I like to add that I've been very fortunate & blessed to have been doing what I love and even more so as a profession.

I remember my 1st professional gig as a horn player. It was on July 25th 1984 in North Bergen, NJ 's Casa Don Miguel's on Bergenline Avenue with a local band from Hoboken, NJ where I was living at the time, named Ney Moreno and his Conjunto Quisqueya. 

This gig with Ney didn't pay anything but you learned a lot about the do's & don'ts of the business. Especially the don'ts because he loved to use a lot of young musicians so he didn't have to pay them a dime. But aside from that, I did learn and picked up stuff from him and the group. Plus, working with Ney allowed me to travel around the Tri-State area and meet interesting new people at the time. Especially in the summer of 1986 at a Brooklyn block party on Montrose Ave. 

After performing with Ney at that block party, one of the members from the headliner's group of that party came over to me and asked me. I believe his name was Landy Sova. He asked me if I was heading home after my gig and told me if not, then if I wanted to play with his artist, telling me that one of his trumpet players were being a jerk with him and he didn't want him to do the gig. The lead player showed me the music and told me what to do. then I asked Landy who is the artist you want me the play for. He said two words.... " Hector Lavoe "

I wished I knew who Hector was at the time I did that gig. But since I didn't because I was so ridiculously ignorant to who anyone was in the music business at that time. I just did the gig, maybe played 4 songs and got paid $150 bucks for it, and went to White Castle to celebrate.

So because of that encounter with Hector Lavoe's band, I started getting recognized and called more in the business and started making a name for myself little by little. And what also cemented it for me was not all the bands I started working with after that, but the failures and firings. Because I used every experience I gained from it to push myself to work harder, study & learn more, absorb more knowledge about the do's and don'ts of the business, and etc etc.

Now with 38yrs. of experience with a crapload of groups & orchestras, traveled to over 50 countries all around the world, playing thousands of gigs with various legends in the business like " El Maestro " Johnny Pacheco, Gladys Knight, Frankie Ruiz, James Brown, Oro Solido, Wayne Newton, Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez, The Temptations, Johnny Polanco Y Conjunto Amistad, La Sonora Santanera de Carlos Colorado, Lalo Rodriguez, etc etc. to name a few 

I'm now in a position in life, where I can still perform nightly but also able & willing to consult, guide, and past down the knowledge to the next generation of musicians and artists. Many in the past have mentored & guided me to make me the musician I am today. Now I believe it's my turn to " pay it forward " because we still need mentors.

Now that all being said. Please join me in this new venture with my company PBMe ( which mean Produced By a Musical entertainer ). 

I'll make it a personal mission to help promote musical groups young & old, consult groups who ask me to help with building solid solutions, & also do my very best to make sure that the music industry thrives for not only the next generation, but for generations to come.

JTC the podcast, is just the 1st of the many ships I'm launching for this armada. Stay tuned of many, many other more ships setting to sail soon from PBMe Productions and your truly....

Warmest Regards,

Juan "Tiny" Colon, Owner of PBMe Production