San Diego has one of the most vibrant music communities in the world, a fact that is drawing both musicians and fans from all over the planet to our sunny shores. A clear indicator of that success is the fact there are now numerous labels, studios, bookers, pressing plants, promoters and so on located in San Diego \u2014 all a sign that things are happening here. One key person in the emerging scene is music ambassador and Ocean Beach resident Chris Leyva.
\nHe\u2019s a crossover contender. Originally from Mexico, over the last decade, beyond his work as a singer and guitarist, Leyva has emerged as the main man behind music label and promotion company Black Cherry Music Company, establishing himself as a musician, promoter and lobbyist for San Diego music. Leyva is all over the place; one night at the Grammy\u2019s, the next in London recording, then heading to Europe for a tour and back to Ocean Beach for a gig at Mother\u2019s Saloon. It\u2019s a whirlwind life, and Leyva said he loves every second of it. “How could I not?” he asked. “Music is all I\u2019ve ever wanted to do and I\u2019ve been lucky to have that happen.” He said it helps to be able to have variety in his life. “The fact that I\u2019m kind of all over the place helps a bit,” he said. “I never get bored or tired of what I\u2019m doing because it changes so much day to day. Sure, it\u2019s all music, but some days I\u2019m working with bookings, other days it\u2019s songwriting or mentoring, so it\u2019s a real range of things that I\u2019m involved in.” While he\u2019s proud to be an Ocean Beach resident, he considers himself a citizen of the world. “OB is my home and I love it,” he said. “At the same time, I\u2019m on the road a good portion of the year. Let\u2019s put it this way: I\u2019m comfortable anywhere I am, but there\u2019s no place like home.”
\nLeyva\u2019s love for his adopted hometown is evident in his recent album “Summer of Life,” which was released this summer. “I like to say that Ocean Beach is my co-producer on this one,” he said. “I wrote the material here and recorded the whole thing at my home with help from engineer Dan Shannon and lots of others. I was influenced by the way life unfolds in Ocean Beach, both my own and those around me that I observe. As a songwriter \u2014 and for me as a citizen \u2014 OB is gold.”
\nProlific to a fault, Leyva is constantly recording. While he is known as a rock performer, his most recent forays have crossed over into EDM (electronic dance music) territory, recently working alongside electronica pioneers Red Flag and rapper Tha Franchise on his new single “Love Is Slow.” “Rock \u2019n\u2019 roll is the core of who I am,” Leyva said. “However, there\u2019s so much out there to explore. Plus, I meet so many cool people in my travels and I love to collaborate. So it\u2019s only natural that I work with new sounds. But I\u2019ll always come back to rock \u2019n\u2019 roll. That\u2019s what made me want to have a life in music.”
\nNext up for Leyva is recording a follow up to “Summer of Life” and more touring. “I hope I can do more things in town next year,” he said. “I love traveling, but there is a special feeling when you play before a hometown crowd.” He said he\u2019s happy with what he\u2019s accomplished to date, but is still hoping to take things further. “Things have been nice, but as far I\u2019m concerned, I\u2019m just getting started,” he said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
San Diego has one of the most vibrant music communities in the world, a fact that is drawing both musicians and fans from all over the planet to our sunny shores. A clear indicator of that success is the fact there are now numerous labels, studios, bookers, pressing plants, promoters and so on located in […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":275104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11561","_seopress_titles_title":"Music \u2018ambassador\u2019 Leyva sinks roots deep into performance industry","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11551,11561],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-news","category-peninsula-beacon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}