Scene Stories: Rock n’ Roll DREAMer

The rock n’ roll dream isn’t easy for anyone. Even those raised in the music industry, with big shot parents and inherited talent, can still struggle to make a living in the current landscape. Maybe it’s just meant for those who want it the most, and are willing to put in the work to do it. People like Sebastian Tenorio-Vallejo.

“I think work ethic above pretty much anything else (has served him best). Often times I’m nowhere close to being the most talented person in the room and more often than not, talent is something that’s mostly out of your control, but what IS in your control is how much work you put into something and I always strive to be the hardest worker in the room. All of my musical heroes had crazy work ethic and that’s something I’ve always looked up to and try to incorporate into my own life/career.”

Sebastian immigrated to Tampa/St. Pete, Florida from Bogota, Columbia at the age of 5, and was undocumented until 2012, when he was approved for Temporary Protective Status (as part of DACA). While he would go on to graduate from the University of Southern Florida with a Bachelors in Business, he was always drawn to music. He played in both marching band and jazz band in high school, marching band in college, and even was chapter president of his school’s music-focused fraternity “Phi Mu Alpha” for two years.

Along this journey, Sebastian was often adapting by picking up new instruments to learn in order to keep himself a viable commodity. His first instrument was the saxophone in middle school, and later would pick up guitar, bass and singing in high school. And while being a multi instrumentalist is a challenge for anyone, Sebastian’s background in music theory has made this easier for him to do than most. He discussed with me his current journey in learning to be a more proficient pianist:

“I consider piano to be the “newest” instrument to me and not so much in the sense that I didn’t know how to play it before, but I didn’t really have “chops” like speed or accuracy. I’m very fortunate to be classically trained so I’ve always known my way around a piano from a music theory perspective like building chords, scales, etc. But when it comes to playing piano like a true “pianist”, it’s an ongoing journey. My journey taking piano seriously started about a year ago and often times I think about how much progress I’ve made in a year’s time of very dedicated and intentional practice, so I’d say about that long. About a year in, I feel confident enough on a piano in very similar ways as I would on a guitar, which is my main instrument.”

In college, he set his sights on a music career, even though he majored in business. What began with street teaming for some local labels led him to join his first band (NoNeed) on guitar and vocals, while also using his business knowledge to act as the band’s agent/manager. After graduating, he took NoNeed on its first tour, and would continue touring with the band for the next three years, cutting his teeth playing everything from bars to festivals. And when NoNeed ended in 2018, Sebastian continued to work on his guitar skills, playing in wedding and cover bands to make a living as a working musician.

Joining cover band Mixed Signals, Sebastian continued to add new skills to his repertoire, learning to build backing tracks of instruments that weren’t on stage, like horns and strings, and how to program them on Ableton. To really make a living as a working musician, Sebastian believes it’s necessary to have these extra skills.

“Most musicians that I meet that have what I consider to be “successful” careers often times don’t JUST play their instrument as a means of making a living. Most of the musicians I meet often times have their hand in other parts of the industry, whether it’s programming, production, management, etc. If you do it long enough, you begin to realize the importance of the “business” side of the music business as it pertains to the longevity of your career.”

Over the years, Sebastian has continued to prove, through his unyielding work ethic and openness to challenges, his ability to immerse himself in any new experience that presents itself. In 2020, he auditioned to be the full time guitarist and backing vocalist for national touring band Ballyhoo!. Winning the gig, he would be part of their recording/writing sessions and commercial releases in that period of time (5 singles, 1 EP, 1 Live Album and 1 Full Length Album) for the next four years, touring countless festivals and programming their live sets. His years of hard work were paying off, as he made himself into a viable musician for both touring and recording. Yet an even bigger challenge awaited in 2023, as he was given the opportunity to be the Stage Manager for the famed Gipsy Kings during their US tour.

After working as a crew member on the tour, at the beginning of 2024, he was promoted to being the band’s US tour manager. Despite the learning curve, it was an experience Sebastian loved.

“You know, the vast majority of my experience touring has been on the artist side of things and tour managing GK was one of the first experiences I’ve ever had on the other “side” of the music biz and I loved it. I think my experience being on the artist side for so long gives me a better perspective of the artist’s needs from catering options, to venue/Green room amenities, Backline/instrument rental, day off routing and activities, you name it. Given all that, there were still definitely a learning curve. Tour managing is an all day job and you’re on the clock from the minute the bus pulls into the venue to the minute you finish settling with the venue after the show. I also was having a job that required me to send emails every single day when I was advancing this particular tour haha I don’t think I’ve ever worked an email heavy gig in my life up until that job. “

And just as Sebastian was preparing for the Gipsy Kings‘ tour, another opportunity came his way – the chance to audition to be a touring musician with multiplatinum rock band The All-American Rejects. As you might have guessed by now, Sebastian nailed his audition and was brought on as a touring member of the band.

“It’s been a wild ride so far! I’m still in my first year with the band and I’ve already played some of the coolest shows of my career and have had some of the most fun touring I I’ve ever had. As far as the gig itself creating opportunities, certainly! I’ve had some cool career offers come my way that I’m excited to explore this year since I started playing with the Rejects and on the immigration front, the band is helping me out in making my legal status substantially more permanent and that to me is life-changing. I’m hoping to move to Nashville over the summer this year to really leverage some of the doors that Rejects has opened for me. “

And thankfully the band has been helping Sebastian with his battle to stay in the country, as it’s already been difficult for him to tour as a DREAMer:

“I would definitely consider my immigration status to be the thing that’s holding my career back the most. I can’t travel outside the US for work without jumping through multiple hoops with the government and advance parole applications that take up to a year to process just to be able to play one show outside of the country. Most professional touring jobs right off the bat ask for a valid passport and ability to travel outside of the country and unfortunately I don’t have that which severely restricts the number of options/opportunities that come my way.”

Through his work as a touring musician and tour manager, Sebastian has been able to help financially support his family in their retirement while also making a living himself. Time and time again, he has shown he has the hustle to jump on every opportunity given to him, and the dedication and work ethic to prove he deserves every job he’s gotten. Just reading about his practicing schedule should inspire respect:

“Practicing generally takes up a big chunk of my day almost every single day and I’m very regimented about the way I split my time between instruments. Piano gets time in every single day because it’s the instrument I feel like I’m weakest on, after that, it depends what I have coming up work-wise; If I have a guitar-heavy gig coming up, I’ll give the guitar the majority of my attention in that particular practice session or if I have to learn/memorize tunes for a gig on bass or sax, that’ll take priority.  Ideally, in a cumulative weeks worth of practice, every instrument will get the same amount of attention, the daily practice will be split up by priority of what gigs I have coming up. “

He’s living not only his rock n’ roll dream, but the American dream. He gets to play with a band he grew up listening to (“We close the show pretty much every night with “Gives You Hell”, a tune that I start off on keys. I’m 32, I’ve grown up with the All-American Rejects. From middle school all the way into adulthood, I remember seeing the music video to that song every single morning on MTV when I was getting ready for school.“), and has fun doing it. He balances multiple jobs without complaint, and has made himself an invaluable asset to every artist he works with.

It’s hard-working people like Sebastian that make America great, and the music industry thrive. Continue to follow his journey and see him with the All-American Rejects during one of their upcoming tour stops!