Meet Eric Garcia | Musician/storyteller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eric Garcia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eric, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think risk is everything. I’m constantly betting on myself, in all aspects of life. If you aren’t a little scared, then you aren’t making the most out of life and the creative process.

As far as risk, personally, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to lead a much more “comfortable” life than I have right now. Being 52, never married, and with no kids isn’t an accident. I was a caregiver for many years and I realized how fleeting life really is. Especially quality of life. If you feel that you have some unfinished business, or something you have to say to the world, then you gotta. Otherwise maybe making money and raising a family should be your priority. That’s 100% cool. But to risk that comfort and stability because something gnawing away inside of you and you don’t know what it is or why is something.

That’s the nobility of risk. If it pays off, that’s a bonus.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

Wow. Well, I’ve been a professional musician for years.
I’m the frontman & harmonica player for a band called Juke.
We’ve performed all over for over 15 years.
I’ve also performed as Uncle Scotchy for a long time as well.
Uncle Scotchy generally performs as an OMB (one man band), where I play the drums with my feet, guitar with my hands, & I sing and play harmonica w my mouth.

I now perform Uncle Scotchy as a duo with Harold Trucco on guitar as well. Harold also plays with me in Juke. He’s super dynamic and gets it. His presence adds tons.
Now, I had been a only child and caregiver for my parents since 2002 when my mother got diagnosed w Early onset Alzheimer’s. She passed in 2009. My father’s health deteriorated over the next 10 years and we wheelchair bound until his suicide in 2019.
Then the pandemic hit and I needed a new creative outlet because I was all alone and going crazy.
An old friend suggested that I write a “Blues Opera”. What he meant was a story/song format performance about my life, in the genre that I specialize in.

So, I quickly realized that if I was going to make this Blues Opera thing happen, I needed to learn the art of storytelling. As Covid restrictions began to lighten, I started a weekly storytelling night at a local venue. The format was simple. Stories have to be true, and about you. Every Wednesday night there would be four storytellers, and I would generally schedule myself as one of them and host the night.

One night, the women who run Juggerknot Theatre came to hear me tell the story of my mother. Juggerknot Theatre is best known for producing Miami Motel Stories, a critically acclaimed, immersive theatre experience, that had a few amazing runs w different themes over the last few years. After the show they approached me and said that they want to produce my Blues Opera. They hired an amazing director and team around me. I performed 71 shows last year to an audience of only 12 people, five nights a week, in a house converted into a total immersive theatre experience.

Now I am transforming and developing my stories and music to a stage experience. I performed the first experimental one on Mother’s Day. I’m doing my next one on Father’s Day at Magic 13 Brewing. Harold and I are recording an Uncle Scotchy album as well that we are super excited about.

All together, Uncle Scotchy has turned into a brand. It’s music, it’s storytelling, it’s lifestyle, all based on authenticity and truth.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Event tho they moved from Wynwood, I would take them for amazing vegan hot dogs at Perrology. Then Lagniappe for live music. Another great spot is The Gibson Room for both incredible food and live music.
For a day vibe, maybe a bike to Matheson Hammock park and a stop at the Wayside Market for smoothies and snacks.
Magic 13 Brewery in Little Haiti would be another great food/beer/music hang.

If you really want to blow someone’s mind, Vegan Cuban Cuisine is the spot. It’s in Kendall but worth the drive.

Of course you gotta take someone visiting to South Beach just to they can experience the madness.

But I’d take’em over to Timeout Market and get them the best pizza they ever had at PizzElla.

Also, a day in Little Havana could be both fun and educational. But when done for the day, there’s a great local spot to get an amazing drink, eat some food and maybe watch a rock band at Bar Nancy, one of Miami’s best kept secrets.

Lastly, anywhere my band is playing would work!;)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Juggerknot Theatre. They believed in me and produced my one man, immersive theatre show, The Blues Opera. They are the ones who produced Miami Motel Stories. MMS had a few wildly praised seasons at a few locations around Miami. They generally take over an old hotel, (there have been other variations) renovate it, bring in set designers and writers and directors, then hire actors for each room. The audience then experiences the story first had in each room.

My show was the first one that was only one actor.

Also, James Quinlan and the whole group at The Rhythm Foundation who put on so many amazing events at the North Beach Bandshell as well as some other venues. Their commitment to the arts has really given a well needed boost to overall Miami culture.

Website: www.unclescotchy.com

Instagram: @unclescotchy

Twitter: @unclescotchy

Youtube: @unclescotchy