Zakkary Segarac
“Throughout life there are a number of obstacles one
must overcome to achieve their goals. These goals are
never met however, without the mindset and confidence
to succeed, as well as the passion it takes to dedicate so
much to the pursuit of that success. But the struggles that
are endured along the way are usually worth the invested
time and work that it took to reach those goals because in
the end you have something to be proud of knowing that
you earned what you were after.”
                                                     - Myself
 This picture is from our first show at Club Alouette. There
  wasn’t much of a turnout, but if it weren’t for these guys I
  don’t know where I’d be. I was the last member to join our
  band; Kick on the Ape, but being in an actual band has
  brought me places I couldn’t go without the rest of the
  members. Having other people to practice with, share ideas
  with, and get constructive criticism from has made not only
  me a better musician, but all of us as a whole. Without the
  freedom and openness that we have to make suggestions to
  each other, we wouldn’t have made some of the music that
  I’m very proud to say we’ve written. These guys are like my
  brothers and I can rely on them to be straight with me
  when it comes to making our music sound the best that it
  can.
 For the longest time I refused to learn to read sheet music
  because it seemed like a lot of work for the same thing that
  tab music can do, but being able to read sheet music is
  defiantly one of the best skills to have when you’re a
  musician. Some people can only read tabs or rely on
  memorization to get them by. When you take the time to
  learn to read sheet music, it gives you the skill to sight
  read, meaning that you can read and play any piece of
  music you put in front of me, even if I’ve never heard it
  before. Along with learning to read music comes music
  theory, the structure of how all music works. Theory is also
  an essential part of being a great musician. Knowing how
  to play is one thing, but knowing why you play what you
  play is even better. Music theory gives you the
  understanding of how a piece was written and when you
  put theory together with reading, it opens up a new world
  of opportunity by giving you the skills to improvise, change
  keys or transposition.
“Music is also always there to comfort me; it’s what’s
keeping my mind from going to waste, and possibly my
life too. I’d take the ability to be able to provide people
with the joys of music over wealth any day. The feeling of
appreciation for the pieces I write is like no other, and it
defiantly makes it worth all the hours I’ve spent
perfecting my art.”
 Every person has their sanctuary where they go to get away
  from the world. Some people like to read, some people like
  to play games, but when I want to get away from everyone
  and everything, I like to jam. Having an area dedicated to
  just my instruments and playing music has made me a
  much better performer. There’s no TV in this room, and no
  computer or phone either. When I come to jam, there can’t
  be any distractions or else I’m not giving my full attention
  to practicing and getting better. (And I get distracted easy).
  And if I’m not giving it my all, then it’s wasted time. No
  body likes a sloppy player, and the goal is to always keep
  improving. When I step into the jam space, the cell phone
  goes off, I tune the world out and I turn my amp up.
“From the first day I picked up my guitar I knew that
music was going to be a significant part of my life, and I
also knew that it wasn’t going to be easy to go from
completely inexperienced to being in a band that plays
shows. But in order to come as far as I have, I’ve kept a
positive mindset. I have learned songs where I’ve made
mistakes or been unable to play a certain piece, but
challenges like that are always going to arise along the
way. Being positive about using those setbacks as
learning opportunities is what keeps me motivated to
improve.”
 In my opinion, being able to play percussion is the hardest
  of many instruments. To be able to fully harness the full
  potential of a drum kit is not an easy skill to learn. While
  playing drums you are constantly counting bars, beats and
  phrases to keep time, which can become very tedious for
  you, and the whole band if you miss one beat or come in
  too late. Playing percussion also requires you to separate
  each of your limbs to play on their own, which is probably
  the hardest part of drumming. When I play I always want
  my right hand or foot to do the same as my left, or vice
  versa. Currently, I’m a very amateur drummer, but I see a
  new instrument as a challenge to overcome, and learning to
  drum is by far the hardest obstacle I’ve had to face, but
  once I get my bearings on percussion it will be the fourth
  instrument that I have learned to play.
 This photo is from when my band played our second show
 at a place called Hardcore Church. We got the invitation to
 play this show from my friend who was also performing
 that night, and we took the opportunity even though we’re
 not a hardcore band. There were about 70 people at this
 show, and when it came time for my band to play, it ended
 up with only about 15 people in front of the stage, and the
 rest decided they’d rather be outside smoking. Even though
 we barely had an audience, we still played a hell of a
 set, also considering that my lowest string snapped even
 before we started. We didn’t belong there, we didn’t have
 many fans, but we were determined to play our best, and
 that’s what being a performer is about. You have to have the
 determination and self-motivation to keep moving forward
 and persevere through the bad times, because even if that
 show sucked, you can only get better from there.
“Being a performing musician has certainly taken a lot of
dedication, but the years, the cost and the effort couldn’t
even begin to match the level of passion I have to
continue to pursue to be a better performer and to
always keep improving. There are always going to be
obstacles that I will have to face along the way, but
overcoming them is what proves that I am always
improving, and everything I’ve put into getting that far
are well worth it.”

Photo Essay Presentation

  • 1.
  • 2.
    “Throughout life thereare a number of obstacles one must overcome to achieve their goals. These goals are never met however, without the mindset and confidence to succeed, as well as the passion it takes to dedicate so much to the pursuit of that success. But the struggles that are endured along the way are usually worth the invested time and work that it took to reach those goals because in the end you have something to be proud of knowing that you earned what you were after.” - Myself
  • 4.
     This pictureis from our first show at Club Alouette. There wasn’t much of a turnout, but if it weren’t for these guys I don’t know where I’d be. I was the last member to join our band; Kick on the Ape, but being in an actual band has brought me places I couldn’t go without the rest of the members. Having other people to practice with, share ideas with, and get constructive criticism from has made not only me a better musician, but all of us as a whole. Without the freedom and openness that we have to make suggestions to each other, we wouldn’t have made some of the music that I’m very proud to say we’ve written. These guys are like my brothers and I can rely on them to be straight with me when it comes to making our music sound the best that it can.
  • 6.
     For thelongest time I refused to learn to read sheet music because it seemed like a lot of work for the same thing that tab music can do, but being able to read sheet music is defiantly one of the best skills to have when you’re a musician. Some people can only read tabs or rely on memorization to get them by. When you take the time to learn to read sheet music, it gives you the skill to sight read, meaning that you can read and play any piece of music you put in front of me, even if I’ve never heard it before. Along with learning to read music comes music theory, the structure of how all music works. Theory is also an essential part of being a great musician. Knowing how to play is one thing, but knowing why you play what you play is even better. Music theory gives you the understanding of how a piece was written and when you put theory together with reading, it opens up a new world of opportunity by giving you the skills to improvise, change keys or transposition.
  • 8.
    “Music is alsoalways there to comfort me; it’s what’s keeping my mind from going to waste, and possibly my life too. I’d take the ability to be able to provide people with the joys of music over wealth any day. The feeling of appreciation for the pieces I write is like no other, and it defiantly makes it worth all the hours I’ve spent perfecting my art.”
  • 9.
     Every personhas their sanctuary where they go to get away from the world. Some people like to read, some people like to play games, but when I want to get away from everyone and everything, I like to jam. Having an area dedicated to just my instruments and playing music has made me a much better performer. There’s no TV in this room, and no computer or phone either. When I come to jam, there can’t be any distractions or else I’m not giving my full attention to practicing and getting better. (And I get distracted easy). And if I’m not giving it my all, then it’s wasted time. No body likes a sloppy player, and the goal is to always keep improving. When I step into the jam space, the cell phone goes off, I tune the world out and I turn my amp up.
  • 11.
    “From the firstday I picked up my guitar I knew that music was going to be a significant part of my life, and I also knew that it wasn’t going to be easy to go from completely inexperienced to being in a band that plays shows. But in order to come as far as I have, I’ve kept a positive mindset. I have learned songs where I’ve made mistakes or been unable to play a certain piece, but challenges like that are always going to arise along the way. Being positive about using those setbacks as learning opportunities is what keeps me motivated to improve.”
  • 12.
     In myopinion, being able to play percussion is the hardest of many instruments. To be able to fully harness the full potential of a drum kit is not an easy skill to learn. While playing drums you are constantly counting bars, beats and phrases to keep time, which can become very tedious for you, and the whole band if you miss one beat or come in too late. Playing percussion also requires you to separate each of your limbs to play on their own, which is probably the hardest part of drumming. When I play I always want my right hand or foot to do the same as my left, or vice versa. Currently, I’m a very amateur drummer, but I see a new instrument as a challenge to overcome, and learning to drum is by far the hardest obstacle I’ve had to face, but once I get my bearings on percussion it will be the fourth instrument that I have learned to play.
  • 14.
     This photois from when my band played our second show at a place called Hardcore Church. We got the invitation to play this show from my friend who was also performing that night, and we took the opportunity even though we’re not a hardcore band. There were about 70 people at this show, and when it came time for my band to play, it ended up with only about 15 people in front of the stage, and the rest decided they’d rather be outside smoking. Even though we barely had an audience, we still played a hell of a set, also considering that my lowest string snapped even before we started. We didn’t belong there, we didn’t have many fans, but we were determined to play our best, and that’s what being a performer is about. You have to have the determination and self-motivation to keep moving forward and persevere through the bad times, because even if that show sucked, you can only get better from there.
  • 15.
    “Being a performingmusician has certainly taken a lot of dedication, but the years, the cost and the effort couldn’t even begin to match the level of passion I have to continue to pursue to be a better performer and to always keep improving. There are always going to be obstacles that I will have to face along the way, but overcoming them is what proves that I am always improving, and everything I’ve put into getting that far are well worth it.”