San Marcos High School freshman Katy Caballero has released her second song, “Unlovable.”
The 14-year-old Santa Barbara resident writes and performs her own songs.
“I’ve always been a huge thinker,” she told Noozhawk. “Every day so much goes through my mind and I experience so much that I don’t really have any other way to express it all.
“With songwriting I’m able to help myself get through anything and deal with it better.”
Last year, Caballero released her first song, “Not Not a Love Song.” Both songs are available on iTunes, Spotify and other streaming platforms.
Her voice teacher imspired her to also try songwriting, and serves as her musical mentor.
Caballero first fell in love with music when she was 2, thanks to her grandpa, Larry Urzua.
“When I was really young he created my love for The Beatles,” she said. “He would play their songs and I would sing along.”
Her favorite song back then was “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.”
“He helped me find my voice and had always been unbelievably supportive to me and I love him for it,” she said of her grandfather.
For Caballero, singing is more than a hobby — it’s a career goal, and a major sacrifice.
“I have had to give up countless events, plans and time in general for music,” she said. “There have been so many times that I couldn’t go somewhere or do something because I had a performance, was going to a songwriters expo, or just knew I needed as much time as possible to practice.”
Caballero said she’s committed to her music.
“It’s also fairly hard at times to balance school and music but I’ve been doing a good job of it so far,” she said. “Overall, it’s worth it because it is what I love, and it’s the best choice to not let anything stand in the way of it.”
Caballero, a member of Girls Rock Santa Barbara, has performed at various functions and venues in the region, including at Old Spanish Days Fiesta.
“I love performing more than anything,” she said. “Getting to share my own music and singing others’ music in front of a crowd has always been the best part.
“I also really enjoy learning cover songs. I’ll hear songs that hit me hard and rush to my room to learn them.”
Caballero says her music reveals a lot about who she is.
“When I’m writing songs I find it so satisfying when I have the final product after countless revisions,” she said. “Then getting to record them makes it even better.
“My favorite part of music as a whole is the storytelling aspect of it. I’ve felt and been through a lot of things so I love putting passion into songs that I write or learn.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.