Artist Feature - Gabe Hernandez: TMI, Anthems, and the Rebirth of Creativity

After a decade away from music, Gabe Hernandez opens up about vulnerability, TMI songwriting, and the art of reconnecting to his music and community.

The golden hour light pours through the blinds of Gabe Hernandez’s home studio, catching the spine of vinyl records that line the wall, a curated reflection of the music that inspires and motivates him. We sip sparkling wine, as he sits on a beautiful velvet green couch, his guitar nearby. We talk about his return to music after a decade-long hiatus. Gabe is front and center in the Bradenton music scene, with his raw, vulnerable lyrics and mesmerizing riffs that quickly made him stand out. 

“Freshman year of high school I was begging for a guitar, while also telling all my musician friends that I knew how to play.” Gabe admits with a small laugh. “I was telling everyone I knew how to play ‘Seasons’ by Good Charlotte, I couldn’t. I got a guitar for Christmas that year and I became obsessed. That obsession just never died. ” He pauses for a moment, remembering those early days of passion and burnout. He reflects over his time in college, where he went to school for music. The feeling of everyone around him having “a musician mindset” that he didn’t embody. Which led to his 10 year break from writing music. “I finally feel like I have something to say.” He adds, smiling softly. “But I feel like every time I finish a song it feels like an accident. I think that keeps it pure in a way.”

“I am just here haphazardly finding my way through gigs, and that hasn’t totally changed. I finally feel like I have something to say. But the haphazard feeling hasn’t gone away.”

Photo taken by Lesa Silvermore

The process of coming back to music wasn’t something that clicked over night. It was a slow burn that eventually led to things leaking out. "I wasn’t journaling,” Gabe recalls, “Then one day, it started to build and I felt I had to write it down.” When he returned to journaling, he paved the path back to songwriting. Every morning, he would sit and write an entry that was a snapshot of what he felt. “Songwriting became my journal, whatever I was feeling that day,” he explains. Gabe’s songwriting isn’t just a way to know his deep inner thoughts but a clear story of his healing. “Songwriting became a flashlight, helping me realize that there were things just beneath the surface that I needed to figure out.”. He reflects with a satisfied nod.

Gabe made his debut back on stage at local music venue and cafe, Oscura. “Having the open mic at Oscura changed everything.” he shares. “I’d written 15 minutes of music and needed to share it somewhere. I showed up, messed up 15 minutes straight, but (now friends) Dan Shafer, Matt LePerche, and Von Cloedt, who are heavily connected to Oscura’s shows, still encouraged me. It reminded me of what it felt like to share music with other musicians.” That night sparked a chain reaction of connection and collaboration. Within a year, Gabe was performing with many of the same people who had cheered him on at that open mic. “The community here is essential,” he says. “It’s not like we have a group chat or something, it just is. Everyone plays a role.” 

We share a laugh as Gabe describes his music as “TMI songwriting”, the kind that doesn’t filter out anything that some may deem as oversharing. “I’m not writing for an audience. I’m writing because I have to,” he says. “People ask me how I can share such intimate things, and I tell them, ‘Don’t say it too loud. I might realize how horrifying it is!’, he adds with a chuckle. 

“Vulnerable. TMI. Actually, too much info,  that’s how I’d describe my music.”

Photo taken by Kayla Erny

Known in the scene for starting out as a solo artist, Gabe says that path naturally evolved into building a band. He’s now joined by Charlie Findale on drums and Josh Scheible on bass, both adding backing vocals on featured tracks. When asked whether he prefers performing solo or with the group, Gabe reflects, “If I don’t want to feel super exposed, I’ll do band stuff, people are there to have fun and sing together. But if I’m feeling vulnerable, I’ll book more solo shows.” Gabe acknowledges a shift in his songwriting, “Everything is a season,” he continues. “The solo stuff I was writing was out of necessity, I had things I needed to get off my chest. Now, I’m in a season where it feels good to say, okay, that felt really good to release. Now I’m going to do more anthems and write a little more fun.” 

With his band, his songs are shaped with complex dynamics, from soft confessional verses with intense fingerpicking to headbanging outros. “I like songs people can shout together at a gig. When you’re really sad, it’s harder, unless you’re Dashboard Confessional and you’ve mastered that art.”, he explains. Growing up, Gabe would gravitate towards anthems, songs that would connect the audience to the person on stage. Everyone together chanting the same words. “For example, my song I Won’t Define (or my preferred title, I Like It Here), we shout the chorus eight times, as we are. That’s an anthem. It’s simple, it sticks, and people remember it even on their first listen,” he adds.

“A song really hasn’t come to life until I’ve played it live that first time and I get to see how it resonates with people.”

Photo taken by Lesa Silvermore

Gabe looks forward to the maturing of his music, not just within his current songwriting but how that reflects in his previous songs. “Every day our music is maturing,” Gabe says, comparing his songs to a fine vintage wine. “They’re aging in a bottle, evolving, growing. I like the realization that I’ve outgrown a song.” For a long time, Gabe didn’t think of himself as creative. “I was convinced until I was in my 30’s that I didn’t have a creative bone in my body,” he admits. One of Gabe’s favorite books of all time is The Creative Act by Rick Rubin, which guided his ongoing pursuit of creativity. “I think there was this way that Rick approached creativity as just being who you are always, that finally added the right amount of oil for things to fall into place. I didn't feel like I was grinding gears anymore but instead just accepted, ‘oh this is who I am’.”

As the sunlight fades across the green velvet couch, Gabe leans back and smiles as I ask what his 3 major goals are for the band. “Goal one: open up for one of our favorite bands. It would be insane to open for someone who made us who we are, a band I listened to as a teenager. Instant tears,” he says, animating an overly excited fake cry. “Goal two: reach a point where we can see a clear path to being financially supported by the art we make. It’s a long road, but the building blocks are starting to fall into place.” And finally, “Goal three: a regional tour. Planning a Southeast tour, even just Florida, would be amazing.” 

The evening wrapped up with toast to Gabe’s ongoing and blossoming musical journey. Every story, every laugh, every insight felt like a window into the heart of a musician who is as committed to honesty in his craft as he is to connecting with his community. The authentic, bold and courageous act it takes to pour his heart out into each song reflects in the same respect Gabe has to his songwriting process. Embracing a path unlike those around him, he has pulled at threads that led him to find strength in his voice and a growing base of listeners who support him. Gabe Hernandez, unafraid of vulnerability or rocking Labubu’s on stage, is a voice in the Bradenton music scene to watch, an artist who continues to grow, evolve, and surprise us with every new song.

Written by Lesa Silvermore