Not many high school juniors can say that they are recording artists, but Lucas Freschi can.  Lucas has begun recording his own songs and posting it on the music download site SoundCloud.com.

“After years of intense practice I learned how to truly express myself in the art form that is guitar playing,” says Lucas.  He began playing guitar at age 11 and has progressed dramatically since, playing gigs, joining a local band called The Brothers, and developing his musical talent which has paid off – his first album is evidence.

But Lucas didn’t always feel so strongly about guitar.  “One day my dad bought me a guitar along with guitar lessons for the next week because I didn’t do much back then, other than hang out with my friends,” says Lucas, “Actually it was pretty oppressive at first.”

However, after years of hard work and dedication, Lucas has learned to love playing guitar.  “I practice daily – at least two hours a day,” says Lucas. “It’s more like I’m doing some homework and I get up and play and eat and play and do some more homework.”  It’s easy to tell that Lucas has pure raw talent when listening to him play.

When he writes, not only does Lucas have to develop the guitar part, he creates his own lyrics to sustain his music.  Intricately written and possessing emotion that evokes empathy and gratitude from the audience, Lucas’ songs appeal to people who wish to listen to music of substance.  Lucas finds inspiration from the people that surround him and how social activity affects a person; his song Die exemplifies this.

“Die is a song that has certain meaning to me – it’s just about home life with the family and your place in all that.  Being able to understand the ones that you love and being able to understand yourself as person is a big part of the song,” explains Lucas, “How you’re different from these people, how you’re the same, how you react with people on a day to day basis.  Basically it’s about defining yourself from those around you.”

Lucas’ songs depict his thoughts and beliefs on things he deems to be important.  His ideas and visions are transformed from writing on paper into songs that are very relatable.

“I focus on lyrics more because I feel that I can express myself better through words,” Lucas says, “A lot of my songs are written as poetry first and then I put it to music.  Poetry music – it’s my creative process.”

Other inspirational outlets that aid Lucas in the writing of his lyrics include musicians who have influenced him such as Johnny Cash and Doc Watson.  He also explores more obscure music like Native American Flute and traditional chanting.

“It helps me find a place of inner peace in which I can draw inspiration from.”  Lucas also gains a lot of inspiration from his reading.  “I read the Koran and the Bible.  I find a lot of my inspiration comes from religious reading as well as day to day activity and just social exposure”

Lucas not only plays as a solo artist but also has the role of guitarist in The Brothers, a local band comprised of other VHS students Tyler Curtis, Kelly DiGeronimo, Maura Cuddihy, and Ned Denton.  This experience has also given him insight into music in the “real world.”    “We’ve played a lot of coffee houses, and a lot of street playing.  Any exposure helps really.  Playing in front of anyone each time is a different lesson learned.”

Despite being a recorded artist, Lucas isn’t letting it get to his head.  He merely plays for his own enjoyment and benefit. “I do not plan on going into college for music but I do plan on progressing in my musical career until the day I die.”

You can find Lucas Freschi onSound-Cloud at https://soundcloud.com/lucas-davidd.