Photo courtesy of Mark Maryanovich

I don't remember an exact defining moment when I realized I needed and wanted to make music. The feeling just seemed to always be there. It felt natural, quite like breathing.

I'd have to say, some of my earliest memories of music being a part of my existence include the sound of old ABBA records playing to help me fall asleep. Just as music, insomnia always followed me and music was the one thing that could calm me enough and make me feel safe enough to fall asleep.

My mother understood that from a very early age. Although my parents were not at all musical, they were huge music fans and music was always playing in the house. I think because they weren't musicians themselves, they had an exceptional amount of respect and admiration for musicians, especially the ones on MTV.

As children, we tend to follow the trend or influence of our parents. In my case, seeing my parents treat the annual broadcast of the American Music Awards and the Grammys as special as a national holiday made me assume the same view of music and the seemingly superhuman characters that delivered that music into our lives.

While other kids dreamt of becoming an astronaut, a teacher or a doctor, I was listening to music of all different genres. Soul, indie, pop, rock, alongside classical music which I was learning as a young child in my piano lessons at Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music. All I could envision and fantasize about was the day I would walk on stage and perform a song which I had written myself.

It took years, but that day finally did arrive. It was especially sweet when I was able to share the stage alongside my brother, Fernando, who is the other half of The Manic Boys And Girls Club. Having been raised in the same tight knit household, it was only natural that Fernando too would share the same passion and love for music and performing. The moment we both understood our purpose, we knew that life as we had known it would never be the same.

Music has always been a soundtrack for our lives, accompanying us through almost every major life experience, and helping us cope with even the toughest ones. It has served as not only inspiration but also as therapy.

For my brother and me, to now be in the position of producing, writing, and performing our own music in The Manic Boys And Girls Club, I hope that we can inspire and be the soundtrack to the lives of those who are going through their own experiences, whether it be heartbreak, regret, love, fear or just wanting to escape reality for a while.