The Obelisk Questionnaire: Mario Rodriguez, Tyler Davis & Caleb Hollowed from Smokey Mirror
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Mario Rodriguez, Tyler Davis & Caleb Hollowed from Smokey Mirror
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How did you come to do what you do?
Tyler Davis: Years and years of the universe and myself always pushing me to where I am today.
Mario Rodriguez: I fell in love with music at a young age. As a child my mother exposed me to soul, my father exposed me to classic rock, and my sister exposed me to metal. At age 9 I began exploring music for myself and started actively seeking out sounds that excited me. At age 12 I started playing guitar and at age 13 I played my first club show. I played in bands on and off throughout high school and began pursuing music more seriously after graduation. By age 20 Tyler and I formed Smokey Mirror.
Caleb Hollowed: I started playing music with friends in middle school and by the time I was 18 I started looking for gigs. I grew up listening to bands like The Allman Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, and other classic groups. I knew in my heart that’s what I was meant to do, no question.
Describe your first musical memory.
Tyler: MTV in the 90s and Soul Train reruns were big for me as a kid. But listening to my grandfathers Bob Wills and Willie Nelson records, or learning about ZZ Top listening to Q102 at home in Dallas with my dad are some of my happiest early musical memories.
Mario: My earliest memories are hearing Luther Vandross and Teddy Pendergrass with my mom. I also have early memories of hearing Santana and The Beatles with my dad.
Caleb: My mother listening to “CSNY – Deja Vu” on an old tape. Still love that group so much! Also the sound of Patsy Cline’s voice is prevalent in my early memories. I remember my mom making me two step with her in our family kitchen to old country songs.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Tyler: Witnessing George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic perform in Dallas 2012, or performing with Smokey Mirror in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on my 27th birthday.
Mario: My best musical memories are seeing Motörhead in 2009 and B.B. King in 2013. I’ll never forget how it felt to be in their presence.
Caleb: Seeing Dickie Betts with The Allman Brothers Band has to be my top musical memory.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
Tyler: Any time living a life creating and playing music gets tough or complicated, we’re forced to come to terms with why we do what we do, which is serving something higher than ourselves.
Mario: When I was in my teens and early twenties I accepted a lot of mistreatment from former bandmates for the sake of being involved in a project that I’d poured a lot of time, effort, and resources into. Eventually I realized that nothing was worth compromising my dignity, so I started over from square one and formed Smokey Mirror with bandmates who are both kind and mutually respectful. In the end I learned an invaluable lesson.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Tyler: Hopefully towards true clarity and whole, honest expression of self while being considerate of but not controlled by external circumstances.
Mario: Ideally, artistic progression leads to a never-ending journey of self discovery. It’s a gift that keeps on giving, forever into eternity.
Caleb: To a true sense of self. It may never lead to anywhere, just a long journey that never ends. People change, so does artistic expression.
How do you define success?
Tyler: Feeling content with your legacy, when we depart we can’t take things only leave them.
Mario: I also define success as contentment with one’s legacy. I’d also add that success can be measured by the greatness one inspires in others.
Caleb: Being pleased with something you’ve created or been apart of.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Tyler: Witnessing the realities of working in the US healthcare system was kind of a bummer, but anything we can learn from isn’t a total loss.
Mario: I’ve seen a lot of talented, promising musicians allow their pride and poor self control to stunt their musical growth.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
Tyler: Album #2 and 3!!!
Mario: Albums #2 and #3 for sure! Also maybe a catapult that can be used to launch all the world’s billionaires into the sun.
Caleb: There’s so much, but I guess I’d like to do more vocally driven songs with 3-4 part harmonies.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Tyler: Traveling and experiencing the world outside of the US, whether touring with Smokey or on vacation with my dog and girlfriend
Mario: I’m looking forward to traveling Costa Rica with my girlfriend later this year.
Caleb: I love nature. Last year I was supposed to go to Yellowstone with my dad, but there was a lot of rain that caused the roads to wash away, BS you might remember from the news. I think we’ll try it again this year after Smokey is back from tour.
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