{"id":12149,"date":"2021-02-08T12:33:50","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T19:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com\/people\/?p=12149"},"modified":"2021-02-08T12:33:53","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T19:33:53","slug":"winning-the-day-musician-and-philanthropist-lee-perreira","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com\/people\/interviews-profiles\/winning-the-day-musician-and-philanthropist-lee-perreira","title":{"rendered":"Winning the Day: Musician and Philanthropist Lee Perreira"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by Jenna Medlin-Roark<\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The lights dim, and the crowd goes wild. Two guitars and a Wild Tonic kombucha in hand, Lee Perreira prepares to spend an hour and a half captivating his audience playing music from his album \u201cWhats That Gotta Do with My Dreams?\u201d as well as a handful of unreleased songs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With every guitar riff and lyric that resonates with each member in the audience, we are swept away by the pure talent we witness on the Musical Instrument Museum stage, and all rise for a standing ovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in Long Beach, California, Perreira was surrounded by musical influence through his mother and grandparents. His mother was known to listen to guitar-driven music such as Guns & Roses and the Motley crew, while his grandfather listened to Bach and Beethoven. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Perreira\u2019s grandparents gifted him a Synsonics Terminator guitar, he knew he had a love for music, and his musical talent began to bloom.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At age twenty-five, Perreira enrolled in the School of Music at Phoenix College after experiencing unemployment during the housing market crash and a temporary job at a call center for student loan applications. \u201cThe professors showed me what it\u2019s like to be a professional and how to act for the gig that you want,\u201d says Perreira. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of his second year, he taught guitar lessons and played gigs three to four times a week and had been doing so ever since. He wrote every song on his most recently released album and said that they come from things he experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI need to tell my story but tell it in a way that people can connect to as well,\u201d says Perreira.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the wake of COVID-19, Perreira found himself playing less and less as shutdowns across America ensued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pre COVID-19, I was playing over 300 gigs a year, so now I am playing about half of what I used to, but I am making my way and super blessed to have what I do right now. <\/p>
– Lee Perreira<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Perreira has spent the last several months putting himself in an environment to learn. Investing in himself and knowing what a routine looks like has been difficult and challenging, but Perreira says that he likes to refer back to \u201cthe four P\u2019s,\u201d power, purpose, production, and passion.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

So, every day, I must invest in my physical well-being (power), my mental and spiritual well-being (purpose), my business or career (production), and my relationship (passion).

When I do that, not only do things tend to get done, but I tend to be a nicer, more patient, human. <\/p>
– Lee Perreira<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

When not working on himself, Perreira is helping others. A massive fan of television host, actor, and comedian Ellen DeGeneres, Perreira decided to do a series of video diaries in hopes of getting in contact with her team in 2018. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frequently, Perreira visited the Arizona Cancer Foundation, Chrysalis, a domestic abuse shelter, and different retirement homes to play music for Alzheimer\u2019s and Dementia patients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


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