Episode #54 Interview with Singer & Songwriter David Punch – “Helping others not feel alone thru inspirational music”

SUMMARY KEYWORDS
primary school, music, call, ireland, friends, busking, david, playing, bad, cork, singing lessons, social anxiety, started, exams, great, songs, performed, thought, line, ended

00:02
everybody welcome back to another episode of the autism and action podcast. Today we've got another special guest, we've got Mr. David Ponte, David punch music. Welcome to the show. Thank you so much for taking the time to be here today.

00:16
It's nice to be here. Thank you for having me.

00:19
David, share with us where you're from, and what you what you've been up to what you're working on.

00:26
So I'm from Ireland, and from the Reber county of cork, in the south, in the south of Ireland, and of the Emerald line, and my candy flavors all and I have diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. And so basically, when I turned around four years old, and my mom noticed me that I was having a social anxiety with around other kids. in, in, in the word like in kindergarten. So in preschool, we call it preschool we like in the garden when I say four or five. And I had to go to the doctor to go to a specialist up in the open doubling up in the capital at a time. And when needed day was like, it was like my social anxiety around kids. And then I was clumsy and clumsy like falling into things. And that's why I'm wearing glasses though. Floyd off the falling around the place for them. Yeah. I was very bad with my noise. My my noise is very bad. And my hearing is not very bad. But it has an employee. And I play hearing. So I hear loud noises and especially like loud, sir. It's loud sirens and going past. And fireworks. I still hate for your we will have seen the fireworks. And we had a big team here in Ireland known for New Year's Eve and demoed the fireworks. So in my window was absolutely amazing. And we are really happy for your work. With COVID it was great, great See? And what like yeah, like no, like I still if I were to delete the load bandwidth, and we're still I still do get scared. And yeah, and I just put my put my ear lock my walk in my nose, or after we lost it off to my ears. Yeah, that's, that's a blacklist and lunes lunes is another I hate to pop to hear the noise of the popping of blues in it. And I still hear. And when I was younger, and my mom used to read the families beforehand, and asking them if they're believing that therapy because they don't want blue that the parents do positive stuff in pieces.

02:40
Yeah,

02:42
yeah, I became very bad. In school in primary school, and I thought health boy was like an SME especially need assistance in primary school. So when in primary school, I was helping a guy help for like my homework. And I will go ahead with like, and socializing kind of thing. So studies and techniques, communication. And for like, when I was younger when my mom like I used to, like I used to hate going to primary into primary school. And it was five or six years old. And oh my god, like I like I was crying to my mom, they don't need me. Like, I want to leave my mom alone, me and my mother at the time. And yeah, they literally hanging hanging on the doorframe. And that's how bad it was at the time. And I didn't have any friends at that stage. And then inside but then I started meeting this guy and he had Asperger's as well. And we were both in the same class and like we got along very well and just saw like in primary school I didn't do my last language in Irish Australia and I regret not doing it now because now since I'm like older and off they want to learn and I especially know going off to America or Spain or local trade speaker or national language Yeah, no I regret I regret not doing well actually because it's our national language and you know you want to speak it But yeah, I fortunately didn't do it and then I just did I just went to this prefab back in high school. It's brand new no boreham in there are at them communication like like communication, which I'm not doing now. But uh yeah, I did I communication idea them like what to say how to start off for conversation and you know, like social skills, you know, and I still I still find it difficult I talk into the order and the order of the order was the word. And so like I like I still find it difficult talking to the order SP not speaking The older like woman I got like, why wouldn't be like, I still get? I still get frustrated talking to girls because yeah, I don't know what to say or like if they get offended or not easy, like, but that's that's the problem. That's the problem. No one wants to work in

05:15
progress, right. It's a work in progress,

05:19
working progress, but I think my music my music has definitely hit that a lot. And well, yeah, with the with my music. I started my work started in primary school playing the piano. And I just got lessons from my teacher, her name. And she used to she was unbelievable, she was great. And we started playing the keyboard piano and came to Canada first. And before, like, all my family are all music oriented, and my granddad is was in a one man band when he was younger. And he's playing all the different pubs in different venues in Ireland and in Cork, in my home in my home city, and like I'm following in his footsteps, because now I'm playing with his lap with his keyboard, every stage keyboard, which is great. And I live on in the tradition of like, with the family. But as an Irish family, we're all doing things, songs, for parties, like Chris, we do christening, we do our funerals we do with our weddings, you know, to take the carrot out or keep borders and have a craft have a good crack with with family. So yeah, that's how my music journey started. And then, you know, I went, I went off and did my secondary school check me school when he turned 1314. And that was double when the bullying started. And I was in an all boys school. And yeah, like, I'm skating for you. laughs You know, just just put my sources social anxiety, you know? I did not have that many friends. Well, I did have plenty of friends. But I didn't. I wouldn't think that they were like, special to me or anything like that. I had, I had thought my head voted, you know, and when I was in that stage, when my adolescent would be in between my targeting between 13 and 18. And so, yeah, that was that was tough. And we had Whoa, whoa, it corporative I just like, went in one year and went out the other. And it did have bad moments as well. Like, I was literally praying to my parents, like, you know, and that was that was sad. And that was heartbreaking for them when they saw me. And I got I got bullied by got punched in the face as well. As it's a punch. David points going. For force. Yeah, like, like in the in one of my in, in the line in the line. And, and like you see the blood. Okay, towards the towards when you saw and you see the blood rolling down my face like that. That's the that's the line though. That's the that's the lyric that's bolder. But yeah, I got that. And then,

08:08
you know,

08:09
I said like, you know, just just leave it like you know, it's like it's not going it's not going to make your for make a good board. Delegate work. For like, I wasn't getting bullied physically though. I was getting like I online bullying, because I started putting cover songs up on my YouTube page. And with that, then I was just using comments. The comments underneath the videos are shocking or very bad, like, and one of the comments was like, or just go kill yourself. We're not gonna make batteries and coatings came out with and I had about overthinking shadows and people on my videos. And I had like five and then I was terrible to janitor. 345. As far as Parque de Soto, someone said when something.

08:59
Yes.

09:00
Yeah, that went really well. No, it actually went viral all over park or all over cork, actually. And most people come up to me asking me for sharing that time. And yeah, and start your day then. Like, I wasn't doing singing lessons at the time. And I got I started getting singing lessons done with help of Gemma sugrue who was a vocal coach. And she's unbelievable know him. She's, she's, she's doing some work over in America at the moment. And for them. Yeah, she's unbelievable. She's the best worker courts in Ireland and she was part of this orchestra call it archery contract or contract orchestra. And there was this deed in and she was to use the main singer for all of it was great. And but uh, yeah, and I did the I did the singing. And we did the vocal lessons and the vocal lessons really helped me with my vocals and the confidence as well because during that time, I performed in two different places over formed in a music venue and performed at a festival. And so they could be like a country festival kind of thing. You're like, no all the animals in Europe, there was a big huge stage where it was performing and a backing either backing band or backing singers. And I had backing dancers as well. I'd like to pull up.

10:22
That's awesome.

10:24
Yes,

10:24
I did a song they did Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars. And that was great. I also believe due to the weather was lovely as well. And we rarely get a

10:34
nice weather here in Maryland. yacht, I was waiting, I was in Darwin, oh, he turned

10:42
1617 for one of my friends now one of my friends there and I am key Nicole, he was my big inspiration with music because and he was starting us doing bossing you doing busking in on the streets and car, and he was getting the crowd around him. And he was a big inspiration for me for getting in Cork and forgave him for busking. Because I became a busker, and because of him, and now he's signed with him. He signed Who's he signed for again, he is signed with the audition day below. So yeah, it's great. Like, yeah, and he's going to, he's over in London at the moment. COVID and Bora, and he's going to be moving over to LA new after when, at when all travelers tabs are open, like so it is great. Like, you know, I still get in contact with him. Because I am best friends though his best friend from years ago. Yeah, rollin rod rod to the music. And my best friend knew. And Courtney, you know, he's big. He's very big within marketing at the moment. And he will do marketing there. I know, for a housing, housing, real estate over and over in the US. And he was doing marketing for a altra festival as well over Miami as well. So, yeah, is he doing very well. And he's a very brilliant piano player. So check them out. And what is it what it says there? So yeah, and I ended up going to and after, after my after my Leaving Cert. So when he turned 18, after my school exams, I ended up going to college. And there I ended up in, called Clarke Institute of Technology, but now it's called monster technological of university. So the university knows a lot. Yeah, I did a lot of the key. And I thought I caught it was going to be a playlist that he taught is going to be Maryland playlists, and think I didn't go for it. Now. These are the flavors. There is a map like training school in Cork. So I was able to fly a plane and we own our own boy with an instructor, and which is great. And which is great variance because I could fly over my house. And I could see all the different views of xe, literally, my hometown from above and escalate so low. I still have I still I still offline, I still offline. And we all sit by the window going on over holidays, and Spain and whatnot. But yeah, I thought I was gonna be an airline airline when I was 16, and then ended up doing like he did, and CIT and I found the talk base on the top and bottom, there was a I got help from this place called and there was different area in college, the Disability Service, so they helped me with my exam support. And I was I didn't do I didn't do writing at all. So I got a scrape to write down my answers, which was great. I had it in when I was doing really well when I was in school. And because my handle my writing and my thinking was slow. Yeah, because I wasn't able to do long, long exams. And then yeah, I got that support over in 30. And that was great. You know, and I wasn't able I was worried about my get my hand been sore. And yeah, it was great. Yeah, it is like I'd like the memories coming back to me. No. That was okay. Yeah, cause all right, and like when I was younger, like put my social resources like college resources and it was tough for me to start because like I actually used to work on my own like probably call me on never asked anyone not never asked anyone or any of my friends to vote for me. And that was the thing that I used to normal days to do like bro like I knew people who are going to be exciting to you I knew people who are out so it wasn't too bad. I wasn't on the on the on all the time like but I am Yeah, I was on the on for most of it. And then I made my music friends who I'm still friends with no like no, go here with them. No, no Night Out and know, like socializing with them. And they know they know about my Aspergers as well, which is great. So I think that like people would like me, they should like say, because I work now, like I say, like, you know, they should this you say this to say that you have you have Asperger's, like Don't, don't be like, don't be

15:20
just be proud. Just be loud and proud that you have and that you have autism because like, you know, and like me more I'm working at the moment, I'm working in a call center, which is very daunting, like, for especially with me my communication on the phone and bought a Yeah, I told my manager that I had Asperger's, and it was the best thing that ever did. Because no, like I was doing, I was doing full time, nine to five or like, whenever like the five every day, for now, I'm just doing three days a week, which is great. And which is better for me because I have more and more and what's the word and more I can concentrate more. And I won't be worrying about anything during the week. There's only like three days only we and and like the rest of the weekend, I can relax and I could concentrate on my music and telling telling my story like I'm doing today.

16:16
That is absolutely incredible. You have done so much. You've come so far and still working on everything that you want to work on your dreams, your goals. You know, where can Everybody listen to your music? Where can they find your music online?

16:32
So my music, you can see it on Facebook, it's on David point music, and it's also on Instagram as well. So check out my website as well. And David points music.com. And I'm creating a new one at the moment. Yeah, and you have been quite busy now with that with the music and with different and different was a great time to co write and produce with my producer. And Dave Skelton from Galway. And we did this remotely as well. It was which was great. And I just did the vocals and sent him on to him. And he was able to do the whole background music to it. And yeah, it's great. Yeah, yeah, he's, he's a brilliant, he's a brilliant producer. And I'll be working from him from like, now on, and for the rest of my days and in the music industry. And yeah, but different is about you know, just believing in yourself and just like, just be loud and proud of being who you are. And don't give up on your dreams and goals. And yeah, that's what it is about.

17:43
That is some great words of wisdom and advice to all those listening right now. Thank you so much, David for being here today. We've run out of time, but I would love to have you on another time in the future to share more. Thank you again so much for for joining us here at the autism and action podcast.

18:01
Welcome. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Starla