I earned my way through engineering school, playing music in bars and restaurants. After graduating, I worked as an electrical engineer for Hughes Aircraft Company, who awarded me a master's fellowship, and thus I also earned my Masters Degree. After 10 years, Hughes decided to consolidate my division in their manufacturing facility in Tucson, AZ, and I decided NOT to make the move there with the company, but instead to take the "layoff package" and go back to playing music professionally. So again I earned my living as a professional singer/songwriter/guitarist and keyboard player, and I did that up until 2011 when I decided to get my insurance license and become a financial advisor/retirement planner. So that is what I do now for my livelihood, but I continue to write songs, and occasionally play out, both locally, and sometimes abroad when I travel. If you want to check out some of my songs, search my name Garret Swayne on Youtube.

BTW, Los Angeles is a huge place, so to narrow things down a bit, the area I live in is called Canoga Park. It's in "the Valley" (the San Fernando Valley), about 28 miles from Downtown, 22 miles from Hollywood, and 15 miles from the nearest ocean beach.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I enjoy connecting with other kindred souls--people who recognize that whatever superficial differences may appear to separate us, we are all pretty much driven by the same desire--we want to connect! To feel a part of the wider human family! In my travels, I have met such extraordinary people who have taught me so much. And I hope, and believe, I have done the same!

Interests

• arts
• cooking
• politics
• music
• geopolitics
• philosophy
• science
• food
• humor
• health
• discussion
• laughter

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Very broad musical tastes. Especially touched by great songwriting craft!

Movies: Forrest Gump, Annie Hall, Walk Hard, Shawshank Redemption, Resurrection, A Thousand Clowns, Barefoot in the Park

Books: To Kill a Mockingbird, One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest, anything by James A Michener

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've traveled the world playing music. In fact, in 1987, I was one of 200 Americans who took part in the first ever Soviet-American Peace Walk, a precedent-breaking event of citizen diplomacy where we marched (along with 200 other "official" Soviet marchers, and god-knows-how-many "unofficial" Soviet marchers) from Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) to Moscow, in a universal appeal to urge our two governments to ratchet-down the Cold-War rhetoric and deal rationally with each other. We were hailed as heroes and the Walk was treated as front page news in the Soviet Union, although ironically, it was hardly covered at all in the US because it was taking place in the summer of 1987, when the trial of Oliver North was all the headlines. But I knew, after meeting and getting to know so many of the Russian peace marchers, that their desire for freedom was too great to contain, and that the "Wall" would be coming down only a few years later. Indeed, that's exactly what happened. It's so sad now, to see Russia slipping back into totalitarianism.

Teach, Learn, Share

Well I'm glad to share anything I can of myself! I love stimulating conversation, and I'm interested in many many things: philosophy, politics, art, science, life in general. I love to laugh and enjoy hearing (and telling) jokes! If you play music, I love to jam, to improvise musically. It's like having a conversation in music...one of my favorite things to do!

Here's something specific and unique I can share: Of all the musical gifts I've been blessed with, the one that probably impresses people the most is my ability to play along in real time with any piece of music, or to just "figure out" a song on the fly that I may have never played before. It turns out, this ability to "hear the changes" and play by ear, is actually something that can be taught! And indeed, I've developed a methodology to teach it. I designed a workshop to teach people who play a harmony instrument (i.e., an instrument that can play chords, like piano or guitar) to learn to play "by ear"--without ever having to buy the sheet music or have someone write out a chord chart! You have to be proficient enough on the instrument that you can readily form all the necessary chords. That's a prerequisite. But if you can do that, I can show you how you can develop the ability to just "hear the changes" and figure out songs by ear! So if you're open to learning that, I'd be glad to share that with you.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm happy to play music, discuss ideas, share jokes, exchange recipes, cook food (and eat it!), explore different points of view...anything that will leave us both feeling enriched for the experience!

Countries I’ve Visited

Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Scotland, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States