Jose “Pepe” Perez, president and CEO of PQH Architects, used to be in a band.
“A friend had an electric guitar that started playing and we decided to start a band,” said Perez. “The band was called the Antiques and was made up of neighborhood friends.”
He was the lead guitarist of the band all through high school and into junior college.
A music producer heard them in one of their performances and was looking for a new group with new faces to play and promote music from South American songwriters.
“We recorded one album in Spanish, ‘Va Cayendo Una Lagrima’,” said Jose. “After I finished college my sophomore year, I was at a crossroads between continuing my education or staying in Miami with the band.”
He decided to go to Gainesville and study at the University of Florida.
Soon after, he put together another band, Catarro.
“We turned out to be the best Top 40 band in Gainesville,” said Jose. “We played all the fraternities, sororities, high schools and surrounding towns. We played a lot of Latin and Top 40 music.”
He said having the experience of managing the band really helped him get a lot of his managerial skills.
“Acting as a band’s business manager, I was in charge of making sure the guys got to practice, the equipment got back and forth to jobs and negotiating with different people,” said Jose. “My negotiating skills were sharpened. I also learned that if you hire the best people, the work gets done a lot smoother and more efficiently.”
Jose still plays at home for enjoyment, and every once in a while, the local band Diggin’ in Dreamland allows him the honor of sitting and playing with them.