Pittsburgh’s Mariano Torrez chose his stage name Mostly Empty at a time in his life where he felt deflated and unmotivated. By using this name, he put his authentic self on the line and opened the door to free expression through his art. Mostly Empty composes and arranges all of his songs, but some great friends such as Adam Davila also collaborate to give his music its final sounds.
After watching the video for “After Life” it is obvious that Mostly Empty uses personal experiences to provoke emotional feelings from his audience. The video is an inspiring metaphor that describes different stages of his life through two different scenes. In one setting Mostly Empty is found wandering around his bedroom, staring out the window, and even laying in his bed beside an assortment of medications. This scene evokes feelings of regret and doubt; it is used to describe the low stages in his life. The second setting, which is used for most of the video, is of Mostly Empty hiking through a forest. There are many shots of him ducking under trees, climbing up mountains and avoiding other obvious obstacles. The obstacles were a symbolic representation of hardships in life that almost anyone can relate to. Mostly Empty is wearing a determined and hopeful expression in these scenes as opposed to his attitude when he was in his bedroom. He claims that all of his songs have a place in the journey of his life, and “After Life” represents the peace he has currently found in his journey.
