Monthly Archives: May 2011

Sitting in the Lyric Diner on 3^rd Avenue, Peter Panousopoulos sits looking over the menu pondering what to take for lunch, all while eating Birthday Cake Italian ice from Ralph’s. What may seem as backwards, dessert before the meal that is, it is a true example of his endearing personality: never be conventional. The 19-year-old Filipino and Greek musician-turned-basketball player-turned back musician is one of admiration. Before even deciding on burger and fries, he is already ready to discuss his vast musical knowledge, the type that would cause the unambitious to cringe in fear. Yet, that ambition is far from pretentious; his easygoing smile and nature works like a domino effect for anyone who surrounds him.

Since he was eight years old, Panousopoulos has been involved in music. He began playing the piano then began taking up the guitar two years later. He is the type of person who is naturally musically inclined, being able to point out almost any instrument in the music he hears. “I kind of have this obsession with sound,” he says.

That obsession is very much taken care of: he has three guitars and a Cord M50 Digital Audio Workstation keyboard, which allows him to make use of sounds beyond the basic keyboard, such as drums. To test himself, he listens to a song once then plays it from memory. “I don’t just listen to the lyrics of songs,” he says. “I listen to the repeating beat.”

He grew up listening to Spanish music and rock, which are still his favorite music genres to listen to. Linkin Park, The Starting Line, Blink 182, and Don Omar are just a few of his favorite artists. When it comes to rap music, it’s impossible for him to single out a favorite artist. “Maybe if you give me a top 20, I could work with you,” he laughs. Yet, just as he can listen to rock, Spanish, and rap, he can as easily listen to pop and R&B. When Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” comes on in the diner, he starts humming and singing every line without fault.

Panousopoulos working on music.

His love for music has not always been smooth sailing, however. When Panousopoulos entered high school, he had to make a choice between the school band or school athletics, which the school was known for. “It was a no brainer,” he says. “We didn’t really have much of a music program at our school.”

So for sometime, Panousopoulos gave up music for basketball and soccer. He continued playing basketball into his first year of college at Baruch, where he is now a sophomore. But during his first season, he injured his knee, switching his focus back completely on music.

During his senior year in high school, he started professionally DJ’ing, which he still does once a week to this day. In the past four months, he has performed four times, most recently at the College of Mount Saint Vincent, where he played the guitar and sang. When it comes to releasing his own music, he has not come out with a CD or EP yet, but he works continuously to become a better musician. “I make every single aspect of my music,” he says confidently.

His knowledge of instruments is heard when he plays the guitar. The notes flow right into one another with ease, and his confidence with it radiates. Rather he becomes a famous musician, or music stays as his personal niche, he will always make beautiful music.

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While he is becoming more and more comfortable with singing, his passion remains with the guitar and the piano. For more than ten years he has perfected his skill with these instruments, and he only plans to get better.

In the future, he doesn’t know where life will take him, but he wants to have options. “I want to go to Greece or the Philippines. I might DJ full time. I really would like to get an apprenticeship with a music CEO.” Nonetheless, he knows music will always be apart of his life. “It’s apart of who I am, “ Panousopoulos says with a light smile. His passion is apparent, and wherever he ends up in the music genre, it will be because his ambition to master the musical art form got him there.

Tonight, the head rocking metal band had everyone’s head pumping, body parts flying, and energy soaring across the room. Fall of the Albatross (FOTA), a 5 man crew from Queens, all powered up their instruments and vocals and gave it their ‘best show ever.’

Before we get too far, let’s rewind back 2 days ago when the stress began. When they are not taking their finals, some of the crew members were helping to promote their newly released album, Entanglement. Guitarist Harold McCummings and Colin Ruhwedel along with their Vocalist Ray Hodge, were at Washington Square Park passing out flyers to promote their upcoming event for May 18^th. Elsewhere, the other group members, Bassist Robert Anderson and Drummer Anthony Wong took out their baking tools, making free brownies for their show.

“Whewww, who knew baking brownies was harder than making music,” Anthony laughed. “I failed and decided to buy the store brand. What a life saver. Hey, brownie points for free brownies. ”

The band practiced all day on Tuesday.  Harold said, “I know it’s a disturbance but it’s a necessity…I know I’m good and we have done it many times…I just want to make sure I’m great.”

The group started in 2007 by chance. They began with nothing but a concept and with practice and preservation, the band continued to grow in fame. Their first show, from what a couple of the group members remembered, consisted of family members and friends in the audience.  Today, they have 659 followers on Facebook and 217 on Twitter and many metal-fantics.

Ray commented that their inspiration comes from all sort of genres and artists such as Dillinger Escape Plan and Between the Buried and Me to Earth Wind and Fire and Stevie Wonder. He continued to say, “This is what makes our band different. We blend a mix of different genres that you won’t think would go together but we did it!”

Entanglement is an eclectic blend of metal, funk, soul, jazz. “We’re all busy but that doesn’t stop us from performing. We released the album back in April…I couldn’t wait to perform the album… I’ve been dying for the day (May 18^th) to come.”

The day has arrived. The performance started a little after 8pm at the famous Sullivan hall in Greenwich village. The line was short due to the pouring weather. Many who came were males in their late 20’s who eagerly rooted for FOTA as they came up on stage. The band kicked off the show with “Dulce de Leche.” The crowd went wild to Ray’s devilish voice. Lyrics spilled out in mumbo jumbo that made no sense but had a beat that reached out to a lot of people. The crowd was lost in the music, heads were flinging violently up and down and arms were flying in the air, at that point it got pretty scary to stay in the center of the dance floor.

Their next song, ‘The Silver Epic,’ took me by surprised, it was not your common angry music. It started with a funky and a smooth pop settling beat and seconds later it literally transitioned into what seemed like another song but wasn’t. Ray literally gave me a jump when his possessive demon voice emerged. It goes back and forth from funk and jazz to metal. Compared to their inspiration band, The Dillinger Escape Plan, FOTA strived in terms of guitarist skills and vocals. Their music had a creepy calmness like The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Farewell, Mona Lisa,” and a mix of raging vocals of another famous metal band Nile.

The night was a success. The band’s next biggest goal is to get recognized and signed. Colin commented, “I don’t think anyone can imagine that 5 college students could have pull something off like that…We’re new, we’re fresh,” and as corny as it might sound but he said it, “WE ARE… THE FALL OF THE ALBATROSS!”

While he calls his style of music ‘fun music,’ it is unmistakable to fathom the serious efforts implemented by Adoniz to compose such a manifold of music that lets listeners know that he is not recording just for the fun of it.

“I am taking initiative as far as really understanding what it is to prepare and execute my craft,” stated the Brooklyn native who was raised in Newark, New Jersey.

Thanks to his father’s encouragement and guidance, the 25-year-old’s appetite for music would begin to be truly nourished at the ripe age of nine. On that account, he has harvested his art to become: an arranger, producer, songwriter and vocalist.

Even so, the artist acknowledges the business side of the music industry and is not relying on just his skills. Because of this, he has secured the services of Swan Marketing to do a full campaign in order augment his audience.  As of now, the artist has less than 400 fans on his Facebook and Reverbnation fan pages, which is not worrisome thanks to strong, formative years of performing and respected support.

At church, as an adolescent, the smile-happy artist’s fingertips graced his congregation with harmonic tunes by virtue of the combination of drums and piano. He would not wait long to take his blessing from church to real stages. Soon after, he and acclaimed vocalist Kenneth “CeCe” Rogers realized that apart from being a musician, he was also an exceptional vocalist and crowd-pleasing performer.

As a result, Adoniz has performed on the stages of: the New York Jets Training Facility, NJPAC, Karta, the Mary B. Burch Theater, The Multi Media Arts Center and Rutgers University Football Stadium.

Aside from the performances, Adoniz also has several noteworthy collaborations to his credit. He has worked with: fellow New Jerseyan Chad Piff, drummer Kevin Lamar, Mr. West and renowned Jerry Wonda who has worked with a long list of greats, ranging from Lupe Fiasco to Wyclef Jean.

Yet, he has not solely collaborated with Wonda, for the relationship is more of a mentorship. After growing up watching Wonda play the bass at the church both attended in New Jersey, the two have been communicating weekly for a year. Apart from guidance on the business aspect of the muic industry, Wonda’s ocean of musical artistry moistens most, if not all, of Adoniz’s new music to assure it is not cut-and-dried.

“When I have new music, he is one of the first ears I bring it to,” Adoniz shared.

Now, Adoniz is looking to solidify his greatness with his upcoming solo project. The imminent album is set to encompass the same trait the majority of great artists have put into practice when producing their own work, being different.

“My style of music has direction but can be somewhat random because I try not to allow myself to be placed in a box,” Adoniz expressed.

That attribute separates him from indifferent artists. Still, the Alliance for Lupus Research supporter does not want it to be too extreme, for he stated that he wants to avoid being “so much different where I am on Pluto and no one understands my music.”

The fact that Adoniz uses “everyday experiences” as his material to write has allowed him to succeed in avoiding that so far, as his music has been understood and well-received throughout all of his projects in the tri-state. Be that as it may, as he continues to better his craft even further, he plans to expand his scope of projects, and he has the distinct style of music to do so.

When asked how he would categorize his music, he voiced, “I enjoy pop. I enjoy r&b. I enjoy hip-hop. But, I don’t want to be classified as just an r&b singer or pop singer. It’s fun music. We’ll call it fun music.”

Adoniz – Sex With You

Oskar behind the drums, where he belongs.

To grow up in Finland, in a small-town of 550 people may not sound like every little boy’s dream. But for someone born with a passion for drumming, this might actually be a wonderful opportunity. With the closest neighbors on a safe distance away, it is only your parents who might stop you from drumming in the middle of the night. Or if you are really lucky, your father might just pick up the guitar and join you. For 22-year-old drummer Oskar Häggdahl, this was exactly the case.

“We would have rock´n´roll jams everyday when my dad got home from work. Once I got old enough I also started having gigs with my dad’s different bands. I was about 7 and everyone else around 40 years old, which was kind of cool.”

Oskar Häggdahl has been playing drums for as long as he can remember. It started as playful banging on pots and pans, until he at the age of 5 got his first real drum kit. Today he lives in New York, one of the biggest cultural cities in the world, with a fresh graduation diploma from the drumming school The Collective soon in is hand.

Since the age of 12 Häggdahl knew that the only thing he wanted was to become a professional drummer. And even if his small-town childhood might have given Häggdahl the background needed to become the drummer he is today, he knew this was not the place he would spend the rest of his life.

“I remember reading the American drum-magazine “Modern Drummer” when I was about 13 years old, and saw an add in the magazine for “The Drummers Collective“, a music school in New York City. I told my parents I wished I one day could go there to study music and drumming,” Häggdahl says.

Now, ten years later, he is one month away from becoming a successful graduate from the same exact school.

Häggdahl admits, that he knew that everything about coming to New York to study would be much more complicated and expensive than for example if going to England. But at the same time he knew that this was the city where he would be able to find everything about drumming he ever could imagine. He adds, “I think I also in a way wanted to make it as hard as possible for myself – to study with the best teachers and really prepare myself for anything that the future could bring.”

The Drummers Collective is part of the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) accredited music school The Collective. Founded in 1977, The Collective, was created by a small group of professional New York musicians, and is still today a quite exclusive learning center. The Drummers Collective offers drum set players and percussionists everything from private classes to a full-time two year long program.

Häggdahl is happy with his experience at the school, and says that the all-star faculty is definitely what makes it special. Specific programs and personal focus on each student is also made possible because of the small amount of students the school allows for each year. Häggdahl also stresses the good vibe that he feels among his fellow students and the teachers as one of the advantages of a small school.

The high level of education provided can also bee seen in the tuition. With a fee of $60,500 for the two-year long full-time program, students at Drummers Collective must be ready to invest in their future. For Häggdahl, the choice of moving to New York did also mean giving up the free education that Finland provides. But for this young drummer, the life in New York has been worth every dollar.

“So much have changed in my life since I moved here. Not have I only become a better drummer, but I have grown as a person and gained confidence. In the music business it is all about making contacts and getting your name out there, and New York is the perfect city to do it in.”

According to US Bureau of Labor Statistics about 189,000 people in the United States work as full time instrumental musicians, and over half of them are self-employed. In New York, only 16,670 out of its 8 million habitats are making their living out of music. But off course, one should never stare blindly at statistics, especially in such diffuse category as “musicians.”

Even if the statistics are on the gloomy side, Häggdahl looks brightly at the future. Being far from done with everything this city has to offer, he has no plans on leaving the city, even after graduation. Häggdahl has already found several bands and artists interested to collaborate with him, and plays both in a studio and up on stage on a regular basis.

Bass-player Brian Holz is one of them who frequently gets together to play with Häggdahl. When asked what it is that makes Häggdahl an interesting drummer to play with, Holz seems to have the answer.

“The best drummers are the best listeners. They provide a strong groove that doesn’t make you doubt your own sense of time. In short, they instill a confidence that makes you play better and stretch your abilities. Oskar is such a drummer.”

“Drumming is pretty much all I have ever done, and it’s also the only thing I could consider my full-time job.” Oskar says with a smile, and continues: “I don’t think there could be a better place than NYC for a drummer to have his work and home…”