Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Pàppa D.. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Pàppa, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I love hearing stories of how people got started to do what they do, the hours they spent on it, how did they do it, the whole process seems extremely fascinating to me. I think it’s very personal and individual, and funny enough, i don’t think i ever shared how it happened for me. This seems like the perfect opportunity to do so.
Growing up in a very small city in Greece, i was always exposed to music through my family (having music in the house), but no, i wasn’t coming from a family of musicians. My grandfather, and later, my father as well, would be singing in church, but there was not a lot of musical opportunities or many things to do in my hometown. The way i was introduced to the idea of playing the piano, was through my mom’s hairdresser. She was the wife of one of the more prestigious pianists in Greece and the Balkans, and suggested after watching me as a kid play with clay for hours and using my fingers with such great flexibility, to perhaps start taking piano lessons.
Starting late for classical piano (age of 12-13), the repertoire i had to learn wasn’t engaging and soon i would find myself looking for other music alternatives. This was where songwriting was born. After realizing through my other classes, that singing can be pretty fun and enjoyable, i started writing songs, improvising, and joining local bands, in more rock, and mainstream sounds.
The process was early, and immature, but a lot of the foundations were being established. In the years leading up to me turning 18, and having to leave home, i found myself expanding my knowledge on guitar, piano, vocal technique, and songwriting, learning the english language better and better.
Going into university, it would have been the four most serious working years of my life, in the evolution and transformation of me as a professional musician, songwriter and lyricist. This is where the craft and studying got serious, methodical, and resulted in tremendous outcomes. Every song would be becoming better and better, reaching a point where i would be composing hundreds of them every single year. I would leave always a huge part of my day to practice classical music as well, and learn very demanding pieces, which helped to keep my piano chops going as well, and as far as singing, choirs, vocal lessons, and my songs, were something i would work on daily.
The biggest chapter of these four years, were the words. Studying all the great songwriters, poets, instead of reading books, i would just roam around hundreds of pages of songs and lyric sheets, from the early American songbook to the great writers of the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, even some contemporary ones. I don’t know if there was something specific i was looking for, but the need for exploration was there.
There is no secret formula to that. I just put thousands of hours to writing songs, and playing my instruments. Therefore, i am not so sure i would do anything differently to speed up the learning process, because for me it wasn’t about the expedition. My life was and is music, it’s being breathed, and received in it’s entirety in every step i go, and occupies my brain the majority of the day.
Regarding the musical skills, it’s fairly easy to understand that they are the essence of your evolution as an artist, finding your own true voice, and reaching great artistic depths, but the greatest lessons that took me way too long to learn, and came to my life at a later time, have to do with letting the world know about it. I was very preoccupied with my craft, staying alone all day, just reading, writing, playing, studying, and i realized that the results are so much more direct when the music is shared and received by an audience. So the number one skill in my opinion is : Being able to perform, and doing it regularly. Putting yourself out there in a room full of people (or not so full) is the best way to describe the expression: “learning on the job”. All the little insecurities, the demons or second thoughts about the song, the intricacies, how well you know it, everything gets revealed to you right away when you play in front of somebody.
Of course, there are other skills as well, being able to sit in a band, and know what’s going on, carry yourself through the tune, listen to everything that’s happening, rather than just play what you know, all comes from having ears open at all times. Knowing the music and style’s vocabulary, knowing the chords, the harmonies, and the arrangements (or the concept of arranging in certain cases as well), as also quite essential.
It’s the realization that music and musical skill is not something tangible that you can measure. All your life experience, every song you ever heard, played or sung, every book you read, food you ate, sunset you saw, place you been, everything comes up every time you touch your instrument. And that is a very beautiful feeling, that creates a sense of unity with the world.
As far as obstacles, i believe the biggest obstacles are the ones we set for ourselves, and i chose to not do that. Finding barriers, such as “English is not my first language, therefore i should write in Greek”, or “i come from a very small place, i’m never gonna make it to America”, etc, etc help nobody, including myself. I then realized that it’s what i make of it, and not what’s given to me, cause the second one, i cannot change, but the first one i can. So, all of a sudden, all obstacles, are now paving my way, in a matter of learning how to work through them, and pushing through, to a point where i may come as delusional to others, family, friends, but, after living in America for over five years now, i can most certainly tell you, it works!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Ever since i can remember, i have been making music. It started with classical piano, then opera and voice lessons, and eventually writing songs and getting into bands. The idea of expression, though performance, story-telling and creativity, has been a major component for over half of my life. The deep essence lies there, everything else is just a matter of navigating other creative ways of expansion. As long as it had to do with music and poetry, i would be always interested and curious. That’s why for me, it never was a barrier. Throughout the years and the musical phases, i found myself interested in classical music, opera, piano concertos, choir singing, musicals, songwriting, poetry, novels, scripts, acting, scoring for film, composing, jazz music, trumpet, production and engineering, and pretty much any artistic branch a human mind can go to.
Making a full circle, all these experiences reveal their sustenance to one person, and i finally started being directed to the ones that felt the most right, starting to build my brand, my persona, my musical and compositional style, and my stage presence.
Born in Greece in 1996, I have come a long way from home in this 27 years in this world. Starting relatively old for music (considering classical, and being a concert pianist) I have been engaged with it one way or another, since then, almost undisturbed. Having the privilege of being classically trained, engaged with bands, in rock and pop styles, being artistically inclined to the art of songwriting, and later down the line discovering my piano-singing persona, everything was working towards one unified goal: Music.
Up until the moment i set foot in the United states of America, a little over five years ago now, i had obtained a lot of skills, musical styles, and traits that would set the foundation for my professional musical journey in the US. Having all of these songs written, ready to be molded, perfected, and be shared with the world, was a huge advantage on my behalf, that allowed me to shift my focus on making it happen, life, exploration and curiosity, and not necessarily the craft itself. There was all these new experiences, places to see, people to meet, and momentum, that would almost be impossible to create or generate without me having a very clear idea of what i wanted to do, and who i wanted to be. Of course, like with everything else in life, it takes time. Time to find your people, time to find yourself, time to hone the craft, and time to live, rest, and wander. I am saying all of this to address how much i value my time, and how i choose to spend it.
Professionalism for me, is not something that you encompass once you reach a certain level of expertise, fame, or growth. It does not depend on the gig, occasion, or payout. For me, it is every single time, how i choose to carry myself in every single occasion. It is how i show up, how i present myself, the quality of the music and musical performance, the attire, the behavior, and every little detail involved in the time of a performance, rehearsal, recording session, press, photoshoot or interview. I value that very much, and i believe that is certainly something that can really set you apart from others, the work ethic, not the workaholism, the showing up, not the over-extending yourself, an incredible performance, not a diva inflammation.
My shows are an experience, a place where one can feel vulnerable to be themselves, enjoy all aspects of life, all spectrums of emotion, all angles and feelings, that are there to be explored. Idolizing the magnificent power of delicacy and fierceness, power, and vulnerability, intimacy and happiness, are some of the most important factors for me, in order to put on a great show. I love the interaction with the audience, being silly, or joke around, create an inviting and casual space, where people can relax and enjoy the music.
Words are also a very important matter for me. Not having English be my first language, i had to work extra hard to make sure stories were conveyed in an expressive, poetic and grammatically correct manner. I have enjoyed every little bit of the process though, and can still have chills all over my body, being complimented on a line, word, phrase, or a lyric that touched someone in a deeper way, and resonated with them. It is a pure bliss, and i wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
So, one valuable piece of information i learnt along these years of performing, recording, and writing music is that it’s meant to be shared with the world. Hesitation on the matter that “I’m not ready” or “there’s no one who wants to play my songs”, or “no producers to record my music” are faint and dependent on others. Now, don’t get me wrong, i do believe that it takes a village, and definitely having people in your life supporting you musically and mentally is very important, but the lesson for me in this occasion was that as an artist, you want to be in charge of your art, be proficient and skilled enough to not have to rely on anyone to kickstart your musical journey and career, and this is exactly what i set out to do. I feel extremely grateful for the people who later have been in my life and supported me, but at the beginning, when things look rough, it’s highly desirable to be able to pick your self up, dust your self out, and keep going on. As my grandpa once said, “nobody will do a better job at something you want to do, than yourself”. It just really makes the whole difference!
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
As i mentioned before, showing up prepared, skilled, experienced, organized, fresh and creative, always striving to put together an incredible show, is definitely one of the things that helped me build a certain reputation, regarding my craft and my songs. Bringing new and original material, constantly performing, my sense of style, both musically and fashionably, have definitely elevated my integrity as an artist and performer. The style of the music that i am doing, the way i sing and my touch on the piano, has received very positive feedback, and has been having people coming back, supporting the shows, and showing love and appreciation. As far as playing with other artists, supporting them, and at times enhancing their artistry and composition as well, i have found the word to be traveling faster that i ever imagined. It all comes down to the same reasons though: Playing well, singing beautifully, showing up prepared, and treating every gig with respect and appreciation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dimitriopappa.wixsite.com/option3
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pappadmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pappadmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Pappadmusic
- Other: Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/artist/4d86XPzaUsFxHHbvKhXl9F?si=EpTBKhQgRSWz8-Gz-btOpw Apple Music : https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dimitrio-pappa/1544118845
Image Credits
Nikos Chatzitsakos Yves Florent