Finding My Tune: A Musical Odyssey
Fair warning fellow music lovers and kindred spirits of the vast online world, this one’s going to be a bit longer than the other posts I’ll make.
I’ll introduce 10 people that are essential to my musical journey to keep this daily dose of Dossas manageable.
Introduction:
I want to reflect on how I’ve gotten to become a musician, singer and producer. So many various moments and people who steered me in the right direction. Too many to actually write about everyone in one post. For my childhood though there are a couple handful of people that are imperative to my development and I’d like to at least introduce you to them. From my parents to my siblings, to my teachers and friends, I’ve had so many incredible people help me become the musical journeyman that I am today. Let’s take a look at the most musically influential ones today.
My Beautiful Princess Queen Mommy (BPQM):
The first couple of years of this musical odyssey saw me floundering, splashing about aimlessly in the ocean of musical knowledge at Colorado Children’s Music Academy, or CCMA for short. My mother is responsible for throwing me into this deep dark ocean and along my side, I learned to wade through those choppy waters. From ages three to six, I perfected the art of banging on various instruments, playing fire songs on the piano like Mozart's masterpiece, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and learned some valuable developmental skills as well all alongside my mom. She later would enroll me in a choir and relentlessly drag me to piano practices, choir rehearsals, and concerts / recitals. I think this was crucial for my cognitive development, sensory development, but from the few memories I had, it was most crucial for my social development. Music has always been the best way for me to make friends, starting with CCMA, so the social aspect was probably the most important part for me since other classroom environments were a really difficult place for me to make friends. Thanks, Mom, I’m glad you inspired the love of music in me before I could even successfully go to the bathroom on my own.
My Daddy Dino:
I grew up with a rock star dad so he’s the next important character of my odyssey. My dad is a guitarist and a little weirdo that loves to speak in song. Sure, it wasn’t in his cards to make a living from music, but he had his garage bands growing up and had music as an escape like I do today. He’s a devout Greek Orthodox Christian that would take me to church early and I fell in love with chanting and loved being surrounded by music and incense–The two things, and kind of only things, I like about church. He played music for me when I was in my mother’s womb, and let me play with his records as I grew up. So between listening to Beethoven as an unborn child, and listening to some hard hitters from Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and the Beatles I had a unique influence from him. His deep obsession with music definitely passed down to me, so it was fun seeing his passion while growing up. It’s still one of the things we connect on the most today. The music we listened to together would later be one of the biggest influences on my music. (P.S. It’s something of a dream of mine to give my dad VIP tickets to the hollywood bowl when I throw my first headliner there. Let’s make that happen for Daddy Dino!)
My Piano Teacher:
By the age of six, David Graff, a very funny and talented pianist from CU Boulder, took the baton and began teaching my next leg of music, therefore the next deserving candidate for a starting role in my odyssey. I did group lessons with my mom again and other kids until 8 or 9 and that’s when my love affair with piano became something of a love-hate relationship. This is where I have my most memories of being super sensitive. I was still trying to figure out how to navigate sensory overloads–still kind of today–And so this loud, eccentric guy trying to teach me complex classical music rubbed me the wrong way. I loved piano and I liked his vibe, but for such a sensitive kid, I needed to be dragged to piano practice. I held back many tears at practice and felt wiped out after it. I remember wanting to quit piano so many times. I just wanted to play guitar and drums, I didn’t understand why I had to learn such a lame instrument. And after many failed attempts I finally mustered up the courage to talk to Mr. Graff and have him teach piano to me in a different way. He taught me everything he learned from his time in college and I learned how to compose. I learned why I worked on technique and theory. And from ages 13-18 I never looked back. We learned so much together and I’m forever grateful for his time and knowledge.
Colorado Children’s Chorale Staff and Friends:
As I neared a decade on earth, my mother noticed another love for music, for I was dancing around the house, humming and singing all day long. Inspired, she enrolled me in the Colorado Children's Chorale (CCC), which opened new vistas in my ongoing musical journey. Many different directors taught me how to sing properly, dance, and perform professionally. I fostered a deeper love of expressing myself through dance, singing and collaboration. They even became my first employer when I was in 9th grade all through high school. It’s thanks to them that I overcame stage fright and now, I crave the stage fright. I crave butterflies before a show. I’ve never felt more alive than in those moments when me and my friends were waiting backstage. I traveled the world through the lenses of music thanks to them. I went on regional and national tours around the U.S. and went on international tours to South Africa, and the North Baltic Region. It was so inspiring seeing how other cultures fostered the same power of music, but in such different ways. All of the valuable lessons I learned from my time in the chorale are used everyday in this musical odyssey.
My High School Music Teacher:
High school ushered in more surprises - the one leading to another major character in my odyssey was when I joined music theory class with the teacher Mrs. Dale. Which later recruited me to the high school select mixed choir. Those few years in the music program over at Rock Canyon were also very formative years of my life. Having music be a part of the high school journey was very important. I remember being ashamed of being in music by this point in my life though so I wasn’t fully authentic, but nonetheless it gave me a space to express my true self when I was in class and I didn’t care who saw me. I’ve since developed this expression of my true self and have harnessed the power that I have when I sing from my heart.
My Little Sister:
Quickly in my first year of college, everything came tumbling down and I dropped out of CU Denver quickly after my little sister had a terrible accident leaving her in intensive care. We really connected with music. She grew up with developmental struggles having a mental disability so we never were able to talk to one another in the traditional sense. We talk to each other in a much deeper way. Wherever music was being played in the house and whatever music it was, she always found a way to scooch over and let herself enjoy the music. We always connected so deeply when I’d be playing piano and she’d come over and kneel up to play with me. When I heard the news of her accident, I was so overwhelmed with heartache that I could only dive head first into improvising on the piano.. I couldn’t play other people’s music, it wasn't doing it for me, composing music was taking too much time, and brain power, so I needed to just pour my heart and soul into something that was pure therapy for me. I had to stream creative consciousness. And up until this point I had only little moments of that flow state musicians would talk about, after that moment, I live in the flow state. Ever since learning how to stream creative consciousness out of pure necessity, I realized that music has always been more than my craft or hobby; it’s always been my lifeline. Music became a reciprocal relationship that binds me to an art that I cherish deeply. When words fail, music truly speaks.
My Creative Friends:
As I navigated the changes in my life with music being more important than ever, I literally started bringing my keyboard around in my car. I’d come over and hang out with some friends that liked mixing and producing and just jam a bit. They would chop up some sick drop and I’d find the key of the song and get some lead melody or pad layer added on. They ate that shit up. One of them, my biggest homies today, Teigan (Teigs), and one of them my biggest role model, Colton (Teets) both led me to new found obsessions. Another spot I'd go over to jam at is my friend Cam’s place (Carried Away) to jam out some chords for his productions. I was just aimlessly trying to play music in the crowd of friends I had. I had bad band experiences as a kid and didn’t want to go down that route, I loved electronic music and wanted to contribute to the industry in a unique way, the best way I knew how. At this point I wasn’t a producer or mixing engineer or any of that. Teets urged me to download Fl Studio and Teigs let me download xfer Serum. (For those that don’t know, Fl Studio is a software DAW that is used to make music and Serum is a virtual instrument that can run inside of the DAW to make sounds). And then I started making beats, or dubstep, or pop, or whatever I’d feel like and had the knowledge to do. These boys are responsible for laying down the stepping blocks that pushed me from a songwriter to a producer. They still push me everyday to be best version of myself.
My EMDR Therapist:
I had to dive into some healing from past traumas and I did so through EMDR therapy. My therapist was another huge step in my personal discovery. This was where I had my first introduction to sound therapy essentially. I was exposed to binaural beats and the power of the subconscious mind. It’s not some hippie shit. It’s science. And I was able to get off of antidepressants because of reprocessing my reality. My time with my therapist not only taught me how to handle my emotions better, but it also inspired me to learn more about binaural beats and all of these unique frequencies that resonate different parts of our brains and parts of our bodies. If you've never learned about binaural waves, it'll be a great read whenever I get around to writing more. I aim to infuse this knowledge into my music both in live performances and in studio recordings. Different tunings, different binaural waves and all sorts of trippy shit..
My Partner:
Arielle knew me when I was dealing with the accident in my family. She had been in a long, tough relationship, and I had been growing up. We were just friends for a couple of years after meeting. I made a post on my story about something heavy and she hit me up wondering how I was doing. We connected and started to talk more and started to see how we connected very deeply. We ended up going out, and the rest is history for another blog post. She inspires me with her grounded, flowing energy. She moves like water flying through the air. She’s so fiery and passionate in all that she does. She is my partner that keeps me grounded and helps me see the outside world. I would have never gotten out of my music obsession if it weren’t for her. I feel the sun, put my feet in the grass, smell the roses because of her. Dossas is a well-rounded balanced machine because Arielle is a balanced machine. She has literally been with me since the very first release and hopefully will be with me until the very last release.
My Lightworker:
When I was in search of deeper healing, I vented to my aunt, and she recommended that I see this reiki healer she’s been seeing named Michelle. I had worked with astro readers and holistic healers in the past but didn’t quite get what I needed, so I was wary at first, but after many sessions later with her, she’d prove to be the one that tied it all together for me. After the very first session she not only helped me back on track, but I felt like I could finally stream like that night I did when my little sister had her accident. At that point, I’ve had so many entities that needed releasing, so much blocked energy, and so much unresolved trauma, Michelle forged her way through the darkness and linked me back to my higher self. It’s through sound bathes, meditation and reprogramming every cell in my body that I was able not just reconnect with myself, but heal myself. It’s truly the holistic healing that I needed in order to keep my life from going off the rails. I hope to collaborate with Michelle in the future on projects that can bring healing to all of us. We are both very excited for what's to come!
Conclusion:
Well, if you’re still reading, then you’re the real GOAT. (that probably won’t age well).
In this symphony of life, music is my anthem. This love for music, both consuming and crafting it, has shaped my world in ways unimaginable. It means so much that there are others interested in learning more about me.
Music connected paths on my roadmap, led me, and guided me to meet some of the greatest souls I’ll ever know. The many characters of my childhood odyssey were all just people training me for my biggest chapter of my musical odyssey yet. They've harnessed and crafted my talent into the talent that you see today. I'm so emotional after writing this post just thinking about the positive impact that they've made in my life. And these are just SOME of the people that relate to music, I can't even include everyone in this musical odyssey. It's just too much. There are countless souls that have gently guided my path to where I am today at this very moment. I have to be grateful and appreciate every one of them. If it weren't for the people that have touched my life, I would not be here writing this post today. I'm just a guy trying his best to showcase the power of music. I'm very eager to give back to the community so that I can help others along their path just like so many others have helped me.
Thank you for supporting me as I write the next chapters of my life. The biggest audience contains individuals like you, who see that my journey is worth backing up. For together we can all heal and overcome our greatest challenges with the power of sound, so keep the support coming! Let’s keep growing!
Keep spreading your love and light. And keep bumping those Dossas bangers as loud as it is safe for your hearing! (80 SPL because it’s important to protect your ears. They're responsible for one of our senses after all.)
Thank you for joining me on this wild ride, and until next time,
Dossas
