Stephen Adamopoulos has loved music for most of his life, having grown up in a house where music was always playing. He decided to take up the guitar during the COVID-19 pandemic and honed his craft through jam sessions with friends.
“I started playing with some of my close friends. We started learning together […] and it just progressed from there,” he recalled.
Adamopoulos has begun to make his own music now, drawing inspiration from the 1990s rock scene in Seattle, which featured “heavier, grungier” sounds.
“Some of my favourite artists that my music takes inspiration from are Neil Young, John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana,” he said.
Adamopoulos has taken the next step in his career by releasing his debut single “There Is A Place” on Nov. 14.
Adamopoulos starts his compositions with chord progressions, which he then fine-tunes and re-plays.
The topic of the song was not planned — it came about naturally as he worked on the melody. According to Adamopoulos, the lyrics focus on finding a better place in life.
“It’s a comparison [of] where your state of living is now to where it can be,” he explained. “[It is about] having an optimistic view about how you can live life. It’s almost like you’re dreaming of somewhere that’s better.”
The choice of “There Is A Place” as Adamopoulos’ debut single was simple — it was the first song he recorded during a jam session with Winnipeg rock band The Love Letters.
“They had rented some mics and had [them] in their house, and they were planning on doing some recording and they had it all set up,” he recalled. “So, I just came over, and we just cranked it out […] It turned out so much better than I could have imagined in the beginning.”
Through their connection, Adamopoulos had the opportunity to open for The Love Letters at a concert in June at Sidestage in South Osborne. The concert was his first time playing original songs with a backing band, which consisted of two close friends.
He said the experience was very exciting. “[The Love Letters] had someone that was supposed to open [for them], and then they fell through. And then they were like [to me], ‘Would you want to do an acoustic set?’ And I said sure. And then I was like, ‘I’m not doing an acoustic set, I want to play with a band,’” he said.
Adamopoulos has more songs in the works, which he plans to record and release over the next several months. He hopes to do more live performances in the coming months as well.
“I want to get to the point where I can keep writing and making new songs,” he stated. “And I really want to see what I can do with music and the songs that I can create and see how far I can take it.”
Stephen Adamopoulos’ debut single “There Is A Place” is available on all streaming platforms. For more information, follow Adamopoulos on Instagram @stephen_adamopoulos.
