VM Thomas | Contributor
Featured image: Passion is instrumental to success. | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
There is something breathtaking about the moment a song encompasses its audience’s ears, sending chills down their spine and raising the hair along their arms.
For many musicians, this is the defining moment in their career. The one that decides what life they are going to lead and the passion they will pursue. In the lives of three York artists, it was moments like these that led them to the exploration of the art of song.
Peter Eratostene, a recent graduate from York’s music program in the fine arts, describes this moment as integral to his upbringing.
“We always listened to rock music around the house. My dad took me to my first show, Van Halen, at a fairly young age, maybe nine years old,” says Eratostene.
Moments like these are important for any artist, but the moment Eratostene truly fell in love was after seeing a SARS concert on TV.
From then on, his relationship with music has evolved.
“I love all kinds of music. I have a deep respect for it. This love has just grown over the years,” he says.
“If a piece of music is played with conviction and love, I can find beauty in it.” This is evident in his music, such as “No Vacancy,” a song that encompasses the smooth sounds of jazz from some of the best young musicians in the GTA.
Eratostene is currently working on a project called Birds I.
“I’m in the process of writing the first full-length album. It features some of Toronto’s best youth musicians from the different schools—York, U of T and Humber.” Their music can be found on YouTube and Facebook.
For Ralph Foreign, a lyricist and fourth-year English student, his love of music has transformed into the smooth sounds of a sort of “vaporwave,” as his SoundCloud describes. The gritty composition of many of Foreign’s tracks matches his clever and unique name.
He describes his connection to music as loving dedication, which is present in his creative style. Like Eratostene, Foreign’s upbringing also facilitated his introduction to music.
“I was in seventh grade and all the guys in my neighbourhood liked rapping. I started with them and then other guys in school around the same time were rapping, singing, making music and just hanging out,” says Foreign. This growth and integration of writing music has been incorporated into his music, perhaps reflecting his own growth into the process.
Foreign is currently working on a project he calls Foreign Women.
“[It is a series of] songs about relationships and women, and the growth and realization of myself in these relationships,” shares Foreign.
This upcoming project will be found online alongside his other works, ranging from songs such as “Buchill” and “Episodes,” which also feature various artists contributing to the creative beats.
Julian Jannetta is another talented York musician who has been hitched to the musical arts from childhood. Jannetta recalls stumbling into his lifelong love for music when he first saw Jack Black onscreen in School of Rock. Besides his unconventional introduction to music, Jannetta prides himself in being a professional musician as well as a teacher.
“I find most male musicians my age are not so fond of teaching the ‘youngins,’ but they’re some of my favourite to teach. In terms of playing, I tend to improvise a lot more than learning songs, which is probably a bad habit, but I like being creative more than rehashing what someone else has done,” admits Jannetta.
In addition to teaching youth about music when he can, Jannetta is turning his passion into a business.
“I’m currently working on my business, Jannetta Guitar Repair. It’s been up and running for over a year now. I love servicing instruments that need fretwork, nut replacements and set-ups.”
Foreign and Janetta have done some crazy things for their music. Foreign invested the entirety of this past summer to perfecting, editing and promoting a couple of songs. Jannetta drove to New York a couple of years ago with his old band to record a single.
Their drive continues to propel them in their respective careers, and only time will tell how far they’ll go.
