Short Autobiography
My name's Andrew, I'm 21, and I'm a local musician. I have been studying and performing since I was 5, and I have a passion for music. I play sax, I'm a vocalist, and I often accompany myself on piano. I also write and produce my own music. Music for me is something that I need in my life, and finding a way to incorporate it into a career was the best decision I have ever made.
When I was 5, I used to annoy school teachers by singing during class time. I was the child that used to sing my to any audience I could get, including pets. I grew up to about 6 and wanted to play electric guitar, but picked up acoustic instead. At 6, I decided that acoustic guitar was "boring" and that I would give up unless I got an electric, which is what I did.
The music obsession didn't end there, and my parents decided they'd had enough of my unpracticed singing. They showed me a few albums they thought would suit my voice, which are still my favourite today. Michael Jackson's "Bad" (on a record player) and Stevie Wonder's "The Definitive Collection". I also was treated to all the 80's classics from mum, and large quantities of Deep Purple, Elvis Presley, and Michael Buble from Dad. Through all this influence, I found a song that suited my voice from "Michael Jackson/The Universal Masters Collection", called Ben. You can see me performing it on the right/below, at eight years old. I sung this song many times as a kid; concerts, competitions, and recordings. Naturally back then I thought I was famous.
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The obsession continued, and Mum and Dad searched high and wide for singing schools that would help me grow as a performer. After trialling many, and attending Jaanz International Singing Academy for a few years, I finally settled at Vocal Art Studios, and worked to improve my musicianship. At 12, I started high school at Penola Catholic College in Broadmeadows/Glenory, and I continued attending vocal lessons outside of school. Within school I began trumpet lessons, joined the concert band, and played in the first of many school productions as the Lead role Oliver Twist in the musical "Oliver". As the years went on, I continued vocal lessons, and performed as Tinman in "The Wiz" in year 11. In year 12 I was Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet", while studying VCE subjects.
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Year 12 was a milestone year for me, as I realised that I no longer wanted to take trumpet lessons, instead opting for saxophone. This was the year I took to the streets busking for the first time, and made more progress with the sax in a year, then I had made with trumpet in 6. I was finally enjoying music properly, and all the musical lines I had in my head, I could translate to the sax, for others to hear. I quickly put in as much effort as possible to build my skills.
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Once year 12 was over I had a very clouded career direction, and decided like any musician, that I would choose a course completed unrelated to music. At that time I allowed people to tell me there were no jobs in the industry for a performer/songwriter, and that I should find a "real job" and study hard. I chose a Journalism course for only one trimester before leaving. After that, I effectively took a gap year, not taking on many gigs, but still busking where possible. Wanting a full time job, towards the end of the year I took on a job as a storeman/sales/delivery driver at an electrical wholesaler, thinking I could enjoy music on weekends and go busking. I immediately realised I was not the kind of person who could be only a part time musician. I remained stubborn in my belief that music was not a good full time career.
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Ben - Michael Jackson
So I worked for almost two whole years, relying on little personal awareness, eventually deciding that my health and happiness would only decrease if I didn't change my routines. I left work impulsively in February 2018, and decided I needed to work as musician, no matter how difficult it would be. I went to my high school music teacher for guidance, who recommended I study the Bachelor of Music (Performance) at Box Hill Institute, and I am still there now.
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Throughout the year I made the decision that I was not going to wait for the course to finish to start working as an event performer/session musician, because all my busking experience had helped me learn live performance and I was ready. I made the decision to start my own business, seeking help from several like-careered family members.
The rest is yet to come, thanks for reading my story!
Thank You, jam on
Andrew Demetriou
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