A Little About Me

In the beginning…

Ever since I was a kid, growing up, and even before I realized it, I have always seen the world as a collective set of different "flavors", if you will, of different cultures, colors, smells, sounds, etc., and I've always been intrigued the most by those who are different than me, or, more generally, by the unknown. In my child brain, being in a different environment meant a new adventure, and a sensory experience.

Growing up the way I did and having parents who loved more than anything to travel and meet people, I had never seen the world from any sort of "us" vs. "them" perspective, and I was taught to respect people for who they are, and to stay curious, rather than to judge and to compare. Having this as a basis for what eventually became my natural way of thinking, as I got older, as you could imagine, I became quite confused when I realized how many people were not like me. In fact, something didn't feel right about how much social groups around me tended to isolate themselves, and moreover, tended to enforce this isolation upon themselves in order to fit in. If you didn't look like this, believe that, dress like this, etc., then, well, you needed to find where you fit in...

Forming an ideology…

... Fast forward to nearing my adult years. High school happened. Media happened. Big personal choices needed to happen. Where would I fit in? Well, as you can probably guess... I placed myself in what was considered the "alternative" community. The way I looked? Why not modify it to my liking. The music I listened to? Why not Enya, the Sounds of the Andes, "Desert Rose" by Sting, technical death metal, and flamenco — and, as you can imagine, everything and anything in between. Just keep mainstream away from me. Too many loops and passages into my brain to trigger the "repeat" button that would, if anything, become an annoyance that I couldn't feel anything from. I wanted to stay in a world where music was something I could communicate with accurately, and not just something to listen to because others listened to it to fit in. Besides... I wasn't much of a dancer anyway. Too socially awkward. I wanted to play my own music...

Lucky for me, here came the advent of the world wide web, and access to explore what music was out there in the world, and not just what was on the radio. I stuck with my theme of metal — it was an ever-changing and ever-growing community, never too repetitive, and was enough to keep the creative part of my mind occupied... so many notes to learn. I also stuck with my theme of what people might have called "exotic music". What can I say? It took me somewhere else — wherever I wanted to go while not having to leave the room. Naturally... I picked up trumpet first (wait, what?). I just wanted to play music and band class was the way to go. I went through jazz band and all of that stuff. Okay, moving on — not my cup of tea, although I did come to appreciate jazz more later in life. Aside from that, I picked up guitar and played (guess what?) metal music... and flamenco... and such. Now let's fast forward to adult life:

Making sense of my ideology…

Metal continued to change and grow. And I started noticing some of these "exotic" scale patterns coming from some of the most notable guitarists in my world — one quick example: Mark Morton from Lamb of God's use of blues pentatonic crossed with... harmonic minor? Whoa. I was intrigued. Then YouTube came along, and fast. ALL of the music that I wanted to hear became available — and artists started crossbreeding (in a sense). But I wanted to do more with it. At the rate I was discovering new music from around the world, I couldn't keep up with myself anymore. However... I needed to play more than just the guitar. I needed to produce different sounds. Next, I bought a cello. Yes, a cello. Fretless — allowing for any of these "exotic" expressions and microtones that I was burning to play and compose with. And then it hit me... I can now order instruments from around the world. COVID was a curse, of course, but being out of work for a few months gave me time to think, research, and learn.

The beginning of a new era…

Next, I bought an oud — my first instrument from across the world. A Turkish oud, FROM Turkey. Whoa. I was in paradise. What next? An erhu for my birthday. Then a sitar. Then a bağlama saz. Then a divan saz. Then a rabab. And — you get the idea. I was learning, playing all the different sounds, and bringing the world to me. This world of music became something that, even if I couldn't afford to travel regularly yet, could always be with me, no matter where I was. And what I was hearing? Everything. Metal matured (and sometimes immatured, depending on the subgenre). It started crossing borders and exploring new limits. Everything else matured too — and became more accessible. The world of music, and all of its beauty and emotions, at my fingertips — both technologically and in my ability to play it.

Making sense of the world…

Naturally... I ended up with more instruments than I can count. But I matured, too. I promise. My supportive fiancé helped with that — along with calmly breaking the realistic news: we cannot possibly, sanely, fit any more instruments in a small apartment. Fair. But seriously, I did mature. My taste expanded to the point where I no longer care about labels. Yes, there are mainstream songs I'll listen to now. I appreciate jazz (and how difficult it is to master). And when someone asks, "What kind of music do you like?", I can't just say "pretty much everything", because I learned most people mean rap, pop, rock, and maybe country. No — I mean everything. Some days I want to play something Arabic on a bluegrass resonator banjo. But wait — is that possible? It is now. More briefly, this brings me to why I built this website, and where I want my journey to go next (also: there are technically "banjo"-like instruments designed to play Arabic and Turkish scales):

When people say "music is a universal language", I don't fully agree with what the phrase usually implies. If it were truly universal in that sense, why must I go to Juilliard to be respected as a classical musician? Why must I have a guru to be respected as a Hindustani classical musician? The truth is: traditions often come with lineage, context, and standards — and that's good. I respect it. But to me, "universal" means something else: how can I feel just as much emotion from a maqam on an Armenian duduk (a double-reeded woodwind) and a daf drum, as I can feel from a heavily distorted guitar in a Western metal song with jazz-inspired drumming? There's something deeper going on.

Universal spokesperson of music…

So, this is where I come in. Yes, someday I want a house so I can keep collecting instruments — and have a studio where I can finally record and produce full compositions. But right now I work a full-time job, and I spend a lot of spare time practicing. Last year, out of nowhere, I came across my first gig. Someone in a Facebook group asked, "Does anybody around here play oud?" — and I answered. What followed was an offer, rehearsals, and an event that turned out to be genuinely rewarding (and it's the first memory posted on my Memories page).

But how do I find more gigs like that? I can pay for listings. I can fight for attention on social media. But it finally dawned on me: if I worked hard enough, I could build my own home base — my own website. And so here we are. A place where I can share my journey and the instruments I play, but also a starting ground to build a more professional career doing what I love most. And if I'm going to do this — why not let others be part of the journey? I offer my services to help shape the atmosphere of life's most special and emotional moments. Why not encourage music to be more universal? Arabic on banjo at a wedding. A duduk filling the room with something mystical to help ease the passing of a loved one (in America, not just Armenia). A real Pakistani rabab sampled in a hip hop track, with all its organic nuance. A bass-ranged sitar (surbahar) intriguing guests at a formal party. An oud setting the mood for a proposal.

My mission, and my dream…

Why not take the sound of any of these instruments and tailor it to the moment — whether traditional, modern, or something in-between? Why not bring modern nuance into traditional patterns? Why not make music truly universal?

Thank you for taking the time to visit, to be curious, and to explore what I'm building here. Feel free to keep exploring, or contact me with any questions and inquiries. I'm an open book (within reason).

I am based in Richmond, VA (US).

Thank you.