Meet Stefanos

We were lucky to catch up with Stefanos recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Stefanos, thank you so much for making time for us today. Let’s jump right into a question so many in our community are looking for answers to – how to overcome creativity blocks, writer’s block, etc. We’d love to hear your thoughts or any advice you might have.

I don’t think struggling with creativity ever goes away completely, I guess it’s part of the process, and something every creative “has” to struggle with. However, there are ways I’ve found to “cheat” myself out of it.
As contradictory as this may sound, whenever I feel stuck on an exercise, or in front of a composition, I just abandon it and do something else to clear my head. It can be a walk, reading a book, bluntly staring outside the window – anything as long as it has nothing to do with what I’m stuck with. When I go back at it, I always seem to have a fresh thought or some “magically” appeared idea about it.
Sometimes, I might feel too overwhelmed to deal with writing a composition or practicing that difficult part, and my body simply refuses to sit down. When that happens, I make a deal with myself that I’ll only sit for 5 minutes, write 4 bars, and then I’ll take a (not so) “well-deserved” break. The thing is, it’s NEVER 5 minutes because the problem itself lies in starting. As soon as I’m there, I’m in the zone – and that could last for hours.
Another thing I’ve found really helpful is what people call “sleep on it”. The human brain has some amazing functions. One of them is it never really rests. When we fall asleep, the brain keeps working on what we occupy it with during the day, or the last thing we work on before we sleep. If you think about it, the dreams we have are heavily connected to it! So, if I have to learn a passage by heart, or come up with a melody for my new tune, I like spending the last productive moments before I go to sleep on that exact thing. My brain keeps working while I rest, and in the morning, a bright idea might appear.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m a Greek-born world percussionist based in Boston, and I compose my own music in a genre that I always have trouble specifying – we could loosely call it a mixture of ethnic, world and Mediterranean jazz, sometimes with electronic elements.

I really enjoy getting to know different cultures and trying to mix them in my playing and compositions. There’s a sense of exploration and innovation through constant trial and error that fascinates me.

I started playing music when I was 6, and I decided to make it my profession at 17 when I started doing gigs. I came to the US back in 2019 to study at Berklee on a scholarship. It was tough, especially in the beginning, but I enjoyed it a lot and it’s an experience that changed my life.

These days, my work spans a few different areas: I play gigs all around the East Coast with different groups as a freelancer, I compose a lot as I prepare to record my first album, and I run a private teaching studio. In my teaching studio, I work with percussion students on technique and repertoire across several different instruments, improvisation, various rhythmic concepts, ear training and more, but I also help musicians manage performance anxiety and thrive as neurodivergent artists – something I draw from my own experiences.

Right now, I’m most excited about finishing this album I’ve been preparing for years, and continuing to build a teaching practice that actually helps musicians work through stuff we all struggle with but are rarely open about.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I can only speak from my own experience, but here are three things that have heavily impacted me throughout my career.

1. Being a great musician isn’t enough – be someone people want to work with.

I realized pretty early in my career that being a great instrumentalist is only part of the equation. Music is a beautiful thing, and you want to share it with beautiful people you can rely on. The little things we tend to overlook are often the most important: showing up to rehearsals on time and prepared, being easy to work with, taking care of your personal hygiene, being kind. In general, make everyone around you super comfortable and happy that you’re there.

2. You’re more than a creative.
By all means, invest in your craft, give it your all, chase your dreams! But don’t forget you’re more than that. You’re a human with needs, problems, ups and downs. Sometimes life is hard, no need to make it harder on ourselves obsessing over perfection. Your body is not a machine, listen to its needs and take care of it. Exercise, eat well, hydrate. If you need a break, take one – you don’t have to “deserve” it. Prioritize your mental health, make sure you’re alright. Invest in your relationships with those people who make you feel “at home”. Be well, be you, live your life, and music will always find its place in you.

3. Above all, serve the music.
A musician’s musicianship is their greatest asset. No matter how good your technique, chops or imagination are, if you don’t serve the music, those skills become irrelevant. It sounds simple, but it’s incredibly tough to accept your beautiful idea just doesn’t fit. Sometimes you have nothing to offer a certain piece, or your role is to play three hits on the triangle (think Shostakovich Waltz 2). Music is not a competition – it’s a collaborative experience. Set your ego aside, communicate, respect your bandmates, and serve the music as best as you can.

Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?

Well, this is a question I’m still working on, I don’t have a definitive answer. However, I’d love to share a quick story and my point of view as of now.

During my first year at Berklee, I told an ensemble professor that I’m “terrible at sight-reading.” He responded, “Well, make sure you can hear.” What he meant was: I don’t care how you get the job done, just get it done. This has stuck with me for several years now.

Here’s how I think about it: I need baseline competency in the fundamentals to even get in the room. If I had never worked on my sight-reading skills, I would’ve been disqualified from many opportunities, it’s a fundamental part of being a session musician. But here’s the thing: no one calls me because I’m the world’s best sight-reader. They call me for my musicianship – my feel, my sound, my ability to serve the music.

Especially as a percussionist, different projects require a huge array of skills, and I can’t master the technique of every percussion instrument out there. So I have to be well-rounded enough to not have glaring weaknesses. But in the end, I go all-in on what makes me “me” – my musicality and interpretive skills. That’s my greatest asset, and that’s what I keep building on.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sathinaiosmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stefanos.af/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stefanos.athinaios/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanos-athinaios
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoIOTbP8zOq0GQgos5Vj0Vw

Image Credits

Matthew Muise

Ronjue Studio

Knar Bedian

Ari Mei-Dan

Panagiotis Skylogiannis

Music Sphere LLC