David Geftakys (David Michael Demetrius Geftakys) is an LA musician and songwriter. With an original rock/indie sound, this talented musician has been singing since an early age.
Born in St. Louis, Geftakys soon moved with his family to California.There he grew up and was probably that child who the neighbors always saw building something. He loved adventures (beside the States he visited Russia, Japan and Mexico), loved building stuff that would serve some purpose, any water sport of any kind, and of course he really loved music. His first impression of a guitar was “ that instrument that I will never be able to make work.” He actually played piano for many years before he finally gave the guitar a shot (started when he was 6 years old), partly because his mother let him take piano lessons with a neighbor who taught piano. He started to work with guitar when he was 12.
David wasn’t someone who learned because he had a music assignment, or a piece he had to play. He learned when he got to create something, or when he decided that he really wanted to learn a song. “I remember hating to practice the piano pieces that my teacher gave me to study. When my 30 minutes of practice were up I was GONE! But when I decided I wanted to learn how to play Staccato and Fugue in D minor I would practice non-stop. Chariots of Fire was another one of those piano pieces that I really wanted to learn and was probably the first song I ever completed on the piano”. The first song on the guitar was probably ”Piece of Mind” by Boston after a friend gave David their CD and showed him the chords. Geftakys realized early on each instrument that he could hear when things sounded right, when they didn’t, and fun ways to make them different, to make them his own. This realization was a big inspiration to keep pursuing music.
The first song he wrote was actually for an assignment in English class.” We were studying poetry and had to find an interesting way to present a poem to the class. I wrote a piece of music for an Emily Dickenson poem and told my friend that he was going to sing. The day of the performance he got scared and stopped singing so I had to finish. It was a disaster, but a fun one. I guess that would be the first song I kind of wrote, but the lyrics were all Emily Dickenson’s”.
Living in several towns and cities in the Golden State he soon realized that in order to seriously pursue his music career he would need to make the move to LA.
His music styles are all over the place. When putting together his first album David found himself coming up with song ideas that fell into so many different genres, and says he found this initially frustrating. How could he create an album if his sound wasn’t consistent? Citing his musical influences as The Police, U2, Goo Goo Dolls, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Coldplay, and Paul Simon, among others, Geftakys has developed a musical style uniquely his own with a characteristic crossing of genres that speaks to his early frustrations. It was his realization that all of this inspiration was something to embrace which created a turning point for him. Most of those songs never go on the same album. But they’re all ways of telling a story, expressing an emotion, having fun and getting creative. So David have learned to accept his music styles. This same approach to music seems to have found it’s way into his fashion style. David says he would wear the same thing for ages without caring. ”If I end up with any pleasing style I consider myself completely lucky”.
After working with various musicians and bands, David finally released his first solo EP, ‘Lines in My Hands‘, in early 2010 which was met with strong reviews from both critics and fans. His single “Say It All” was rated in the top 5% of song reviews by SoundOut, a partner of Fontana music and his 3rd track from the EP, “Stellar Phoenix”, has become a favorite with Radio DJ’s and fans alike. In 2011 his track “Games We Play” was rated in the top 5% of songs reviewed by SoundOut and word is his next single, “And You”, has received even higher praise (this track to be released in 2012). In July 2010 David appeared on the late-night style show, ‘Live Taping with David Valdez‘ at Universal Studios where he received positive reviews from critics. In 2011 He had an interview on The “IN” Show with Gus Sommers, which was posted on The “IN” Show’s website. Geftakys also released this as a collection of Behind the Scenes videos on YouTube and they have been a firm favorite with fans around the globe. With many causes dear to his heart Geftakys also stepped out on May 1st, 2011 to play in the May Day for a Cure Concert to benefit the Music For a Cure Foundation. Ticket sales went directly to bringing music to terminally ill children in hospitals around LA and Orange County.
DJ’s such as DirtyDiamond, WROM Radio, KrackIt Radio and other have been given repeated air time to his music, and he has been the most requested artists multiple times on stations such as Wise Radio. He was also the featured artists of the month in June 2012 on KRMW, a San Francisco based station.
The creativity has in no way slowed with the release of this EP and another album is due to be released this summer.” I’ve been trying to get an album out for over a year now. The music has been ready, but this time I don’t just want to throw songs on the wall. I really want to make this album count. So I’ve been doing a lot of work figuring out the best way to setup distribution, promote the release, and try to get the music to as many fans and industry people as possible. For a solo musician this is a MAJOR JOB, one whose size and scope I didn’t have the first clue about. But I have started to get everything in place and the release dates will be posting soon.”
Geftakys promises a more mature sound with more of the complex melodic lines and heartfelt lyrics that we have come to expect from him. Also David have a bunch of shows lining up for the summer. You can see them all on his official facebook page or his website www.davidgeftakys.com/David_Geftakys_Music/Live.html
And of course he’s always writing music. He also do a cover every once in a great while, usually one of his longtime favorites.
David is already building a solid reputation on social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube as being an incredibly down to earth guy. He has developed a loyal international fan base and this is sure to be reflected in sales from the new album due for release later this year.
By Zorya Loboda (with portions of this article reprinted from David Geftakys’ Bio)
David Geftakys Links:
www.davidgeftakys.com
http://www.facebook.com/DavidGeftakys
http://twitter.com/DavidGeftakys
http://www.reverbnation.com/davidgeftakys
