Several years ago, I went on study abroad to Morocco. I traveled through the country for 3 months on an independent study photography assignment through the Journalism program at Michigan State University. Following the completion of my assignment, I traveled up to Spain. By fate, I became something of an overnight celebrity. I was discovered by Ana of the spanish uber group MECANO, and soon was packing Hotel Misiana in Tarifa, Spain performing under the name Pepito Pacinas. THE CITY WAS MINE. I was even crowned EL REY DE LOS PIRATAS or "the king of the pirates". I was like a god. Or so I thought. Or so everyone told me. I know better now just how foolish I was to follow down that path of vanity.Too inexperienced to handle the pressure, didnt understand the business very well -- was always working in a foreign language that i was not completely fluent in, which does not help business negotiations --- I was dropped from my contract. I had a successful run of concerts, regularly performing solo in front of crowds of 1,000+ For 2 of the dates in late July and early August 2004, I was even projected onto a massive wall through a projector!!!!! it was amazing. Actually, a little too heady. I was not ready for the pressure. HOWEVER, ...These experiences gave me the strength to come into my own as a vocalist, and inspired me to pursue this full time once returning to the United States. I realized in the mountains of Morocco that I had been running from myself. I had burnt out at school trying to be someone that I was not. Trying to be corporate, trying to hide from the artist that I had always been. People would catch me singing and tell me how great my voice was and i would be extremely embarassed. I got pushed into performing at a few public places and had had standing ovations.. and it all scared me. I was not ready to see this, until it was thrust on me.I think it all began with the complete strangenes of Morocco forced me to listen to my voice inside my own head, and by the time i hit spain, i thought i was ready. I wasnt... Like I mentioned, everything seemed over my head,... the lovers, the drugs... Like the cicada, dormant for so many years,I was just breaking out of the shell, now ready to make some fucking noise.Back in the United States, I returned to Michigan where I had a series of shows performing under the stage handle "THE BUTTERFLY ASHES", with appearances at the BLIND PIG ( ann arbor, mi), TEMPLE CLUB (lansing, mi), MACS BAR (lansing, mi) ... and the gamut of small coffee shops, house parties, etc. I also performed as part of student showcases at Wharton Center and MSU Auditorium under my given name, Abraham Isaac. {TBA} attempted to combine live PA with live improvised musicianship, but unfortunately, several of the shows were at best, disastrous... although they did seem to please the shroom heads.I struggled to launch my career in East Lansing. The city seemed polar opposites to Tarifa. COMPLETELY set against me, awash in bigotry and laughable snobbery and self-entitlement. Children posing as adults; cigarette smoking quasi-liberals groveling like failed art critics for press. I GOT STUCK. And I just never got out. Not gracefully at least. I produced more songs in 6months than ANY of my peers had done in as many years. Rock. Classical. Lyrical. OTHER ARTISTS STOLE MY LYRICS only to perform them at the bars that rejected me. CLUBS played my demos but would not give me a gig.THERE IS NO WAY TO DESCRIBE THE CLICHED AGONY THIS CAUSED.What was born of this was NOTHING BUT PAIN to add to the list of endless "inspirations" and museum of dead muses that had birthed my art. The list could go forever, but must include NOT simply other music artists but things, such as: war, poverty, violence, hunger, orphans, the ocean, violin strings, the sound of children crying, laughter, the warmth that spreads from a smile, judaism, world travel, the heat of the african sun, sex, betrayal, street culture, the criminal underworld, the sitar, congos, the piano, the streets of tarifa, casablanca, industrial sprawl..."... and the sounds that haunt your soul, they remind you of yesterday... window to an outside world that is so far away// we were sad, we were alone but we had smiles on our face// after all, we were so young... with dreams that blew away // we held on... to every wordthat you wouldsay, now leave us to grow old... // to face this desolate place// ...the good die young, we were wicked enough to take your place.."
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EDUCATION: Started off at Kalamazoo College, an uber expensive extremely competitive liberal arts college in Michigan. With my eyes on a literary career and law school, somehow things just didnt work out at the school. Fell in love with a woman, spent 2+years in a very beautifully tragic relationship, and then ran away to MSU in East Lansing, Michigan to study at James Madison College. Tried to escape the country and immigrate to Israel. Plan blew up in my face. Lived in Morocco for 3 months and then went up to start my performance career in Spain. Passport was stolen, heart broken, returned to the USA
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Have performed under contract at Hotel Misiana in Tarifa, Spain under the alias "Pepito Pacinas". Have performed with The Butterfly Ashes at Temple Club in Lansing, MI; at Montie House in East Lansing; at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, MI. Have given performances at MSU Auditorioum as part of Latin Explosion, as well as at MSU Wharton Center for the same. Have performed at Macs Bar in Lansing, MI. Am currently building another rock band project. Stay tuned
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