Strato is a creative talent that loves diversity - writing, drumming, blogging and scripting. Strato is the drummer of Grahamstown based band called SunshiP and we at neofundi just love him.

Tell us about your creative passions in life and what they mean to you?

Drumming: Born to do it! I am fundamentally, at my core, a drummer first. Knew it from childhood! It took 40 years to act on it, but when I did it was like being reborn into my real skin. Nothing makes me as happy, or brings out ‘actual me’ than sitting behind that kit and playing with other musicians! Drumming for me is the culmination of all my bliss and my focus into one pinpoint of total clarity where thought does not impinge and rhythm rules supreme! It’s also taught me to listen with an ear of contribution - what can I do to enhance what I’m hearing others play? I find it particularly auspicious that I turn 44 this year. 4:4 time is the root of rock and the vibration of the universe. LIFE!

Writing: I’ve always been fascinated by the expressiveness of language; and I’m always trying to paint to a unique Strato picture with the words I use. I love messing with syntax and punctuation in projecting conceptual meaning. That I think’s the trick - knowing that language can be sculpted without always adhering to rules - all in the name of meaning. For me writing is only ever about communication - doing my utmost to somehow deliver the indescribable. This felt especially amazing when working on a show like Happy Shabalala with Mr Harry Sid. We had so much fun! He’s maestro of characterization, and it was fantastic fun for me to write in many different voices. FUN!

Blogging: Freedom! There are no rules and no agendas I pander to when I blog. It’s all me - what I want to say, convey, explore, touch on or delve into deeply. I love sitting in front of my fire at night in winter smoking with a notebook, bouncing ideas about what I’ll be writing about next. I’m an opinionated bugger; and blogging’s my outlet! Blogging on this year’s National Arts Festival for neofundi was fantastic! Not only did it let me paint with words the picture I was living, but it also helped me mull through what was happening to me. So special! MY VIEWS!

Scripting: I’ve spent 13 years as an event and production scriptwriter. I’m often uncomfortable with delivering others’ message, but I love being able to cleverly sneak in my own. And working with so many industries, I’ve learnt lots about lots. My favourite work is with Paul Warner of 24 Carrots Events! He has such a gleefully intelligent imagination! He and I connect on the most complete creative level - both visceral and cognitive; and that’s why our events are total mindf%s - corporate event experiences of operatic stature. It gives me a kick to be the 25th Carrot cos I get to be part of a team that likes surprising! EXPERIENCE!

How has drumming influenced your life?
Drumming has changed everything! It was the missing piece that now makes me whole! Nothing has made me happier than finally fulfilling a need I’ve had since childhood! With drumming now in place I feel like I can do anything! More than anything, drumming’s taught me that if it’s the right thing to do, the path opens easily - and that the grace of others can truly propel you forward if they can see that what you’re feeling’s real! I’m so blessed! I’ve gone from 1 ... 2 .... 3.... 4 .... to semi-pro in two years, after starting in my forties! Nothing is impossible if your heart yearns fully for the realisation of your own truth! Others my age tell me how old we’re getting, and I feel like a teenager just starting something new!

Tell us about your band?
SunshiP is the one word that always makes me smile. The core is a power-trio of drums, bass, and guitar and vocals. Anton is a phenomenally generous bassist - holding the rhythm with a clear and tasteful strength, while Larry’s guitar licks and voice are melodically abundant! And I do my best to drive it all forward, give it foundation, contribute to a full sound and blast it up to never-neverland when the moment’s right. Music’s dynamic - and when we’re cooking together, I can hear what needs to happen next. We have about 30 Blues and folk-rock covers and about 25 originals - some of which are very gentle and others that stonk with a very infectious groove. We often also play with a fantastic saxophonist - Rick van Heerden - whose a brass genius. And we love collaborating with many musicians - including the legendary Steve Newman, Ashish Joshi and Greg Georgiades. When all of us played together at this year’s National Arts Festival, we were called the fest’s finest moment by the biggest music blogger in the country. We’re all in our forties and fifties - but the dream never changes. We still want to conquer the world! Our first release is coming soon; and we’ll premier our first song on neofundi in the next fortnight!

Favourite place you have travelled to?
I adore Amsterdam! It’s a city whose groove feels very familiar to me; and it’s so magically scenic! And amazing things always happen to me there! This December I saw my first snowfall in Amsterdam - truly one of the most exquisite sights my eyes have ever beheld! Beyond Amsterdam, as cities go, Paris, Thessaloniki and Belgrade are always delightful to be in; and in Africa, the Kruger, the Okavango and the entire Eastern Cape open up my heart like a flower and make my soul expand! And for the total bliss of just being in the world - India, with all her colours, scents and flavours!

What is your favourite part about living in Grahamstown?
The abundant creativity all around me in Gtown is inspiring; and Rhodes University here changes everything! It’s a humanities-focused varsity, so I’m having a blast getting involved with people from the media, art, drama, music and politics departments. (Politics is what I studied with Law, and it’s still my pet hobby.) Most of all, I absolutely thrive in an environment of funky, smart, talented young people with whom I can have fun and engage. Ultimately though, Gtown is about family! Anton (SunshiP’s bassist) is also my sister’s husband and my niece and nephew’s dad. We all see each other daily, and the fact that I can actively contribute to bringing up Ilyo and Luna is joy beyond bliss! If I had to sum up my Gtown happiness in one word, it would be ‘Ilyo’. My nephew represents everything I’m trying to grow up to be - blissfully unaffected and humouring my own funny bone.

Best in Grahamstown for?
Coffee- Red Cafe! Great coffee and a cool vibe overlooking High Street. It has a perfectly bohemian undertone that feels so right in this town!
Drinks - The Rat & Parrot - the bar we all love to hate, but often have a blast in! It can get a bit ‘jock’ in there sometimes, but the open courtyard downstairs is where we ‘artsies’ hang out - Perfect for Summer night mental meanders in deep conversation, using words I haven’t uttered since varsity. It’s fantastic that in Gtown words like ‘teleological, nihilism and discourse’ are actually used in everyday conversations.
Breakfast- The Mad Hatter - great to sit in the sunshine and scoff a full English on a Saturday morn, while desperately trying to remember how and why Friday night ended.
Walks - Jameson’s Dam - A magnificent dam in a bowl where a circle of mountains meet - pristine and fantastic to both walk around of, and swim in! At Jameson’s the human world recedes completely, and I become just another drop in a sea of land, sky and water.

What is an ideal Sunday for you?
Band practice at 10h30! It’s where Anton, Larry and I come together to talk and play. Sanity! Those Sunday mornings are my favourite moment of the week, unless we’re gigging! I’d want those Sunday mornings to go on till I’m 99 and counting. Then, the afternoon at a beach like Kasouga completes the Sunday stroll through my happiness express! Playing with Ilyo on the beach on some level defines my inner image of what paradise must be - laughter-filled and comfortably easy.


Where do you see your life in 10 years?
SunshiP rocking the planet - at the vanguard of global Blues! And I want to be married, with a brood, and running two creative centres - one in Greece and one in Gtown - migrating Summer to Summer - with music, sound, art and dance studios where pros and amateurs can come for phenomenal creative experiences of their own creation, which we just help facilitate. Plus my own record label called Streetware Soundz or something like that. And a finger in many of my friends’ pies - all my mates right now are involved in exciting projects that I want to be a part of and significantly contribute to!

Make up an original Strato quote:
“James Brown didn’t sing ‘I think good’. If it feels right, it normally is. If it doesn’t, stop trying to think it better. And always know that the only way out, is through.”

Most influential person in your life?
That changes constantly! My everlasting ‘always-there’ influence is my sister Athina - the one person who’s always known me! She’s my rock! We’ve come a loooooooooong way together! Other influences apply to specific aspects of my life. In drumming for example, the big influencers are The Stones’ Charlie Watts, Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason, The Doors’ John Densmore, The Band’s Levon Helm, Baboo’s Kesivan Naidoo, The Tananas’ Ian Herman and king of kings, master of masters, the almighty Keith Moon of The Who! And while I respect many writers, Milan Kundera is my man of men!

Tell us something we don’t know about you?
If I want something badly enough that it makes me cry, I know it’ll happen, because my heart has opened to the undeniable yearning I have for it!

What do you love to do in Joburg?
Jozi for me is ultimately about the people I know and love there! My best times in Joburg are when I’m connecting with others! Johannesburg has so many cool spaces tucked away amidst its madness; and I love experiencing those with various people. My dream is to come to Jozi for 6 weeks and do nothing but perform, record and see everyone I know! Working in Joburg eventually drains me! I begin to vibrate too fast amidst the constant medium-high intensity that everyone operates on in Joburg. But spending time with all those that have been part of my life for so long is coming home! Jozi’s where my people live; and when I’m there, all I wanna do is see them! Soon I hope SunshiP performs live for them!

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