Recording artist Bryan Bielanski will perform at Steve’s Guitars on April 16 as part of his U.S. tour, where he will perform songs from his most recent album, “Bryan’s Super Happy Fun Time II,” along with some tracks from his previous album, “Bryan’s Super Happy Fun Time I.”
Born in Parma, Ohio, and now based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bielanski has been traveling the U.S. and Canada for over ten years sharing his music, and all over the globe; performing in Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands and Thailand among other places. Bielanski’s discography is meant to make listeners think deep thoughts and feel like they’re alive, according to the artist’s website.
Bielanski decided that he wanted to pursue music professionally at the age of 13, picked up playing the guitar when he was 14 and started playing semi-professionally at 17 in a part-time way. He would practice for six to seven hours a day and says that before he decided on music, he still wanted to be a performer. He said he would have been a stand-up comedian had he not decided on the music route.
“Music seemed easier, because it’s easier to make people like a song than to make people laugh, I think,” Bielanski told The Sopris Sun. “Every once in a while, I’ll do concerts where comedy is tied in with the music since the venue happens to have stand-up comics the same night, and I always tell them, ‘You know, I have a lot of respect for you because it is not easy to make people laugh.’”
Asked about the biggest inspirations for his work, Bielanski mentioned that, while he was influenced by massive names like The Beatles, Nirvana, R.E.M and Tom Petty, a lot of his inspiration comes from wanting to show people how great life can be despite its challenges. He explained that he also draws inspiration from books of philosophy and has tied a lot of that into the themes and lyrics of his music.
“I’m a big philosophy fan. So oftentimes, I’ll listen to audiobooks from different philosophers on my long drives on tours,” he said. “As an avid philosophy fan, sometimes that finds its way into my songs. Lately, people have been enjoying the silly and light-hearted songs more, so I kind of dipped into that pretty heavily for the upcoming album.”
Aside from other artists and philosophy, Bielanski gains inspiration from his family and the people he has met traveling around the world. Bielanski said his family is super supportive of his career and creativity due to their own artistic backgrounds.
“I like the aspect of meeting so many different people that I never would have otherwise, almost as much as I like performing,” he said. “And seeing all the different places around the country. It’s a great experience and that motivates me to keep doing it.”
Bielanski told The Sopris Sun that he is excited about his performance at Steve’s Guitars because of the atmosphere of the locally renowned music store. “When there are other musicians in the audience, it always makes for a good, really empathetic crowd. I’m so excited about that, and I’m looking forward to it. It will be my first time performing in Carbondale, so I’m very much looking forward to checking it out,”
He also wanted to share some wisdom and encouragement with anyone interested in music as a career. “Don’t get discouraged if certain people dislike your music. There will always be people, no matter how good you are, there are always going to be people that don’t like what you’re doing. But don’t let the people that don’t like it stop you from doing everything in your power to get to the people that do like it.”
For more information on Bielanski’s upcoming performances and announcements for future shows and projects, visit www.bryanssuperhappyfuntime.com
To get tickets to the show at Steve’s, visit www.stevesguitars.net