Meet Stefan Pajaro-van de Stadt

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stefan Pajaro-van de Stadt.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I had a nomadic upbringing–I was born in England and went on to live in Maryland, Florida, and Birmingham, Alabama. I started playing guitar at four years old after watching Marty McFly tear it up on stage with the electric guitar. My parents, avid symphony goers, duped me into starting with classical guitar despite my clear affinity for the louder, sweatier style. Naturally, this led me to join a few garage bands in high school, where I played guitar and drums. By this time, I had grown to love the blues, rock and roll, and singer-songwriter genres, and I complemented the ear-splitting garage bands with the slightly more dignified school jazz band, in which I played trumpet. Towards the end of high school, music began to take a back seat in my life as my focus shifted towards college. I ended up at Washington University in St. Louis, where I double-majored in an amazing program called Psychology-Neuroscience-Philosophy (PNP) and Spanish.

After several summers of internships in various fields, having yet to discover a career I wanted to pursue, I met a singer-songwriter who inspired me to get my guitar back out. I immediately fell back in love with music and began writing songs for the first time. My senior year, I accepted a competitive job at Anheuser-Busch InBev in their global management training program. Throughout my time working, I was living a double-life between my day job and my newly rediscovered passion. When I was off the clock, I was either at home writing, going to shows, or meeting up with other music lovers/creators. Eventually, after a promotion brought me to Claremont, CA, I quit my job and decided to dive headfirst into music. I enrolled at Los Angeles College of Music to hone my instrumental and production/composition skills and received my associate’s degree in 2018. I have been hustling in the LA music scene ever since.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Like most things in life, my career has had its ups and downs, but all in all, it has been incredible to pursue my passion for music. However, adjusting to the volatility of being self-employed was difficult after quitting my corporate job. The trade-off between working towards something I love vs. having financial security, benefits, and a generally more comfortable life was somewhat difficult. At the same time, I have this new hunger and excitement for my day-to-day that I never had while working at Anheuser-Busch. One of my biggest challenges during my music career has been maintaining balance in my life. Once I was making music full time, I got into somewhat of an obsessive place where it was literally all I wanted to do. I felt like I was behind in my career because I got a “late start” being that I was already in my mid-20s, so while I was loving what I was doing, I also put immense pressure on myself to “make it” as quickly as possible.

As a result, my personal and professional relationships suffered. I was reluctant to collaborate and I probably stunted my growth for a while by isolating myself from all that LA has to offer. However, when I was finally able to step back and appreciate where I was and what I was doing, I realized that racing towards some abstract finish line was making me miserable. I’ve gotten a lot better at enjoying the journey and balancing my career with the rest of my life–hobbies, my family and friends, travel, and so much more. I realized that simply getting to do what I love and working towards my goals everyday meant that I already “made it.” Ever since, I’ve not only been happier but I’ve also gotten a lot further a lot faster while getting to share my experiences with amazing people.

Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I’m a singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and producer based in LA. My ultimate passions are working on my artist project (I am planning on releasing my debut single in the fall of 2020) and collaborating with and for other writers/artists. Aside from my individual artist project, I am working with a collective called GROUPCHAT that’s made up of awesome people and talented creators. We are releasing our first single in just a matter of weeks with Casey Veggies and BRYYCE featured on the song. We can’t wait for this one to be released, it’s a heater! My main strengths are discovering melodies, writing lyrics, and playing guitar, but I’ve also come a long way as a producer in the past couple of years. I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve been able to build a sustainable career from scratch and consistently see myself grow. I’m not only referring to my abilities as a musician/writer but also to the quality of people I’ve been lucky enough to surround myself with. It can be very daunting to work in the music industry, and there are countless horror stories of people having bad experiences, but I’m very fortunate to have a community of talented, supportive, and genuinely good people.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck has definitely influenced my life by playing a role in the people I’ve met, places I’ve been, and generally in my upbringing. I grew up in a family with musically talented parents (although neither were professional musicians) and all of my siblings and I played multiple instruments starting from a young age. In fact, 3/4 of us have gone on to pursue careers in music. I was very lucky to be exposed to that much music and talent. But I would also say that in a lot of ways I’ve made my own luck. Simple decisions like saying yes to playing a gig in 3 days where the music I have to learn is really challenging, or busking outside the Hollywood Bowl on a Friday night have led to a lot of opportunities I may not have gotten had I been home watching TV or practicing in my bedroom. Not that practicing is bad, lol, but sometimes we find ways to justify doing the thing we’re more comfortable with rather than doing the scary thing that will push us. Being willing and able to get out of my comfort zone has been one of my greatest assets.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sadsongstefan/; @sadsongstefan
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sadsongstefan

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