Bio

I am not vein enough to have someone else write my bio so what better way for you to hear it than straight from the horses' mouth. This is NOT my life's bio, but more so a bio on the involvement of music throughout my life. I was born Kevin Michael Theodoropolus on January 15th, 1973 at Peel Memorial Hospital in Brampton. My parents were blue collared, hard working Canadians respectively, my dad Gus worked "underground" for Bell Canada and my mom Susan worked as a teller for Canada Trust. I was the younger of two kids, my sister Christine being 6 years older than me. From birth I spent the first few years causing ruckus around the house (my mother was a "stay-home-mom" at the time) so Sue would calm the savage beast by playing music such as The Beatles and other psychedelic sounds of the sixties and seventies. Consequently this lead to myself snoozing all day and sitting in the dark all night playing with rubber insects & monsters. I did however spend alot of time drawing and according to my mom I was already coloring inside the lines by age two. When I was out and about in the townhouse complex we lived at you could normally find me terrorizing children with my over sized rubber insects, bullying and assaulting toddlers for their toys, convincing kids to commit random acts of stupidity such as streaking and urinating or defecating in public, playing "doctor" with the neighborhood girls, and all other sorts of ill behavior. The only times I wasn't up to no good were when I was listening to music or drawing. In the summer of 1978, my parents bought a new house in Bramalea, so we said goodbye to the old townhouse and packed our things. I started kindergarten at Birch Bank Public School that September and right off the bat it was clear I was "different" from the other kids. I had a heavy interest in music and art, while all the other kids opted to play in the sandbox or on the jungle gym. I ran into an old schoolmate a few years ago at a wedding and he couldn't stop talking about how I was the only kid in kindergarten with AC/DC & Iron Maiden shirts. Guilty as charged. Another difference between me and other kids was my height, I was a giant compared to most the others throughout grade school so I used my size to my advantage to get whatever I wanted. I got the reputation of the "bully" or "tough guy" quite early so this kept me out of alot of trouble as nobody ever wanted to mess with me. While I was in kindergarten my cousin James gave me a record for Christmas that year, AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" I instantly fell in love with the group and started getting my hands on any of their records I could. That year for my sixth birthday I got a "Muppet Show" drum set so i spent alot of time smashing away on those while listening to vinyl. I also met three youngsters that first year of school, who all went on to be my best friends until grade 6. One of them in particular was also into heavy metal and he turned me onto such bands as Kiss, Judas Priest, & Black Sabbath. During the winter we anticipated the bus not making it on time so we could go back to my place, crank the vinyl, and jump around like maniacs. We labeled ourselves "Heaven's Devils" in ode to the Hell's Angles, we even had matching jean jackets with patches, and by grade two you could find us down in the woods looking for rival "gangs" to scrap with. We are talking crazy kids on some "Warriors" shit, not these wannabe crips and bloods you see in every suburb of every town in every part of the world now. We also spent alot of time writing music but none of us had the means to play music. This all changed by grade 5 when my friend Craig bought a guitar and started taking lessons downtown. I had also started using computers in school for the last couple of years and quickly became somewhat of a wiz with them, which would be instrumental much later. The year was 1984. Another change that year was a new fad introduced to suburbia, "Hip Hop" Graffiti and breakdancing became the big thing and I instantly fell in love with such groups as Grandmaster Flash, Sugar Hill Gang, Herbie Hancock, and others. I ended up begging my parents to let me cash a bond of mine so I could buy a drum machine from "Toys R Us" They agreed and before long Craig & me were actually jamming. Our sound was strange to say the least but it was a mixture of hard electro beats and loud distorted guitar with us both yelling and screaming improv lyrics. We carried this on into middle school until about 1986 when we actually joined band class, this time I actually learned to play the drums as well as alto sax and trombone. I also became completely obsessed with wrestling and on lunchtimes we ran the B.W.F. Ironically I spent alot of middle school in the principal's office or sitting behind blockers. I did however continue using computers and used to "BBS" with a modem, which was sort of a pre-internet type thing. You would log into themed sites and use the forums and downloads. These were the best years and the worst times of my life but this "slacker" managed to make it to highschool by the skin of my ass. By 1987 I started highschool and was listening to all kinds of new hip hop and I also graduated from Heavy Metal to Thrash & Hardcore. Me and Craig had also hooked up with 3 other guys to form a real band that came to be known as Social Disorder after many name changes. Some newer friends of mine started a Dj company and they worked most of the local dances and parties. It was these guys that helped me records my first ever hip hop single known as "Hate Rap" It was met with mixed emotions to say the least as I have some dark views on life. Meanwhile Social Disorder had recorded a demo tape and we also got to play a few parties. By the end of grade 10 our bass player moved to Vancouver and we ended the band. I didn't do much musically the next few years until the end of highschool when I hooked up with 2 pals from the band "Epileptic Brain Surgeons." They had broken up because their singer moved to B.C. as well. We started one of Brampton's FIRST ever hip hop crews "3 N PASS" Our rhymes were dedicated to weed long before Cypress Hill was born. In 1991 I also started a band with an old friend of mine called "Grasshopper" and we went on to blow up huge in the Toronto scene. Mike Chapman from "3 N PASS" played bass and I played drums. The band broke up in 93 but the singer/guitarist tried carrying the torch for many pathetic years after. 3 N PASS was going strong by 1993. We played a few shows downtown and ended up recording. Our set up was quite ghetto and consisted of: A four track, 70's plastic turntable, cheap mics, and a casio keyboard. Even though we were "equipment challenged" we still managed to release a decent demo tape and we later evolved into a live band with myself as the MC. Later that year another local band I used to do hip hop cover songs with called "Demon Barf" ended up calling it quits as well. It seemed like 93 was the year of band break-ups. We also folded 3 N PASS and started jamming with some D.B. boys as well as various other local musicians on a weekly basis. we had freestyle rehearsal sessions and dubbed ourselves "The B-Funk All Stars" After months of jamming we weeded the group of 10 + musicians down to a tight knit four and renamed ourselves "Black Belt Jones" BBJ recorded a demo instantly and we began playing local clubs and parties. In 1995 I started singing for a rap/metal band called "Wiggaz" and we also released a demo and started ripping up the local clubs gaining a huge following. Wiggaz went onto release 2 demos and we played many huge gigs. We pulled the plug in 1996 when our bass player moved to Vancouver. DEJA VU? Black Belt kept going strong in the meantime. We released a second demo and got alot of exposure in the Toronto scene but in 1997 we split up due to musical differences, we even had to turn down an offer to play The Tibetien Freedom Concert with The Beastie Boys. Sad days indeed...but not for long. In 97 a new project called "Grift" rose from the ashes of Wiggaz including 3 of the 4 original players. We started dropping cds like hotcakes and rocking shows with alot of great bigger named bands. In January of 1998 I started my tattoo aprenticeship in Orangeville and I ended up moving there in April. That summer Grift toured Canada and it is still one of the greatest experiences of my life to this day! After tour we released our third cd and quickly went on to our fourth, this kept us busy past the turn of the millenium and the shows just kept getting bigger and better. We were playing with the likes of Morbid Angel, Hate Breed, Candiria, & Dillinger Escape Plan just to name a few. The year 2000 saw my musical career take a turn. I was now swamped with tattoo work and Grift guitarist Greg Dawson started his own studio B.W.C.(Brampton Wrecking Crew) in ode to the old Grift moniker. Greg has gone on to be one of the most sought after producers in Ontario. With our new hectic schedules we didn't have time for Grift so we evolved into a studio band and dropped our fifth album. Meanwhile up in Orangeville, computers were re-introduced into my life and I hooked up with some newfound friends and we started "Rotten Utensils" a new hip hop crew. We released a cd that sold out fast! I was also now producing local MCs with the knowledge I had learned from Greg. Myself and one of the other "Utensils" also dropped an e.p. called "Dons Of The Dead" and I actually started working on some solo material. It had been a goal and a dream of mine since 1988 to record my own solo rap record but I had always been involved with other bands and never had the chance to do it. The time was creeping closer. Grift recorded our sixth and final album to date and I was getting alot of old ideas of my chest whenever I had the studio to myself. In October 2001 I started tattooing in Georgetown and I ended up moving there in September 2002 with my now wife Rachel. I was now disconnected from "The Rotten Crew" and had no means to make music so i resorted to what i knew. I did ALOT of reading & writing when I wasn't tattooing in the day and I spent my evenings with Rachel watching movies and jotting down sample ideas that inspired me from the films. This window of time went on until May 2003 when I left the shop due to personal reasons. I started tattooing from home and gave birth to my business "Pleasures Of The Flesh" I was a little skeptical at first, and even contemplated a part time job, but my loyal customers went on to set my destiny and I must say things keep getting bigger and better. I must give credit to my wife Rachel for this too as she truly motivates me and brings out my best and things have only improved tremendously in my life since I met her. I continued my writing frenzy until January 2004 when i finally got a computer and started making music again and I'll admit I got a bit sidetracked from my solo project when Artimetik stumbled back into my life and we ended up remixing the Rotten Utensils album. From there I had alot of old recordings from Orangeville that needed life so they were dealt with accordingly. I did a few guest spots with N.M.E. & Smile Case, which led to me and Smile Case starting the "Cigar face" project that ended up with 22 tracks. Secret Society Sound has started blossoming nicely in the underground with even more new projects such as Dis.Band.Dead and our new Bong Squad compilation. We have also gained some new blood to the family and everybody is doing their thing when they can. What about my album? Well you know I had to be working on shit the whole time and I have been but I'm picky so it's tricky. Musically and lyrically I would say I'm about two thirds done with maybe half the album complete and ready to go. Keep in mind this has been a desire of mine for almost 20 years so it has to be put together precisely. "The Baddest Stories Ever Told" will not just be a record, it will basically be the story of my life up to this point in time. A musical journey through the mind of someone who isn't special, who isn't important, but is just different from the rest of the world. Everybody is different and we all have our own stories to tell, the hard part is finding the patient people who want to listen to them. 2005 is slowly winding down and I had vowed to have this record finished by 2006 but it's going to be a tough call. Time is tight and I have some setbacks but I'm doing the best I can when I'm not sidetracked with other projects. On the plus side the music is flowing, the lyrics are flowing, tattoo ink is flowing, and the love is flowing. Good karma is in the air blowing gifts past all those who deserve it as is the bad karma. Business is booming for me and it keeps on growing. Rachel has a great job and is making excellent money so our next step is to buy a house in the near future. I do have alot going on in my life and although music is my # 1 passion it sadly has to take a seat on the bench when it comes to the priorities in my life. Combine this with vision of the album and that equals time. I started writing this album in 2003 and it has now been 2 years to the date pretty much but technically i started writing this album the day I was born. Once it's done I plan on making more records but they won't have to be the theme of my life so I'll just be having more random fun and also releasing alot of old material. In the meantime you will always be able to get the 411 on this website as to what's going on with me and "The Baddest Stories Ever Told"