Album Notes

The title of Tim Stopulos' first studio album, "The Long Drive Home", can be a bit misleading. "I liked 'The Long Drive Home'", Tim explains, "because it means something completely different to me than it does to somebody hearing it for the first time." The name doesn't actually have anything to do with driving anywhere. Tim derived the moniker from the place where he and his bandmates developed the music that is featured on the CD. "My first band practiced at my college house in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, which happened to be on a street called Long Drive." So the album is really named for the home that sits just off of Long Drive where Tim wrote all it's music, but he also enjoys the more obvious connotation that comes along with it. "I did have to drive 14 hours back home from college, so it works in the literal sense as well. And there's something very nostalgic about leaving home for the first time, so the title just seemed to fit."

It would be fair to say Tim’s (b.1983) music career began at the age of 6 when he embarked on 15 years of formal piano training. Inspired by Dave Matthews, he added the guitar to his repertoire in high school and started playing live in cover bands and solo whenever he could.

He began writing his own songs as soon as picked up the guitar and continued to write as he discovered all his heroes: John Mayer, Ben Folds, Coldplay, Billy Joel, Radiohead and Jeff Buckley to name a few. But after listening to Tim's music, one can't help but notice there's an element therein that you can't find in his list of influences. "I tend to name those guys as my greatest influences, but I would be lying if I said I haven't been inspired by hip-hop and R&B. Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Maroon 5, even Nelly. Those guys have incredible style."

Certainly, Tim's sound goes beyond hip-hop, beyond rock and beyond soul. He seems to take pieces of every type of music he loves (even classical) and mixes them all together to create a sound that's all his own.

Currently, Tim is in Chicago playing with the newly formed Tim Stopulos & The Trio, featuring Michael Tahlier on lead guitar, Seville Lilly on keyboards and Justin Hooks on drums. They have been performing "The Long Drive Home" and some really exciting new material in the Chicagoland area and plan to new pieces to their band as they go. "It's a work in progress, but it will be exciting every step of the way".