Standing on a stage carved out of a former storage room, Ross Doytchinov gets stars in his eyes talking about his love of rock music and the taste of stardom he experienced as a young man back in Bulgaria.
“Rock music was illegal, which of course made it even more appealing,” says Ross. “My band played underground, and then, when things started to loosen up with Perestroika, we made it big. We played stadiums and other huge venues. Our band Episode created a heavy metal theatrical show complete with a medieval prop set decked out with gallows, torches, and coffins.”
Later on, Ross moved to the Netherlands where he performed with some of the top Dutch rock bands and later opened a recording studio.
“As a music producer and sound engineer, I worked with musicians and bands of all genres,” he says. “From working with them I learned how to develop and shape their creative musical ideas.”
He says that he wants to offer all this experience to help young musicians on Bowen tap into their creativity and make it come alive on stage. He’s emptied out a storage room in his house and turned it into a recording studio with a stage to facilitate that work, and he’s calling it New Stage Music Studio.
“I am not a teacher in the classical sense,” he says. “But I want to teach kids how to teach themselves. And on top of that, I want to teach them how to compose their own music, how to record, how to develop a stage presence, and tap in to their own unique voice – whatever that may be.”
For the moment, Ross is working with students individually and in group settings with the idea to put on their own regular rock shows here on Bowen.
“My dream is to help young musicians develop their talents and see them shine”, he says.
To contact Ross Doytchinov, email him at [email protected]
