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Pavlo prevails!

David and Goliath story has a hip-hop ending Who: Pavlo Where: Eagle Eye Theatre (Squamish) and MY (Millennium) Place When: April 2-3 Tickets: $15-$20 He’s the musician that’s known for the swing of his hips as much as his passionate Medite

David and Goliath story has a hip-hop ending

Who: Pavlo

Where: Eagle Eye Theatre (Squamish) and MY (Millennium) Place

When: April 2-3

Tickets: $15-$20

He’s the musician that’s known for the swing of his hips as much as his passionate Mediterranean guitar licks.

"I just move," says Toronto-based guitar master Pavlo Simtikidis, known to his fans simply as Pavlo. "I come from a Greek upbringing. Most guitar players either sit or stand still and it’s impossible for me to do that because I’ve been dancing and jumping up on tables since I was a kid, you know? I don’t consider myself a professional dancer by any stretch of the imagination, but I just allow myself to open up on stage and just move any way my body wants to go.

"It’s usually my hips that go side to side," he adds.

Since Pavlo’s last trip through the Sea to Sky corridor, in May 2003, he’s become known for something other than his performance skills.

Recent events have made him a pop-culture hero in an R&B sound-tracked version of the David and Goliath story.

Four years ago, while listening to the radio in his car, Pavlo happened upon the song Fiesta by R&B megastar hit-maker R. Kelly and immediately recognized one of his own compositions – Fantasia – sampled into the chart-topping artist’s track.

Pavlo immediately headed to the studio and made sure he could prove they were indeed one and the same. He then challenged the artist’s publishing and recording companies – R. Kelly Publishing and Zomba Song – to a duel with the help of a Toronto lawyer.

The case dragged on for three years, with a settlement finally reached last fall awarding Pavlo 25 per cent ownership of the song. He talks freely now, but says he kept things relatively quiet during the case since he didn’t hold out much hope of winning.

"When you go up against a billion dollar company, you don’t think you have a chance," says Pavlo. "But the bottom line is, he sampled my song without my permission. At the very least, I want to let people know that’s not cool. That was my intention. Whether I win or not, I want you to know that I know that it’s my song."

Along with acknowledgement that his work had been poached without permission Pavlo was vindicated with a sizeable financial compensation. But instead of retirement plans the shift in his net worth has made him even more dedicated to the life of a touring musician. He revels in the fact that he can play smaller venues in smaller towns without worrying about the payout or the cost of jumping on the next plane.

He’s currently landed in Creston, B.C. – one such place of which he speaks. While not exactly a hub of urban cool, Creston contains a receptive audience for his spicy mix of classical, flamenco, Latin and Mediterranean guitar music. It’s a place where he can continue to build his fan base one person at a time.

The current tour will eventually bring him back to the Sea to Sky corridor for shows tonight and tomorrow. The marathon tour will take him all over North America and over to the U.K. for several shows, and is planned to last until June 2005.

After the long drive to Creston, he’s admittedly sore and tired, but remains in great spirits.

"I love to play," Pavlo responds. "You know how people love sex? It’s almost the same sort of deal.

"I love sex too," he’s quick to point out, "but you know, I just drove for six hours and my back is killing me and I just realized we’re on Mountain (Standard) Time so I just lost another hour. I’m onstage in three hours," he realizes. "But it’s all worth it when I’m on stage playing. I honestly mean it or else I could never, ever do this.

"I love to play. I love to meet people and that’s where it stands, you know? That’s what it’s all about. I want to get my music to as many people as I possibly can in my lifetime."

If that’s truly his dream, he’s about to see his music reach even farther.

The publicity from the Fiesta case has introduced an entire sphere of hip-hop and R&B producers to Pavlo’s compositions. He recently finished working with Canadian rap pioneer Maestro Fresh Wes on a compilation of samples of his work that will be shopped to electronic music producers world-wide.

He also recently granted permission for Canadian rapper Carlito to sample his work. The generosity won him a spot in a Carlito video – a classic hip-hop production number with hoochies galore. It was a departure from the more reserved videos Pavlo has made for arts channel Bravo – a departure he says he enjoyed very much.

He says he never could have predicted that his unique, niche-directed classical guitar music would one day earn him hip-hop street cred. Not surprisingly, the amiable artist plans simply to go with the flow.

"I’m open-minded and I’ll try anything," he says. "Music is music. It’s all good."

Pavlo, along with percussionist Gino Mauricio, bass player Randy Rodriguez and bouzouki player George Vasilakos will be in Squamish tonight at the Eagle Eye Theatre as part of the Howe Sound Arts Association’s 2003-04 Performance Series, and in Whistler tomorrow night with a show at MY Place as part of that organization’s 2003-04 performance series with the Whistler Arts Council. Both shows start at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $15 to $20.

Call 604-898-9411 for information on the Squamish performance, 604-935-8410 for the Whistler performance.