"Do what you love, love what you do."

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Someone said that to me when I was fresh out of college and, even now, I still take it to heart.  It's like when a young John Lennon was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up and he answered "happy", but everyone thought he misunderstood the question.

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My name is Shreepal (pronounced Shri-paul), but people mostly call me by my nickname "Shreeps".  It's East Indian and stands for "protector of prosperity".  I was born in New Hampshire and  raised outside of Philadelphia, PA.  I grew up like most American kids, playing Little League, playing video games, and excited for The Simpsons on Sunday evenings.  While I was friendly and well-mannered, there was so much I had to learn and absorb on my own as a first-generation kid.  Music was something that helped me process and connect with others!  I found myself singing ALL the time and I've never stopped actually.  It's always been part of my life and a regular source of joy and friendship.  I don't think my family was surprised one bit that I chose to become a professional singer. 

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The first music that really captured me was The Beatles & Michael Jackson, partly because my parents kept both in their small vinyl collection.  From there, I developed a love for songwriters and bands like Paul Simon, Tom Petty, Van Morrison, Sting & the Police, Peter Gabriel, John Lennon, The Grateful Dead, and R.E.M.

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I began playing guitar late in high school and wrote my first song not long after.  I developed a love for the songwriting process.  A spark of inspiration would become an obsession.  You're constantly trying to unlock something special to move the writing forward.  I loved doing it, but as a young man, I never considered it something I would pursue seriously until later in life. 

After graduating from Emory University and with plans to work in financial advising, I instead enrolled in the Atlanta Institute of Music & Media (AIMM) to study guitar performance.  AIMM was a sea change and I was definitely out of my element.  Everyone was so #@$@ good!  The depth and breadth of talent was astonishing and then there was me, overwhelmed but also falling in love with the curriculum at the same time.  I practiced a lot and not long after I was no longer thinking about financial tickers, I was thinking about Hendrix voicings and copping all of Eric Clapton's licks off his famous Bluesbreakers album.  Those few years shaped the direction of my whole adult life.​

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At this point years later, I've played almost two thousand gigs in the decade and a half since graduating from AIMM.  Through my late twenties and early thirties, I was averaging over a hundred gigs a year.  These days I'm a bit more judicious about my calendar, but not about my passion for playing.  Singing and performing still brings me the same joy as when I first started playing seriously!  If I put it down for too long, I get restless, and it feels like something's missing.  Live performing is in my blood so if my past is any sign of my future, I'll be booking gigs and writing songs long into old age. 

As a young musician, I was aggressive about learning and performing new songs.  I've learned hundreds of songs which allows me to script and tailor setlists to each gig.  This comes in handy for entertaining virtually any crowd!  You can view my repertoire on my Songlist page.

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Thanks for your support and no matter where you are, thanks for supporting live music! 

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