My father has called me Stef from as far back as I can remember.  I proudly adopted our family's full Italian surname, DiPietrantonio, putting the "Di" at the beginning and the "io" at the end.   The name had been altered a couple of different ways when my great-grandfather giuseppe and his brothers came to the united states at the turn of the century.

     i modeled in italy and while there, sought out and discovered the beauty of the village from which my relatives came: Gallo Matese.  The village and the church where my great-grandparents, Maria Perrino and Giuseppe (Joseph)  DiPietrantonio, exchanged their wedding vows before coming to America to start a new life, can be viewed at www.gallomatese.com      

     Gallo Matese sits high in the hills in the Caserta/Molise region, about two hours southeast of Roma and northeast of Napoli.  I spent time there, meeting my family's oldest living relatives and absorbing a great deal about our amazing heritage.

     Music is a heritage that was passed on to me by my parents, both of whom have great musical gifts.  My mother, Connie,  had always sung and participated in church and youth chorale groups.   For a brief period in her teens, she even played the accordian.  I still threaten to buy her another one if she will play it for me, but so far, she mostly laughs and declines.  Her cousin Jimmy Paul by the way, is an excellent accordianist and is well-known for his musical skills in the Weirton, WV area.

     My father studied the piano in the early 1950's under the tutelege of Spanish classical pianist and violinist Herman Virden of Weirton, WV.  Like my father Frank, I was playing the piano as soon as I could touch the keys.  My earliest memories are of "banging" on the piano, mimicking nearly every song I had heard after a single listen.  Catchy commercial jingles and television theme songs would soon drive my family crazy, as I played Alka-Seltzer's "...Plop, plop, fizz, fizz..." tune, or "Here's a story...of a man named Brady..." over and over, until a shout from a sibling or parent from upstairs would put a stop to it.  For a few moments anyway!

     To this day, I have never fully learned to read sheet music.  When i compose, it all comes together in a way I can't yet explain.  I hear new music in my head and it transfers itself by way of my hand onto a piano or guitar.  If I am out of reach of a keyboard or a guitar, I will call my voicemail and sing the melody or chorus that has just popped into my head, before it seemingly disappears into thin air.  I honestly regret the two or three times I have ignored picking up the phone and calling when inspiration hit.  Now, I "answer" every call to music, because you NEVER know what might be a hit!    

     I grew up singing and cantoring (leading the congregation in song) at St. Vincent De Paul Church, in Wheeling, WV, under the doting eye of my longtime friend & mentor, Sister Alicia Marie Weiskircher.  For a very brief period in my early childhood, Sister Alicia valiantly tried to instruct me in piano, but my ear was already developed in a way that would not and could not accommodate the study of piano scales or focus on traditional methods of instruction.   Basically, I was a stubborn kid! haha...who refused to see the virtue in reading notes, when I could already play them by ear.   Instead, I played with my eyes closed for hours, proving to myself and others, how "tuned-in" I was and how well I could play without looking at the keyboard or sheet music.  Despite my lack of interest in "studying" the piano, I still love to sit and play and sing for hours.

     In grade school music class, I began making up my own harmony lines or counter melodies and then sang them while my classmates were following Sister Alicia's instructions.  At first Sister Alicia's glances toward me portrayed mild annoyance, but eventually I wore her down and she soon added smiles of approval.  She never once told me to stop -- always encouraging with love.

     I studied guitar with Sister Alicia for 3 years, performing mostly solos and duetting with her and other student musicians at our school masses.  Since age 6, I have sung at EVERY Christmas Day Mass with Sister Alicia, cantoring at the altar in St. Vincent's.  Regardless of where I am in the world, I come home to sing with her for Christmas.  It is one of the greatest joys I have known.  it will always remain a cherished tradition and an honor for me, singing with this great person who has made such an impact on my life, both muscially & spiritually.

     There were loads of family get-togethers and if someone had a piano in their home, eventually me or my father ended-up playing it and singing, putting on an impromptu show.

     I consider my very first public performance to be at St. Vincent's Variety Show, back in 1976.  i still have the program from it! We started the show with a chorus of Sammy Davis Junior's hit song at the time, "The Candy Man", after which I was whisked away and places in some Oliver Twist outfit (who's idea WAS that anyway?!?) complete with street urchin floppy hat, and for some reason, white gloves.  The gloves I recall, were made of some poly-something material and my hands were sweating like crazy.  I was riddled with stagefright,  terrified my hands would slide off the keys, and I would die of embarrassment at age 10.  I barely remember getting through the piece, "The Entertainer".  I do, however, remember getting a huge round of applause afterward and thought, "hey, I could get used to this..."

     In terms of my muscial influences, my siblings and I grew up listening to it all.  We always had a record player and I recall any money I earned doing odd jobs -- everything from selling Christmas cards to babysitting -- all went toward buying brand new 45's (those are vinyl singles for you young uns)  It was the 1970's and Disco fever was everywhere.  My vinyl album and 45 record collection included artists like The Beatles (STILL my fave) and John Lennon, Linda ronstadt (fave all-time female artist), The Eagles, Jeff Lynne & E.L.O., The Carpenters, Fleetwood Mac, Emmylou Harris and Tom Petty.  I had a very groovy pair of roller skates (remember the kind that "looked" like a pair of blue tennis shoes with 3 yellow Adidas-like stripes on either side?) and roller-disco'ed with friends at the Wheeling Park Skating Rink all summer.  The disco ball would be spinning while Chic's "Good Times" was blaring over the loudspeakers.  Meanwhile, my mother was a huge fan of Andy Williams and Johnny Mathis, and my father loved Elvis and Frank Sinatra.  In addition, there was always a phenomenal mix of country music coming from a stage in downtown Wheeling: The Capitol Music Hall, home of radio legend WWVA/1170-AM. 

     Later, I would headline there with my annual Christmas concert.  All of these sounds and influences have come together in my life, helping me form my own eclectic music style.  As of late, I have been gravitating mostly to Columbian Singer/Songwriter, Juanes, who is a multi-Grammy-winning artist www.juanes.net  plus Italian Singer/Songwriter Max Pezzali www.maxpezzali.net .  My music is always evolving, but i think my current sound resembles both of their styles.   

     I first discovered Juanes' music while working on a modeling shoot in Costa Rica.  Pezzali I first discovered watching canale cinque (channel 5) in Roma, and he was debuting a new video for his new song, "Lo Strano Per Corso" (The Strange Pathway) Great tune...great video!  "Lo Strano" was a huge hit all over Italia.

     For many years, i did not pursue music full-time.  I had heard cautionary words of a not-so-great experience that my father had in his early 20's in the music business, along with traditional advice of others to me to get a "real job".  I headed south and attended Florida State University, where I also did some modeling.  To an 18-year-old, the money seemed incredible.  My true love, however, was singing, and I jumped in occasionally for some local Florida bands.  Soon, I felt ready to leave school and pursue music full-time.  Instead, I transferred to West Virginia University, got a degree in Broadcast Journalism, and got a so-called "real job" for 6 years as a Television News Reporter & Anchor.  For 8 more years, I anchored the Weather.  During that underpaid period of my life, I coined a phrase, "SSP", which stood for Shameless Self-Promotion.  While it may not exactly be a new concept in the entertainment industry, it worked well for me at the time.  In this case, my high visiblity as a weatherman attracted large audiences to my concerts.  While as WTRF-TV7, in Wheeling, WV, I shared the Anchor Desk with a terrific friend of mine, Steve Mazure.  To this day, Steve remains one of my closest friends and was hands-down, the best co-anchor I have ever had the pleasure of sharing my mornings with.  I also prepared forecasts for local radio stations, one of which was talk show host, Howard Monroe, who dubbed me "The Singin' Weatherman".  Thankfully, I never sang a forecast, but my TV station heavily promoted and supported my musical endeavors, and my annual Christmas benefit performances for children's causes & the homeless.  My brother, Mike Anthony, is still at Sports Anchor/Reporter on WTRF-TV7...Check him out!  We both used different on-air names and on the rare occasion we anchored the news together, no one could believe we were brothers!

     Like so many artists in their early years, I sang cover tunes and big hits from established performers, while I wrote my own material on the side.  The first song I had ever recorded in a studio was not my own, rather, one of my Father's songs he and a buddy, Eddie Spencer, had recorded while in the Air Force back in 1959.  It is a sweet little doo-wop number called, "One Lonely Prayer", which I included as a Bonus Track on my debut CD, "So Good To Me".     

     That particular track on my album features about 6 seconds of the original recording by my father, taken from a scratchy 45 rpm record single -- one of the handful of remaining copies in existence.  Initially I went into LongVue Studios in Wheeling, WV (insert link) with my friend, Musician/Producer Jamie Peck in 1995, to update the song with a more current sound, then give it to my Father as a surprise Christmas gift.  After recording the track, I could not contain my joy at how i felt it sounded and I broke the surprise to my father, who was thrilled.  When my dad was 23 years old, he recalls trying to keep a similar surprise from his own father.  Dad called Grandpa Tony asking to borrow three hundred dollars, which was a lotta money back in those days.  Still is!  Dad wanted to keep the nature of the project, a set of musical recordings, a secret.  He too though, was unable to keep silent, so he eventually told his father the money was being used to cut two songs he and his Air Force buddy, Eddie Spencer had co-written for the Echo Records Label.   The songs were, "One Lonely Prayer" and "Dancin' Girl".  The pair would co-write and record two more tunes together, "Connie", an ode to my mother, plus "There Goes Love", both of which I plan on re-recording at some point.

     In 2004, Guitarist Dean Bailin and I began piecing together songs for a Holiday CD, "Miracle", which I am so proud of.  This record incorporates harmonies & melodies I've had in my head since childhood.  We will spend this holiday season out touring and promoting this fantastic holiday CD. 

     I am eager to complete work on my latest CD of original tunes, "Mi Dolce Tormento".