Craig Pietropaolo is an Italian South African songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the bassist of a house cover band (that plays gigs in Alberton, Gauteng). Pietropaolo launched his solo career in June 2015 with the release of his debut single, “Starting Over”.

The official music video for the song was released in December 2015 and throughout 2016, the song received airplay on numerous platforms including Tuks FM, Mix FM, DSTV’s DMX Campus Rock Channel and KCR College Radio in San Diego, California.

Now that I’ve sparked your interest, you are probably curious and want to know more about him, so here are 10 things you did not know about Craig Pietropaolo:

1. He hates photos and selfies – so you should expect very awkward expressions. (I’ll remember this when I’m photographing him one day).

2. There is no food he won’t or can’t eat, EXCEPT pineapple on pizza – he thinks that it is an abomination! (I disagree, there’s nothing wrong with a Tropical pizza, it helps when you have a hang over and you need food in your belly).

3. He’s a football fan, though NOBODY knows the team he supports: U.S. Sassuolo in the Italian Serie A – He’s quite possibly the only Sassuolo fan in South Africa. (I’ve never heard of them…)

4. He’s a “pure-bred” Italian from both sides of his family, though his fluency in speaking the language has diminished A LOT over the years and, wait for it, he has never been to Italy or even left the country. (Wow, if you go to Italy one day, please take me along, I haven’t been there either).

5. He doesn’t watch TV and he hates Game of Thrones – yes he said it. (Shame, Shame, Shame…)

6. He suffers from a rare genetic disorder called “Marfan Syndrome,” which 1 in 3000 to 10 000 people have. One of the problems it has given him was severe scoliosis (curvature of the spine) which had him in a back brace for 4 and a half years.

7. He plays bass guitar for Alchemy, the house cover band at Sundowners Sports Bar & Live Music Venue in Alberton – they play a free show of 3 sets of covers at the end of every month. (I’ve never been to Sundowners and I really should check it out, maybe I’ll see you there).

8. He’s also 1 of the 3 live sound engineers at Sundowners, as well as a lecturer and first year mentor at the Academy of Sound Engineering in Auckland Park. (That’s impressive)

9. He owns close to 20 beanies… you will very rarely see him without one on my head, even in summer! (Damn, I lost my beanie at Oppikoppi last year, can I have one of yours?)

10. Apart from being taught 3 chords in high school, he has never had any had music lessons. (That’s impressions, never have I and I don’t play any instruments, maybe I should learn how to play one?)

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Craig Pietropaolo for these facts and I wish him all of the best with his future musical endeavours. He recently released a new single called “Secrets”, crank it up below to get an idea of his sound:

Watch this space for regular updates in the Facts and Music categories on Running Wolf’s Rant.