First Post and Introducing Myself - Who is Voytek Pavlik?

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Hello,

Looks like I'm here too, so let me introduce myself with this first post in this viral tag.

People know me by the name Voytek Pavlik, which is a translation from Polish to more Western-Friendly version.
Voytek is a name that comes from the Slavic family of names, and it has a meaning - Voy - war, Tek - happy, so basically a person who enjoys war (a warrior or a happy soldier).

Back in the WWII, there was a famous Voytek (Wojtek), who was a bear that helped Polish soldiers at Monte Casino carrying their ammunition. He enjoyed vodka and their company. They called him The Bear Wojtek for that reason.

Pavlik is my surname, with the V instead of W, because pronunciation reasons. In Polish Pav (paw), means Peafowl (or peacock), and also the surname comes from the name Pawel, which means Paul in English.

However, this is not my real grandfather's surname, my father received this name from his Stepfather. My grandfather's real name was also not his real family name. The gossips within my family said the past conflicts forced my predecessors to hide in secrets, to survive. That is why I cannot really talk much about that. The only thing I can say is, my great grandmother - my father's grandmother, was speaking fluent French. Also, my grandfather was a talented musician who played piano and violin.

From my grandmother, I have less secret origin, which connects me to Croatia Jews and Swiecicki family. Too bad I don't have contact with those from Croatia. I heard they were afraid of us, taking their wealth. Oh, those Jews... :)

So, why am I writing this?

All of the secrecy, mystery, and war led me to be shaped, and I use it in various forms, to support myself, to have a meaning and to follow something I feel needs to follow and to prosper. One of those things I decided is - making music, to continue what my grandfather couldn't do back in the Communist times of Poland.

Oh yeah, btw, I'm from Poland. The land of rebels, justice, liberty, republic, great food, vodka and cultural history.

From 2006 I have decided to take music seriously. Back in the days when I was starting my new live in England (Bedford, to be precise). Being privileged to have ability to live, study and work in the UK, thanks to Poland becoming a new member of the European Union in 2005, I was able to achieve various musical journeys, which I am sharing with everyone on the internet and offline.