Bio.
“…I packed up everything I owned into my Mini Cooper and headed west.”
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In 2014, following breakups with his band and girlfriend, Paul Oneto left everything behind and drove from Connecticut to California to pursue a career in music. A songwriter who resides in the nostalgic, Paul’s music has been described as if “recalling memories from a life you’ve never experienced.”
With the melodic ambient qualities of indie folk artists like Band of Horses and haunting lyrical stylings reminiscent of Jeff Buckley, Paul has found his voice in Northern California and uses it to share heartfelt songs that explore love, life, and loneliness.
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Born and raised in Connecticut’s New Haven County, Paul got his first guitar at the age of eight; eventually rewarded with a black Fernandez (complete with a built in amplifier!) after relentlessly begging his parents to play "Beatles For Sale” and Bryan Adams in their living room. At eighteen, Paul moved to New York City to study English at Manhattan College and became infatuated with seeing bands at clubs like CBGB and The Bowery Ballroom. He immersed himself in artists like Jets To Brazil and Elliott Smith, where he found emotional refuge while struggling with depression and the aftermath of childhood traumas.
After a few semesters in New York, Paul gave up English to study Jazz Performance. He made a personal promise to dedicate his life to the creation of music with the hope that his voice would bring the refuge, love, and hope he had found in music to others. Yet after a few discouraging years of writing, recording, and performing in his hometown it became painfully clear that many of the people closest to him didn’t believe in (or understand) the introspective approach and emotional connection Paul was looking to share. After finishing an album that went in a direction divorced from his true vision, Paul simply left town.
Paul can now be seen performing at local venues and open mics throughout the Northern San Francisco Bay Area gaining significant support from fellow artists and the local music industry. Paul has released his debut solo EP titled “Virtually Together" through Wilson Street Records and is finishing work on his follow up record "I'm Strange" which is due out in early 2022.
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“If you feel like this music was written for you, it’s because it was.” -Paul Oneto
