Glou-Glou (Cam Hovsepian) is a first-generation American and descendant of Armenian genocide survivors who fled to Iran for survival, and then to America with a dream.
Cam’s first dreams of musicianship began at seven years old when he stumbled upon Louis Armstrong CDs at the public library. After falling in love with the melodic horn lines and soulful improvised vocal performances, Cam knew he had to learn how to play the trumpet.
Being from a struggling immigrant household of four sons, there was little money or time for music lessons or instruments. Undeterred, Cam figured out a way to teach himself to play the trumpet; with only a few bucks- he purchased a mouthpiece. Each day after school, he walked to the library and checked out musical scores and followed along with CDs on his portable Discman. Then, on weekends, he would spend the day at his local music store practicing on the floor model trumpets, bringing his mouthpiece with him. Once Cam became proficient at playing the trumpet, he took a similar path to teach himself how to play piano, guitar, and then bass. By fourteen years old with multiple instruments under his belt, Cam felt certain he’d found his calling. He subsequently graduated from UCLA and was fortunate enough to study Ethnomusicology under renowned jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell.
