Back in Black - History is made by the bands vol.i

It's December 7, 2007 We're backstage the Gagarin Club and getting ready for the sound check as tonight we're opening for the Legendary Pink Dots Waiting with bated breath for 2 bottles of Jameson's a bottle of *** 10 bottles of beer some Cokes and mineral water Suspense is growing as we're not sure whether we gonna get the Jameson's in time On my own here. The others are off to get it Where are they Are they lost? Gone to the wrong dressing room? A friend of mine was touring Latin America You know, long flights lotsa sleep aboard. One of the sound engineers sits next to a granny. So, while sleeping he has one of those "wet dreams"! He starts moaning and groaning! Granny's looking down at him... next thing y'know, the whole plane stares at him! Then, a big splotch begins growing down his pants! Unbelievable! *** happens! Go figure! As if nobody's watching... You messed it up, huh? Here we are! New Zero God. Born out of members from Nexus, Flowers Of Romance and Past Perfect. Supporting the Legendary Pink Dots. Looking at a fine gig. Gonna play some old Flowers Of Romance numbers and some fresh New Zero God ones. That's all! Hey, Mike! Who's this guy? B-Abyss plays the bass in NZG... And Mike is the singer... then this ***!... And the voice just heard is Elias, a.k.a. E-Raptor, guitars What's more important is that NZG played their first show on Dec 29, 2006, quite accidentally and with no actual intent of gigging, recording and the likes... Well, I'd rather you film the gents in the band over here... She's right... ***! About a year later, we land ourselves a gig in Gagarin... having already played another four or five shows so far... Yeah! Five... plus that impromptu one on Syros island... But what in my opinion counts is that we're lucky to be playing tonight here because we come from bands with some history behind them, coz if not then this wouldn't be happening... Can't you be any closer? Freeze that for a sec... Lemme see what you're shooting, man... *** you.. Hey! Hello! We're Drama Queen. 2 outta 4. Our style is dark/alternative, in English. This is Marilou... This is Panayotis, bass. We came to Patras to share the stage with Elysion... Our buddies! Gonna have a fine time... We're getting paid lotsa money for this gig but don;t tell anyone coz... y'know! Gonna play our stuff... Yeah! No covers so far, maybe sometime in the future... And just because we got heaps of money to spend... Hey! Come here! Leave me alone! I'm gonna tell the people to get in coz if I don't they won't bother! We're that 'underground'! I'm the P.A. man! What are you doing here? I'm here coz I'm playing in Drama Queen... Yeah, I know that... Oh, you mean what I'm actually doing here, now...? Just looking at the people playing backgammon, ignoring to the music. Cool! Well, here's how it goes. The band is 3 boys and 1 girl. i'm the girl.. I play guitar on some of the tracks. I'm not the lead guitarist, that's Dimitris... I write some of the stuff, music and words some of it comes from Dimitris and the rest is done in the studio. You can't call it an all boy or girl band. It's a mix! And the name is Drama QUEEN, not KING!... I'd like to lick my eyes right now! You want my good side!... Old guard and new guard! Geez a kiss! Everyone's here!... Gotta introduce everyone... Here's Johnny, guitars... Petros, our drummer... I started the band in '96 with a totally different line-up and style. I'll let you in on something coz I can't keep it to myself anymore! I was playing in a club when the guys came over to ask me in the band. They had this singer whose name is Michalis weirdo... Go figure! Anyway... So, I go over to see them rehearse and then I hear him sing... it was hilarious... Then we went out for dinner and decided I was gonna be the singer of the band! What's cool about Petros is that we talk over the phone and he's very positive right away... and then he comes over and I go... 'Oh!... He's one of us!' Why don't we play there too. Y'know, Drama Queen, Miasma... We fit in... The reds, the blood... It's a Wednesday, that's why... We kicked off in 2005. The 4 of us... We play Supersonic *** Metal... Coz then you're all true men! Yep! Apparently! So, what we have here is an all-male band... How's things going? Would you believe me if I told you you that we've got a bigger following here, in Patras? That's why they're here then!... Well, no... They didn't know we were coming... So, is it because people here like this style more? Nah... It's just coz gigs here are rare, so whenever one's on there's a crowd too! Long time no see you! 'Bout a year, right? Yeah! That's what I call a reunion! Meet Christina! German Literature graduate... friendly prices! Why are you out here when the gig's inside? Coz we're standing by our buddy here... Let's get inside!... '69 to '70 I DJ'ed for parties and in '72 for clubs. How many albums? In total... 'Bout 30, all in all. 10 with panx romana and Rififi, 2 with TVC... And now it's just your stuff, right? It's ten years I've officially retired from being a drummer only drumming for Panx Romana, y'know, doing stuff with them, here and there and I have 4-5 albums out as singer. Hey! It's the loo here... Shut the door! Our second guitarist (***-Mary-Babbis-something) is a tad shy... Where is he? If I start talking about Greek Underground it's gonna go on for hours and there may be some *** about it... so, all I'm gonna say is that I dig the music dig my mates, traveling 'round Greece drink beer the ladies that come with it - to tell the truth and nothing but it! having a good time and also expressing ourselves above all... For some 25 years, besides being a collector of this music I've founded Wipe-Out Records a label that left a mark on the Greek Underground Rock Scene which now tries to re-establish itself Let's just say that bands with songs in English are nowadays the finest crop Where it all goes from there it's somewhat vague What are you having? What am I having? Water, to keep my low register. I had a hot beverage before... Like what? Tea with some whiskey to warm my throat coz with all the shouting I nearly lost it... but those 2 together... just fine! Now you gotta fall on your back... y'know, the water... Pass out! And what about you, Mike! What are you having? Whiskey. Kick out the low register and get some of her high notes... If I drink outta her glass I'll get all her lows! How long have you been in the band? Not counting the early days... must be 6 months... We forced him back! Hey, that's Nick, our manager... The Greek Rock Scene shouldn't deal with managers and the likes... We should care for ourselves! Mr. Manager, you're fired! I've owned this store for 18 years, this year. I started it mostly out of experimentation and love then from early on I was a fan of music, spending my time in record stores. Later, of course, I got to witness how dire things are in this business and as time went by I could see the crisis coming. Now a days that the crisis is more imminent I've wanted to step out before as all the label people keep saying - I hit rock bottom. So, just coz I've had so many wonderful moments and memories in this place considered it a timely move before things get any worse. We're in Patras, playing along with Drama Queen... Cheers guys... I write the lyrics in Elysion... ... This is our bass player... FXF... Our goal is to break out to the world coz we like sharing our music with as many as possible... We're gigging as much as we can... for we are after all musicians and we hope we're reaching out to as many as possible. The beginning as with everything was hard but eventually it all smoothed out The store got well on its feet, got a lot of customers but lately the ongoing changes in the music industry in Greece and internationally, namely digital downloading and piracy forced me into quitting, something I don't like because I'm not used to quitting but seeing those dire times ahead when nobody helps you out when labels are unable or unwilling to support then you have to look at matters from their sheer financial point of view and get away from the whole thing just to not see the job you've put your heart in dying out Right now the CD changes the way it is distributed completely I believe that record labels have already made up their minds they don't care about the market share we as small stores represent. In Greece there were once about 1200 record stores Now there's less than 200, as far as I can tell! There are whole areas where cities have no record stores at all! I consider that corporate policies aim at channelling music via the net profiting from legal battles with minor download sites while keeping active big franchises both in Greece and in the rest of the world which they feed with all the CD's left in their warehouses but also controlling more effectively the product available to the end user This, for me, is the worst ever and it's one of the main reasons why I'm letting go They just invest in quantity over quality that is they want new 'artists' with a career no longer than 2 years that will make them easy money It's a short - not a long term policy They don't want to build the foundation for music the buyer can financially support but they'd rather have them buying bad quality recordings priced over 19 or 18 or 20 euros an amount already big for those living on a base salary then they have to actually work a day's worth to buy an album of an artist whose career won't span longer than 2-3 months. We're doin' OK though being a bit tense. Sound check went better than expected... Music-wise we're fine. Mainstream music But the looks are a bit sluggish! We're a bit... We're savages! Just a tad! I've told them this... Work out... Diet... Naked from the waist up and lotsa oil... Like me! Right! And chicks with racks! There's no other way! Well, you can't go far in this!... What's our manager's opinion... Manager is off to pee... Yeah! Right! How old is he now? He's two and a half... Really? Hey, don't film that coz my wife is gonna see it! Turn it off! Outdone by the stench! You're still filming. right? Can I just ask you this... Seriously... Why me? Here! Look at him! He craves for it! Lemme see now how I look... Oh! What a fine boy! Very pretty! OK, enough Cheers... Gotta remind you of someone... Craig Adams... While filming... That's how that Latin American Tour film starts... Y'know, he's there talking to... What's with the glove, man? Show the wall, a sound like 'blotch-blotch' in the background and your voice going 'Oghhhhhhhh!!' 'Blotch-blotch'!!! This is gonna be one long, endless night Like last night! We slept at 9 in the morning coz we rehearsed in a studio and then got to playing PRO and tonight is no different... rather worse I'd say We're sleeping no sooner than tomorrow noon... and then we're off... coz that's how it should be... We're rock star wannabes! We're the rock stars of Peristeri! We simply always have a great time! Elysion has started this company... Elysion Limited... of Limited range... y'know! I didn't know this! Neither did I... Just found out. Elysion Ltd... Far gone out! In 1982 I took my then band TVC to Toronto, Canada We did some gigs, wanted to launch an international career... You were there for 3-4 months... That's right! Did some gigs tho' and came back home! We didn't make it! Then Symmoria...this other band I was in along with the Spyropoulos Bros of Spyridoula Chryssa Pantazis of Yeah! and Vangelis Hanos - to mention 'em all traveled over to Paris to play at La Locomotive for some European Festival... But that was as far as it went! Then it was back home for us... We shouldn't probably be making such a big deal out of being a musician for all the disappointment it may involve, right? Mike, man! You just said it, right there! That's exactly the point! When we're young and I'm the first to admit we tend to make such a fuss about it... I remember spending my time left and right, up and down trying to get my music be heard, get a review in the mags, play gigs carry my kit around, set it up at how many gigs, the works... relentlessly. I enjoyed it It was fun! Long times and a long time ago... But as I see it now from a distance, and a safe one, I say I shouldn't have bothered that much and I say safe coz I've done my bit, been there, played abroad all that... which if I hadn't then I reckon this would make me feel unfulfilled somehow not having achieved my goals, feel a bit hollow inside... We've been talking to some labels abroad coz that's what we look to.. We try our best... No matter how much we love Greece well, you just can't love this place it's a place where things go a bit slow and one has to push to make something which I think if Greece gets past this even greater things will happen It's simpler for us to start abroad and then import ourselves here and move up Record labels, as far as I know, are one step short before the big crack! This goes only for the greek ones or worldwide? Let's come back to the foreign ones in a while coz I've got a thing or two on them but the greek ones have fired a very large number of people then their respective mother companies keep sending notices of cutting costs to 20 or 25% every year they've shut down their warehouses... have all distribution been done by specialized companies... sold their vans and trucks... They are in a very critical situation with nothing left but a big name Now, the ones abroad manage through the crisis just because they deal with a far larger consumer population but recently a customer who's in banking and an avid fan and collector of music told me about what he read in an american newspaper that EMI America with all the vast back catalogue and roster got bought over by a corporation specialized in exactly this: buying financially challenged companies balancing them and then selling them over! And this has happened to the mighty EMI America This just points out how international is the crisis... There's no frontier... Greece is merely struggling a lot more than say Europe or America due to their larger number of buyers. The way you describe it, say I was a young Greek wanting to play rock music... What's in store for me? First of all, one that plays greek rock music even though the very term is caught in an ongoing debate anyway - should feel happy just for the sake of creating music, which is the only thing that never goes away the joy of having people listening to and liking what you've done... expressing yourself and getting people to acknowledge you for that not much anyway but for what's worth... And all this if of course a way out for the young ones... Having said that I don't think there's the infrastructure to support it not blaming corporate labels only but also the radio a medium that plays a big part in administering the trends Corporate labels do a lot of work through radio and far less through TV coz the people will listen to the radio everywhere be it work, house, car or you name it... We just wanna go abroad... That's that! We all work as musicians to make the money and leave... By 'dreams' one means 'a level of success' If there's no focus on this then what happens is that the bands will go on even if times are dire, even if you get no airplay and no coverage eft to their own devices to play local pubs and bars in front of those who like them And that can be satisfying but does not of course mean the band will hit number one in Greece. I believe that in the times to come a greek band will find it difficult to live off music No matter how talented, how good or how keen any such band may be I don't wish to sound cynical but this hadn't happened during the big boom and bloom of the Greek Rock Scene... I wish it could happen now too and it may as well but sadly I don't see it... One gotta come up with the ways to support their desire for playing music When it comes to rock music... If one's an artist of the so-called Greek Pop Song then one's dealing with far less issues for there will always be a venue to play They will get there eventually! I'll be Guns'N'Roses' Axl! He's got Wayne Hussey over...! What's he doing? have you actually studied film making? Youse gonna get ready or not? It's ten to ten! What're you talking about? What's the time? 9:20. What's there to get ready for... I see you're too anxious to get up on the stage... right? I'll put on this shirt here! like... 'I'll put something comfy on' Wow, man...! You gonna wear this? Yeah! Pour a drink too! Put a record on... 'I'm not looking for something extraordinary... Look here, sir! I've come here to buy a simple shirt not something exquisite What about that one with the rings' Hadn't we saved money there would be no demo... No demo and you're a nobody! No photo shots, same ***! Sad but true Basically, even though it'll sound heavy... We don't live for the money but they do help As with every band around Sure they do!for it would be ideal to get a label that would pay us like 247 What's the meaning of 'independent' in a label or a band when it's still all about the money... So, don't tell me that Wind-Up which has Evanescence, one of the hottest bands around and is a division of Sony... All corporate labels have a lot of divisions... An independent artist is essentially one that has some level of experience musically and in terms of production, that has set up a recording studio just like Anathema... What's on issue here is that we've reached a point where... The rise and fall of the greek independent labels A really big chapter Let's start with its rise as independent of styles the doors were open for expression, mostly out of desire... It's widely known that in an independent label what comes first is the desire to make do something while you don't actually bother that much for profit which may even never come their way. And in regard of the so-called fall, there's been a time when important aspects like e.g. advertisement eventually boomeranged. Anyway, the sad part is that we live in an age where a musician has to work any odd job to make his music alive... We don't support this... None of us works bar him who's actually quitting! I give my money to the band... I'm their bank! In every family at least one should work and support! Exactly! Elysion is a family so, y'know, who has - gives... People should pick up music but shouldn't have high hopes of a fat contract or let this become a fixture because this may kill the music gradually... They should mind about expressing themselves through that and go from there... And anyway there are other ways to show their work to the world... There's the internet with its portals and communities which allows the artist to showcase their work and get in synch with their potential audience... But there is no support... No radio to play greek rock music no venues good enough to gig at, because of their poor PA quality because they're too small or too inadequate and you know all that coz you've been around since so long now... All this does not help the rise of a new musical movement here in Greece one that the people will take notice of and support it. Radio never did much for the rock music, sadly Airplay ranged from scarce to if any at all! There's this boom in greek rock roundabout the early nineties I have to say I was impressed by one radio station that's known for housing rock music and it never aired any greek-language rock band until then But when greek record labels cashed in on this particular station began airing greek rock bands. Of course even then it was a handful of bands out of some of the aforementioned label's roster Those that play rock music get negative attention coz there's no inherent culture We live in a society of bouzouki-driven lifestyle... And you turn on the telly and you see all the money spent on such a lifestyle I can't think but how tight options are for someone to actually get involved in something other than that Johnny is the main songwriter... Some lyrics too... I write the lyrics... But we found out recently that a lyricist gets 50% of the royalties... So I better start writing lyrics... When a nation has no roots in rock music and this music concerns only its fans the minority of this nation... And if there comes a time when it gets a boost even if it just a trend then it's just a matter of a full circle... It all just goes back to where it was. And that's exactly what happened. People love a band that gets some exposure for a while but that's not enough to keep the people close to it Greeks are bouzouki lovers... So we're back where we started from or even worse! Nowadays it's all a product... If it's not 100% perfect you're not accepted... It's not like in the '80's when bands were sought after for their attitude and talent Now it's all big drums and big guitars... Not only that... Bland playing... It's like they're taking me, the unexperienced one, and overnight they gotta turn me into a professional... There's some good in it but all in all it's absurd... Hey, what are you gonna wear? You're looking at it! Just this? Why not naked? Have you seen the state of my chest? No way! And what was all that about working your *** out? What's even funnier is that those two are married... with children!!! Cool with that! But what about the shirt...! You heard him, right? I'll bash him... since yesterday i've started mastrubating The first thing I'm gonna say when we hit the stage is 'Good evening! We had a better time backstage! Did you have to get us out here? it's almost 10:10 you have to get dressed! let's go then may i have your attention please? i'll be smelling you and i'll start mastrubating french perfumes.. make the women getting wet So, what I think is that any band starting out a year ago wouldn't be able to land a gig in a big club like this... We're just lucky to be past members of historic bands and that's what brought us here Not only that, coz we're a band with no photos, videos or recorded material but we have an interview on telly next Tuesday That's that! The band simply exists to play out and have fun doing it As for rock stardom and the likes... well, been there, done that... Ok, we had the limos drive us here but now it's just for fun... Bands are prepared both for success and flop... but always in the proper manner They wanna get their songs heard, get that one shot... and if they get it and the people don't like them then it's just the songs... and I can take this... but if they get no airplay, nowhere, then the band suffers coz they'll never know... Especially in the '80's, but also up until the mid-'90's there has been a boom in the Greek Rock Scene whether corporate or independent... Lots of bands, fabulous bands... Let's see what's left of it There have been numerous reunions of 'dinosaurs' either for the fun of it or to be honest for some good ***... Apart from that, the greek independent rock scene needs a rather big boost to re create what it had going on for a span of over 15 years... Even if there had been bands since the '60's that never actually broke in the mainstream... After all I think we all know that the three things that help build the career of a band or solo artist here in Greece, and keep 'solo' in mind coz it's of some importance are advertisement, venues, promotion through places one can buy or listen to recorded music I decided to throw a party, right here in this place, to invite my customers my friends, so I can feel somehow better about it, mock my sadness... and I have to confess that I don't know how I'm gonna feel when I slip the key in that hole for the last time, turn it and know I'm never coming back in here On one hand, I reckon I'll feel after this Saturday's party is over very sad but on the other hand right now as we're talking but also then I think I'll feel relieved... Relieved from a really heavy burden... I think that here in Greece it's considered somehow ideal to a great extend to live off what you really dig In order for someone to pick up music and stay with it to the end means they have they're crazy about it because otherwise they would back away at some point of time... But let's face it... First up is the desire and passion... to play... play our music... to let out what's inside us... even if it won't or can't always earn a living... Bottom line is that music is no form of begging but rather the most important means of expression that can come out of people that think search for what's beyond... for people that have a real thirst for life... then music itself is life, let alone rock'n'roll!