Theo Vranas

Falcon

2011-12-07T02:05:00.001+02:00

This was one of the weirdest shoots I've ever done. Very interesting but weird.
A friend of mine has a hobby, which is the weird act of taming wild animals. He's been doing it for years now, but I had no clue about it. He was the only one from Greece to be invited to this worldwide, huge, (weird as hell) Falconry Fest of some sorts and he had to send them a few pics of the bird in action. Of course, as many things in life, and as everything in Greece, this was a last minute call for me to get the shot. And of course, I succeeded. Not!

This bird, sorry, this Peregrine Falcon, although we're used to watch it fly, this one in particular, only flies for show. Yeap, fo sho! It a hunting exhibition. A lot of thoughts about animal rights came to mind, as a few concerns about what's wrong with humanity but my friend "reassured" me that this kind of hunting exhibition has been going on for centuries. A few movies then came to mind, like this one. Then again, did the problem started from way back then?? And what about the name "Peregrine"? Does it remind you of anything?? Because the ONLY thing that came to my mind as soon as my friend mentioned it, was Peregrine Took.

Anyhow, to catch the bird in action wasn't easy at all. This was this only decent picture I caught out of it. I remind you that it only flies for show, so we had limited time to get a good image of it because it gets tired right away!

At some point the falcon decided to flip us the finger and leave. My friend told me that this is bound to happen if you're not careful enough. As we were looking for it (my friend was using a whistle in which the bird usually responds), I saw something at the end of the horizon, under the setting sun.

Now, this is what I'm talking about!! Wild life photography!
Only this bird is also known as a "Gull".

Killimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble

2011-11-18T00:36:00.000+02:00

That's a pretty weird name, right??
I had no idea about this band. Yes, it's a band. And their name is as weird as their music. Experimental, jazzy, post-something, a lot of programming..dunno. It's quite similar to Cinematic Orchestra but in a darker enviroment.

The openning band, which was experimental as hell, was completed by the same musicians except the drummer, who later left the stage and became one of the sound techs! The musicians seemed really good though besides the fact that each one had a laptop in front of them, as if they were endorsed by Mac.

This is a lousy pic.

Here are some pics from the show. I think I've reached a limit shooting live gigs. Don't think I'm that excited anymore. Yet again, the lighting was dark enough to make it challenging to come up with a few good compositions.

These next two I think are my favorites.

Darkjazz indeed.

Nalyssa Green

2011-11-17T17:21:00.000+02:00

Nalyssa Green is a friend and a bandmate in Leon. She's one of those multi-talented musicians that keep popping up in Greece the last few years that leave me amazed with the ease that they have at producing some good quality music. Although, not a great fan of her music ( a little bit of PJ Harvey, Mazzy Star and probably more similar stuff that I don't remeber right now) it's her personality that is more interesting. She's joyfull, witty, happy and so cool and relaxed, that she reminds me of Floyd in the movie "True Romance".

This photo project of Nalyssa didn't go at all as planned. The lighting is so-so, the vegetables were not enough, not a lot of time to experiment ( I had fruits also) , my car broke down before I get there, etc etc. But somehow, we had an end result which was not that bad. It could be a lot better of course but this is what you get when time is short and there's no budget whatsoever.

The idea was realized from her name and her favorite colour, Green. I thought, why not follow the obvious and take some photos of her in a "green" enviroment. But then I realized that was too much or maybe I had done something similar before, so maybe I should grab some vegetables and just see what happens.

For some reason I had this awesome, fantastic, awe-inspiring video in mind

key note: 2:26. I'll skip the details about the awesomeness of this song and video. If you want, check this.

Marita

2011-11-13T13:30:00.000+02:00

While shooting weddings and bapbtisms through the summer, I found myself taking a new interest in the photography of children. I never thought this kind of interest would ever occur but somehow it did. I think I find it very stimulating and challenging. Their facial expressions are amazing and come in thousands. They move around quickly and swiftly, which basically was the first thing that got me hooked on them. And they're cute as hell. Maybe it's my age, I don't know, but I never thought this would ever happen.
Please, for you ten people who are reading this blog, don't be disapointed. I'll keep up posting a little more interesting pictures hopefully in the next month. You know, like the ones from the non-existent snowboard reality in Greece, the almost non-existent music scene and ok, maybe a few of the amazing landscapes that we actually do have around here. I will still post punkrock/postmetal/metal/hardcore tunes and maybe a few life altering videos, as well. I'll even continue to ridicule myself, if I can, as I'm doing right now.

A month ago I decided to give it a try and meet up with a friend of mine and her little daughter, Marita. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be but I came up with a few interesting shots. At least for my taste. Thankfully, the weather was awesome and it was a huge factor of inspiration. As it always is.

Thomas Hedlund

2011-10-31T12:15:00.002+02:00

About a week ago I had another revelation about a drummer that I like who is quite influential to me. His name is Thomas Hedlund and he's the stickman for a few bands which are really awesome.

Cult Of Luna had a huge influence on me in 2005 especially with their record called Salvation. A very unique band. Amazing sound and tasteful drumming. Very heavy but also very melodic.

I have posted this song a couple of times before on this blog. Crossing Over is a personal favorite.

I've also posted this song before too but not the live version of it. I was watching it several days ago, curious, to see how the drummer looked like and how he was playing. Besides the fact that they have 2 drummers (!) please observe the one on the left side.

And now, please watch this. You see anything familiar? I mean, Phoenix is an awesome band with a unique sound also but I wasn't expecting this!

Not aware of the amazing drummer behind this band, when I saw this video about 2 years ago I was blown away. I've seen it a hundred times since then. And now, I'm finding out that this grazy drum guy is in COL as well!

Cult of Luna have also a side project called Khoma. "One Of Us Must Hang" is one of my favorite tracks but I can't find online a descent, audible version of it. Thomas, is in this band also. Obviously.

But what are the odds of such a coincidence happening again?? Most importantly in the drummers world. Because in the musicians world I also found out that another member of Phoenix used to play guitar with a band that later became Daft Punk. Ok?... w-t-f.

Ten minutes

2011-10-24T11:00:00.000+03:00

George, called me up before practise and asked me if I could bring my camera to take some press release pics to accompany his new single. It's darker than the previous stuff he did and it leans more towards the blues/rock 'n' roll side of music. After 12 hours of work and 3 hours of practise, he was too tired to go anywhere or do anything. The easiest thing was to abort the whole idea. It was suggested we try out just a few shots right outside our practise space and then leave right away.

I overexposed and underexposed some of the pics so I could at least make something a little bit more interesting visually. The shoot lasted 10 minutes.

After a couple of days he told me he chose this one.

This is the new single:

George Nikas - Bitter Taste (official music video) by watergunskill

October Sunday #2

2011-10-16T15:43:00.000+03:00

continued from the previous post..

I forgot to mention the soundtrack while I was driving to the shoot. It was the new album of M83. I think it's pretty good although I have a feeling that the previous might be a little better. It still needs another listen.

Anyhow, after the photoshoot was done some clouds started appearing and closing in on the location that I was. While there was some light still shining, I decided to take a drive to catch a few landscape/sky pics on film.

Some really heavy clouds were forming on the way back which started to make driving a lot more dangerous than it should. Thing is, whenever I see these kind of clouds

I'm always in the car. Or somewhere where I can't really photograph the measure of "evil" which is created in front of me.

I mean, look at this cloud!

Anyways, after almost crashing into other cars trying to get a good pic, it started to rain. It rained so hard and so much that every single car in front of me stopped. And this was on the middle of the Greek national road.

The rain lasted for max 10 minutes. That was it. Then the sky opened up and I almost crashed again trying to get these pics.

I've been shooting clouds and skies as long as I've been holding a camera. Although, I have many pictures like these ones, they're never the same.

The soundtrack included in these 10 minutes was the new M83 and this:

I don't like to post stuff that I haven't heard before or I've been listening to just the last 5 days but this album is going to be probably one of my favorites for this year.

October Sunday #1

2011-10-14T04:52:00.000+03:00

The weather forecast had mentioned rain for the whole day. The previous night was packed with heavy clouds and lots of wind so it seemed that their estimation might be right. Next day, though, it was cloudy but sunny as well. Stuck in front of my laptop editing, it was difficult for me to leave the house. My distant cousin, Zoe had a fashion shoot with some friends about an hour away from Athens, which I was invited too, but I wasn't sure I'd make it because of the work I had to do and because it might rained. Procrastinating as much as possible, at 4 p.m, with enough sun shining through my window I decided to forget the editing for a few hours and get the hell out of my house. And I'm glad I did. This is how the weather was like while I was going to the shoot.

It looked like the whole idea of rain might probably be something long forgotten.

When I arrived at the shoot the light was at it's best but the girls unfortunately were wrapping up.

I got the chance just to snap a couple of pics. The light was really good as you can see here.

I looked around the location and found an interesting spot to take a few portrait shots. The models were busy with Zoe, so I decided to capture a few moments with this pretty, young lady over here. Elina, was basically the designer and the organiser of this shoot. You can have a peak of her work, here, for now. A website is coming up soon.

...to be continued

Stelios

2011-10-10T17:32:00.003+03:00

Stelios Vasiloudis, is a DJ and producer in the electronic house music scene. I' ve known Stelios for quite some time now but I hadn't seen him for years. As I found out, he spends a lot of time playing in clubs across the globe and when he's in Greece, he runs two cupcake stores (!). In my opinion, I would prefer just the cupcake stores. But I don't listen to house music, so who cares anyway. Cupcakes rule.

He called me up because he needed fast some press photos and couldn't find anyone else to do it quickly.

There's nothing spectacular here to see. I like the last three photos. He named the last one, the paparazzi one.

Drive, Electro and Russ Chimes

2011-10-10T00:39:00.000+03:00

This is basically the second part of the previous post considering the music. I haven't post any electro stuff here and I've been listening to it for quite some time now. As you can imagine, being an 80's fan, this music is often, very familiar to me.
College, was one of the first ones I heard. Basically, it was a remix of him from one of my favorites out there, at the moment, Russ Chimes. His remixes are awesome. His own tracks are also very good. Recently, his music is starting to lean a little bit towards the "house" side of electro which I'm not so fond of but when he first started out, these were a couple of tracks I fell in love with:

They strongly remind me of snowboarding and going clubbing in Lake Tahoe. I missed those days like hell.

This is the only Electric Youth song I had which I really like. It's like "Maniac".

A couple of years ago she had collaborated again with College. The song was remixed again from Russ Chimes and in my opinion was better than the original.

The original

and the remix

If he's going to remix the new one as well, I'm going to shit my pants.

Drive

2011-10-09T20:24:00.000+03:00

Have you seen the movie, Drive ?? I saw it a few days ago and I almost cried from excitement. The photography is SICK. The music is SICK. The movie is so SICK, I almost threw up. It's such a good tribute to the 80's, cult movies, I can't even start describing it. It has the atmosphere and the photography that I would like a lot of my pictures to have. You have to go see it.

Trailers kind of suck nowadays. They show you basically the whole movie in bits and pieces. I just posted it if anyone gets curious to have a peak.

Let me not forget to post something little about the soundtrack too. Well, if you're reading this blog in general, which I think you don't, then you would understand what's coming up.
These are a couple of awesome, 80's style, pop songs.

Portraits Of Kerkville

2011-10-08T12:42:00.000+03:00

Mihalis Moshoutis, aka Kerkville, is one hell of a musician. I've talked about Kerkville here, on the blog, about a year ago.

Now, he's launching a website and he wanted me to take some pictures of him. He told me that he wanted some portrait shots but he would prefer his face or his figure to be blurry or out of focus and preferably not to use any flashes. Then he was like "Can we do it at night ?? Is it possible ??"

I've always wanted to shoot portraits at night. Without flashes. It's always interesting what you can get with all the blurriness of the backround. It's all based on the atmosphere that the city lights give you. And sometimes, if you're lucky, it looks like the movies.

These b'n'w' s over here could be shot during the daytime also but this galleria place was empty so we took advantage of it.

These last two are probably my favorite. The blurry lights on the backround...a little bit of an 80's feel.

This is one of my favorite tracks on the album. Can't wait for the winter to come.

Woman In Chains

2011-09-30T18:40:00.001+03:00

As this is the last day of September, thus, definitely the last day of summer for me, it's a good reason to post a very important song . The reason for it, though, is, that 3 days ago I found out something spectacular about this tune. Something, so extraordinary, so revealing, so utterly amazing that I think my heart skipped a beat.

I mentioned Tears For Fears several days ago and their importance on my summertime soundtrack. One important thing I didn't mention was the song " Woman In Chains".

Tears For Fears - Woman In Chains (1992) by ejr2

Fuck Vevo for not being able to see this in better quality. Audio is good, though.

SO, the story of this song:
I used to watch the video quite often back in the day, in 1990? Was it 1991? I remember watching it always with my sister, who enjoyed the song a lot more than I did. It didn't affect me that much. Not as much as "Shout" or "Everybody wants to rule the world". Maybe because of the cheesy female vocals, maybe that it was a boring ballad for my taste back then, I have no idea. The only thing reminiscent of it was that it was in black and white and had something to do about womens rights and stuff. ( Don't forget I was probably in sixth grade). A few years later, I remember listening to the song again and saying to myself that it's not that bad after all. Still, my system didn't absorb it. I don't remeber any emotions about it. Life went on, I started playing the drums, started photography, started combining the two and bit by bit I started rediscovering the 80's and what they meant to me. While downloading the TfF greatest hits album, "Woman in chains" appeared again in my life. This time, it was different. It was like never before. This time, it was 2005 or 2006, the song felt as if it was written for me. I don't know why it took so long but I totally felt it.

This picture was taken in Aegina in late August/beginning of September of 2007, while I was taking a 2 hour walk, listening to Tears For Fears among other things.

First of all, the chords and the guitar riffs throughout the whole song, speak to me. Simple, classic, yes, you can say cheesy at times but most of them are a cause for tears. First of, it's in the 3:10 that the guy says "men of stone", that you get hit in the face from the size of the chords. Then, the drums come in for the first time and yes, it's just awesome. The groove is there, simple, yet fantastic. The song has a cool intersection afterwards and then breaks down again for a few seconds to prepare you for the final, bombastic hit. In 4:40 the drum fill is huge, epic, about 6 seconds long and not busy at all. It's the kind of fill you live for. And in 4:46 the song rips your heart out! Well, maybe not yours but definitely mine. The melodies and the drum groove is a fucking good reason to be alive! Imagine that the last 5 years, whenever this song comes up on my ipod shuffle list during drum practise, this part of the song always makes me want to ..... I don't think I can express it. While playing the groove, which I adore, I get misty eyes for sure and chills up my spine. It's overwhelming. This also happens with a few Phil Collins songs.
One last thing, the cherry on the cake, at minute 5:32 there is another drum fill. It's more subtle. It's for drummers only. It's pure genius. It's a drummer's wet dream. Or, ok, my wet dream. How to end an epic song. Really, just amazing. Perhaps it's the only reference, along with the enormous fill at 4:40, to whom the drummer might be.

I keep wondering why do I write this blog from time to time. Definitely no photography here.

Well, 3 days ago I was looking around the internet trying to figure out who the drummer was in Tears For Fears. Was he just a cool, awesome drummer that isn't famous but knows definitely how to groove or is he a well-known, monster, session player?? Usually, it's the latter one, and it always kills me. Especially, when it's about songs that I grew up listening to. And this is also what I was betting on to find out. But no. I found out that it actually is a cool drummer, that grooves like hell, but is not that famous. He's name is Manny Elias. He has played with Peter Gabriel also, so I guess he is pretty fucking cool. But wait. Wait a fucking second. What I didn't know was that for some freaking reason, for this song in particular, there was a guest drummer. Yes, a guest drummer. Who the FUCK could that be?? Well, this may not make you feel any different than before but for me, I think I stopped breathing for a second when I read it. Maybe two seconds. The freaking, guest drummer is, the awe-inspiring, the amazing, the one and only, Phil. Phil Collins. Phil fucking Collins!!! I still can't believe it. I mean... what the hell??? WTF?!?!? I don't know how these things keep happening but it's not a coincidence. It can't be. I mean... look at this blog!! It's completely absurd!

September clouds

2011-09-25T13:20:00.000+03:00

This is the sick view from my friends house. There is also a very simple portrait of him. I wanted something more but he had to leave.

September, always, has amazing clouds. Clouds and the sky in general, were the reason I started photography in the first place. Whenever I had the chance, I jumped into my car, put on some music and drove far away from buildings, at the nearest hill or mountain, to have a better view of what was going on up there.
These clouds are very simple to photograph, there is nothing to it, really. I'm just happy I get the chance to see them and maybe catch them on film. Unfortunately, this is not film.

Sista

2011-09-23T10:45:00.000+03:00

This is my beloved sister, Katerina. She lives in London and is an actor and a stand up comedian.

I think that when it comes to exposing yourself onstage, being a stand up comedian is probably the hardest things to do. It takes a lot of guts. And love, of course. But, I think it's more guts. And, you must have an enormous need for it. Enormous. To go up there, try and make people laugh...kind of like a jester in the old days..I dunno. Crazy hard. These people, including my sister, are crazy. Plain and simple.

This is a triplet of photos I took back in April, using the Hassi. When I'll figure out how to get my 35mm scanner back to life, I'll post the rest of them here.

Nefeli

2011-09-20T05:53:00.000+03:00

Nefeli or Nefeli Walking Undercover is an amazing human being. She's a talented musician and an awesome violin player. She knows very well how to spend her time wisely, reading a lot of books, writing articles in various political and music blogs while at the same time completing her own album. That means, singing, playing violin, guitar, percussion and who knows what else. She's also creative as f***, pardon my language, always fixing, twisting, knitting, painting, etc, etc, whatever comes in handy. Let's say for example her own album, where the artwork was all done by hand. She is one of these people that is so extraordinary, it makes you feel worthless, puny, handicap or mentally retarted. Oh, did I mention she studies law??

I might say that I'm very happy I get to play music with her in Leon.

One day, back in April, she was describing me a dream she had the previous night. Most of it was about her, being in a big, green field holding a red ballon. Besides the fact that she had made a collage representing her dream, which was all made up by hand that was later scanned and you can see it at her blog, this inspired me for a photoshoot.

It was one of the nicest photoshoots I've ever done. It was May. The weather was beyond perfect, the scenery was beautiful, the scents of spring and early summer were revitalizing and the company was awesome.

The soundtrack was the usual for May...

plus this new addition. I also heard it through the summer. It rips.

August-September #4 Whatever

2011-09-19T04:41:00.000+03:00

This is too much time on my hands... here are a few more personal favorites of whatever is on my Ipod during these months. Some of them are included in other months also. What a fucking weirdo.

This song is specifically made for the summertime. Look at the video. You should also check out this video as well. Look at the light. Can you feel it? Can you feel the heat?? I love this so much, I'm feeling 10 years old again. Yes, that's how mature I'm feeling.
Fuck, this has nothing to do with photography. But what about that hi-hat feel?? You know, that round thing usually on the left side of every drummer?? The one that goes ts-ts-ts throughout the whole song?? I'm an idiot. Total idiot.

And to more recent things

Phoenix, just rule. from the moment this record came out I fell in love with them. I posted their live version of the song because it's awesome and it's almost better than the original. Their sound is very distinct and the drummers approach is very inspiring.

To get a little heavier now, Thrice, in the summer of 2003, inspired my old bandmates and me so much that we almost became replicates of them.

And after that, Cult Of Luna, came out the next year with Salvation, I think, and shook my world. Very good production, their sound is huge, the drum sound rips and it's one of the best blends between postrock and metal. This is the softest song on the album and the only one that the singer sings normally. Although, when both vocals come in, it's the cherry on the cake.

August-September Soundtracks #3 Electronic

2011-09-19T03:45:00.000+03:00

In '95 this guy made me realize that I should not ignore stuff that's "electronic". This was the second single from an epic album that came out and it was soooooo good! The rest of the record became an old time classic.

Then, this guy came along and messed up my summer vacation for good. I had a post 2 years ago about him. He's also in my June soundtracks. Although, this song came out last year, it instantly became one of my favorites

A good friend of mine introduced me to Manual. I don't think he ever made it big or if he's still trying ( haven't heard his latest albums) but this guy reminded me of Chicane but differently. A little bit more experimental and less polished. I love this song. And when the snare sample comes in at the 2:10 I get goosebumps.

And while we're talking about less polished, this is sooooo good!!

I heard this last year. Not a big fan but the song is sick.

August-September Soundtracks #2 Punkrock

2011-09-18T02:46:00.000+03:00

I'll try and keep it simple and straight foward. I don't think it will work but nevermind.

Punkrock

In '94 and '95 these songs came to be my very personal, fucked up way of enjoying the months of July and August for the rest of my life.

A classic in every way. I've talked about them so many times..i'm only posting this one so I won't start about their chords and their drums.

Now,this..

...this band is also a personal favorite and very few know about it. Great, great band and highly underestimated.

When i was listening to these songs I didn't even care about drumming. It was just the melody that matered. Imagine how it felt like, after 3 years, when I started playing the drums and listening to these tracks again. Shock.

Next:
This track was a life changer. So much to say but there's no need for it.

And of course All without Descendents is a wrong

The Australian wonder

and the ones who started it all

August- September Soundtracks #1 Phil Collins

2011-09-16T06:04:00.000+03:00

My scanner is down for some time now, so, just to keep things moving in this blog, I'll write, as usual, about my personal soundtracks. Which they always inspire me to take pictures.

August:

Phil Collins. Ok, i don't know how much I could say about this human being as musician, let alone as a drummer, but from a personal view, I can still remember being on vacation with my parents on a Greek island, back in 1985, listening to this:

About ten years ago while I was listening to that album again, I discovered another gem which never became as famous as the rest of songs on the album

If you can guess who's doing the backing vocals, you're definetely an 80's fan. And I was probably born in the wrong decade.

There is also something else about the 80's, Phil Collins and Michael Mann:

A mix of fluids is released from my body. Happens everytime.

I can't resist one more video. Pure genius.

I want to post everything about him right now but it will be ridiculous, if it isn't already.

Kythera Exhibition

2011-09-08T02:08:00.010+03:00

I haven't blogged for ages. Not that it matters, no one reads this anyway. But it's fun, nevertheless. No, really, speaking to yourself, is fun. A little paranoid at times, or maybe all the time, but it's still fun.

I had a photo exhibition in Kythera! Have you been to Kythera?? Well, it's an awesome Greek island. And like any other Greek island (besides Salamina), it's surrounded by beautiful blue/green waters, amazing scenery, small villages forgotten in time and of course, amazing food. I could keep on going but it will sound like a commercial.

I took the decision to make this exhibition last year because I've being going there for at least 15 years and I've gathered a big amount of landscape photography. It's always during the summertime that i take a lot of pictures of the island, so I called it 10 Summers. That is because very little work has been shot before 2001. And because "ten" is a catchy number.

The gallery is called Zeidoros and here you can get a better idea of the looks of it. I was too absentminded to get some pictures of it from the outside.
I was restricted in many ways on how I wanted the pictures to be presented inside the gallery and that made me feel very frustrated just a few days before the opening. In the end, thinking that I was on vacation, on a Greek island, realizing that my problems where ridiculous or minuscule or nonexistent compare to the rest of the world, I was very happy to be lucky enough to have an exhibition whatsoever. Let alone having two exhibitions in one year!

Odyssey cover

2011-06-08T19:04:00.005+03:00

I just got a cover for a late release issue of Odyssey for their January/February issue.
Good times!

Xmas Burger

2011-05-23T14:03:00.007+03:00

It's been some time now since i have blogged about anything. There's a lot of stuff that "needs" to be blogged about but i'm all over the place. Lots of digital files to be edited, lots of films to be scanned and lots of music to be played.
These are some pictures from the Burgers, once again, back at their Xmas show in December.

Distant Cousins ending

2011-04-13T18:36:00.009+03:00

Thank you, everybody for coming to the show. It was amazing to see everybody there!
Here are some pictures of the space, including the work that we used for the exhibition. We were lucky enough to use the whole area and to use it first, as the owners still don't know what to do with it. Thank you very much Ms. Vovolini!
Thanks again, everybody.

Distant Cousins

2011-03-27T23:15:00.007+03:00

So, this is the exhibition i will be sharing with my distant cousin and photographer, Zoe Karamanis. Zoe and me, used to know each other from our social circle. A year ago we found out by accident that we were somehow related, when we both bumped into each other at the same wedding of our cousin!!
Zoe, who is also a snowboarder, saw something in my pictures that made her come up with an idea. The idea of ballet dancers imitating snowboard movements/tricks. She found a trampoline, some snowboard gear, a couple of hot dancers and a tutu. It's all about the movement, ballerinas, the love for the mountains that we both share and of course, snowboarding!

The opening will be on the 31st of March , this Thursday. It will last for 10 days.

Whoever reads this, come on over!

Zebra Time

2011-03-27T20:45:00.012+03:00

After 8 months here are some film pics from the trip i had with the Zebras when we played at EXIT festival, in Serbia. No pictures of the festival though.

And to more recent and exciting news:

The Zebras caught the attention of Europe with our new ep single that came out a few weeks ago. A lot of blogs were supportive and about a week ago the Guardian included us in March's best music around the world!! This is the song they chose:

You can download the ep. here.

March

2011-03-25T19:31:00.005+02:00

This March has been a pain in the ass. My laptop broke down, i've been flat broke borrowing money from everyone and the phone company cut off my home phone and internet.
Besides all this i managed to get to the mountains for 2 weekends. First weekend was to snowboard for a day (after a year and a half) and then take pictures the next 2 days. Still haven't managed to download the pics from my digie yet. But still, good times.
the last one i ended up in of the best resorts in Greece as part of a bachelor party. Unfortunately, the weather was pretty bad and the only thing you could see was trees. Which was awesome but only one lift was in use! Anyhow, i miss the snow and the whole creativity that comes out of me as soon as i'm out of Athens.

Here are a few soundtracks

Foggy day

On the road

Last Days Of April came up on my shuffle again, only this time it was the first record that i bought from them. This record goes by 11 years ago, this season. Rain or Sunshine.

A must have

For sunshine, though, these guys rule! One of my favorites bands. Six going on seven.
Very happy that finally someone got to upload these amazing songs! The drummer is a huge influence. Super super!!

More pics on the way

Emo

2011-03-07T14:10:00.006+02:00

I was walking in San Francisco on a day like this, in February, and i wanted to take a picture that would show the feeling that the clouds would somehow create in me. It didn't work exactly as i wanted but close. At the same time i had this tune on repeat for at least an hour..

I'm not a huge fan of The Cinematic Orchestra but this song is in the top 10 list for a cold, rainy, shitty day.

One more band for the rainy days of January, February and March.

Last Days was a huge influence back then in the emo days. I still listen to their first 3 records. You can also listen to the change from punk rock/emo to simple pop, folk, rock.

February Music

2011-03-05T20:00:00.010+02:00

Music that i've been listening to the last month:

Because it's snow season and unfortunately i'm not up on the mountains, i decided to listen, a little bit, to some really old songs that first got me into the madness of snowboarding...

A friend of mine gave me a tape in 1994 of No Use For A Name. The album was called "The Daily Grind". It was one of the best melodic punk bands that i'd ever heard. A couple of weeks later a snowboard movie came out and this is what the intro was like:

This song is the first song of the album. As you can imagine, or not, with this kind of coincidence, i was in shock. Both, the film and the band, where the reason for changing the way i felt towards snowboarding. It wasn't just something to do in the winter that felt like skateboarding. It felt different. A new driving force. A new adrenaline rush. It was the same feeling as when i started skateboarding in 1989. A feeling that can't be described.

SNFU...grazy dudes from Canada. Especially the singer Mr. Chi Pig! One of a kind, melodic punk. This also goes back in 1994. The whole album is memorable.

February is also the month where i learned how to take pictures (1997) while listening to a lot of emo kind of music..

These guys where one of the first emo punk bands,i think, back in 1995.

Amazing song. The drum sound is cool. Basically, the whole production is pretty neat.

Jimmy ...Jimmy, is an all time favorite and they've always been there since 1996. Huge fan. Chords, guitars and of course the drumming..a blog just for them.

I used to listen to this song on repeat, on rainy days, while driving or whenever i felt like killing myself...! I like the name of the band.

A lot of other stuff i feel like i've being posting them here forever.

Ok...i love this record. Really. But only this record. I love the rawness, the shitty vocals... i think this is emo punk. Or, right before it started being called screamo and all that shit. I mean listen to the chorus!! It makes you want to break everything. This record was really great. Afterwards, they took a weird turn and their music became too raw for my taste. blah blah blah

This is more recent...2001/2002?? I love this tune. Perfect for snowboarding on a cloudy day or even better, when it's snowing.

This is fresh.

Efterklang, is new to me. I've been listening to these guys the last month. Very good stuff.

February

2011-03-05T10:17:00.008+02:00

No posts in February. A lot of music though. I had quite a few live shows and I guess i got a little bit lazy on the blogging side of things. No great pictures.

These are a few of the things that happened during this past month:

I went for a shooting with this young buck in the beginning of the month. He was ready to do a huge drop/gap but the security guards didn't allow us. So, we ended up at this old spot in the centre of Athens. I need stronger flashes.

In June last year, two dear friends of mine got married on the island of Limnos. The day before the wedding they planned a small boat trip and a beach party for all the guests. I shot some films and I made this picture out of 2 frames, as a wedding gift.

It was a busy month with Leon. We had two shows, our second primetime TV appearance and an acoustic set for a show on Mtv Greece (did the latter one with the Zebras also but on January).
I had one show with No Balance, which basically reminded me of my teenage years and a fun show with George Nikas, where we basically played one song. So, yes, a lot of music!!

In between, i finally made my new portfolio, thanks to a couple of friends

and i also started the preparations for an exhibition i'll be having with a friend of mine, on the 31st of March. It's going to be snowboard/ballet related!!! It will be called "Distant Cousns". More details on that one in a few days.

And since the word snowboard came up:

The only thing that gets me down is the fact that i haven't been up in the mountains. I really miss it. REALLY miss it!

And on the last weekend i shot The Casualties. It was like a mohawk fest.

Terminator Soundtrack

2011-01-28T15:56:00.005+02:00

I know you may laugh with this, but this is one of my favorite soundtracks. I don't know what it is that makes it so amazing. The chords are just my kind of recipe. I feel i've being listening to these kind of chords in my head, forever. It's so melancholic. And of course, so 80's!!
The soundtrack hit me though when the second Terminator came out. The first one came out in 1984, when i was 4 years old and was scared shitless to see it.

At 01:00 it reaches the next level.
This second version is from the second movie, obviously, and it's the more advanced version of the first one, soundwise. As in the movie itself. Considering James Cameron did the film about 10 years after the first one.

And this, i just found out!

Talk about heartbreaking...yes, maybe a little bit cheesy but no...then the main theme comes in and......aah, fuck it, nevermind.

Gala Awards

2011-01-25T12:16:00.006+02:00

Just received an email, that i made it in the finalists in The Worldwide Photography Gala Awards!!! Very excited! 18.912 pictures were submitted from 65 countries!
I thought that the results were announced in October or something , so since then i hadn't heard from them. I thought that it was over and done, as most submissions are. Very excited, i'm telling you. Although, i'm in the finalists in the categories of "Wedding" (which i'm not that great) , "Abstract" and "Digital Manipulation"(in which i truly suck), it makes me wonder what the hell am i shooting in the other categories in which i don't think i suck...???hhmm.
The overall winner and category awardees will be announced on February 27th, so untl then i'll just have to wait.

These are the pictures that passed through in the finals

for Wedding:

And for "Abstract" and "Digital Manipulation" I submitted the same pic

Jose Gonzalez

2011-01-25T10:51:00.009+02:00

Jose Gonzalez is awesome. As simple as that. The show was amazing. I could've killed of course, half of the people who were talking in there, as if they were drinking their fucking frappe, but i let them go.
As you will see, half of the show was the lighting. Not, to underestimate the greatness of Jose (his sound was unbelievable too) but the show without the amazing lights wouldn't be the same. I didn't have to do anything. Almost point and shoot.

I you haven't heard of him, he became very famous from the song "Heartbeats" featured in this SICK ad.

Vodka Juniors Xmas Show 2010

2011-01-19T20:57:00.012+02:00

The VJs performed one of the best shows i saw in 2010. There was a lot of emotion and a lot of positive energy. The show was sold out and many people didn't manage to get in.
The guys are very close friends of mine and I hadn't seen them play live for sometime now. They brought the house down! It was emotional, really. All these people, all this response. We used to play the same shows when i was drumming with my older band back in the late 90's, early 00's. I think the second live show I had ever played was at a punkrock show were the VJs opened the show for us?? Was it 1999?? Not sure. Don't remember exactly.
Watching the whole show and basically making a "story" out of it made me feel sentimental and very proud of them. It's being a long and difficult road for the them but they managed to hold on. All that effort payed off.
Cheers, guys. Congrats!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-26T21:38:00.002+02:00

December Music-Xmas Music part 2

2010-12-26T20:11:00.010+02:00

I thought this was going to be a lot shorter than i thought but my playlist was coming up with some major stuff that i forgot:

I can't even describe the immense influence RKL had in punkrock and hardcore in the 90's and how underestimated they were. These guys could play anything and at the same time be completely wasted. This album is an epic. It's also a snowboard favorite.

It's hard for me not to post everything about everyone here, but it'll probably lose focus from the photography. As if it hasn't already..

So, i continue:

Jawbreaker, is one of the most influencial and important punkrock (and emo) bands of the latest 2 decades. If not THE most important. This album always reminds me of Christmas time and lots of snow.

Now, this is very very recent. About a week ago this song from Volcano Choir came up on my ipod, on shuffle mode, and i kept it playing for the next 24 to 36 hours. It has become a December/Xmas classic and one of the nicest tunes i've heard all year. Perfect for snow, rain, mellow feelings and more. I think i love Justin Vernon. Better known as Bon Iver. He has a little something to do with this. I don't think a tune can get better than this. It inspires me so much to do something creative, i can't explain it.

Jimmy Eat World, is one of my favorite bands. Many years of listening to them and their drummer is a huge influence. Although, i wasn't interested in listening to this album when it came out 2 years ago, it came as a suprise to me when a dear friend of mine and a big fan of JEW suggested that i should give it a chance. I didn't like their previous album that much, so i was hesitant. Well, if i'm posting a song from it here, I don't need to explain how much i liked it, right? Jimmy, is a winter classic. But only this record fits the Xmas season though..psychopsychopsychopsycho.

Two years ago i heard this song. Not a huge fan of Sunny Day. I liked their first album a lot but from then on they didn't do it for me. Out of ignorance i hadn't take notice of this record. This song is my favorite from the album.

December Music-Xmas music part 1

2010-12-22T19:13:00.006+02:00

This is random, as usual. Here we go

Starmarket was a great punkrock/emo band from Sweden, in the late 90's. This album came out in '97. They're a lot of great songs on the album, more aggressive than this one but this is still my favorite. I think it's an emo anthem.
I think they're still playing.

I had to put this one up too. This song is basically what got me into them in the first place.

Ok, i had to post this one up. I'm sorry for whoever is out there reading this and has to read and listen to all this nostalgia shit.
I loved this band. I bought their vinyl in '94 and i was in shock. So melodic yet so aggressive and fast. This is one of 2 songs which are not that fast. It was the best soundtrack for skateboarding and snowboarding. It pushed my limits back then. Reason To Believe, later became Sense Field which was one of the best bands playing melodic punkrock. Or maybe i should call it emo?
Reason To Believe, were 18 when they recorded their album!
Unfortunately i coudn't find my favorite song from the album but if you're interested you can listen to it on their myspace page. The chorus, besides being melodic as hell, it has a sick drum pattern for a punkrock song ( he's overplaying but who cares). I discovered that a couple of years later when i started playing drums.
It's funny how a song gets stuck in your head and years later ,probably decades later, you discover that somehow, besides the melody, the drums had a lot to do with it.

Wtf, right?? When this song came out i didn't like it at all. I spent a lot of Xmass vacation in the 90's with my cousin who was a huge Seal fan. Now, i love it. It always reminds me of Xmass and family.
*If you feel this blog is getting way out of control please notify us*(blogger. for the mentally ill).

Ok, i'm skipping a few years ahead

Not a huge fan of Owen but this album became a favorite due to the guitar work and subtle playing. It also flows quietly between songs which is very cool.

Same year, i think it was 2003 , i bought also this:

I had about enough of upcoming punkrock bands playing fast, when a friend of mine played this song on his player for me. Strike Anywhere are one of the very few punkrock bands from the '00's that i like. Throaty vocals are always a winner.

I could post the whole album. This song though, has one of the best choruses ever written in punk/rock/thrash/speed/metal/etc/etc/etc music. Killswitch, is a favorite of mine for nightime from December 'till March. I don't even know how i became such a big fan of them. They brought me back to metal in 2002, although i was never a metalhead. Far from it, i might say. Here is one more tune that stayed with me for the difficult Xmass/winter season in Frisco in 2006:

Plissken Fest

2010-12-20T20:23:00.009+02:00

Plissken Fest, was one of the best music festivals that i've ever been to, in Athens. Very interesting music and very fresh. I've got to thank the guys in Plisskenlab for allowing me to see the whole fest and take pictures. Sikes!

The Longcut, came out first and played to an almost empty venue. They still gave their best though and they sounded pretty amazing.

Rykarda Parasol, was next. Not my cup of tea, but not bad.

Now, The Lytics ruled the house! They were awesome. They also took the slot for The Cinematics who missed their flight, so basically they played their show TWICE. Flawlessly. And i don't even like hiphop.

23rd Underpass, reminded me of the old days of electro 80's pop. A little bit dark wave?? I liked the first song a lot but then gradually lost interest. Dunno.

FM Belfast, from Iceland, put the whole festival in dance mode. Very nice show.

Robots In Disguise.

Handsome Furs, were probably my favorite band. I don't know what happened and i liked them so much. Maybe it was the way they played, maybe the guitar sound, the chords, i don't know. Maybe it was that they are from Canada...

Chew Lips.

These New Puritans, were the highlight and headliners, somehow, of the festival. I'm still having a hard time enjoying their music. Not my kind of chords i think.

After them Futurecop! were on. I was anticipating a lot to see them but they had an MC that kept rapping on top of the tunes so it was a let down for me. This is a song i really like from them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEg5cBGkDqY

Now, this is Danger. This guy was awesome. I had one track of his but i didn't expect him to be this good. Very cool.
Mondkopf, was the second before last and came out at 3:30 am. I was already too tired to see the whole set. I stayed a little bit to snap some shots and then i left. Not that melodic as Danger but interesting.

Left for dead

2010-11-25T04:15:00.004+02:00

I took these pictures for a weekly newspaper called FreeSunday. It's called free, well, because it's free press.
Sometimes, i get lucky and they send me on assignments to take pictures of politicians or respectable people of our society. Sometimes they send me to document the shitty parts of our society. This was one of the shitty parts.
The street right next to the National Archaeological Museum Of Athens is basically populated with drug addicts, homeless people and basically people who are left for dead. The police raids, only to move them away for a few minutes but as soon as they turn around the corner, they all return back. At night, a few of them get inside the surroundings of the museum, which has very few trees and bushes, so they can hide and get their fix. In the morning a lot of schools visit the museum and a lot of kids may find themselves very close to used syringes.

Vinnie Colaiuta

2010-11-25T03:26:00.004+02:00

My favorite drummer of all times.
I shouldn't blog this kind of stuff but they say it's good for the soul to share things with others. Positive energy and stuff. I don't know about that stuff but this guy is...i don't know. My drumming grew and matured because of him and lots of others but this video was the first to see. He is one of the best out there and yet he has played with so many pop artists, so many simple tunes...it's admirable to see this kind of drummer who basically made a name for himself when he played with Zappa..and then with Jewel and 1000000 others!! But still he keeps playing fusion, pop, country, jazz, with the best musicians. He even recorded with Megadeth!!

Nevermind, he became even more famous, to us mortals, when he recorded the 4th solo album of Sting, Ten Summoner's Tale. This is a song where you can see all the greatness.

and the live version

Editing Music

2010-11-23T01:52:00.008+02:00

This is what i was listening to while blogging the previous 2 posts:

Grails, unfortunately for me don't play like this anymore. Their first 2 records are quite amazing. It's like they're improvising but their not.

Punkrock is always needed and this is just an awesome and powerful song. In case you ever listen to these guys just imagine that their drummer is the singer of the band.

K'Choise, is a band from Belgium that was pretty big in the mid/late 90's. I had no idea their still alive and rocking until just now that i checked out their site. Anyhow, when their not that cheesy they have a few songs like this one.

There are some remixes of this song which are better than the original, but i embedded this video because of the 2 drummers. I would like to be one of them.

The whole album of Leon is very good. You should check it out when it comes out.

Hehehe, yeap, i know. But it's 80's. This is a faster version of the original song. MGM and Sony can burn in hell for not having allowed one single video of the original song up.

Leon Clip 3

2010-11-22T19:11:00.013+02:00

Ok, so this is about the final live videoclip that Leon just did for the record that is coming out on December 6th. To listen to the specific song press here. When the videos will be up and ready, i'll post them as soon as possible. The director for all 3 videos is Theo Prodromidis, who is doing a great job. Depending on what i saw him do during the filming, the result will probably be awesome. He appears to be very talented and is also a better photographer than i am. More info about him when the videos are up.
This video took part inside an old abandoned building in the center of Athens. Sometimes its space is used as an art gallery. Very photogenic.
The whole concept this time was for the band to perform live with amps and microphones in front of a crowd of guests and friends in a kind of surreal environment.
I don't have that many pictures this time, because, well basically, i'm the drummer of the band!!! Yaayy,wohoo!! Timos(or Leon), basically payed me 1.000.000 euros to play with him. Seriously. No, ok, i'm joking. It's 500.000 euros. Am I funny or what?!?! So, yes, drumming for this band is awesome!
You may notice some weird looking shirts and pants. That was because we needed some kind of styling to go along with the video. I personally didn't like them but i'm also conventional when i'm dressing up for something. Nevertheless, if you're curious press here. DElight is the designers name. Enjoy.

L for Leon

2010-11-16T00:27:00.004+02:00

This is the photoshoot i had planned for Leon since the beginning of August but eventually happened in October. The original idea i had didn't work out and it's still bugging me. I was naive enough or just plain stupid, to believe that 2 months later, the position of the sun on top of the location wouldn't bother that much the shoot. Of course, i was terribly wrong. The good thing was that i had a sketch of "plan b" with me, which was drawn 2 days before the shoot, just in case something like this came up and basically, it saved the day.
It's always good to have friends around and especially good friends like Antonakis. Antonakis, is a dear friend who is an artist and is always willing to help me out. He takes half the credit here. He helped me out in the pre-production of the shoot and during the shoot itself. Thanks a lot for this one, Antwnaki!
A lot of stuff didn't go according to plan here but in the end, i think the outcome is ok.

Kerkville

2010-11-09T14:35:00.006+02:00

Kerkville, is the solo project of a dear friend of mine, Mihalis Moshoutis. Mihalis, is extremely talented, and knows all sorts of classical and electric guitar. This is a combination of the two with some noisy electronic stuff inside, similar to Fennesz and Lusine Icl. The latter one is becoming a winter favorite. Kerville, is follownig it's footsteps. The cover photo is mine from way way back in 2002 0r 2003. I think it fits the music perfectly. Check him out, it's worth it. I'll try and put some of his tunes in a Greek snowboard movie.
Hmmm..."greek snowboard movie"...well, just the words "Greek snowboard" are kind of a paradox but nevermind. Let's see if we get any snow this year.

October/November music part 2

2010-11-06T12:05:00.006+02:00

So, if it's rainy, again, this is one of my favorite songs. Explosions, started a whole new thing with their style of ...post rock?? I posted them earlier but still, i feel it's a must of this season.

Also, The Album Leaf is one of my favorite bands. Basically, it's a solo project from Jimmy La Valle. It's weird how someone from San Diego can make this kind of music. Meaning, it's perfect for rain or snow and all. Maybe late at night, i don't know, but i can't think of it as a soundtrack to a SoCal living.
Who cares, this is probably my favorite track:

Death Cab is also featured in these 2 months. Have i told you about Death Cab and Jason McGerr?? I think i have. Transatlanticism and Plans are albums that the last few years represent what i like to listen to from an indie/pop music band and what i would like to play to, if i could , as a drummer. One of my all time favorite drummers right now. I love the fact that he has amazing technique and chops but always plays what's needed for the song. Sometimes, his approach is so less is more it's unbelievable. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Killer chords, killer guitar riff and killer dynamics.

Okay, favorite song to play to, also favorite to slit your wrists, throat, ankles, whatever works better. 10 minutes plus, playing this beat...amazing atmosphere.

Nice video, my favorite chords again and the best drum beat approach ever displayed.

Okay, something a little bit harder now.

You may think i am 16 years old but no. Double it. Still, Misery Signals second album is awesome. At least for me. They reminded me of Shai Hulud a little bit, which kept me interested, and then the very melodic riffs and rough vocals. I listen to them from November 'till March,maybe April.

Propagandhi is here too. Since Tomorrows Empires, they've become for me an all time season-weather band. The previous stuff is more appropriate for summertime. They never get old for me. The only punkrock band from the Epitaph/Fat records era that still plays fresh and remains awesome. Hear hear.

The chorus and then the breakdown...it's the best recipe for my kind of lame taste.

Ok, back to the mellow stuff.

Elliott, was one of my favorite bands. Again, unknown and underestimated. Unfortunately, they broke up after this record, which features the above song. I usually I listen to them in February and March except this record which also gets played around this time of year. Now, that i think about it their second to last show, before they split up, was here in Athens, Greece. I'm so happy i got to see them live and meet them up close. Their drummer, Kevin, is an amazing musician and a huge influence. You didn't expect me to say this,right??

Most recent in the November month and also a winter favorite for the last 2 years (and probably for the rest of my life) is Bon Iver. Chills up my spine, should be his name. One of the best dudes out there. For Emma, Forever Ago is definitely, one of my favorite records. I should write 10 blogs about him. I should also post the whole record.

October/November Music

2010-11-04T16:11:00.008+02:00

And after a long time some (miserable) October music.Miserable,the month,not the music.
Well,it'sNovember now but the climate is Octoberish.Whatever.

Okay, i understand some of you may think this is lame. American pop/rock full on. But it's a very good band. And the drummer although he's not on this track unfortunately, rules on the drummset!! He inspired me a lot back in 97-2000. His sound also is awesome. I keep listening to these guys even now sometimes. Besides, you can't argue how epic the song becomes from minute 2:08 and the part at 2:27. It's so epic it's almost like Phill's unbeatable fill.

Okay, i found out this song on youtube a few weeks back. It's my favorite Bosstones song. It's more punky and less ska. Awesome song.

You probably know these guys by now and if not, that's too bad. Perfect song for rainy autumn days.

This goes way back in high school...still listening to it though(pathetic). This is one of the best split eps i have ever bought. Ten Foot Pole had just come out with their first album on Epitaph, which was epic and then they did this split with a swedish band called Satanic Surfers. That was when the swedish 90's punkrock hit the world. Everything was tupa, tutupa, tupa, tutupa!!!The thing is, this song, the 3 songs that TFP recorded altogether have SiCK drum sounds. Especially, the bass drum. Even now, after 15 years i don't get it. It's like you're listening to the drum petal and the bass drum together!..it's just sick.

And with this song i fell in love with Satanic Surfers. Absurdly fast. I keep dreaming i could play this fast.

I think the same year i bought this split, i travelled to London to visit my sister. I went to Rough Trade and besides bying the whole store, i discovered this gem. Sludgeworth, was the epitomy of the unknown, underestimated, extremely melodic, punkrock band. Too bad i couldn't find the best song of the album on youtube.

This is a few years later. The emo phase. Well, kind of. This record was very good. Nowadays is not that interesting. This track is really good though.

Hot Water Music. I could write a million blogs about them. About Chuck, about George, the drummer. HUGE influence. This is the first song from their record that made me become obsessed with them. Unfortunately, you cannot hear it well, you can't listen to the drum licks but you can feel the energy from Chuck and the rest of them. Top 5 personal best. Punkrawk.Here is one more for the fucking humid days of these 2 months:

Maybe i should put some music that has affected me in the recent years, in these 2 months, rather than the classic unforgetable tunes from above that i keep listening every year.
Okay, i'll make another blog.

Leon Clip 2

2010-11-04T11:40:00.017+02:00

These are the pictures from the making of, of the second videoclip. It took place at an abandoned construction on the 4 floor. On every single floor there were no guard rails, no warning tape, no warning whatsoever. Of course there was a fence towards the entrance of the building but it was in no condition to stop us (or any curious person) from going in. Afterwards, i found out that some time ago, someone did fall of the 4th floor and was found dead, but they didn't know if he had been forced of the building or if he had commited suicide. Yeaap, good times.
So, besides that, no negative energy or awoken ghost interfered with the shoot and it all worked out pretty well. Eventually, the cops showed up but we were already done.

Leon Clip 1

2010-11-03T15:02:00.018+02:00

I've mentioned Leon a couple of times before in this blog. Here are some pictures, behind the scenes/making of, from the videoclips he shot for his upcoming album, Furtrue, which comes out by the end of November.

This first video was filmed on a very small boat, at a very small and ugly (but very photogenic) port, close to the main port of Athens, Piraeus. The weather was sunny so the whole shooting went perfect, for me and for the filming crew.
Some of these pictures i like very much.
Maybe i should this more often.

the small boat

blue skies forever

our amazing captain on the right.

blurry one

another one for a change

lunchbreak

the fact that we're shooting a video for an artist called Leon and there's a ship close by named Leon is quite interesting, no?

W.C

George Nikas

2010-10-24T12:16:00.010+03:00

George Nikas is my bandmate with the Zebras Tracks. He did a solo album. Contrary to the Zebra stuff this is acoustic, folky kind of music. It's pretty neat and simple. It leans towards the Jack Johnson stuff a little bit. Preferably audible for summer vacation on a sandy beach. George is very talented. He comes up with an idea of a song in a heartbeat. It's very annoying. I think i'm lucky i got to be in a band with him. It's also very annoying when guitar players always remember the new songs, even after a month of never playing them...wtf!

These are some of the pics that i took for his cd cover/promo release.

And this is the artwork..way cooler than the pictures alone.

FAQ

2010-10-24T11:20:00.005+03:00

I got another double spread from the Zebra photo shoot!!!
Very very happy!! There's also one picture in the contents too.

FAQ, is also a weekly, free press, newspaper which is widely read, here in Athens.
Free press, is the new thing here in Athens and everybody is doing it. I'm not the right person to tell you if it's working a lot or not, but a lot of people are reading them. Mostly young people.

Wim Mertens

2010-10-12T14:01:00.011+03:00

Two weeks ago i was lucky enough to have a photo and backstage pass for the Wim Mertens show, at the Athens Concert Hall.

The concert hall is very strict when it comes to pictures. They allowed me to take pictures only for the first 3 minutes of the concert! Not, the first 3 SONGS, which is the usual time limit for music shows. Of course, this was classical music, in one of the best concert halls in Europe. The acoustics are perfect, so the click of the camera could be heard by anyone within the room. This would annoy even me.
So,it was great that i had the backstage pass. The last 4 pictures are my favorite ones!

It was also good that i had some shots from the soundcheck too, so in the end, i came up with a fair bunch of photos.

His music is amazing. During the soundcheck i had goosebumps, misty eyes, the works. I was in awe of his presence. I really felt bad as a musician, if i even consider myself one. These kind of people are from outer space. Really.

PlisskenLab, once again, did a terrific job. This was the best place to watch and listen this kind of music. Hear hear!! I can't thank you enough guys. I really enjoyed taking pictures and watching (part of) the show.

Here, is when he introduced me to to the whole crowd as one of the greatest photographers/drummers of all time...you said it.

This is his most famous piece of music from the soundtrack of The Belly Of An Architect.

Kythera Fires

2010-09-28T00:41:00.010+03:00

This f***# fire lasted for 4 and half days when it was supposed to be put out in one. Maybe less. 1/5 of the island got burned.
First half of the pictures, which is mostly at night, is the second day of the fire. The fireplanes are from the next day. I think these guys had a better angle.
Maybe it is how our f**@)&# country works but the wind always makes it worse.
Since 2007, every summer, i've been shooting parts of Greece that are on fire. It's ridiculous. It's becoming part of the tourist attraction.
2007 was "should i go to the beach or should i watch the fires"?? 2008 "should i go to the beach or should i watch the fires"?? 2009 "Should I go to the beach or...no fires?? how boring..(well, not in Kythera at least).
2010 "Should I go to the beach or should i watch the fires"?? Yayyy
F***ed up.
sorry for the resolution and the tags.

Travel Mind Syndrome

2010-09-19T11:55:00.007+03:00

I shot these guys (and girl) in the beginning of August. The shot was scheduled at the last minute so i had no concept and no idea whatsoever. They wanted some pictures for their cd cover or for the booklet that will go with it.

I'm not that proud of the result because the whole set up wasn't that great and probably my lighting was poor too.

But i have to thank them and especially their designer friends who hepled out with the whole shoot and setting up the band in a fashion kind of style, like this one down here.

Although, in the beginning i didn't expect something good to come out, towards the end we ended up with some pics that seemed to please them. Ironically enough they chose my personal favorite: the blurry one, hehehe.

Check out their music here. It's pretty cool pop/rock music. Besides the multiple influences they have, that they also mention on their page, one or two songs reminded me a little bit of 3 Colours Red.

Flipside mag

2010-09-18T15:01:00.004+03:00

Towards the end of June, beginning of July, the summer issue of Flipside came out. My friend Damian owns Flipside mag. Damian has been a friend since my early teenage years. We basically grew up together. He has helped me out a million times with my photography and my narrow-mindedness. He also has been skateboarding since forever. He became the best skateboard photographer in Greece, worked as a photo editor in multiple core magazines, came out with his own magazine (which is the best and most widely read, in action sports in Greece) and also owns a skate shop. Such a thing in Greece is not an easy thing to do. Not at all. Especially now.

At one point this spring i had the opportunity to work with him and shoot some skaters for an article about the 30 year olds that are still in action. These are the pictures that made it in the mag.

Kythira

2010-09-18T13:04:00.011+03:00

Yello! It's been 2 months or so since i've been here so i'd like to give you an update on things. A lot of stuff has happened that i haven't mention here but in time i hope i'll inform you on everything that's worth writing for.

I had almost a month of vacation in Kythira or Tsirigo, as we locals (not that local) like to call it, and it was very relaxing. It's an amazing island. Very unique. You should visit. It's not that easy to get there though. If you don't take the plane or the boat from Piraeus, the 4 hour drive to the ferry at the southeast point of the Peloponnese is tiring but it is my favorite. I get to see a lot of lanscapes.

Whenever i take it, it always means that summer vacation has begun. I also get to listen to a lot of music and a lot of bands from the previous century like Seaweed,

and of course

Yes, exactly! All the new stuff! anyhow...
Samiam will be mentioned in a separate post. They rule and their drummer on this album is the best! Huge influence!

So,yes,Kythira. Got some pics on film which i'll probably develop next week and scann in ...2 years??!!....but no, hopefully sooner.

Red Bull Illume Contest

2010-07-30T20:24:00.001+03:00

If you can't watch the whole screen try here.
The pictures are awe-inspiring, amazing, awesome, magnificent, wonderful,....

June music and Peter Gabriel

2010-06-16T10:04:00.008+03:00

Peter Gabriel is one of the kings. One of the gods. He is up there, watching us, us mortal "artists", how pathetic we are. Or at least how pathetic I am. I'll post the live version also because the musicians are out of this planet. Manu Katche is also one of the gods. One of the drum gods.

and this is one of my favorite songs the last few years. The chorus is killing me.

I know this is as classic and commercial as i can get but the chorus is really good. Manu's groove is awesome. I'm posting Sledghammer because the video is ahead of it's time. Way ahead...

If you cannot see it properly,try here.

Zarko

2010-06-16T09:16:00.009+03:00

I met Zarko 8 years ago. We both had our summer vacation aboard the same boat that a friend of ours owns. We basically toured around the small islands of the Cyclades ending up on the amazing island of Amorgos (not that small). This beach volleyball game started as soon as we arrived on the island.

Besides, that little stupid introduction, Zarko, is a classical guitarist. He said he wanted some portrait shots that are not as common as the ones classical musicians use. Not that i have any idea about it but here is what i came up with.

June music and Chicane

2010-06-15T12:48:00.012+03:00

This is a photo i had taken in 1999. I think it's one of the best that i have that depicts summertime in Greece. It shows the beauty of the Greek islands and basically the Mediterranean Sea. This is in Mylos.

Chicane=Summer. Summer=Chicane. It's that simple. For me Chicane starts in June and ends in August. Maybe beginning of September.
I don't know how the hell could this guy figure out the exact chords, sounds and melodies that fit perfectly as a soundtrack for the Greek summer. Especially, when his from England. Maybe it's because he was going to Ibiza all the time so he got this Mediterranean feel?? I don't know but he's a killer. Killer! His first 2 albums are epic.

A classic! Just amazing. The intro, the breakbeats, the synths in the backround, the piano...I hate my computer right now. I want to be right in that picture up there.

Saltwater was a huge hit. Very commercial. He became very big with this song. I usually hate it when that happens but it's good for the artist,hehe. Still, the melody and the vocals are great and heartbreaking. Maire Brennan is from another planet.
The whole album was a big success. Very very good.

The Thrillseekers made an awesome remix of this song, in that same album, which i think is genius. It's more ambient though, so if you're bored listening to it...just leave.

From the same album, this next song, like Offshore, is probably one of my favorites. So good, it feels as if you're walking in the narrow streets of an island on the Aegean Sea, a little bit before arriving at the beach while the sea breeze is coming through...or you could just be sitting on the beach watching the summer breeze taking form on the water surface or ...

I have to say my many thanks to Christian for introducing Chicane to me a long time ago. Christian is an awesome dj and a good friend. Sometimes, we get to play 90's punkrock together but that's a story for another post. Check out his music here.

June music and Leatherface

2010-06-14T12:51:00.011+03:00

June music probably contains a few of my top 10 favorite bands and musicians. It's the beginning of summer, the day lasts forever, the heat, the sea, the sea breeze, the SMELL, everything about it...i can never get over it. And that is why i can never get over or get tired of these musicians. Some of them i've been listening to since 1993! Talk about moving forward, eh? And summer vacation is right around the corner. Probably, it's nostalgia all over again. I realized that it's because I listen to every single band/musician in a certain period of time, in a specific season, for no reason whatsoever, that I haven't made a favorite top 5 or top 10 list. If I was to make a top 5 list of my favorite music, now, in the summertime, it would be a little bit different than the one i would come up during the winter. I also tend to forget some of them during the seasons. For example:

Leatherface. I will never, ever, ever, ever , EVER get over this band. Definitely top 5.
But until June comes i always forget their importance in my life and what i feel whenever i listen to such epic, melodic punk songs, as this one

i'm dying over here...the guitar work is just awesome! And Frankie Stubbs's vocals are so amazingly rough, lost in the mix...i love it. I bought this record in '93. I still think this is one of the best songs ever. Then again, there is this song too

And this one that came only with the cd, not the vinyl. The bridge part is sick!
Could't find "Bowl of flies" unfortunately.

"The Last" was their last album before they broke up in 1994 or 1995 , i think, and this was the first song. I think it's one of the best, if not THE best.

I couldn't find it in better quality. This video is so recent that I had no idea the whole band is back together besides the drummer. I could probably post all of their songs right now. Maybe i should. It could go on forever though....

Ok, i've decided that this is a post about Leatherface.

Here is another favorite that came out a little bit later, in 2000, if i'm not wrong, when they reformed and made a split E.P. with HWM. When it came out I almost died from excitment. Two of my probably top 10 favorite bands, on an E.P. together. Amazing.

This was Leatherface's first track.

Ok, this is the last one that i'm posting, just found it on youtube. I haven't heard it for ages!! Eeeepic!

Zebra shoot out

2010-06-07T19:18:00.007+03:00

Ok, so here are the pictures from the Zebra Tracks shoot out. I'm very proud of them 'cause it's the first time i've ever organized such a big shoot, all by myself. I have to thank Anna very very much, without her most of the pictures wouldn't have been possible. I also have to thank the rest of the band for their patience.
I've tried several times before to take pictures of the former bands i was in but it's very difficult and time consuming. Having the timer on and running afterwards to take position is fun in the beginning but in the end the result is so-so. And usually it's stiff.

They don't look that bright and crisp over here, as usual, damn it but i think you get the picture.

The whole thing started when i had the opportunity to be on that airstrip. Just to be there, for me, it was pure orgasm. Really. If i didn't had the shoot on my mind i would have taken about a billion photos of this area or just random pictures of the guys IN this area. This amazing, wide open lanscape. It's just sick...
Then the "Top Gun" concept came to mind and since i'm a huge fan of the movie, the rest just evolved. Unfortunately, i couldn't afford the helmets. But it's close. In a Greek budget way.

And of course the soundtrack to the photo shoot was...

Plissken

2010-06-07T18:11:00.005+03:00

Talking about Plissken , do you recognize the name? Does it ring a bell?? If it doesn't than stop reading right now and leave. Go eat some sushi or something. If it does ring a bell, tell me, how in the hell could Carpenter come up with an epic name like this?? Just epic! What a movie!
Kudos Stef, for choosing a name like this for a production company.

Not mentioning the soundtrack of the movie would be just lame for me. The music was also written by Carpenter himself. I even have it on my ipod.
Yeeeaap, 80's 4 life, i'm telling you.

Rufus

2010-06-07T12:12:00.011+03:00

Here are some pictures of Rufus Wainwright playing a show in Athens a couple of days ago. The venue was the Lycabettus Theatre. It's probably the best venue to see a show in Athens during the summer and it's located in the center of town. I'm quite happy with how some pictures came out. Of course the result from most of them was thanks to Rufus himself and his lighting buddy, i guess.

Due to bad weather and some other music festivals there was small attendance. Pity. Rufus was amazing though. I feel sorry for my friend at plisskenlab.com. It was the first time Rufus was here and my friend went through a lot of shit to bring him over. I hope the next show that he's arranging will sell out. Don't give up plissken.