-We would like first of all to congratulate you for joining "Season of mist" Family! You're
first solo album “INVICTUS” will be released in May 18th! Can you tell us more about this
big step and about your first solo album?
Thank you, yes this is a big moment for me and i am super excited that my first solo
album is a reality!
This is an album with songs i wrote for myself, just for my personal joy, and after posting
demos of these songs online as drum videos, the fans started pushing me to do a full
album and release it, which i did. So to being with, this is an album i did cause fans asked
for it.
Now the whole process of the recordings was the fun part, being so busy with my band
Nile and my drum activities, i was recording in between breaks from work. It was insane
but still fun! I finished the drums in 2,5 days and then off to tour, came back and finished
my first book, some clinics and then did the guitars…and so on. It was a hell of a recording
timing…The actual recordings didn’t took as much, but it’s the limited free time i had to get
on it so the whole process took about a year. There was always talk about doing it, but like
i said, if you see my schedule every year you will get scared hahaha…
After i completed all the recordings and mix, i posted a first teaser online for the fans to
take a listen, i mean i was super nervous to hear what they think, you know? This is all
about them anyways, so their opinion counts a lot! The feedback was insane…made me
really happy people dig my music! The first announcement i did months ago for this album
was to be a free release, having it on my website and whoever wants it can go there and
just download it for free. That was my plan. Then after the teaser got online everyone was
asking for physical cd copy, vinyls etc…And that’s when i started thinking about about
finding a label, and Season of Mist was my choice to go with. They are doing an incredible
job so far, i am really blown away of how smooth things are going and how good we work
together. Having said that, i’m still sticking with the free release plan as well cause i have
promised to the fans, so everyone will have a very easy and legal access to get the album,
listen to it and enjoy it and decide if they want to have the actual cd copy afterwards.
-What made you choose "Invictus" as the title of the album?
Haha, i simply liked the title and used it for a song, it’s the opening track of the album
(after the intro “Echoes of Divinity”). Then i thought to use it as an album title as well cause
it’s a very strong title. It’s short, easy to remember and epic so i think it was a good choice.
You are not going to hear crazy stories about the theme of the album from me, all my lyrics
are some sort of “short movies” i got in my head, no messages or crazy research behind
them. I like to talk about either fantastic stories or real situations of our life, that makes
more sense to me.
-You just finished tracking drums for the new Nile album! Can you tell us more about this
upcoming release?
Can’t tell you much about it cause nothing is officially done except for the drums. Right
now we are tracking guitars just so you understand how early it is. I finished with my drums
about a month a go and i’m happy but it’s way to soon to say more details about it. What i
can say though is that this album will be a different one than others, we focused a lot on
the compositions and kept things a little more simple song writing wise just so people can
understand what we are doing better. There is still blazing fast moments and complicated
ones too, but i think the song writing on this one is way more mature than ever.
-Let's back a bit to the past! You played the drums in the debut EP of contrarian featuring
some great musicians! Were there some specific reasons behind it or that you believe in
multi experiences ?
Contrarian is not that long ago, i did their album last year. Right now i am working on
their next EP too, which so far i can tell you it’s much better than the first one. I know Jim
(Tasikas) for a while now, he is also from Greece, and we are good friends. Jim loves
music and he is a smart guy too, he knows how to move things around and get the band
going and he really loves what he does. It’s a fun experience working with them, i really
enjoy it.
Session recordings is part of my job too, i do about 4-5 albums per year for other bands
apart from Nile or my solo stuff. I really enjoy recording for other bands, especially bands
that are way out of my style so then it gets a little more challenging for me. Not challenging
on the technical aspect that much, but in general, if i record for a power metal band for
example i try to sound like a good power metal drummer. Same for a hard rock band and
so on, this is extremely challenging and i have so much fun with it. There is no point for me
working with bands that sounds exactly like Nile for example, cause thats what i do every
day of my life, but when it comes to really different styles it takes a lot of work to reset your
brain and deliver a very different drumming style. For some this is extremely difficult, for
me it’s one of the most fun parts in music!
-Talk to me a bit more about Drum Clinic and your upcoming dates
I haven’t booked much for this summer, although i do clinics like crazy…i love them, it’s
such a pleasure for me to get out there and teach, perform and interact with the fans, it’s
really awesome! Drum Clinics and Workshops are a big part of what i want to do in my life
and i try to do as many as i can, even from the first one i ever did back in 2015 i knew this
is something i really wanted to do.
What i do in every clinic differs so much from the rest, each one is really unique in my
opinion. It goes from the educational point to entertainment, since i teach and perform at
the same time, and usually i go with what the fans want. Sometimes they want to see me
performing more than talking, and some others i get dozens of questions from drummers
who want to get to the next level. It’s fun, relaxing and intense at the same time, and like i
said earlier, i get the chance to meet the fans, talk to them, get some pictures etc.
-Thank you George , do you have anything else you would like to add?
I would only like to say that everyone should check out “Invictus”, i think this album will
surprise them in a positive way….This is a complete album, a band album, not a solo drum
project so give it a go!
