01) HOW ALL STARTED?
Amidst the great dystopian financial crisis in Greece with the social unrest at its peak, we, four friends, got together in the Spring of 2014 me, Costas Economou guitar player, with two of my best buddies, members of a well known R n’ R group of the Greek underground scene, “The Last Drive” (Alex K bass and vocals and Chris B.I drums) along with their sound engineer and guitar player, Akis Paschal and we formed The Spiral Drift.
02) COMMENT ABOUT EP WITH THE LABEL ANAZITISI MOOD ?
The EP has mostly an instrumental feel in it. We have put more emphasis on the guitar playing and we believe it has a distinctive psychedelic edge. It also has a “live” feel and we’d like to think of it as an intro to our full LP.
03) WHAT ARE YOUR INFLUENCES?
You may say that our music belongs to the genre of Americana or paisley underground or desert rock. It maybe so, but for us R n’R music and music in general is not about genre! It’s all about emotion, energy, guts! It’s a distillate of the music we love and grown up with, which after all defined our lives for good: the 50’s R n’R, surf and garage, the blues and soul music of 60’s and 70’s and its British reinvention, the psychedelic scene, the New York and British avant-garde and punk scene and so on.
Amidst the great dystopian financial crisis in Greece with the social unrest at its peak, we, four friends, got together in the Spring of 2014 me, Costas Economou guitar player, with two of my best buddies, members of a well known R n’ R group of the Greek underground scene, “The Last Drive” (Alex K bass and vocals and Chris B.I drums) along with their sound engineer and guitar player, Akis Paschal and we formed The Spiral Drift.
02) COMMENT ABOUT EP WITH THE LABEL ANAZITISI MOOD ?
The EP has mostly an instrumental feel in it. We have put more emphasis on the guitar playing and we believe it has a distinctive psychedelic edge. It also has a “live” feel and we’d like to think of it as an intro to our full LP.
03) WHAT ARE YOUR INFLUENCES?
You may say that our music belongs to the genre of Americana or paisley underground or desert rock. It maybe so, but for us R n’R music and music in general is not about genre! It’s all about emotion, energy, guts! It’s a distillate of the music we love and grown up with, which after all defined our lives for good: the 50’s R n’R, surf and garage, the blues and soul music of 60’s and 70’s and its British reinvention, the psychedelic scene, the New York and British avant-garde and punk scene and so on.
04) WHAT´S THE MESSAGE BEHIND YOUR LYRICS?
Our stories are about the light and darkness in our lives. Seeing life from an upward spiral perspective, with its ups and downs, a sense of going forward, although there’s always a feel of a circular motion that leads you back at the beginning. A Sisyphus effect! Our lyrics are dealing either with major social issues of our times as the refugee issue or existential issues, utopias/love affairs gone bad etc.
05) TELL US NOW YOUR FAVE BANDS AND ALBUNS?
Apart of the great R n’R tradition of the 50’s, our favorite albums and bands are: the “White album” by the Beatles, “Sticky fingers” by the Rolling Stones, “Forever changes” by Love, “Pet sounds” by the Beach Boys, the Who, Quicksilver Messenger Service, CreedenceCR, Big Star, Tony J. White, Velvet Underground, Mc5, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Television, Ennio Morricone, Gabor Szabo, Buzzcocks, Gun Club, Dream Syndicate and many more.
06) WHAT MERCHANDISE DO YOU STILL HAVE AVAILABLE?
10” in black & green vinyl of our debut ep (just a few remained), 12” black vinyl limited edition 300 copies of our new LP “On the Shadow line”, t-shirts with cover print of our new LP.
07) TELL US MORE ABOUT ALBUM: SPINNING WHEELS DISTRIBUTED BY IKAROS RECORDS?
First of all our new LP title refers directly to one of our favorite novels by Josef Conrad “The Shadow Line”, a story about a ship and it’s crew that faced insanity, illness and ghosts of the past in order to sail on! So our album is about the opposites in life, light and darkness, sanity and insanity, suffocation and open air, motion and stagnation etc. Our music is a somehow soulful approach to R n’R, with an “American” feel, especially fit for “cruising into the southern deserts” and incorporates most of our musical influences.
08) DID YOU HAVE PLAYED MANY GIGS?
Quite a lot of gigs in the past 4 years mostly in the area of Athens and unfortunately a lot of gigs postponed due to coronavirus including the presentation of our new LP tour in the Greek countryside and a 7 day tour in Scandinavian countries.
09) WHAT`S THE ROCK N ROLL IN YOUR LIFE?
R n’R is about subversion! Is seeing and experiencing life at the edge. Either at an intellectual or at a physical level. Is finding your limits! Personally, for me is more of a mind thing.
10) HOW´S THE ACTUAL LINE UP?
Christian Fjellstad, a Norwegian guy, is our leading singer, former singer in a late 90’s rock band, “Duluth” and solo musician in Denmark and Norway, Chris B.I is our drummer, also the drummer of a prominent Greek underground R n’R band, “ The Last Drive”, George Gakis, our bassist former bassist of a Greek rock band, “The 700 machines,” Akis Pashal guitars also sound engineer of The Last Drive and me on guitars Costas Economou.
11) FUTURE PLANS?
Thankfully, a lot of gigs and tours and new material to record!
12) THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT. ANY LAST COMMENTS?
Greetings from your Greek brothers in R n’R arms and thanx for your time!
Christian Fjellstad, a Norwegian guy, is our leading singer, former singer in a late 90’s rock band, “Duluth” and solo musician in Denmark and Norway, Chris B.I is our drummer, also the drummer of a prominent Greek underground R n’R band, “ The Last Drive”, George Gakis, our bassist former bassist of a Greek rock band, “The 700 machines,” Akis Pashal guitars also sound engineer of The Last Drive and me on guitars Costas Economou.
11) FUTURE PLANS?
Thankfully, a lot of gigs and tours and new material to record!
12) THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT. ANY LAST COMMENTS?
Greetings from your Greek brothers in R n’R arms and thanx for your time!
