Having just released their ‘The Drunken EP’ and celebrating their two years of existence, Drunken Gramophone are going to appear at six d.o.g.s. on Friday 23rd December for a unique live ‘party-gig’. Don’t you dare miss them. Meanwhile, spend a few minutes to see what they have to say about their art, booze and Warrior Soul’s Kory Clarke. It’s worth it!
So Drunken Gramophone, lets “invite” you to lastdaydeaf.com. What’s the story so far?
Thank you very much. Well, Thodoris (our frontman) and Orestis (our drummer) are childhood friends, with a deep love for rock n roll music. Our frontman met our bassist (another Thodoris yet) at the army, where their love for the blues, booze and food (he was the cook) brought them together.
You recently released ‘The Drunken EP’ on Bandcamp. Which were the main ingredients for this release? Why should the unsuspected listener take the time to get to it?
Because it’s rock ‘n’ roll in a very pure way. It’s raw and minimal, it has dark poetic lyrics, great riffs and brutal, but rythmic, drumming.
Living legend Kory Clarke (from Warrior Soul) sang on the last song of your debut E.P. ‘Hate Song’. How did this collaboration come about? Are you fans of his music?
Of course we are. We believe Warrior Soul to be one of the most underrated bands of their era. Kory Clarke happen to crush at our producer’s (Kostas Ekelon) place after a gig they did at six d.o.g.s. (where Kostas was their sound engineer), so we came by, we drank a little bit , and we convinced him to sing our song.
Do you believe that The White Stripes and The Black Keys have influenced you as you state on your Bandcamp page? I personally believe that you are more influenced by 60’s garage & blues bands. No?
Well yes, you’re right. But, nevertheless, The White Stripes especially, are a major influence, mainly for renewing and feeding our interest in the 60’s blues and garage bands you talk about.
Is booze part of Drunken Gramophone, as the name implies, or is it just a play on words?
It is. Our frontman is a capable wine and tsipouro producer and an aspiring beer brewer too, so we have plenty of booze lying around. We believe that drunkness and the loss of one’s self, is, and must be, a major component of art generally, from ancient to modern times.
Are you thinking of growing to a quartet in the near future or do you believe that you will lose your lo-fi element that characterizes your music?
Yes, we believe that our distinct sound will be lost (or at least, transformed) if we drift away from our trio arrangement. Everything is possible though…
This Saturday, December 23rd, you are appearing at six d.o.g.s for your 2 year Anniversary Show, along with One Man Drop. What are you about to present?
Well, we’re gonna present our first EP and we’re going to celebrate our 2 years with many special guests and friends. It will be one heck of a party.
Which 3 albums were the best for you for 2016 and why?
We didn’t hear much new music this year, don’t know why. But if we had to choose, we would choose ‘Skeleton Tree‘ by Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Leonard Cohen‘s ‘You Want It Darker‘ and ‘A Moon Shaped Pool‘ by Radiohead.
What’s next for Drunken Gramophone?
Plenty of live gigs!
Photo credits: Anastacia Papadaki Photography
Christos Doukakis