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Golden Nugget is an Athenian rock quartet with mixes classic rock, along with Southern & blues. Along with Craang and Fuel Eater, they will be performing at Merlin’s Music Box event on 28th January at ILION Plus. So…expect the unexpected!

Let’s start with the basics! Please introduce Golden Nugget to lastdaydeaf.com readers…

Hello lastdaydeaf.com readers! Golden Nugget is a rock band from Athens, Greece. The current lineup consists of George Lagogiannis on vocals and keyboards, John Giouleas on guitar, Dimitris Azorakos on drums and Thanasis Giouleas on bass.

Having a look at your Facebook page, I can say that you are preparing hard for your upcoming live appearance at ILION Plus on 28th January along with Fuel Eater and Craang. Are you looking forward to it? What should we expect?

We are thrilled to perform at ILION Plus along with Fuel Eater and Craang. We are going to play songs from our latest record along with some covers. There’s going to be a lot of jamming on stage too! Expect the unexpected!

Your sound ranges from classic rock to Southern and blues. Which artists/ bands have mostly influenced Golden Nugget’s sound?

We are mostly influenced by rock bands from the 60’s and 70’s like ZZ Top, Mountain, Cream, Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers Band, etc.

You are not newcomers, since the band was formed in 2003. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think there is no official release from the band yet. Past Facebook posts referred to an album, right?  Are you planning something for the near future?

You are not wrong. Our record is ready but it hasn’t come out yet because of various problems like lineup changes, label problems etc. It is going to be released very soon. We are also planning to get in the studio to start recording our second album in the near future, so expect the unexpected.

How difficult (or easy?) is to find places to play your music? Any plans of playing abroad?

It’s not that difficult to find a place to play as long as you don’t expect to get paid. We would love to play abroad but we don’t have money to travel, because we don’t get paid but expect the unexpected!

This one is for George Lagogiannis: Judging from your live jam, Hammond organ is among the vital elements in your music! Which Hammond players have influenced you mostly, and how did you start playing the Hammond? 

Gregg Rolie, Gregg Allman and John Lord among others. I started playing on my father’s B3 when I was 6 years old.

You are also doing a lot of cover versions. Are there some special characteristics for the songs you choose to cover, apart from obviously liking them?

The songs we choose to cover have to have a similar sound to ours.

Which one do you prefer? Studio or live jamming and why?

Both. Each one has its own unique character.  

Last words belong to Golden Nugget…

We would like to thank lastdaydeaf.com for the interview. We hope to see you all at ILION Plus on the 28th of January! Keep on rocking and expect the unexpected.

Christos Doukakis