Unfortunately, all interviews begin with the effort of the writer to persuade us that it was really warm, the artist was very friendly and all the sudden they became best friends. And by saying unfortunately, I mean that is the reason why I have no way to describe our meeting with SugahSpank! (Georgia Kalafati) and be able to communicate that from the moment she entered our home with her favorite wine as a gift, until she left, everything felt so familiar, as if we have always hung out together… So, because I don’t know how to persuade the readers I am telling the truth, I will just try to present a part of our conversation with her.
Georgia, what kind of music did you use to listen to when you were a kid?
I mostly listened to Greek bands, such as Terror X Crew, Stereo Nova etc. Afterwards, I started going in foreign music. I listened to powerful stuff, for example A Tribe called Quest and NWA from hip-hop, as well as other stuff like Mettalica. Then I got obsessed with Faith No More, but mostly with Mr Bungle and Mike Patton, as well as Patton’s influences, meaning mostly Zappa, Captain Beefheart... Later on, I was lucky enough to open a record shop in Piraeus with some friends, the historical Lollipost, and that is when I really got out of hand… jazz, experimental and after all that... back to the roots!
To be honest, I fail to understand people who haven’t listened to different kinds of music. I respect that, but as far as I’m concerned, I would really have bored myself that way. Different kinds of music give you different stuff and the point is that music is substantially unique. Whether it is bad or good is another question.
When did you start getting involved with music? Which was the first band you took part in?
I started when I was 14-15 years old with a Greek hip-hop band, called Anexelegti Drasi. Afterwards, I was in another band with some girls, Erinyes, but that didn’t turn out so good. From then on, I turned to more uunderground stuff and exclusively with English lyrics. I have been playing with ex - Purple Overdose, who later were renamed to Alison, for some time. Since 2004 I started working with Sugah Galore and Cast a Blast came my way in 2006. Blend was looking for a female singer for Misplaced and he had heard of me by Thanos Amorginos from the Earthbound. We co-operated and then we started the company, in which later on Palov and BNC also became members. My album as Sugahspank! was the fifth release by Cast-A-Blast.
How can you combine all those different bands, Sugah Galore, Cast-A-Blast, youw personal work as SugahSpank!, and also the Swing Shoes with which we recently heard you?
With the Swing Shoes it is not on a regular basis, nor is it my work. We just have some live appearances together. They are a full band as they are, I just had listened to their music, which I liked a lot and I wanted to co-operate with them some way. The rehearsals and the entire co-operation with them represented the joy of music itself! In the future, we may work together again.
So playing with all those different bands is something that just happened, rather than your choice? Do you feel that any of those is closer to your own style? Do any of them allow you to express yourself better?
I like doing different things, but I think I may have gone too far. Nevertheless, I do enjoy all of them and since music is now my sole occupation, I cannot say experimenting with various styles wears me out. Each of the things I do is charming in another way and I cannot say I feel closer to some of them, at least not yet. For example, recording my personal album was a great experience, but o the other hand sole live shows can’t be compared to those with Sugah Galore, as they are an entire band, and with bands it’s always different.
Did you expect your personal album to be such a success? The music press really deals with you a lot.
Yes, we did expect the album to be a success, not because it’s the best release by Cast a Blast, but because, in contrast to others playing similar stuff, I am a girl, they can present me as a soul diva, even like the Greek Amy Winehouse. Of course, I don’t think our music resembles at all, or maybe just Lost that Loving Feeling, but you see we are both white 25-year-olds, who have borrowed a lot of features from black singers of the past. But since this stuff is in fashion and people here want like the feeling that Greece does not only have folk music to show the world, it also has this one…I definitely believe in this work we‘ve done and I think it has come out very good, but I also think this whole hype is mostly due to being a girl and having this afro hair. In time we‘ll see what comes along. This image of mine is for sure not what I want it to be, so I am not afraid it will be spoiled by my various experiments.
You write your lyrics in English, although they are very personal. Does the English language allows you to express yourself better or do you have other reasons to use it?
Well, that is mostly because I used to mostly listen to English-speaking music and because my accent is good. I think I do this well, and I am also used to it. In addition, especially those personal lyrics would not come out as easily in Greek. Besides, we had international distribution, so it would be rather foolish to use Greek lyrics! And finally it’s about my voice, it sounds a bit funny when I sing in Greek…
We were thrilled to attend one of your live shows. You send out an incredible strength. Where do you mostly enjoy playing live, in small or larger places?
I prefer small places, no doubt. If there is anyone you know down there, so much for the better, otherwise I just focus on the most enthusiastic person. Live shows are great. At the beginning, I had a huge problem with live shows, I was really funny on stage and I turned my back to the crowd all the time. Now I’ve gotten over it.
You’ve had some live shows outside Athens and Salonica, in Zakynthos etc. How did people respond there?
It was fucking great…It is like a family matter in small cities. They don’t necessarily know your music, but the owners of music places there organize an event and they are happy for their area and for their club. They show the expected enthusiasm, like in Zakynthos, the owner told all his friends in radio stations and everybody knew our songs within two weeks. Another important element is that people like to dance outside Athens.
When can we expect a new project by Sugahspank!;
My second album will be exotica. The production is by Oxocube. I am hoping to release it in about 1-1.5 year. There will not be any sampling, on the contrary there will be a lot of instruments, like violins, harps and sounds like sea waves, birds, my friend’s parrots, voodoo, bones and stuff like that. It will take us a lot of time to record it. I am thrilled with this kind of music, as it is difficult, so now I am trying to open my mind, so to do it in a way that something different will come out an not a lounge – resembling result.
I am also working on something else, in a cooler way, it may be ready in 2-3 years, with a couple of beat boxers, Word of Mouth.
What have you recently listened to and enjoyed? Any Greek bands?
The Modrec, the Funkollectiv, the Swing Shoes, the Victory Collapse…I’m d
efinitely forgetting a lot right now. From abroad, I really like the Mars Volta, That One Guy, I also have reverted to listening to anything by Millie Jackson, and of course anything exotica right now.
Do you have any other plans? Any projects abroad?
Right now I am mostly working on this exotica project and if things go well with Word of Mouth, we may go to Germany for a European beat boxers contest.
What do you think has changed to make music stuff move a little further in Greece?
The internet has been of great assistance; you can get in and download anything you like. There are also a larger number of bands, so there is a healthy competition between them. Free press has also contributed a great deal.
(Edited by Stella + Leonidas From Caravel + gbal)
