Never give up, never stop trying, we are fighters…
The biggest problem right now is the vast economical crisis of our country. Creating in this difficult period is not just a need, it’s the ultimate political act. – Chris Tsantalis INK @INKbandgr
Listen to the Interview
Episode #333 : A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax : http://www.blogtalkradio.com/avaliveradio/2016/06/16/episode-333-ava-live-radio-behind-the-music-with-jacqueline-jax
GETTING TO KNOW INK
by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio
Interviewing: Chris Tsantalis INK’s singer
Music business…
It’s not at its best, no more good record companies or chances for discography. But to tell you the truth we Don’t care at all , though we are an indie band we are doing well on our own!
Never give up, never stop trying, we are fighters…
The biggest problem right now is the vast economical crisis of our country. Creating in this difficult period is not just a need, it’s the ultimate political act.
Singles vs an album…
We live in a single orientated period, but to tell you the truth I really love albums, it s what’s makes me reach and dive into the philosophy of the artist, the statement and the ideas. I don’t believe in singles thought we’ve tried to understand this game its not us. We re an album band! Album number 3 is on its way..and it s dark and heavy as hell!
Social Media…
It’s a good thing that you can avoid all the mediums, managers and promoters and having the chance to do all that is needed by yourself and on your own terms, that’s the best part. The ugly side is that everyone has a brand or a name or even a t shirt before even make a try to record some songs, so in this era of information the danger is to get lost, but when you search you always find quality, so we re trying to look at the bright side. I don’t understand the hunt for views and likes I think that is misleading, a beautiful naked girl will always have more likes and views than a beautiful poem or a great book…so its up to you and what you really want from your life.
I always felt I had this need…
of expressing myself from a very young age, around 6 years old I started writing my first poems and then I understood that I have had a love in singing. Strange enough I used to be a baritone since I was a child so everybody was calling me Chris the singer I think I was 7 years old.
By the age of 15 I watched for the first time on MTV Layne Staley singing “Would?.” It was a unique almost surreal experience so I knew that special moment that I had to form a band! Some years later Kostas Apostolopoulos our guitar player was recording a demo with our friend Savvas Karabalasis who is now directing our videos, so he called me to give it a try as a singer. This was the beginning of it all, a rough primal demo, which got some very good reviews and made us want to record more and more.
As for the artists that inspired me in the beginning the Seattle thing was happening by the time along with the whole 90’s explosion so my heroes were The Cult, Faith No More, Depeche Mode, The Tea Party, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam,, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Monster Magnet and of course the great patriarchs The Doors and Jim Morrison. Kostas on the other hand as the guitar player and the foundations of the band was more into bands like Pantera, Queensryche, Machine Head, Rammstein…to name a few.
Sirens…
is about falling in love with a girl, looking at her pretty face and forgetting all your traumas, fears, erasing demons and monsters inside. It’s about romance in a wild night, under the stars, drinking and flirting, it’s about riddles and prophecies of meeting the chosen one, your soulmate.
Kostas used to have this catchy riff for years…
I always knew that it has a very strong radio potential and it became a hit in some radio stations of my country, the video gave us a lot of airplay as well on greek Tv music channels. We recorded it with Craig Walker an Irish singer (who is well known as the ex singer of the English band Archive with whom he scored big hits all over Europe) and a good friend in our hometown Alexandroupolis. It’s a melodic tune and we hope that your audience will embrace it as well.
You have to expect…
truly emotional, psychedelic and heavy music. Loom is our second album and is getting very good reviews so far. We want to be heard as a team of creative honest people, INK is the way to express our philosophy, our trajectory, scripta manent. We really love what we re doing, INK is our trip. Loom has the colours of the night, heaven hell and everything in between, it’s an almost mystical record, enamoured with rock and roll mythology and escapism sometimes surreal and lyrical.
We live in Alexandroupolis…
it s a very beautiful town in Northern Greece by the sea. It has a strong music and cultural community, bands, poets, dancers and arts overall. Alexandroupolis has a port so it s like saying to you go on, do your thing travel and then come back into my arms. The region where Alexandroupolis lays is Thrace land of the mysteries, Orpheus and well known for the worship of Dionysus. In our psychic we have poems, songs, the great Thracian sky and the cold winters, our beautifull sea and our wines, the wild island of ancient Samothrace. So we are thinkers and warriors as well. We are Greeks, big dreamers and sailors, lovers and actors, passion, laughter and tragedy lay deep in our hearts.
I would love to have 5 minutes alone with…
Ian Astbury, he is one of the greatest vocalists of our generation, a modern day shaman, poet, philosopher, artist and a very sensitive and intelligent human being.
Music trends…
We’ve never been trendy, there is not such a word in our vocabulary, we are doing as we feel and that’s the biggest form of expression and the essence of art. We are doing it for the right reasons. Always do what feels right be honest. Don’t care at all about trends or tags.
My favorite music quote or inspirational quote is…
Dream big and never stop trying no matter what..be present, be here, its now or never. Live your life IN all its glory.