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Blues Cargo

                  BLUES CARGO

 

            BLUES CARGO is an electric Blues Band that was formed back in 1987 in Athens by DIMITRIS IOANNOU (bass guitar, vocals), STELIOS ZAFIRIOU (Guitar), STELIOS GAVRILIDES (Drums) and STELIOS ZOUZOULAS (Guitar).

           The Band has been playing regularly for more than 24 consecutive years all over Greece and has gained the respect and the admiration of all the Greek and European blues fans. Their shows continue to massively attract blues audiences regardless of age and gender who consider them as one of the best Blues Bands in Europe. Besides being an extremely tight band that delivers scorching blues guitar solos and a very wide spectrum of blues arrangements, the trade mark of the band is the unprecedented voice of the singer and bass player of Blues Cargo, Mr. Dimitris Ioannou and the fine and emotional guitar paying of Stelios Zafeiriou.

 

Many famous American artists have been backed up by the Blues Cargo during their appearances in Greece. Some of them are:

LOUISIANA RED, LURRIE BELL, BIG TIME SARAH, EDDIE C. CAMPBELL, GUITAR SHORTY, LEFTY DIZZ, BYTHER SMITH, ANGELA BROWN, LOVIE LEE, JEAN CAROLL, MAXINΕ HOWARD, UP-WILSON, SWEET BETTY, JIMMY MORELLO, JAN HARRINGTON, BLIND MISSISIPI MORRIS, JUKE,MICHAEL DOTSON,JOLLY JUMPER & BIG MOE, and NELLIE TIGER TRAVIS, MICHAEL DOTSON, MATTHEW SKOLLER.

      The band has also opened the shows of JOHN MAYAL, JOHN HAΜMOND, NICK GRAVENITES, BIG TOWN PLAYBOYS, and FERNEST ARCENAUX in Greece.

           

            By the end of 1992, they had recorded a number of original tunes which were finally 

released on a vinyl LP in 1993, by Pegasus Records.

     The album was titled “FIRST DELIVERY” and received very good reviews.

      On March, 2009, the band released their second album after 15 years.

That is the reason why this album is called “DELAYED DELIVERY”.

 This album apart from most blues media received excellent reviews from world most recognized blues magazine “ BLUES REVIEW”.

         

            The recent BLUES CARGO line up is :

STELIOS ZAFEIRIOU (guitar)

DIMITRIS IOANNOU (bass, lead vocals)

TOLIS GOULAS / PETROS DACTILIDES (drums)

GIORGOS LAGOGIANNIS/ORESTIS VAVITSAS (keyboards)

BABIS (Saxy B)TSILIVIGOS/DIMITRIS PSALTIS (saxophone)

 

www.bluescargo.gr

 

For further information or for booking please contact:

Mr. DIMITRIS IOANNOU

PHONE   0030 210 3228301 or 0030 210 9640109

FAX    0030 210 3234615

MOBILE  0030 6944 525493

Email: ioan@bluescargo.gr

Website: http://www.bluescargo.gr
Location: Athens Greece
Members: 56
Latest Activity: Nov 17, 2015

 

 Featured Blues Review 5 of 5

Blues Cargo – Delayed Delivery

Pan-Vox 2009

14 tracks, 65.51 minutes.

www.bluescargo.gr

www.myspace.com/bluescargo

In the latest edition of Blues Revue Bob Margolin writes of the great pleasure he has had from playing with blues musicians from countries where there may be no tradition of blues music but the musicians are skilled and love the blues. Bob could have been writing about Blues Cargo who hail from Greece and have accompanied a long list of visiting US players touring Greece, including Lurrie Bell, Eddie C Campbell, Guitar Shorty and Byther Smith.

Blues Cargo is a four piece band based in Athens. Vocals are handled by bass player Dimitris “Handyman” Ioannou, lead guitar is Stelios Zafeiriou, drums are shared between Stelios Gabrielides and Petros Daktilides and sax is Babis “Saxy Bee” Tsilivigos. Keyboards are added on most tracks by Orestes Vavitsas or George Lagogiannis. The album’s title is a reference to the band’s first album, released in 1994 and entitled First Delivery.

The CD features 10 originals and four covers. The album opens with Chris Cain’s “Drinking Straight Tequila” which was fine with me as I am a big fan of Chris and am surprised that he is not covered more often as his songs often contain interesting lyrics alongside catchy tunes, as is the case here. The other covers are Memphis Slim’s “Everyday I Have The Blues” which has the merit of being much more upbeat than is usually the case with this often covered tune and two less well known tunes. The first is an excellent version of a song by little known writer Buzz Clifford entitled “Ain’t That I Don’t Love You” which has a first class guitar solo and horn arrangement. The second is “I Got The Blues”, a tune by Meters guitarist Leo Nocentelli which at 6.17 is the longest cut on the CD and again features some tasty guitar playing and an excellent sax solo.

The self composed material is written by Stelios (4 songs) and Dimitris (6) and covers a good range of blues styles. I liked “95%”, a song about dating tall women and “Handy Man”, a funkier tune in Albert King mode which extols the DIY skills of the singer (or does he mean something else??). “Emptiness” is more of a ballad with a hint of reggae in the rhythm. “Garbage Bin” is up tempo and moves along well, “Six Hundred Miles” is a rolling blues with nice organ/piano underpinning the rhythm and “I Don’t Care” is a funky ending to the CD.

Overall there is a lot to enjoy in this CD. The sound is excellent and the band has clearly paid a lot of attention to the quality of the recording and mastering of the CD. It is varied and the covers are well selected to add balance to the originals. Vocals are good, with just a trace of accent, but that is not intrusive. I do not know how easy it is to purchase the CD but enquiries could be made to the band’s website. The CD certainly demonstrates that there is some good blues music being produced in Greece (we should not forget that Joe Bonamassa recorded his last CD there) and these guys are clearly in the vanguard of that, both on their own and backing visiting acts.

Reviewer John Mitchell is a blues enthusiast based in the UK. He recently attended the Blues Blast Awards in Chicago and had a great time! He was just back in the USA for the January 2011 Blues Cruise!

For other reviews and interviews on our website CLICK HERE

 

ROOTS TIME BE  From Belgium

 

www.rootstime.be

 

 

 

 

 

Regardless of financial crisis, political and social turmoil, street protests, pollution and heat, the Greeks know how to make music. They also have their own personal reasons for "I Got The Blues' singing. The seven-piece blues band "Blues Cargo" examine their escape into the electric blues and thus does rembetika, sirtaki Hadjitakische film or other musicians. With their funky modern electro-blues places they charge complex next to the better Chicago blues bands.

Founded in 1987, the group released their first album in 1993 called "First Delivery" from. Now more than fifteen years later, this new 'delayed' album, where singer / guitarist and bassist Dimitris Ioannou Stelios Zafeiriou most of the songs composed. In the meantime they were not silent. Numerous concerts here and in Europe and booked as support act for John Mayall and John Hammond have confirmed their reputation.

Already taken the lead vocalist and guitarist, but also determine the keyboard and saxophone player with the timbre of their vital blues. Both '95% 'with tingling piano as the slower' Emptiness' with brilliant saxsolo of Babis Tsilivigos are each on separate infectious and poignant way. And Stelios Gabrielides is a damn good drummer. Fourteen tracks you are as it were carried on the blue route that went from Louisiana to Illinois and finally in this century in Greece to follow their own trail. The Blues Cargo adds some Olympic flame to it.

With mostly funky songs and the occasional boogie show this Greek band that by relying on the inspirational blues masters such as Lucky Peterson, Albert Collins and Carl Weathersby. With his gritty voice Ioannou also call the same emotion as in "Is not That I Do not Love You". For all his songs, most funky and dynamic element is the soul in sight. Three bandmembers lost during the recording as one of their parents, which they did not prevent the energetic and emotional forces.

For those who spend their holidays in Greece this summer if you have planned something the Blues Cargo 'you posted, I would not hesitate a second to give them a visit just to their "Everyday I Have the Blues" with exuberant sax Live to hear or even 'Boogie 69 "with a handsome guitar of ZAF.

Marcie


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Comment by Dimitris Ioannou on April 14, 2014 at 1:06pm
Comment by Dimitris Ioannou on March 16, 2012 at 3:48pm
Comment by Yannis Rousochatzakis on October 18, 2011 at 8:27pm

Δημήτρη το έχεις και στα Αγγλικά αυτό το ιστορικό της μπάντας;

Γιά στείλτο που το θέλω...

 

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