George "Whiskey" Stefanakis

57, Male

Athens

Greece

Profile Information:

Relation to Blues music:

Blues Band Member

I play or do:

Guitars, Harp, Other wind, Other string, Vocals

About Me:

Hello - well, first of all don't think I'm a genius: when I write that I play harp, I mean that I play Bob Dylan style. The "other wind" instrument that I play is a kazoo (this is an influence from jug bands, anyway). As for the "other string" instrument, I am still trying to learn Rory Gallagher's "Goin' to my home town" on the mandolin.
It all started back at school. Around 1980. I learned my first chords on a fifteen euro nylon string guitar and my first hammer-ons and bends on an equally cheap Korean electric guitar. After Rory Gallagher's Athens concert I listened to “Stage Struck” once a day for six months. I wanted to be like him. I still do.
It was 1987, after several fruitless school band attempts, when I formed my first “serious” band. A rock outfit called Lazy. The band played a good number of gigs in Athens before it dissolved in 1990 – mainly for the hardly uncommon reason that some members had to do their military service.
In 1992 it seemed the dream would come true: my first blues – or blues rock? – band. A band with great potential, as it featured one of the best guitarists I’ve ever heard (it wasn’t me). We called it White Boots, after a Vaughan Brothers song. We were deep into Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jeff Healey and Gary Moore at the time, though gradually the band moved to a more funky blues direction. We were quite active, mainly in our hometown Athens till 1997-98, despite the fact that the guitarist I mentioned before quit rather early. The dream almost came true.
I had some side projects meanwhile, playing with bands such as Rubber Biscuit and Trouble Shuffle, that also had potential but somehow failed to make the big break.
From 1999 till 2009 I played with soul – r’n’b band Soul Fingers, an ambitious project with a horn section and three vocalists. Quite different from the usual two-guitar-bass-drums combo but too many people for the average stage. Nevertheless, the group gigged frequently – mainly in Athens, though it was hard to find a stage large enough to accommodate nine people.
Still a member of Soul Fingers, during December 2008 I joined a rock band that had had serious trouble finding a guitarist. Soon afterwards, the band was christened DreamBoatAnnie (one word, don’t ask why) and we started gigging.
The latest news is that I joined the MoonStone Combo in November 2010. I've been having a really good time since.

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