"All southern European people tend to express and expose their feelings and love the Blues. Furthermore Greeks can relate to early Blues because it sounds similar to Rebetika music from the same era."

Boris Voutsinos: Embraces Vintage Qualities

Boris Voutsinos was born in Vienna, Austria. Both parents were young Opera singers at that time. After his brother's birth in 1962 and due to his father's business trips, the family settles in several german cities. In 1972 he begins to torture his father's innocent guitar and continues doing so on a few classical guitar tutors after 1976, when the family moves to their homeland Greece. Fragments of childhood memories of gospel singing in german elementary schools and accidental encounters with street musicians while traveling throughout Europe (following his father's concert schedule on school holidays) must have contributed to his falling in love with the Blues at age 17, which made him switch to acoustic guitar.

From 1980 he expands his skills in singing as well as playing harmonica, mandolin, banjo, kazoo, (rattle)spoons and piano. "It felt like home when I sang, played and listened to the Blues. I tried to learn more and more of, about and from it, with ears and eyes wide open, with the help of a few friends and a lot of sheer luck. I think I have achieved something finally, slowly but steadily." Starting out as a short time member of the "Lost Wandering Blues Band", a British-American band playing on the ice-cold streets of Zurich (Switzerland) in winter 1980, Boris played in several Athens (Greece)-based bands (The Clique 1 to 3, Mystery Train, Blues Trick, Blues Duo, Drunk Trunk, ...), with Manolis Angelakis, Ioannis Monos, Dimitris Ioannou, Christos Polydoros and Mickey Pantelous and others. Between bands he returns to the one man street band state, in which he sings, plays 6- or 12-string guitar, harmonica and/or kazoo simultaneously, backed up by a foot - tapped and pedaled steamer trunk, fuel tank and tin can percussion kit, unless the weather really sucks and he has to roll the whole thing into a warm and dry place...                       (Photo by Nicholas Carellos)

Interview by Michael Limnios

What does the Blues make you find out about yourself?

The Blues offered me a way to reveal and express my feelings. I took that offer, but found out that to get your message out loud, clear, honest and simple is a lot of work on who I am and what I do. And sometimes I lose - to the Blues.

What does the Blues mean to you?

A lot, since they are the refinement of a multicultural blend based on expression and communication under extreme pressure. They evolved throughout, from dealing with the devastation and despair slavery had caused to its victims up to facing social, financial and personal issues of nowadays. The Blues are so old, strong and serious that it always was and still is a challenge of responsibility to me.

"I decided about my sound when I got aware of the possibilities, skills and ideas of mainly pioneering acoustic instrument players or singers from the pre-war era and on playing folk, blues and country who did progressive stuff despite the lack of high technology." (Photo by Yannis Rousochatzakis)

What experiences in life make someone Bluesman?

I think there are more than one ways to become a Bluesman or a Blueswoman, to make it interesting to the girls, too. First of all, one has to encounter the Blues, either be born into it as a Bluesman or -woman's child or neighbor, or listen to it on the radio, on TV, through the i-pod, you name it. Or even better, listen to it played live. And "dig" it. I mean, if one feels a liberating relief, one gets connected to or hooked on it. If one has chosen to become a musician and to express him- or herself through it without lying, and sticks to the Blues mainly or exclusively, then you have a Bluesman or a Blueswoman. Skin color, nationality, language, age and so on are not unimportant or insignificant, but in my opinion nowadays secondary.

What is it like to play the Blues in Greece?

Greece has, historically seen, only very few things common with the rural South of the United States, but issues like uprooting, emigration, poverty, urban rush and variety in cultural influences have been decisive factors in shaping a receptivity for music genres like the Blues. But of course there are obstacles too: Language, approach and techniques of singing, and the fact that until recently, anything that had no glamour and glitter in and on it, wasn't attractive to the average listener, mainstream consumer that is. The debt and moral crisis Greece has been in since 2008 has an impact on that. On one hand there are many new bands out now who feature lyrics in more than their language. And there are new, more or less young guys who rediscover and experiment with evergreen genres like Jazz, Blues, Swing, Gypsy Swing, Rock 'n' Roll, (Nu) Soul, Tango, Fado, Folk music from around the globe and even Opera with a new twist. I think, that many Greek bands never travelled that much abroad as they do now. On the other hand there are listeners who insist on "Greek products" and are rather negative about "foreign music". But in general, playing the Blues in Greece needs more effort than say in Italy to live on. I play it on the streets of Athens at the time and I am not too far from making a living out of it exclusively.

How would you describe your sound and the development of it?

I decided about my sound when I got aware of the possibilities, skills and ideas of mainly pioneering acoustic instrument players or singers from the pre-war era and on playing folk, blues and country who did progressive stuff despite the lack of high technology. I started out as an acoustic rhythm guitar player and singer but always had the dream of having a band with everything in it, horns, percussion, strings, keys, a choir, you name it. I passed through several bands, played alone in between, and as my skills improved, I took over the parts of lead and rhythm guitar, faked the bass, mastered the drums and percussion and refined my harmonica-on-a-stand playing. I'm still looking forward to add some more instruments and even to have an alternative set-up.

"Νow that the Blues have gone places, I hope to see more of the old Bluesmen's and -women's children and grandchildren rediscover their parent's and grandparent's work and take care of it once more."

What characterizes your musical philosophy?

If you mean my way of thinking, the rules, aims and frames I set, my manner of working on my material and the reason I do this: As a vital part of me, music grew along with my heart and brain, slowly but showing signs of determination. Now I'm quite sure that music is the bearer of a message, if not the message itself. I am one of many messengers. The more I work in the right direction, the more the parts of the whole truth reveal and spread through me. The "whole truth" might be the Word itself, as it is mentioned in the Bible. I'm not religious, but if you analyze the word "inspiration" and look at the creativity, effort and suffering of many musicians and other artists, even scientists, you will see that we are driven by more than just sex, drugs, money, fame, glory and pleasure. People don't call us crazy for nothing.

What in your opinion is the reason for the Blues' continuity in attracting so many devotees?

Like other down- to- earth ordinary people's music genres, the Blues cover a wide range of emotions and have many, say, applications. You can sit all by yourself and cry your guts out over a lament or shake a leg in a party to a Jump-Blues. And since the Blues has gained a variety in timbre, speed and instrumentation due to its longevity, there's something for every taste. I don't know many genres that can be heard from "a cappella" (single, unaccompanied voice singing) up to a full band lineup plus woodwind, brass section, strings, percussion and choir. As long as the Blues are out there, they take prisoners.

What's the best jam session you ever played in?

I don't recall a particular one, but I definitely choose these with musicians from different styles, African, Irish Folk, Classical, Ambient, Gypsy Swing, Free Jazz, Funk and Rock. I had excellent times with violins and double bass.

"Like other down- to- earth ordinary people's music genres, the Blues cover a wide range of emotions and have many, say, applications. You can sit all by yourself and cry your guts out over a lament or shake a leg in a party to a Jump-Blues." (Photo by Thanassis Bounas)

Which gigs have been your most memorable ones?

There are many, but I remember one particular chaotic one. It was on the island of Ikaria, at an open air coffee bar with a dance floor overlooking the sea below. We had an unexpectedly big audience of more than 600 people, the sound was bad and couldn't get through right, two of the band members had a fight with the lead guitarist on stage, but everybody else seemed to have a hell of a time. When I entered the venue next morning sleepless and dying for breakfast and coffee, it was wide open, no doors locked, nobody else around, and the sun shined on a demolition site that seemed to be the dance floor. There was a young wild looking guy sleeping with his head resting on a little  pillow that lay inside the bass drum, his body half on stage, his legs stretched on the dance floor scattered with broken glass, one shoe was missing. Another guy snored under the keyboard stand, tangled up in speaker cables, like he had tried to wrap an imaginary blanket around himself.

Yes, we did some damage there.       

Which acquaintances have been most important to you?

I think, when I met the Lost Wandering Blues ("and Jazz" was added later) Band back in 1980 in Zurich. Instead of looking for an affordable way to study, I enrolled in The Busker's University. Next door to their hotel room stayed Big Time Sarah for some nights, and I met her again years after that, when she came to Athens for her first time. Then there were some backstage talks with Champion Jack Dupree, Luther Allison and Eddie C. Campbell. Nowadays it's much easier to contact remote Blues musicians over the internet, and it's like a miracle to guys like me.

What is has been the best advice ever given to you?

The statement of Daniel Fitzgerald of the Lost Wandering Blues and Jazz Band that busking is the king of the jobs. And the urge of wives and friends to stop looking for reasons to nag and complain about instead of doing something right myself.

What do you miss most nowadays from the Blues of the past?

Well I don't really miss anything, but one thing that I don't understand is why some lead guitarists or sound engineers for example insist and depend so much on complicated high technology to achieve a sound that is as close as possible to the sound of a guitar or a band with no technology at all.

"The Blues are so old, strong and serious that it always was and still is a challenge of responsibility to me." (Photo by Yannis Rousochatzakis)

What are your hopes and fears for the future of Blues?

Well, now that the Blues have gone places, I hope to see more of the old Bluesmen's and -women's children and grandchildren rediscover their parent's and grandparent's work and take care of it once more. It would be very interesting to me to see how they would deal with it, because they supposedly are charged with more responsibility to their ancestors and legacy than e.g. a Korean teenager. I'd like to see more bands like the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Now, my fears are about next generations getting more stupid for convenience instead of learning. I'm afraid one day I might miss an audience with no plug-in-ear-phones that can tell a double bass from a tuba. I mean, even visually!

Which memory from busking in Zurich with the Lost Wandering Blues and Jazz Band and in Athens’ streets makes you smile?

Well, I give you one memory for each occasion: Zurich was freezing cold in winter 1980, there was snow and ice on the streets and we were 5 all together, but 2 of us would always be missing from the show on purpose, thawing indoors at the wine bar until we had to replace other frozen musicians playing in front of the place. The waitress would go out from time to time and serve hot wine on a table provided for them. Hard work, but lovely supported, the Greeks definitely have to reconsider their prejudices about "cold" northern Europeans. And another incident, about 8 years ago: I had an one man band gig in Aegio, in a tiny bar called Mojo bar. The venue owner told me about two crazy guys who had declared devoted fans of me without having heard me yet. They turned out a New York punk and a Texan US Army soldier who was stationed in Bosnia at that time. They took the ride back to Athens with me in my car and stayed in my apartment. We rehearsed about 8 songs and intended to offer a street show. The punk could sing and play harmonica and the Texan could dance. Since there was no available dancing partner for him, we bought a cheap, blond, inflatable doll from a sex shop and dressed her up with a silver gown. We glued a mustache over her lips so the kids wouldn't ask silly questions and make their parents feel awkward. We pulled off our show outdoors in the old town area of Athens, the pedestrian zone around the Acropolis, in Plaka, Monastiraki and Thissio. We didn't make that much money, but when we returned home, my stomach was aching from laughing and singing at the same time. You should see the doll fly over the puzzled crowd like a balloon wearing slutty underwear and land safely in the tall, smiling Texan's arms- head down!

You are also known as an one man band. Tell us about it.

In fact I'm positively surprised that people remember me from bands of four pieces and up, because at the time I was part of them I had the impression that I wasn't outstanding enough for the audience to distinguish me from the other members. As a one man band I do all the work as only few bands ever mastered for me and I get all the attention and feedback, positive or not, and that's what makes it challenging. When I get too lonesome, I call friends to support my "Portable One Seater Orchestra". There is a great book about hundreds of one man bands around the world published by Dave Harris, an one man band himself based in British Columbia. My ex- bandmate Mickey Pantelous is in it and there is a mention about me, too. Lots of Blues oriented "multiple units" in there. Check it out.                           (Photo by Sonja Blum)

What do you think are the connections between Folk Blues and modern Electric Blues?

Well, far most of their features are common. There are differences in amplification technology and therefore new sounds, differences in the themes of the lyrics, in the musicians' background, life style, dress code and stage behavior. As a musician born into music I declare that I can hear "hidden music" out of all kinds of sounds, if it's there, deliberately or accidental. I also can tell if somebody tries to hide the absence of work or music behind many sounds or visual distractions. When I hear real Blues, it doesn't really matter how one particular instrument sounds, what kind of clothes the musicians wear and if the music was played in a chicken shack or in a digital studio. Like I said, the Blues have been around a long time and have lived in the strangest places, you can't blame them for not being old country exclusively, wearing nothing but overalls and picking cotton only. They don't forget alright, but they move on. There are many

different opinions about what belongs or doesn't belong to the Blues and what different kinds of Blues there are, but in 100 more years it will be pretty confusing to determine whether a Blues played by XYZ should be listed under Folk Blues or Electric Blues when there will be  "the original XYZ tune, Durham, 1936", "1969 XYZ Detroit amplified reissue of his original 1936", "1998 Canadian XYZ tribute band version of an acoustic 1975  XYZ cover of his 1936 original" and "2015 London remix of all previous ones" around at the same time.

You apparently have been using several self-made and improvised musical instruments. Would you describe and explain them a little bit?

Yes, there is some experimental stuff I have done with existing instruments, but there are some adaptions, combinations and inventions of mine, too. As I said before, I wanted to play all by myself and sound at least like a three piece Blues band. There were practical and financial restrictions and therefore I had to use my creativity and of course humor! For example, I had to create the simultaneous sound of a drummer, while my head and hands were busy. So the feet had to take over the drummer part. But I wanted to make it sound as complex as the drumming of somebody with four available limbs instead of only two. Therefore my feet had to do double work. To achieve that, action had to be shared with both feet's heels and toes, so I combined the use of house made pedals with tap dance techniques. See? Everything was already there. To open my eyes thinking, see it, build it and combine it was my work.  

           

"The Blues offered me a way to reveal and express my feelings. I took that offer, but found out that to get your message out loud, clear, honest and simple is a lot of work on who I am and what I do. And sometimes I lose - to the Blues." (Photo by Andreas Markou)

Why the Greeks are so enamored with the Blues?

All southern European people tend to express and expose their feelings and love the Blues. Furthermore Greeks can relate to early Blues because it sounds similar to Rebetika music from the same era. In fact some researchers claim that some of the Greek Rebetika singers who recorded in the United States were influenced by the guttural and hoarse voices of Blues singers. And there are the pentatonic scales of course, and the so called melismatic singing and playing around a note that contribute to the familiarity of the Blues sound to Greeks. And there are Johnny Otis and Nick Gravenites, United States Bluesmen of Greek origin.

Do you think there is a real local Blues scene in Greece?

In my opinion, no. There's just a small but loyal community of people who likes to listen to the Blues from time to time. And there are some people who present the Blues among other related stuff, some record collectors, a few radio DJs and bar owners. Many young musicians start out playing some 12 bar Blues or stop by to say hello to them, but usually move to other ground. There were and are just too few musicians, let alone bands who played and still play the Blues professionally and live on it gigging in the live stage circuit, touring and participating in festivals and making records. There are practically too few promoting and supporting the Blues. Even the one and only "Blues" club which played them exclusively shut down last fall after 32 years of existence. Every time there is something resembling the formation of a Blues scene, it is left struggling alone, full of problems, like most of all non - mainstream ventures. But I have seen some interesting changes due to the crisis, who knows. Until recently I thought I knew everybody in Greece involved in the Blues. But I keep on stumbling over young, interesting bands that have already done their homework in the internet and get busy, even abroad in no time. Years ago it was out of the question for Greek youngsters to leave their parental home, friends, familiar places and habits behind. Now it's survival laying the tracks.

Which was the most interesting period for Blues lovers in Greece?

Well, every time the Blues hit Greece in any way, there have been good times for me. The seventies for digesting Robert (Roviros) Manthoulis' excellent documentary films on the Blues and Cuban music. The "Half Note" Jazz Club. The first two only- Blues- Bands, Blues Wire and Blues Cargo were founded around 1979  or 1980. The eighties were hospitable for the Blues in Greece. The "Blues Club" opened in 1981. After the first "Blues Brothers" movie, Blues, Soul, the "old" R'n'B and even Country gained more listeners. Many Blues acts came to play in that decade. Mainly John Angelatos' and Nick Carellos' invitations. The nineties. I remember vaguely you had opened "Blues People" in the Vouliagmenis Ave. area. I have to do some research again, I can't recall much. Well "Rodon" of course, whenever they had Blues acts there, I was around.

Are there any memories which you'd like to share with us?

Yes, and they mostly have to do with Bluesmen and -women who fit the description: Black, born in the South, learned and played the Blues from their teens and were still going, despite their age and/or health. You could tell from their handwriting that they had a hard time finishing school in their youth, if they didn't drop out at all. Despite they had lived in a poor, violent, uncertain and unfair environment and cope with racism, imprisonment for no reason and other, they behaved like Gentlemen and Ladies. Contrary to stereotypes, most of them were health conscious, drank no or little alcohol, had quit smoking decades ago and hated guns.

Let's take a trip with a time machine. Where would you like to go a whole day long, and for what reason?

I guess I'd wish to be somehow working for the American Folk & Blues Festival in the sixties, when all these legends were introduced to the European audience. I'd like to experience how both sides were affected: Many Jazz- and Blues  musicians even moved to Europe after that, and many Europeans moved to the Blues.

What's been your experience travelling around the world?

Most of my travelling, in Europe that is, took place in my childhood and teens. In school holidays my mother, brother and I would visit my father in Rome, Paris, Lyon, Brussels, wherever he was assigned as an Opera singer. And there were the summer holidays, when we travelled as close as possible to the Greek borders to get a taste of our homeland, because my parents were on the Junta regime's blacklist. When I was growing up, my mind travelled either way, and when I added a real journey to it, I learned to avoid stagnation, strict limitations and boredom.

What are your conclusions?

Well I see travelling as an exchanging and changing process. There is an effort and routine in travelling I have to follow just to keep out of trouble. In exchange I get little lessons in "universal things done different here". I get new answers to old questions that hit me like revelations. I meet different minds in different places, and if I am open enough to speak my mind, the different minds exchange ideas with mine. I may find out that I have more in common with so-called strangers than I thought. And my stereotypes change. Even about myself.

Boris Voutsinos with the "Seli Kanu" African Dance and Percussion School