CONTACT US:
For booking inquiries contact in USA & Canada (PACs and Festivals):For booking inquiries in clubs & other territories :
Ismail Lumanovski, email:ismaillumanovski84@gmail.com
3 Questions for Panagiotis in 3 Minutes
1.) How long have you been playing bass and what other instruments have you played?
PA: I started playing music at the age of 6. My first instrument was barock and renaissance recorder for almost 10 years. I prefer the Italian version of the instrument-flauto dolce-the sweet flute! I also studied classical piano for 6 years and classical clarinet for 2. I attended the "musical high school of Athens" a school that one enters through auditions. There I studied choir and byzantine choir—that is medieval Christian music of the byzantine empire-- along with traditional instruments such as bouizouki, baglama, and perc instruments like dumbek and frame drums. I was also exposed to international folklore which later became and still is my passion. I played traditional South American flutes like kena and became acquainted with the music of the world in general.
2) How does bass enrich your understanding of other music, other instruments, melodic interpretations?
PA: Great question! Bass is a very cerebral instrument. It's the opposite of "I wanna be noticed" or "I wanna be seen". When played correctly, it’s what makes the "I wanna be seen" instruments shine. When you play the bass, you are bound to listen… period. I picked the bass at the age of 16 because I was a metal-head. There's not much bass culture in the part of the world I grew up, namely the Balkans and the near east. An example that always reminds me why I left is the multiple occasions where people do not know what a bass guitar is. My grandpa always asked me if "I'm still banging the violin" --never played the instrument--, and many cab drivers would ask me "how many did I shoot", meaning birds, because the case resembles that of a rifle.
3) Being Greek in America...?
PA: I can't say if it's awesome or not, all I can say it's that it's so special... Greeks have been migrating here since the late 1800's, so there are so many different levels of integration: Greeklish and anything in between you can imagine!