Steel Notes Magazine
February 2017
Only at an older age . Being an athlete I wanted to succeed in sports . Playing drums was something I was always doing , but it was more of a hobby . What I used to be focused on was athletic training , in fact I used to train 6 days a week to become a hockey player , and I was into other sports as well . I was definitely older when music started to gain relevance . It was not something I actively meant to do , it just happened . King Diamond required more of my time , there were more shows to do , so over time being a musician completely took over my life . I was playing drums most of my time , and that ’ s when I realized I had actually become a professional drummer .
only had 20 minutes before “ Mr . Brown ” would get home .
You have Greek roots , don ’ t you ?
Yes , I do have Greek roots and I value them very much . They helped me become what I am today . I grew up in Sweden , and even though it ’ s a great country to live in , it was sometimes too “ safe ” of a place . Meaning , I did not have many challenges or competitions to face growing up . My Greek side instead was pushing me to be a stubborn motherfucker , to become a number one in sports , to achieve something great in life . I feel like the balance of Swedish culture and Greek roots allowed me to be very balanced in life .
Who inspired you the most along your career ?
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Do you remember your first gig ?
Yes , I was 7 years old and my band mates were 9 . We were obviously beginners but we were having fun playing the few songs we learnt . I remember we played Cream , Johnny Winter , Deep Purple and some Jimi Hendrix too .
Have you always had the support of your family over the course of the years ?
They always completely supported me . There are a few drummers in my family - only drummers , no other instruments . My cousin used to play in a rock / blues band , and my uncle used to play too . I still remember that when we used to live in an apartment complex , my mom started walking around asking people about their daily habits . She wanted me to practice and play drums only at times when I would not disturb anybody . So I used to come home from school , and I knew I
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I have to say my cousin and my uncle , because they were the first drummers I had around . Mainly my cousin , because we were really close and he ’ s always been so nice to me . In terms of bands , I would say Rolling Stones , Cream , Hendrix , Johnny Winter , Deep Purple . When I was a kid I was the only one knowing so much about music already . It wasn ’ t like today , now it ’ s so easy to just search things on YouTube . Those were the years when you had to wait long times for a magazine to come out , or for a vinyl to be released . A record was a holy thing , a treasure . I believe that was a good thing , since it made people appreciate music so much . Those were the times during which real rock stars were born . We have popular musicians today , but they are just not as brilliant as they used to be in the past .
What kind of music is most appealing to you nowadays ?
I ’ m a very active musician and I think drummers , more than other musicians , are supposed to listen to many different styles of music . It ’ s like food , basically , you need to taste various things all the time . I listen to fusion , soul , jazz , even disco , classical music , and of course hard rock and metal . I have to say I don ’ t like it when people still talk about the King Diamond era . I mean ,