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Soukis Blues are spiced with funky grooves, shuffle beats and rock elements
enlivened with European style and the freshness of Mediterranean breezes. Spiros
Soukis, a native of Athens, Greece, began his love affair with the blues
filtered through the British Invasion and guitar masters Peter Green, Eric
Clapton, Robin Trower and Jeff Beck. In time he learned about American slingers
like Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Duane Allman and Harvey Mandel.
Reading liner notes and credits led him to discover the original men behind the
music--Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, etc. In the early '80s,
Soukis started to perform and tour with Greek rock legend, Pavlos Sidiroupolos.
He studied guitar, piano and harmonica and eventually earned a degree in Music
Theory and Harmony from the Athens Conservatory.
Soukis moved to Stockholm in the mid '80s where he performed live, taught guitar
and earned a degree in Musicology from Stockholm University. Back in Athens in
the early '90s he formed the band, That's Why, which performed widely, recorded
regularly and toured extensively. That's Why was the opener for a diverse group
of musicians ranging from The Pixies to Peter Green himself.
The self-produced "Fota Tou Iliggou" (Lights of Vertigo), that Soukis released
in July, 1996, received overwhelmingly positive reviews and was voted 'CD of the
Month.' Reissued in September, 2000, many of its songs can be found in various
compilations.
The U.S. Congress declared 2003 'Year of the Blues,' so Soukis arrived to live
in New York City--from where he released "Transblues," a CD recorded in both
Athens and his newly-adopted home. The recording consists of eight original
songs Soukis wrote and on which he sings and plays guitar; two smokin' blues
covers captured live in the heart of Manhattan round out this auspicious
American debut.
Soukis regularly performs throughout the tri-state area of New York, Connecticut
and New Jersey in clubs, concerts, music festivals and private events. He plays
often at Scotland Yard in Hoboken, NJ—a premier blues venue where the top
musicians in the region appear—and B.B. King's Lucille's in Manhattan.
A regularly featured guest on radio shows dedicated to the blues, Soukis has
performed on "Antique Blues," WPKN-FM, in Bridgeport, Connecticut and Montauk,
New York; and "Something Inside Me," WKCR-FM, at Columbia University in
Manhattan.
Soukis's instrumental, "Kathleen," is included in "Guitars of Tomorrow, Vol. 1,"
an October, 2007, release by the Chicago indie label, K.T. Recordz.
Find out more about Spiros and his friends by visiting his
MySpace page.
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