Onassis Presents: Stages A/Live | Puta Volcano At Αn Club

PUTA VOLCANO Live YouTube premiere from AN CLUB: Sunday, February 14 | 21:00 (EET)

Free of charge, with no time limit

The Onassis Foundation is supporting the local indie concert venue scene through a series of filmed live performances by bands and artists from the alternative Greek music scene, STAGES A/LIVE. By being next to all artists, but also everyone who plays their part – technicians, lighting specialists, and all those professionals without whom the music that has shaped us would never have reached us.

Puta Volcano, a band with a hard and rich rock sound, are getting ready to leave their unmistakable musical mark on the Onassis Channel on YouTube, on February 14 at 21:00, with a concert filmed by Cristos Sarris inside the historic An Club, a basement venue tucked away in the side streets of Exarchia, a space that has nurtured the very best Greek bands. One of the oldest concert spaces in Athens, An Club has set itself apart as a landmark venue in the city for more than 30 years. This historic live gig space on Solomou Street has hosted every artist that springs to mind when you think of Athenian nightlife, past and present. Creating countless memories for many successive generations, An Club has offered constant support to the Greek rock ’n’ roll, heavy rock, hip hop, and punk scenes. Legions of legendary artists – such as The Fuzztones, Dead Moon, Unida, Herman, Mike Patton, Lee Scratch Perry, Savage Republic, Helmet, and Brant Bjork – have appeared on the An Club stage, while leading lights of the Greek rock scene – such as Trypes, Xylina Spathia, Nightstalker, 1000mods, Planet of Zeus, and Vodka Juniors – all launched their careers there.

Puta Volcano – a band with a powerful stage presence and crystalline sound – formed in 2012, quite simply and magically because a guitar player asked his sister and some friends to jam with him. Their essence lies not in appearances but in the very being of their sound, created collaboratively by four fanatical bandmates: Steve S. on drums, Alex Pi on guitar, Bookies on bass, and Anna on vocals. It’s a heavy rock patchwork that springs from their explosive talent when they plug in their amplifiers, and from their ability to assimilate their influences (Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, and Baroness). With a discography of one EP and three LPs to date (their latest release was the exceptional “AMMA”), and a good number of concerts played at indoor venues and open air festivals within and beyond Greece – alongside such hard rock legends as Alice in Chains, The Black Angels, and Fu Manchu, to name just a few – Puta Volcano have proved themselves to be one of those charismatic bands that are constantly surpassing themselves, every step they take, be it in the recording studio or live on stage. Journalists and fans use five words to describe their music: desert, stoner, alternative, rock, and – of course – volcanic. This is music made to be played loud. Real loud.

STAGES A/LIVE is a series of concerts without audiences but with lots of music, hosted by the Onassis Channel on YouTube. An alternative digital world tour featuring our favorite bands and artists, and everything we’ve experienced with them at legendary past lives held at landmark venues such as Gagarin 205, AN club, and other music stages in Athens and Thessaloniki.

Until we can all be together again at a live concert, music will be bringing us closer, even though we’ re far apart, helping us to relive memories and concerts shared with thousands of people – both friends and strangers – via our screens.

Greece’s indie music stages were created to support young artists and have supported yet more audiences with bands once unknown that went on to become legends, in no small part thanks to their performances at historic concert venues. Fuzzy memories that today spark nostalgia, and a need for these stages to pull through – places where we feel safe and full of energy.

Just talking about such spaces as Gagarin 205 and AN club, bring on a feeling you can’t quite describe, like some delicate miracle, as you remember the lights and the music, the leads and everything that lies behind and before them, everyone so very close together, dancing to the powerful sounds.

In this difficult time for people working in the arts, the Onassis Foundation is actively supporting these spaces that, due to the pandemic, are close to shutting their doors for good. Stages drained of artists, of technicians, of audiences – and of life.

Culture continues to form an integral part of our existence, and the music scene remains a space where we feel safe. The indie music scenes of Athens, of Thessaloniki, of every Greek city now depend on us all. For the sake of everything that connects us with concert spaces, and for all the moments they have given us. Looking to the future together, we miss our collective musical past. Tune in to the Onassis Channel on YouTube and turn the volume up – the Greek indie music scene is (a)live.

The initiative is free to watch and without any time limitation.

Concept & Curation: Christos Sarris

Production Coordinators: Smaragda Dogani, Elena Choremi

Production: Onassis Stegi

PUTA VOLCANO

Anna Papathanasiou: vocals

Alex Pi: guitar

Steve Stefanidis: drums

Bookies: bass

Μanagement: Mihalis Kaloudis

Anna Papathanasiou’s styling: Philippe G.Missas

AN CLUB

Location Manager: Panagiotis Kaparidis

Art Direction: Eva Kolomvou

F.O.H Sound Engineer: Tasos Malliouras (aka. Anastasios Tsompanis)

Electrician: Charalampos Tsimpanis

Production Execution

Production: Marina Danezi

Production Manager: Steven Elpiziotis

Filming

Director – Camera: Christos Sarris

Director of Photography: Evan Maragkoudakis

Cameras: Dimitris Zivopoulos, Orfeas Kalafatis,

Filippos Zamidis, Koralia Dogani

Lighting Technician: Menelaos Orfanos

Recording Engineer - Mixing Engineer: Jacopo Focas

Editor: Tryfon Karatzinas

Colorist: Manthos Sardis

Photography: Pinelopi Gerasimou

Onassis Stegi

Technical Manager: Lefteris Karabilas

Technical Director & Project Support: Phil Hills

Lighting Technicians: Pavlos Pappas, Giorgos Tsitsigos

Stage Technicians: Panos Koutsoumanos, Platonas Tsamados

Production Manager – Production Management Consultant: Dimitra Dernikou

Production Coordinators: Smaragda Dogani, Elena Choremi

Line Production: Irilena Tsami, Ioulia Stamouli

Read more about Puta Volcano

Recognized as a major cog in the machine that is Greek heavy rock, Puta Volcano keep driving forward what was set in motion back in 2012, when their debut EP was released. Athens, Greece had already established its importance as the birthplace of new and exciting sounds, and that’s exactly what the creation of their debut album “The Sun” was during the period 2012–2015. A bunch of thumping live shows followed, the highlight being a slot at the Rockwave Festival in Athens, alongside The Black Keys, The Black Angels, and 1000mods.

Rest is a luxury modern rock ’n’ roll can’t afford – the engine had to rev again, and their next album, “Harmony of Spheres”, was on its way. In 2017, they planted their feet firmly on the ground, and their blend of Seattle grunge and Californian desert sounds were enhanced with an artistic quality and aroma that gave them a unique identity, setting them apart from other emerging bands.

Just before 2020 showed us all its teeth, “AMMA” – Puta Volcano’s latest album – was released in March, further strengthening their long-lasting relationship with their fanbase. Every element that made this whole venture exist in the first place was ever present, making it the most commercially successful record in their catalog so far. The Covid-19 outbreak coincided with the planned launch of their largest EU tour yet, cutting the album cycle short and leaving a ton of unfinished business for the future.

Read more about STAGES A/LIVE

https://www.onassis.org/initiatives/stages-alive