Art Of Parties

A band somewhere between new wave and new romantics (http://greekpostpunk.blogspot.com/2007/08/), they formed in the early 80s in Athens, Greece, and took their name from a track out of the "Tin Drum" album by the British band Japan. The band's inaugural single, Last Time / Central Room, was released in early 1984 on Creep Records (2), with: Παντελής Βασιλάκης on vocals and guitars (credited as Andy in the 1984 release and as various versions of Pantelis Vassilakis thereafter) Δημήτρης Βασιλάκης on vocals, bass, and keys (credited as James in the 1984 release and as various versions of Dimitrios Vassilakis thereafter) Θανάσης Οικονόμου on guitars (credited as Adam in the 1984 release and as various versions of Athanassios Economou thereafter) Κώστας Κυριακίδης on drums (credited as Costas in the 1984 release and as various versions of Konstantinos Kyriakidis thereafter) Short History In early 1980, schoolmates Θανάσης (classically trained guitarist) and Παντελής (self-taught multi-instrumentalist) started jam sessions in the Athens suburbs of Nea Smyrni and Palaio Faliro, trying to indoctrinate each other into their favorite artists (Van Der Graaf Generator, Peter Hammill, & Peter Gabriel VS The Beatles, Bowie, & The Jam). About a year in, schoolmate Γιώργος Ορφανουδάκης, who was working at an Athens record store at the time, joined in on drums. His broad exposure to all kinds of new music (Talking Heads, Medium Medium, Echo and the Bunnymen, Japan, Roxy Music, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Specials, and many more) and the addition of Δημήτρης on bass were a defining influence to the band's aesthetic, an influence that followed them for years to come. They performed ~a dozen of gigs, mainly at outdoor mini festivals and private houses, before they were approached by Μπάμπης Δαλίδης of Creep Records in 1983. Γιώργος was replaced by Κώστας Κυριακίδης, another Nea Smyrni native and the most experienced performer in the band at the time, as the rehearsals for the upcoming recording sessions were getting under way. There are no Art Of Parties recordings available with Γιώργος Ορφανουδάκης on drums. Γιώργος has since owned and operated various restaurants, exhibition spaces, and nightlife spots in Athens, including the famous Stavlos in Θησείον. He continued drumming with The Brush, a garage band, from 1985 to 1992, and then again from 2005 to 2012. He currently runs at Aplika in Nea Smyrni. https://m.facebook.com/AplikaArt/. On 23/3/1984, soon after the release with Creep Records, they performed live at Σχολικό Συγκρότημα Γκράβας (Athens), along with 'Στρυχνίνες', 'Ghetto', 'Cpt Neφos', 'Metro Decay', 'South Of No North (2)', 'Yell-O-Yell' & 'Villa 21'. A bootleg recording of that festival is circulating on the web. Review in Greek from mic.gr (http://www.mic.gr/team/ta-kalytera-agglofona-5) "Το punk δεν το ζήσαμε στην εποχή του, και τα απόνερα του μας πήραν πολλά χρόνια αργότερα σε γραφικές ως επί το πλείστον υλοποιήσεις, το νέο κύμα όμως και τους νεορομαντικούς τους προλάβαμε για τα καλά! Οι δε Art of Parties τα είχαν όλα. "Σωστά" κουρέματα, όνομα που υποδήλωνε πολλά (από τραγούδι των Japan), ποπ ευαισθησία, και δύο κομματάρες… Το 45άρι εκείνο θα το βρείτε με λίγα, πολύ λίγα ευρουλάκια, σκονισμένο στο Μοναστηράκι…" In 1985 and after a series of short-term drummers replacing Κώστας, Γιώργος Κατσούφης joined the Art Of Parties on synths for ~1 dozen live performances and several studio demos, including "Nice & Gentle," released digitally in 2021 and credited jointly to Pantelis Vassilakis and Art Of Parties. He also contributed two tracks to the 1990 LP "Elements." Over the years, Δημήτρης moved to saxes and Παντελής worked on synths, saxes, and sequencing, while session musicians joined at various times on strings, horns, guitars, vocals, etc., performing in small clubs around Athens, on and off until 1989. Παντελής and Δημήτρης performed as Art Of Parties at London's Rock Garden, in May and June 1991, presenting the 1990 album "Elements" with musicians from the colleges they were attending at the time (Royal Academy of Music & Kingston University School of Music). They did not play live again as Art Of Parties until July, 2014, when Δημήτρης, by now an internationally recognized Jazz composer and saxophonist, gathered some of his musicians and performed a mix of covers and new material with Παντελής at Kazba Restaurant & Bar in Porto Rafti, Attiki. In July of 2019, the pre-Creep members reunited to perform all new materials at Epitokio (Nea Smyrni) and Navy Style (Porto Rafti), with Γιώργος on drums and guests Vasilis Babounis on bass and backing vocals (Δημήτρης played saxophones and sang) and Manos Saridakis on keys. Several of the songs by Παντελής performed at those gigs have been recorded and are being slowly released in the US, under Pantelis Vassilakis, some with long distant contributions by Δημήτρης and Κώστας Κυριακίδης. Releases 1) Last Time / Central Room (7" single); 1984 Creep Records (2) 2) Elements (LP); 1990 Pulse Records Ltd. 3) Fruits Of Wrath (12 Lost And Unreleased Tracks From The Greek 80's Underground) (LP); Track 4: "In My Heart" 2013 Geheimnis Records 4) Nice & Gentle (digital single); 2021 Acousticslab / Sound4Vision