The Skelters is a Greek rock band formed in Thessaloniki in 1996 from brothers singer/guitarist Angel and drummer/vocalist Daniel Charavitsidis. The original lineup was completed with lead guitarist/vocalist Stavros Amanatidis and bassist Thodoris Nikolaou. They have appeared in several live stages throughout Greece and supported many famous artists such as ZZ Top and Pavlov’s Dog. Moreover, the band is known for its legendary tributes to artists like The Beatles, John Lennon, Queen, Elvis Presley and U2, which have been the main influence of the band since its formation. The first album of The Skelters is entitled “Explain To Me” and was released in 2009.

Brief history

From a very young age, Angel Charavitsidis and his younger brother Daniel developed an interest for classic Rock ‘n Roll music which ultimately resulted in the original band “The Crickets” in 1996. The name was later on changed to The Skelters, because “The Crickets” was already used as a band’s name (Buddy Holly and the Crickets). The name Skelters was an idea coming from the original Beatles song “Helter Skelter” which has been the main influence of the band since its formation.
Up until 2003, the lineup has changed several times, yet always consisting of Angel and Daniel. The lead guitarist and vocalist Stavros Amanatidis joined the band in 2001, while the bassist Thodoris Nikolaou in 2004. Immediately after its formation, the band started appearing live locally counting more than 1000 appearances all over Greece to date. They have appeared in the most important live stages in Thessaloniki and Athens, festivals, TV and radio shows. Also, they were the support act for many important artists such as ZZ Top, Louisiana Red, Pavlov’s Dog, Iron Butterfly, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, helping the band to gain much needed professional musical experience. Also, the band is known for its legendary tributes to artists like The Beatles, John Lennon, Queen, Elvis Presley and U2, which have been the main influence of the band since its formation.

First public appearance (1998–1999)

Their first public appearance was in May 1998 at the elementary school of Tagarades. In February 1999 the band appeared for the first time in a TV show entitled “Jammin” in National Television. “The Crickets”, as they were called at the time, was the youngest band who ever appeared in that particular show! When they appeared for the second time on that show, in May of the same year, Stavros Amanatidis, the third member of The Skelters was on the guitar.

Development

In the period of 1998-2000, the band had already composed three original songs. From 2001, the band’s performances became more often and they began to appear in important live stages such as “Mesogeios Live Stage” and “Café Americain” supporting the well established group Blues Wire. In March 2002 they appeared at a concert in the Cultural Center of Thermi, where they performed their original songs live. In November of that year they recorded for the first time one of their songs, entitled “Let’s Go Party”. In December they recorded another one of their songs “See How Much I Love You”. In July 2003, they recorded “Now Is The Chance” and in September “It’s A Pity”. In January 2004, the fourth member, Thodoris Nikolaou, bassist, officially joined the band. The same month, the band paid a great tribute to Elvis Presley with a very special gig at Mylos live Stage in Thessaloniki. In February, they recorded another track, named “She Is A Liar”. In April–May 2005, they supported Blues Wire once again in their appearances at “Café Americain”. In early 2006, they put on another tribute to Elvis Presley, as well as a series of tribute nights to The Beatles at Mylos Club in Thessaloniki. In November, the band paid tribute to Queen and the late Freddie Mercury, performing numerous songs of their discography. In December, another live tribute for John Lennon was done. In 2007, they continued to perform live tributes, that time to U2 and The Beatles, while making appearances throughout Greece. The appearance supporting Louisiana Red and Blues Wire at Mylos Club in Thessaloniki was a great success. In 2008 The Skelters performed live their song “Let’s Go Party” on a very popular Greek TV show,“Radio Arvyla”. That year, they also supported Iron Butterfly on a concert in Thessaloniki and jammed with Puressence. Moreover, they supported Paul Di’ Anno on a concert in Thessaloniki Port.
On 25 May 2009, the band released its first album, entitled “Explain To Me”, distributed by Pan Vox. In the summer of 2009 they performed at the popular river party in Nestorius, at the city of Kastoria. On October 24, they were chosen to be the opening act for the ZZ Top concert in Athens, where they performed in front of a 10.000 people audience. On 22 December 2009 they reappeared at the popular TV show “RadioArvyla” where they performed their song “She Is A Liar”. On 30 December they did a very special one-time tribute “Elvis Presley VS Beatles” at Mylos Club. On 10 November 2010, they were chosen as the opening act for Pavlov’s Dog concert in Thessaloniki. Also, on December 8, 2010 the Skelters paid tribute to John Lennon, 30 years after his assassination, with a concert at Mylos Club in Thessaloniki.

History and analysis of songs

Each song on the first album of the Skelters, "Explain To Me", has its own history and all the songs were written in different periods. The lyrics of the songs are mostly inspired by everyday life and real events experienced by members of the band. Because of the many musical influences of Skelters, each song has its own style. Specifically, the first track, entitled Let's Go Party, is a pure rock n 'roll song with uplifting mood, influenced by the Beatles, Little Richard, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Kiss. The music is written by Angel, but the lyrics are from the Angel, Daniel and Stavros. The second track, «My Life Has Changed», is a love ballad and is closer to the style of John Lennon, George Harrison and Queen. The music was composed by Angel and Stavros, while the lyrics were written by Daniel. Next on the album is «See How Much I Love You», which was also converted to a videoclip, is a rock ballad. The lyrics and music were written by Angel and the song is a stylish mix of Beatles, U2 and Bon Jovi. The fourth track «Explain To Me», is dedicated to the greatest musical influence of the band, John Lennon, and speaks of world peace and love. Lyrics and music were written by Angel in 1998. The next track is entitled «Now Is The Chance», which is a classic rock song. The music was composed by Angel, while the lyrics were written by Daniel and Stavros. The next song , entitled «She Is A Liar», is a dance funk rock track, influenced by the Beatles, U2, Queen, and generally from the 80s music style. Music and lyrics were written by Angel and Daniel . «It's A Pity» follows next, a blues rock song, with lyrics from Daniel, speaks of the broken hearted men from women. influences of the song are the Beatles, Gary Moore and Led Zeppelin. Next track is «Corruption», a hard rock song talking about corruption in the world. The music is composed by Angel and the lyrics were written by Daniel and Stavros. The ninth and last track, «Journey», is an instrumental blues, rock, funk song, with influences from Blues Wires and Stevie Ray Vaughan. In conclusion, the nine songs of the album vary musically and each one has its own "music personality" and story.

Influences

The main and fundamental influence of the Skelters are the legendary Beatles. John Lennon was Angel's strongest "model" and was the reason for the creation of the Skelters. Subsequently, he became the favorite artist for the other members of the Skelters. The Beatles was the cornerstone for the band's creation and development. Apart from the Beatles, large influence on the Skelters are Queen, U2, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen, Little Richard, Oasis and Bon Jovi.
However, the Skelters have some secondary, but equally important influences. Each one plays its role in the musical interests of the members. So big names such as Aerosmith, Deep Purple, Bob Dylan, Guns n 'Roses, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Doors, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison, Steve Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Johnny Cash, David Bowie and T-Rex are added to the musical sounds and musical preferences of the Skelters. Finally, 60s, 70s, 80s and some other kinds of music, for example, blues, folk, glam, disco, funk, progressive, alternative etc, complete their musical influences.

Discography

2009 : Explain To Me
“Explain To Me” was the first album of The Skelters, released on 25 May and distributed by Pan Vox.
The album contains the following original tracks :

1. "Let’s Go Party"
2. "My Life has Changed"
3. "See How Much I Love You"
4. "Explain to Me"
5. "Now Is the Chance"
6. "She Is a Liar"
7. "It's a Pity"
8. "Corruption"
9. "Journey"

External links

• Official site
• at MySpace
• at Youtube
• at Facebook
• at Facebook