QUICKIE OF THE WEEK: A short interview with George Downloved (SadDoLLs)
written by Marko Jakob
Pix666: Hello George. The most important question right at the beginning. Are you well and are you healthy?
George: Hello! Yes thank God I Am, we all are and we are ready and excited for new shows. (assuming there is something there beyond 2020 hehehe)
Pix666: In a few weeks your new single ‘Call Me Pain’ will be released. There will also be a video clip to the song. When and where did you shoot it? Were there any special or funny moments during the shooting?
George: There is a really disturbing story behind that. We actually shot this video twice, once a week before the COVID outbreak and we did re-shoots in the beginning of July. We shot it in a great location, a theater in down town Athens called PK Theater, and it was shot by the great director and musician Bob Katsionis. It only took us like 4 hours to shoot it and it was extremely hot. Weather in Greece during summer does not allow Goth dress codes…
Pix666: Was it more complicated than usual to shoot a video clip in the current situation?
George: As i said above we shot the clip back in February a week before lockdown, in a garage or something. A Famous Greek model called Marianna Painesi joined us for some shots and a small story, everything was complete in a matter of hours, and then during quarantine we got a rough edit of the clip. It was terrible. Like a clip done back in 2003. Looked poor and claustrophobic. Did not do the song any justice at all. Really bad directors and technicians. So we kept the shots of the model inntact and we re- shot the band’s performance with the new director in July.
Pix666: When exactly will the single an the video be released, and in which versions the single will be available?
George: The video is currently under editing, i think it will be done by the end of the month. Then in September we will work with press and promotinal stuff for the single. The release date is October the 2nd for both the single and the music video. There will be two versions of the single, one for the digital platforms (Spotify, Itunes and Amazon) and there will be a physical version as well. A Limited edition of 60 copies only in digipack CD’s .
Pix666: Wow – I love limited editions – when can I pre-order them in your shop?
George: Sadly there will be no pre orders available this time because COVID fucked everything up (still does) and there is fear of more lockdowns in the future that means closed post deliveries as well, so no pre sales of the single. It will be available through our website saddolls.net on October the 2nd , the day of the official release.
Pix666: When you release new songs, you surely want to play these songs live in front of an audience. Do you already have any plans for gigs in the future? In Germany there are the first concerts with a limited number of spectators since July. Are there any rules for Greece already?
George: We are looking forward for new shows and festivals that’s for sure. We are planning a show here in Greece as well because we haven’t done that here since 2017. We are making contacts for shows outside Greece as well for 2021, so if the Earth still spins by then, we will be more than happy to play these shows. Here in Greece we had some drive in shows and then some more free for audience shows, but things got fucked again with Corona and now even the bars have a closing hour limit to 22:00, so not any live shows for summer and maybe even further than that. We are still slaves to the Virus.
Pix666: Will there be a new full-length SadDoLLs album soon, if so, when?
George: No, for the moment there are no plans for a new album at least. The plan for now is to release a brand new single and video eatch year, this way we can use our best songs, and surpise our fans and friends with something new and exciting every 10 or 12 months. That may change, but for now this is the plan.
Pix666: What else did you do besides the music during the contact restrictions? Do you have any interesting hobbies? Or is music simply everything in your life?
George: Paul and Johnny were still working from home during quarantine. Our bass player is a student so he was studying and focusing on that, and our drummer Darroc is the only one in the band that music is his day job as well. I Spent quality time at home with my beloved wife and i watched every last horror movie there is on Netflix. Had some fun time with the band as well via Messnger live. It really re- charged me and i got back to work more relaxed and with a great mood. As you may know the original release date for the single was March 2020, but the faulty clip and the outberak screwed that up, so during quarantine we were able to discuss all the alternative plans for the release, and when the lockdown was lifted we went straight to the new plans.
Pix666: What is the general mood in Greece regarding the Corona crisis??
George: The problem is that Greeks can’t stay home, they want to be out having fun and drinking at the bars and going to live shows etc. It was really hard for us to keep up and be strict to that new situation but we did it and with great results. The main problem came after the lockdown. Everyone were so eager and hungry to be free again, and they got way too free, they forgot about the Virus and thought that with so high temperatures there would be no danger at all. So the gatherings started again, the parties, the beaches were full and we starded having more and more cases with sick people and the hospitals started to be packed again, and now the goverment is starting forbidng activities again. We were way too happy to go out and people started getting sick again.
Pix666: Do you think that this crisis will change the behaviour of humanity in the future?
George: Yes I Am afraid it will. Especially the economies of the Western countries will be hurt badly many people will be left jobless and many more will die from this God forsaken thing. And we see it every day in the news. Black Lives Matter happened (a civil war within the US) then Turkey and Erdogan happened seeking war with everyone day by day. It’s a really hard and disturbing situation and i really hope it will be past us in 2021, and not worse than it already is…
Pix666: What do you think will be the long-term consequences of this crisis for the economy and especially for the music business?
George: I Think that we are all afraid of the future deep down, and we think that by continuing our normal everyday lives everything will get back to normal as well. But sadly i think this is not the case, we are planning stuff, we want to get better at our jobs and activities, we want to become parents at some point but the future is darker than ever and have to try to be safe and united. Remember that the enemy is not a flag or a religion or a sexuality or any ethnicity. The enemy is hiding behind the media behind the ones that is leading us and it is invisible. It’s 5 or 6 families and houses arround the world that controls our recources and funds. Ordinary people during these dark times must stay only united and never divided. We are the victims, not eatch others enemy.
Pix666: Do you have any other news about SadDoLLs that you would like to share with the fans?
George: Enjoy our new track and music video ‚Call me pain‘ that comes out on October the 2nd and we will be back together in person when it will be safe again. Till then stay strong, stay safe, stay alive!
Pix666: Thank you very much for the interesting insights into your present life – Stay healthy!
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photocredits: Georgia Demou at PK Theater, Photo by Georgia Demou, Edited by Alina Natali, Photo by Phi Factor Photography, Edited by Ville Jyrikalla
