Dalaras, George - Greek Superstar
By: Dominick A. Miserandino
Planes, trains, automobiles, and huge sell-out crowds. It's all part of world-touring life for George Dalaras, Greece's best-selling artist of all time, with nearly 10 million albums sold in his 30-year singing career. In an interview conducted via a translator, Dalaras talks about the difficulty of selling foreign music in America and the thrill of performing at Radio City Music Hall.
DM) Are you tired from your flight?
GD) Not so much the flight, but all these travel days. We went from Cyprus,
to Egypt, to Israel, and then came back here. It was a long trip.
DM) When you perform, what languages do you perform in besides Greek?
GD) Mostly in Greek, because the songs are from Greece. And I try to keep the
Greek spirit in my soul.
DM) I understand that you're involved with a lot of Greek nationalist issues?
GD) It has nothing to do with nationalism, but I express myself through my
music, and I believe that will help within itself to fight causes. If you
take away the fact that they're in the Greek language, just the words
themselves express the message on their own.
DM) In Europe, you can hear European and American songs, but only American
songs are played in the States. Why do you think that is?
GD) I think that in Europe, there's more people every day who are looking for
alternative music, looking to find a different way into the music, and Europe
is close to Greece. The States are a little bit more difficult, but every
year the audience just grows more and more. For many years now, people have
been looking for something completely different from pop.
DM) How would you describe your music?
GD) It is based on the Greek language and the Greek tradition, but it is also
an expression of the Greece that is today, and how it's been affected by all
the surrounding areas.
DM) Recently you performed in Radio City Music Hall. How was that experience?
GD) Dominick, it was an exceptional experience, because I've been dreaming
about that since I was a kid. I was always impressed with Radio City when I
was growing up. Just to play in there was very emotional. Then, using such a
huge city like that, such as Rockefeller Center here in New York, it become
very touristy. Some of the shows that are performed at Radio City become
rather touristy and commercial, and I hope my show wasn't that way at all.
I've played in bigger arenas than Radio City; Madison Square Garden and the
Meadowlands, for example. I also felt the same way when I performed in the
Paris theater, the Olympia. Many notable French musicians have performed
there as well. It's exciting because music that isn't known as well worldwide
can be played in such huge arenas.
DM) Considering the areas that you've tried to help the people in this world,
have you ever tried performing in Cyprus to assist in those relations?
GD) I did. I sang in many of these conferences in Europe and Cyprus and Latin
America, and Cuba too. I believe that even if the musicians can't do much,
they can at least stand with the people and support them in what they believe
as well.
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