Athens, autumn 2007. Five musicians get together and create the first pure night-club combo with a repertory consisted exclusively of 60s Shake.
Their name: The Gold Spiders!

Their repertory includes instrumental and vocal Shake numbers as well as night-club Soul. In the style that was developed in the Mediterranean night-clubs during the 1964-67 period and was vividly impressed in Greek films of that era such as: Teddy Boy, My Love (1965), Wedding Night (1967), My Son, My Son (1965), Illegal Desires (1966), and hundreds others. A few numbers from their repertory are: Teddy Boy Shake, Spiders Shake, Sha La La La La, Non Et Non, The Lonely One, Can't Ask No More, My Baby Likes to Boogaloo and Sunshine Of Your Dreams.

The Gold Spiders use exclusively vintage 60s gear. Their amplifiers consist of a 1966 Binson Hi-Fi 40, a 1965 Schaller KV-50 and a 1965 Dynacord ECHO-KING. Their PA sytem consists of a 1967 Kustom 745 and a 1965 WEM HR-30. Their electric guitars include a 1963 Diamond Ranger, a 1964 Hofner 176 and a 1964 12-string WEM Sapphire. The bass guitar they use is a 1965 VOX Violin. Their organ is a 1963 Philicorda and their microphones are Meazzi and AKG D-12. The effects units in use are a 1964 Fuzz-Tone, a 1966 Fuzz-Face, a 1962 Schaller Echo-Unit, as well as the 1964 Grampian Reverberation Unit 636.

The Gold Spiders Show however, is not only about strong play-lists and competent equipment. Their aim is to offer a spectacular show that will make a splash and will drive the crowd to the dance floor until they drop. Their stage act will take the crowd to a trip at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go, the Igloo or the Pussycat night-clubs while their instruments will discharge melodies and rhythms that will rouse the dance floor. Mark my words: when the Gold Spiders play, everybody dances!

But who are the Gold Spiders? Let's meet them one by one:

Michael Nezis

Michael plays the electric guitar with a unique style. He produces unusual sounds using his mysterious effect units making his guitar sound raw or with razor-like fuzz or bright and crystal or even from out of space! His trademark playing is his staccato rhythm and the out-of-control solos! He has been a founding member of the Cardinals as well as of the short-lived Point For.

Dimitris Beleniotis

Dimitris is the fab lead singer of the group with the r&b edge in his voice. Born entertainer, he has that special quality needed to lead the crowd to a delirium! He plays the electric guitar amazingly, and the bass guitar when Vassilis plays the saxophone or the flute, and rouses the public with his tambourine when his hands are free from other instruments! He is too a founding member of the Cardinals, as well as a busy session man of all kinds of 60s-type groups.

Vassilis Nezis

Vassilis plays the bass guitar in a style of his own that lends intensity to the numbers; you have to listen to him to believe it! He also plays the saxophone and an amazing jazz flute when Dimitris replaces him on the bass guitar. Moreover, he has a lovely voice and backs Dimitris at the numbers with choral requirements. He is also a familiar face to the 60s crowd as a founding member of the Cardinals as well as the lead singer and main composer of the Point For.

Costas Theoharis

Costas has the organ duties and his infallible musical ear is an invaluable asset for the group. Born to play in a group such as the Gold Spiders, he lies in his physical space and produces unique sounds with his organ! He supports the numbers with fantastic backing vocals.

Nikos Panagiotou

Nikos has the responsible post of keeping the beat in the group and he’s doing an amazing job at that! In a group that plays the Shake, rhythm is about everything and Nikos accomplishes his task with the art of an original 60s jazz drummer. He has a very good voice and accompanies the numbers with enthusiastic backing vocals!

These are the members of the Gold Spiders in brief. A fresh group that promises strong emotions, an unprecendetant show, high-quality entertainment and a lot of dancing! They will appear at the Belle Vue Weekender 2008 in Platamonas, on Saturday June 14th; be there!

By their own admission The Five Aces are "a rhythm & blues group based in Glasgow". They also claim to have an exciting live set designed for dancers. It is best to assume for now that they are referring to a troupe of Go-Go Dancers in skimpy costumes (or perhaps nipple tassles) rather than a dance floor of gyrating drunkards.
Armed with a hammond organ, a drum set and a singer (who brandishes other instruments), as well as the obligatory bass guitarist and guitar player, the band, in the words of top record producer Bosco Mann (Daptone Records) "successfully reclaim R&B" from it's "modern bastardization by major label pop".
Loosely speaking, their brand of music spans the period between the late 1950s and 1960s where rhythm & blues had almost started to develop into soul music and hammond organs played instrumentals that girls danced to.