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Interviews : “I don’t focus on speed, it just comes naturally.” – An Interview with George Kollias (Nile)

By on March 4, 2015

George

GEORGE KOLLIAS

George Kollias, often dubbed as a  ‘machine’ is hands down one of the greatest drummers that ever walked the face of this planet. I exaggerate not – watching him drum makes your eyeballs hurt. When he isn’t busy touring with his band of tech-death metallers Nile, he travels the world imparting wisdom  about his one true love – the drums. The Greek  legend is heading back to Australia in a couple of days and Metal Obsession had the chance to catch up with him about all things Nile, drumming, Invictus and heaps more.

Having done his first drum clinics in 2012 and then a tour with Nile in 2013, George really love Australia. ” Yes [laughs]. I’ve been to Australia so many times – with Nile and seperately! I did this clinic tour with Dave Haley back in 2012 for the first time and the same year I also did the Australian Drummers Weekend in Melbourne which is a huge festival and personally one of the best festivals I’ve ever played. So yeah, you could say I’m there quite often!”

George goes far and wide with his drum clinics and is excited about doing it again in Australia. He was also all praise for our very own David Haley from Psycroptic. ” Dave is one of my best friends. We met quite a few years ago when I was on tour with Nile. Thing is we were talking about this for a while, I think since last summer actually. But at that time I had a very busy schedule and when I was free Dave was busy but we finally found some time to do it. We’re (Nile) just getting the final recording done for the new album in the States so it’s going to be a good trip to Australia! I’m happy something worked out.”

What sounds like the experience of a lifetime, George gave me a run-down of what people can expect from the clinics and workshops. ” Well, there are two things that we are doing this time and this is why this tour is ever more special than the last one. The first thing is we’re going to do regular clinics – a kind of show where anybody can come watch; guitar players, Nile fans, jazz drummers, metal drummers, musicians. They can watch me perform, also ask me questions and gives me a chance to talk to fans, we can take pictures after the show! On the other hand we’re doing the drum camps this time in Sydney and Melbourne – these are full day workshops where I’ll be working with people one-on-one. We’re going to be a company of about 20-25 drummers, spend the whole day ( 7 hours! ) drumming, spend some time after having some drinks and talking. It’ll be a good time with drummers so it’s definitely special and the price is so good!”

Doing the crazy number of clinics that he does (he did 23 in 2014), George mentioned the most common thing he gets asked during these events. “It’s definitely about double bass drumming. We have maybe one million double bass patterns per album – speed is a part of our music. But when we’re writing or when I’m composing for my solo projects, I don’t focus on speed; it just comes naturally. It’s a daily thing for me – I just go and play as fast as I can. People ask me, and this is the thing that I find a little bit funny, but they ask me for a shortcut. There is no shortcut or magic trick to playing double bass or to drumming. It’s all about how many hours you practice. Of course the new generation of drummers with YouTube today and all these amazing books and DVD’s they have so much more help but it all comes down to how much you practice.”

 Between being a part of one of the biggest bands in the world, his solo projects and travelling the world for drum clinics, George did admit that it gets pretty intense at times. ” Yeah it is crazy I know. Sometimes you know I have to come back from a tour and then jump on a plane again but I mean if I could take out the travelling thing – the airports and planes etc, it would be easier. I would pay as much as it costs to avoid the airports [laughs] but it’s a part of my job. I think by now I’m just used to the whole thing. It’s the best job in the world because I get to do exactly what I want to do, meet so many cool people, and the fans. You have to take the good with the bad right?”

Speaking of solo projects, ‘Invictus’, Kollias’ first solo album is all set to be released via the awesome Season of Mist! ” I’m so excited about this release, it’s something I’ve been working on very hard for a long time and the label I’m signed with is so supportive so I’m very grateful. (the announcement hadn’t been made at the time). It’s exactly what a solo album is – just one person who has done the writing, the guitars, the drumming, the arrangement, the vocals, everything! Honestly, I didn’t plan to release a full album initially but thanks to such great fans, I decided that I wanted this music to get out there to the people for free! ‘Invictus’ is not just about the drumming, it’s about the music, and what I felt – I’ve worked with some of my closest friends on this album and I’m so happy with how it’s turned out. Looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks!”

He was also happy when I asked him about all his endorsements and the gear he uses.” It’s crazy, I feel so blessed that I have official support from so many great companies. The thing with me and my endorsements is I only use companies that I believe in 100%. For example, I signed with Pearl in 2009 but I’ve been playing on Pearl drums since 1990,which is pretty much all my life – I love them!  I use Sabian cymbals which is by far the best company for cymbals; Vic Firth for drumsticks and I have my signature sticks which came out three years ago. I use Evans drum hits and of course Axis pedals. They’re very special pedals made here in the states, because they’re made for speed and pretty much every death metal drummer uses them. ”

Playing at the kind of inhuman speeds that he does, he couldn’t stress enough on the importance of practice when it comes to drumming. ”  If you’re an extreme drummer, you HAVE to do an extensive workout everyday. I wake up every morning, go into my studio and that’s where the magic happens. You have to sweat, you have to push yourself and you have to feel pain to play the kind of music we do. In order to go on tour and play for a month or two without any injuries, you need to practice every single day – fans want to see you perform 100% so you need to be in shape and I don’t mean just going to the gym or eating right. Those things are important too but practice is what really counts especially if you want to play Nile songs? You have to play Nile songs everyday! There’s no relaxing but once you get into it it’s a magical world!”

And it seems that this man’s need for speed continues away from his beloved drum kit as well. ” I actually do have a hobby which they asked me to stop when I joined the band. I love motorcycles, I love motorsport, like offroading and that kind of stuff. I’ve always had them, one or two atleast but now I went a little bit further and I have four! I do a lot of track racing, SuperMotor – I even have a GoKart! I belong to a fanclub as well so I’m pretty hooked to it!”

George Kollias had one last message to his Australian fans before his double clinic/workshop Australian tour! ” I’m really happy to be back in Australia, thanks to my good friend Dave Haley. It’s going to be a really fun tour, all about drumming and I hope to see all of you there!”

George Kollias’ drum clinic tour kicks off today in Brisbane! Catch him on the following dates – this is not something you want to miss!

george_kollias-2015_tour_flyer

Wednesday, March 4: Brisbane performance @ Brisbane Tafe – directtouring.oztix.com.au

Thursday, March 5: Sydney performance @ The Factory Floor 

Friday, March 6: Canberra performance @ The Groove Warehouse

Saturday, March 7: Sydney Full Day Intensive Workshop @ Adversary Studios directtouring.oztix.com.au

Sunday, March 8: Melbourne Full Day Intensive Workshop @ Drumtek- directtouring.oztix.com.au

Monday, March 9: Melbourne Performance @ Drumtek ( performing Nile classic songs) – directtouring.oztix.com.au

Tuesday, March 10: Melbourne Performance @ Drumtek ( performing solo material) – directtouring.oztix.com.au

About

Prarthana is a vegan, Indo-Aussie, heavy music addict, fluent in sarcasm and metal. Traveling is an obsession as she enjoys taking in the history of various countries and following her favorite bands. She's either eating, teaching grammar or learning an instrument, when not occupied with windmilling in the faces of other humans.