From Greek Underground to Global Stages – 1000mods is Still Just Getting Started
When you love a band as much as I love 1000mods, interviewing them can be a dangerous game. What if the magic fades once you pull back the curtain? What if the mythos you’ve built around them crumbles under the weight of reality? But with 1000mods, the opposite happened. The deeper I dug, the more I found: passion, work ethic, and an unshakable commitment to doing things their own way.
Hailing from the small Greek town of Chiliomodi, 1000mods (Dani – bass and vocals, Giorgos «George» – guitar; Labros – drums) have spent nearly two decades carving out a place in the international underground rock scene. They built their reputation the hard way—long, grueling tours across Europe and beyond, self-releasing records before it was ‘the cool thing to do’, and refusing to let anyone else dictate their sound. They are, in every sense, a band of the road: always moving, always evolving, and always bringing a sonic earthquake with them wherever they land.
Their latest album, Cheat Death (Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug Recordings, 2024), marks yet another turning point in their journey. It’s heavier, sharper and tinged with the philosophical weight of Camus and Nietzsche. It’s also their first album without founding guitarist Giannis, a shift that forced the band to push themselves in new directions, especially in the case of George, who was on double-duty recording all the guitars for the new album. Some fans will resist the change—1000mods knows this. But as drummer and founding member, Labros explains, evolution isn’t just a choice; it’s survival.
Over the course of our conversation, Labros and I dove into the reality of life as a fiercely independent band: the truth about life on the road, the impact of Greece’s economic crisis on their music, and the never-ending fight against being labeled a “stoner rock” band.
We talked about the bittersweet chaos of playing in Spain, their deep connection with fans, and why—even after nearly two decades of relentless touring, running their own record store in Athens, and building an independent label to support the underground scene—they still feel like they’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of what they want to achieve.
What struck me the most, though, was how real Labros was. I’ve interviewed my share of musicians, but it’s rare to get a conversation this open, this raw, and this full of insight. Maybe it’s because we both approach music the same way—as fans, first and foremost. The fact that I got to sit down and talk to one of my favorite drummers for almost an hour, while we dug deep into what makes 1000mods 1000mods… well, that’s something I won’t forget.
With their return to Spain just around the corner, along with their label mates FRENZEE, there’s no better time to get inside the mind of a band that has spent years defying the odds and the industry. No gimmicks, no compromises—just pure, unrelenting rock.
So, if you’re reading this, whether you’re a longtime fan or just getting into the band, stick around. Labros had a lot to say, and trust me—you’ll want to hear it.
(By the way, if you want to find out more about the Greek rock scene, take a look at my 2023 article about the “New Greek Gods and Goddesses”.)
FULL INTERVIEW WITH LABROS G., 1000MODS DRUMMER:
Jess: Hi, Labros. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us at Dirty Rock Magazine. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do the interview because I have you guys on such a high pedestal musically and I wanted to keep it that way, I’m always afraid of my most beloved artists losing their “God status” after I talk to them. (laughs)
Labros: (laughs) I’ll try not to ruin that!
Jess: No, no! I’m sure you won’t. (laughs) But I do have some questions because CHEAT DEATH is out, your lineup has changed… So, let’s get started. You just came back from another one of your non-stop tours in the UK and you have some downtime for a few days. But, you guys do it all – the promoting for the records, you manage the merch, you tour non stop, you have your own record label… Do you even have ‘downtime’?
Labros: Well, the honest answer is no. (laughs) First of all, we’re in a new era of 1000mods now that isn’t the original lineup. Giannis left a year ago. So this gives us even more work because we have new guitarists – friends of ours – which means we have to rehearse even more than we did in the past. And that takes time.
We also have a record store in Athens and even though we’re lucky to have some friends that take care of the day-to-day, of course, we make all the decisions. For example, George, our guitarist, takes care of all the vinyl orders. Since it’s not the typical mainstream record store and we don’t just bring in any new album, George does most of the curating to bring in the albums we want. Which also takes a lot of time and focus. Then, we have our own label, Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug Recordings. We started it to release all of our own albums, which we’ve been doing since 2015, but after COVID, we decided to do something that we had wanted to do for many years: a proper label. So we began releasing music from other bands, too. Of course, we didn’t put too much thought into it or think about how time-consuming it would be… (laughs) or how much money we’d spend that we won’t get back. But, in the end, it’s something that we really love. Plus, it’s our way to push the Greek rock scene and the underground scene in general, a little bit forward.
Jess: With all that going on, I don’t know where you find the time in a 24 hour day. It’s crazy – plus the non-stop touring. So thank you, especially for coming back here to Spain next month. I think you come over here about every time you put out a new album. Thanks for not passing us up! I remember back when you were promoting REPEATED EXPOSURE TO… here and had some sound issues – but it was still a sold out show!
The last time I saw you in Madrid, two years ago maybe, they almost set Gianni’s Gibson on fire, Dani got down into the pit and then ended the set by jumping on your kit…There was this electric buzz the WHOLE TIME. You really brought it! Do you have any specific memories about your gigs in Spain?
Labros: Our memories from Spain almost every time are bittersweet. The people and the fans are amazing. Spanish fans have the same disposition as us Greeks. They really enjoy themselves in the pit. They sing the lyrics… the audience is on fire.
However….just as with Greece and Italy, the way the promoters and organizations work isn’t always the best. It’s a similar experience with Greek promoters, which we’ve dealt with since we started, but I think we Mediterraneans are kind of laid-back and don’t give such a shit. I think we need to work harder on making things easier.
But hey, it’s okay. I can understand. Especially, because as I said, we have a disposition that’s like 90% the same in Greece.
Jess: So you feel like you’re at home. (laughs)
Labros: Of course – in a good and bad way at the same time. (laughs)
Jess: (laughs) Well, you guys have pretty much seen it all. You’re such a hard-working band. Your shows are usually back-to-back, day after day… Do you even get to visit the places that you tour to?
Labros: Unfortunately, no. And that’s something we say whenever our friends tell us, ‘You’re so lucky – you’ve been all around the world, it’s such a great education – you’ve had these amazing experiences, and seen so many things…’
Jess: But from inside the van, it seems like. (laughs)
Labros: Mostly! (laughs) Most of the times, our experiences include the venue, backstage, the gas station and the hotel. (laughs) Of course, I don’t want to over-exaggerate. It’s true we’ve seen a lot of places that we never would have seen in our lives. Plus, I strongly believe that the most important thing about any place is the people. So, even if we don’t go to the main square in Madrid, hanging out with people after a gig with some beers or with another local band gives you a pretty good feeling of the place.
Jess: Any place that specifically inspired the band?
Labros: I’m not sure. But what I do know is that being on the road everyday opens your ears, your mind and your eyes. It gives you a lot of new ideas. For example, some of our main influences have changed compared to when we first started. But even though we’ve always listened to different and new bands, before we were on the road, we didn’t open our minds so much. Back then, we didn’t have so many interactions with other musicians or get to see so many other musicians play live. That changes you and makes you grow and evolve. And these experiences especially help you add more interesting stuff to your music.
Jess: I’m sure! And I really see that in the lyrics. I have to admit, I don’t usually pay a lot of attention to the lyrics in any music. I’m more focused on the sound. I might be completely wrong, but your lyrics seem really personal, sometimes political at times. I remember first getting that from “Above 179”. It has this feel of freedom and anarchy… Apart from the lyrics, the aggressive riffs convey a sense of rebellion and a quest for liberty. Things have been kind of f***ed up politically in Greece for a while. How has your music been affected by what’s going on in your home country?
Labros: That’s a really good question, but the answer is too big. There are so many things to say. First of all, our generation – we’re in our late 30s – is the first generation to get completely f***ed because of the crisis. When our generation finished school, there was this idea that was sold to the Greeks that if you went to university, you’d find a really good job, get paid really good money and accomplish whatever you want. It was a really big lie that our generation found out during our formative years.
I say formative because I believe when we’re at university, we learn the most. You find yourself completely out of your comfort zone, you meet new people, you discover new interests, and you get more political during those years: you talk with other people about ideas, about how the system has to change, etc…
So we went through all this, and then in 2008 or 2009, we realized that the whole fairytale we were being sold would never come true. Not for anyone in our generation. This not only inspired us musically, but it also helped us focus more on the things that we love the most and to follow our own dreams. We realized that we’d never have a proper job, so we decided to at least do what we love. And we’re really lucky that this worked out for us. Obviously, we’ve worked really hard and we’re away from home at least half of the year, but we’re one of the really, really few bands that can do this. I mean, most musicians still have a day job. And what happens if you have to go on tour for 20 days?
Jess: Right. And that’s not only in Greece. The way the music industry is today, it’s very difficult to find a band that does not have a day job apart from their gigging. I love that you can do that. But yeah, let’s not forget all the hard work that you guys put in.
Labros: Hard work and also a bit because of our lifestyles. We don’t have families or so many obligations, so it’s easier for us to be on tour and get by with less than say, a guy that has two kids to provide for…
Jess: Probably, but to be able to actually educate the rest of the world about what’s going on in Greece through your music, I think is something very, very powerful. I applaud you. Your latest album, [CHEAT DEATH] seems pretty political at times too, and quite philosophical. I mean, you’ve got a Nietzche reference in “Gotzen Hammer”, the lyrics in “Misery” seem pretty related to all this… Is it true that you drew inspiration from Albert Camus’ ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’?
Labros: Exactly. It was mainly George’s idea. He was really inspired by Camus. We had been talking about this for some years now, but when the time came, it seemed like a good idea. George had more input lyrically on this album than any other, I think.
Jess: Because I understand you all also collaborated on the lyrics on YOUTH OF DISSENT.
Labros: Actually, since day one, we’ve all worked together on the lyrics. But at the end of the day, Dani would do most of the job of taking all the ideas and translating them through his own voice. This time, I think we had more of a prepared idea from beginning to end, and most of it came from George. A little from me.
Jess: Interesting. Well, in the end, the voice is another instrument, so he has to be able to express himself through that instrument, even if all the lyrics aren’t his, and still make you sound compact and consistent.
Apart from maybe “Love” or “Bluebird”, the whole album seems to go down a different path for 1000mods. I mean, it’s a very consistent musical path, but it’s still different – more punky, very BRING IT! Your other albums had a clearer bluesy, ‘70s heavy metal, ‘90s grunge feel, but this album seems to be more ‘80s influenced. Had you guys been listening to Ramones’ “End of the Century” or 80s guitarists more lately? (laughs)
Labros: (laughs) First of all, every time we make a new album, except of course SUPER VAN VACATION, all the songs are about what was going on around us at the time.
Jess: So they’re like a sign of the times, then?
Labros: Right. On CHEAT DEATH, for example, “Götzen Hammer” comes from an idea we’d been playing with for years, and as for “Overthrown”, George had sent that to me back during the lockdown.
So, every album is like a snapshot of the era the band is living in. And even though we never consciously focused on the 80s, it’s true that during the last few years, we’ve been listening to a little bit more 80s post-punk and thrash metal. We’re not such big fans of the glam rock and all that. Plus, some of our main influences from the ’70s also recorded albums in the 80s. For example, Black Sabbath put out some really good records in the ’80s, even if they’re not my top 5 Sabbath albums. (laughs)
Jess: Yeah, I think most of us share that same idea about Sabbath. (laughs) Top 5 would be the first 5…or 6. (laughs) So, since Giannis was gone, does that mean that George recorded all the guitar parts on CHEAT DEATH?
Labros: Yes. 100%. And because we worked with Matt Bayles, the producer, who is the most ‘pro’ person we’ve ever collaborated with in any sector. He’s really hard-working and pushes us to our boundaries to get the best results. So the recording was really intense. We already knew that from the last time we worked with him in Seattle, but this time was especially intense for George, because he had double duties and he worked on this record for months and months.
Jess: It’s kind of interesting to me because, in the past, if someone had asked me about the “essence” of 1000mods’ sound, even though it’s hard to explain because every album is a little different, I would probably have talked mostly about the rhythm section. You usually have some really nice guitar solos and picking, for example at the end of “Claws”, but now that you have one less guitarist, it feels like suddenly the guitar is shining. It’s surprising. I thought it might because you were tired of everybody asking you if you were a stoner band! (laughs)
Labros: (laughs) Yeah! Exactly! That’s what we’ve been trying to say from the beginning! We’re a rock band! (laughs) Actually, it’s funny. We always joke and say that we started playing ‘stoner rock’ even before we ever tried cannabis. (laughs)
Jess: (laughs) You’re real stoners. It’s in your DNA.
Labros: Yeah, we started playing Kyuss covers without even smoking. (laughs) We’re just music lovers! And of course, we love all the stoner scene from the 90s, but we also love grunge, really good metal, 70s rock, … we love good music.
Jess: Well, even with the lineup change, CHEAT DEATH is still unmistakably 1000mods. Most bands talk about starting with a riff, or jamming as their starting point. A lot of your music sounds like that, but was making CHEAT DEATH different than the rest?
Labros: It’s true that a lot of our ideas come from just jamming. I’d say that YOUTH OF DISSENT is probably our least “jammy” album. At that time, we were listening to more grunge stuff and it was the first time we worked with a big producer who had a really strict timeline. Now we have a completely different mindset, and this affected CHEAT DEATH.
There were some jams, of course, and some live ‘punk’ stuff, but again, the production was more professional than our first records. I think CHEAT DEATH represents really well the combination of the first era of 1000mods with this more recent, polished era of the band.
Jess: Okay, and with Giannis’ exit, what’s going on with the touring? Who’s on guitars apart from George? I know that the guitarist from Blame Kandinsky was touring with you last summer, but I saw that somebody else was doing your UK tour.
Labros: Exactly. We have friends helping us out. Marios Samaris helped us out on the spring/summer tour but since November, Yannis has been playing, who used to play in one of the oldest Greek stoner bands called LORD 13 [see 2023 article on Greek scene] and also had another band called Space Slavery. We’ve known him for almost 2 decades and we have a really good time together, so we said, ‘OK, let’s do some touring together!’
Jess: Well it’s not just about the lineup change, this isn’t the first time that the fans have talked about you guys “changing” your style. You’ve always been evolving, and that’s normal. What do you think about the response you’re getting from CHEAT DEATH?
Labros: I didn’t expect the response to be so good. (laughs) I guess I expected, like with YOUTH OF DISSENT, that some people wouldn’t understand it, or not be okay with the sound, and there’s another change now with CHEAT DEATH. So I guess I expected that some people would say, ‘I can’t listen to this, I only like SUPER VAN VACATION’… But all in all, I think we’re getting like 98% good feedback for CHEAT DEATH.
Jess: What would you say to the fans who don’t like the changes in your style?
Labros: Of course I accept it, but at the same time, they have to accept that we are growing, getting older and evolving as people and as musicians. Also – our first records are still out there for them to listen to. (laughs) And we play songs from all our records at our gigs. I mean, we approach our gigs as fans. Before we were musicians, we were fans and we will always be fans. When we watch our favorite bands, we like to hear both the new and old music.
Jess: Yeah, we always expect the classics in live shows. But most of your songs are really long and you can only choose a few songs for your sets. So how do you find the right balance between playing the songs you like, the songs you think we fans will love, and having the right flow depending on your mood that day or the audience’s vibe?
Labros: It’s not easy. (laughs) But we’ve found the solution. On this upcoming tour, we’ll try to play longer sets.
Jess: Great news! That’s fantastic for us!
Labros: (laughs) Yeah, minimum 90 minutes, but at the venues that let us, we’ll try to go for 105 or 110 minutes.
Jess: If they let you…
Labros: Yeah, it’s not so easy. Most of the venues have really strict curfews because they open the disco afterwards or whatever, which affects our sets. But we really don’t have so many songs that we love more than others. We do have songs that we enjoy playing more than others. But sometimes, unfortunately, those songs are the most tiring or most technical, so we have to be more focused. But hey, we enjoy what we do and we always try to give the best performance we can. So basically, we build the setlists thinking from a fan’s point of view and making sure it will be as fun as possible for us.
Jess: Makes sense. What about the gear? You usually use vintage orange “Sabbath” amps, for example, but I saw you using some different gear and amps at the Sonic Blast festival last year. Your set must also depend on the club’s backline.
Labros: Yeah, when we travel by plane, we have to use what’s available.
Jess: And has your gear changed?
Labros: For me it’s always been the same. Maybe I change a cymbal or something, but not much. Dani had also used the same gear throughout the years, but before Giannis left, both he and especially George started changing pedals and amps and new guitars and bass almost every month. (laughs) They’re like gear junkies. They’re always looking out for new things.
Jess: There’s some new stuff on CHEAT DEATH, the semantron on “Gotzen Hammer”, for example. Is that a traditional Greek instrument?
Labros: Yeah. The orthodox monks use it to start their day and it’s like a call to pray.
Jess: Interesting. The instrument gives the song a special sound. Speaking about instruments, I especially love your acoustic version of “LUCID” – “LUCID DREAM”, with the cello and the upright bass. It’s incredible. What inspired you to do that instrumental track?
Labros: We’d always wanted to do an acoustic version of one of our tracks. Our songs had always been heavy and the guitars always electrified. Actually, “Lucid Dream” was another idea that came up during the quarantine… (laughs)
Jess: (laughs) Things that happen when you have time…
Labros: (laughs) Yeah, so much time that we were overthinking (laughs). So, we had always wanted to do a proper acoustic track. We reached out to some good friends: Akis [Zois] from Villagers [of Ioannina City] [see 2023 article on Greek scene] and of course, Nikos Veliotis, who is a big legend in the Greek underground scene, especially in the dark wave and ambient scene, and a really well-known cellist; but not as a classical musician – he’s more experimental. I think it worked really, really well.
Jess: Well, I love it. Maybe it’s because I play the cello. Nikos played the cello on “Bluebird” also, right?
Labros: Yes. Exactly.
Jess: And have you ever included an entirely instrumental track in your set? I mean, “Reverb of the New World” seems perfect to open a set with that Carl Sagan quote at the beginning.
Labros: Well, actually we’ve played that one – “Reverb” – at maybe 3 or 4 gigs in Greece. But that’s it. (laughs)
Jess: Ok… (laughs) So you prefer the heavier stuff live?
Labros: I guess, and as I said before, the more records we make, the more difficult it is to make a setlist.
Jess: You have so much good music to choose from. Are there any songs or deep cuts that surprise the band because fans don’t love them as much as you expected?
Labros: Oh yes, of course! On every album. In fact, something funny has been happening these last 3 months. There’s this song on the B side of VULTURES called “Modesty”. I’m pretty sure we’ve never played it live.
Jess: That’s the one with the Hammond, right?
Labros: Exactly. When we were rehearsing it for VULTURES, we really liked it a lot. But the final cut from the recording wasn’t “in our best taste”. Which is why we haven’t played it live. But during these last 3 months, for some reason, we’ve noticed that it’s like the fourth most popular song on Spotify for us. We don’t know why. (laughs)
Jess: (laughs) Because it’s good! But yeah, if it’s not one of your staples that we typically hear live and it’s so popular, that means your fans are listening to all your music. And that’s great.
Labros: Another example is from our latest record. One of my favorite songs is the last one, “Grey, Green Blues”. I think it’s still early, but from the first reactions we are getting, I think I was expecting more people to say that it’s their favorite track.
Jess: I get that. It’s got those 80s guitar solos, the Hammond again. There’s a funny story about that song for me, actually. The first time I listen to a new album, I do it from start to finish. And when I started listening to that song and saw that it was the last track, I was surprised. I thought to myself, ‘How weird. They always finish their albums with such a strong punch and “Grey, Green Blues” is slower. What are they doing?’ And then the ending came! (laughs) And I said, ‘Oh, okayyyy… now I get it!’ (laughs)
Labros: (laughs) Right. At the end, it makes sense.
Jess: It’s a great surprise. Well, listening to your music, you guys must have been inspired by so much different music so I have a question. How did you discover all that music when you were kids? I’m from the US and there it was radio play and record stores, there was a scene and MTV, even in the small towns.
Labros: Yeah! And the university radio was really important.
Jess: Definitely! You could find out about all kinds of music on college radio. But here in Spain, apparently, that didn’t exist unless you lived in a big city. So there were only like these 2 or 3 specialized magazines – only a few sources. And those magazines kind of became the “taste makers”, so most people here basically listen to the same thing. What was it like in Greece? How did you discover all these different types of music growing up?
Labros: First of all, I think Greece is once again similar to Spain, unfortunately. But we were really lucky to have older siblings or cousins when we were really young that would give us cassettes of Iron Maiden, Sabbath, Slayer, AC/DC… and Prodigy! Which wasn’t common to listen to when we were like 13 years old. So, we had this older group listening to all that and since we were really thirsty for new stuff, we wanted it all. Plus, even before the internet, we’ve always been kind of “open source”. So if we heard something we liked, we’d give the tape to a friend. Or with the little money we had as kids, we would make pacts and say ‘OK, you buy this album, and I’ll buy the other one and then we’ll make a cassette and swap them.’ (laughs)
Jess: So, I get the whole record label thing! You’ve been doing it all your life! (laughs) I love it!
Labros: (laughs) That’s true! And then, when we had internet, that thirst got even stronger and we were constantly looking for new music.
Jess: Same thing happens to me. The internet is a bottomless pit. For me, the special thing is that it always comes down to the sharing of it, and that’s what music is about, really. Talking about the influences from abroad that got over to Greece, what about the artwork on the CHEAT DEATH cover? It looks like kind of a cross between Rob Zombie’s cover art and this pop culture thing I grew up with in the US called “Garbage Pail Kids”. I loved the mugshot story behind YOUTH OF DISSENT, what’s the story behind the CHEAT DEATH cover?
Labros: Garbage Pail Kids? I’m looking on my phone… Yeah, I see it. OK, it makes sense… Basically, on every album, we try to collaborate with a different artist. We don’t give them much direction. Of course, we let them listen to the music and give them the lyrics and titles etc., and maybe a kind of concept behind the album. So, for this album, we worked with Eva Mourtzi, a friend of ours and artist living in Athens. George explained the whole Sisyphus and Camus idea to her. She also came by the record store and we gave her some references of our favorite cover art in the record store. I think she drew a little bit of inspiration from Frank Kozic, who’s behind the artwork for Melvins, QOTSA, Offspring…. In the end, she came up with this idea of two young kids playing with Sisyphus’ rock and it’s like a game for them… kind of “playing” with life and “cheating death”, and so on.
Jess: Oh wow! I think I’m going to look at the album much differently now.
Labros: Yeah take a look. Also, if you open the gatefold vinyl, she made a board game. The idea is how to go from song to song through a kind of a game. It’s really interesting.
Jess: Wow! I don’t have a copy yet so I’ll have to wait to check it out. I’m waiting to get one when you come over next month. I love that you use local artists. You said that you showed her some of your favorite cover art? Which ones would they be?
Labros: One of my favorite album covers for sure is DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, but it’s also because of the music in that album. It’s so iconic, it’s always on my mind – the cover and the album as a whole. When I was a teen, I was really into all the Slayer cover art. They’re so extreme, they really got me curious. I also love the simplicity in albums like SONGS FOR THE DEATH, for example. I don’t know. It’s like with music: I like good art. It’s hard to explain, it’s whatever makes me feel the right way…
Jess: Yeah, I get it. I mean, it’s like when people say ‘there’s no good music or bad music’. Bullshit! I’m sorry. There is definitely bad music, okay? (laughs) The important thing is how it makes you feel. You have to feel something and that feeling can be extremely strong or extremely subtle – and that’s the beauty of art. Not only in music, but for images, as well. Actually, that’s one of the things that I love about you as a drummer. You’re one of my favorite drummers from modern rock groups, and I think it’s because of the way that you play. Apart from your rolling, tribal drums, which I love on “Warped” or “Road to burn”, or the intro to “Götzen Hammer” for example, I also love watching you play. It’s like Mario from Earthless or Tiger from Kadavar. When I see you guys play live, you create this joint image and sound that really makes me “feel”.
Labros: Wow. Thank you. Really. But please don’t put Tiger and I in the same sentence as Mario. (laughs) He’s from another fu****g planet.
Jess: OK, that’s true (laughs) but there’s something special about the visual and the sonic art coming together you know?
Labros: I totally agree. I mean, everyone enjoys different things. But for me, if I’m watching a drummer play incredible stuff, you know really fast or the busy stuff but they don’t move or don’t seem to “feel” the pulse, or don’t seem “there”, I can’t enjoy it.
Jess: Yeah, it’s like you can’t really connect.
Labros: Exactly.
Jess: Well, I’ve taken up a lot of your time, so I’m going to just summarize a little and ask you one more question: You’ve been putting out music since your first EP in 2006 – ALMOST TWENTY YEARS AGO! You all have evolved, and your music has, too. You started touring in 2011 with SUPER VAN VACATION and right away, you were playing with huge names like Karma To Burn, Colour Haze, Brant Björk… Just after your 3rd album, you were already playing the main stage at London’s Desertfest [2017]. You’ve played Hellfest a couple times [2018 and 2024], and festivals like Sonic Blast I don’t know how many times…
For all the people talking about the changes… Those changes have crafted this sort of “soundtrack for our lives”. There’s always a 1000mods track that I can listen to and relate to… that makes me FEEL, no matter what I’m going through in my life. You’ve mixed so many genres and the best music from so many different eras and still make it sound like 1000mods – and you do it so well! You’ve done it all!
So, the questions is, where do you go from here? What’s in store for the band’s future?
Labros: First of all, thank you so much. This means a lot. Secondly, we still feel like we’ve accomplished nothing.
Jess: Really? That’s so hard to believe!
Labros: Yeah, we believe that we need to always keep looking out for the next thing. We love music, we love playing and watching and listening to music. We are really grateful to be where we are and doing what we’re doing. Really grateful to be able to sit down on the same couch with our heroes from when we were growing up like Stefan, from Colour Haze, or Brant Bjork from Fu Manchu. We still can’t believe it. But at the same time, we still feel like we have so many things to do, so many new places to go, so many level ups, with touring and new venues, going to the next step and then the next step after that…
Jess: And are you going to continue focusing on the band? Or maybe more on the label? Or continue trying to do it all? (laughs)
Labros (laughs) We’re going to try to continue doing it all. (laughs) Unfortunately for us and for our loved ones. (laughs)
Jess: Well, we appreciate all that you continue to do, for sure. Labros, thank you so much, really, I know this has been a long interview. It’s going to take me hours to transcribe everything, (laughs) but it was so worth it.
Labros: No! It’s fine. It was really a pleasure!
Jess: Thank you so much, again. And I just want to add that you did not fall from your ‘God status’! (laughs)
Labros: I’m glad! (laughs) Thank you again. We really appreciate it.
Jess: See you in a month!
FECHAS ESPAÑA CON FRENZEE – MARZO 2025:
15 MARZO – BARCELONA – APOLO 2
16 MARZO – MADRID – NAZCA
20 MARZO – BILBAO – STAGE LIVE
entradas/tickets: www.noiseontour.com
