Ageless grooves: from day jobs to jazz-funk

ELENI PHILIPPOU meets a group of mostly middle aged men who will play live this week proving it is never too late to embrace your passion

 What do an engineer, a banker, a lawyer, a programmer and a teacher have in common? For the Gandalfinis band, it is a passion for music. When this peculiar mix of five –most of whom seasoned by the wisdom of over 50 years – clock out from their day jobs, they trade in spreadsheets and courtrooms to pick up guitars and trumpets.

The fact they created a band and play gigs shows one thing: that it is never too late to embrace your passions. This January, the Gandalfinis take the stage in Nicosia to present their second live performance.

The Gandalfinis began their musical journey just over a year ago when a shared passion for music, a dark sense of humour and an inclination towards the bizarre brought them together. Different life paths united them, from high school connections to National Guard band performances, and though their professional lives – and sometimes musical tastes – vary, a connection has been forged among them.

Drummer Panos Economou is an acoustic engineer; bass player and occasional vocalist Constantinos Messios is a lawyer; trumpet player Michalis Michael is a banker; guitar and vocals’ Gregory Artemides is a Berklee College of Music graduate and a programmer; keyboards and vocals’ Argyro Christodoulides is the youngest member of the group and is a teacher.

“None of us have ever given up on music and you really are never too old to play,” the band said. “It is in our heart and defines who we are just as much as our day jobs do. We all work hard and try even harder to juggle family and work obligations with music so we can do what we love and keep ourselves sane.”

Each week the band get together for practice, a weekly ritual and chance to disconnect and recharge. The last few weeks have also seen them preparing for a live show, at RED Music Stage on Saturday, which will see them present their jazz funk and groovy pop sound to Nicosia audiences for the first time. The band’s debut performance took place last winter in Lofou and “the village has not been the same since,” they said.

The Gandalfinis’ repertoire is varied and takes influences from various cultural inspirations – much like the band’s name. A playful fusion of the character James Gandolfini from the TV show The Sopranos and the wizard Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings came to Messios who gave the band its name. “Maybe we think of ourselves as street-smart musical wizards? Who knows?” the band laughed.

In addition to groovy, funky covers, the band will present some original compositions at the RED concert. “We like anything with a beat that makes us want to shake our unshakables. We like to think of us as putting feel-good danceable rhythms out there with ear-friendly melodies which people can dance to.”

Their gig will begin at 8.30pm and promises to be filled with fun, foot-tapping rhythms and high energy. “Argyro has promised to be the Femme Fatale of the evening and will prove it by mesmerising and beguiling us all with at least one torch song. Other than that, we try to make all our gigs special by working hard and putting on a proper live performance. We try very hard to communicate through our music and the audience will hopefully respond and take as much joy out of it as we will.”

For any musician, being on stage is an exhilarating experience. For the Galdalfinis, part-time musicians per se, it is an adrenalin-filled, buzzing experience to share a passion with the crowd and do so with a group of friends. “It is an amazing alternative to therapy,” they said, “food for the soul.”

Besides the occasional live performance, the Gandalfinis also aim to record their original material in the near future in the hope of releasing an album. Ultimately, apart from world domination as they jokingly say, they plan to continue making music, find the time to do so, and share it with people for as long as they can.

“Music is about baring your soul and being brave enough to put it out there,” they concluded. “It is indeed the most fun you can have with (most) of your clothes on. It is a sharing experience and long may we and those who come to hear us be able to partake of it.”

The Gandalfinis Live

Local band performs jazz funk and groovy pop live. January 20. RED Music Stage, Nicosia. 8.30pm. €10. Tel: 99059257. Facebook event: The Gandalfinis Live