CHAKRADAR

BIOGRAPHY

Alexandros Tsamis was born in Athens Greece at 15/02/67.
At his early age, was a strange kind of kid loving to play with the water very much, imagine strange stories and perform those with his toys and very curious about the way that thinks work all around him. Natural phenomena, radio transistors, gear and machinery like electric motors or internal combustion engines was something almost magical for his age and, also, another thing: music!!.
At the first days of his life his mother had realized that all the crying and wining of the infant was immediately stopped when he hears music so she always use to have a small portable radio receiver near the infant to keep it calm and relaxed.
Growing up he continued to sleep with the company of music until the age of fourteen where he started to learn drums and stopped to hear music before sleep, because now music was more stimulating than relaxing and he could not sleep.
He developed a very good acoustic memory and was the family show for every visitor on the house because at the age of four he had memorized a book of poems and was able t o say the poem for each and every page you would have showed him like if he was really reading. Every body thought that this was phenomenal and suggested to his parents to really put him to work when he will go to school so he can be a much discriminated student but he did not wanted to be the family’s pride any more.
Although he had the talent, he did not like school because no one had teached him the value and pleasure of learning and at the age of thirteen he had stopped his education for three years to earn some money and have what he ever wanted. A drum set.
His first acquaintance with the rhythm was when he had collected some pocket money together with summer work money and bought his first drum set. His father did not approve him to be a musician and he kept this secret for two years.
At the age of sixteen his father dies from heart attack and because he was the second oldest child in the family of four children (the first one was already married with a kid to take care) he decides to start working as a drummer in Greek folk music bars, clubs, restaurants, taverns and starts to make a living for his family and himself through his performances. He restarts his education in a more practical direction studying engineer and later aircraft engineer in a technical school and after that computer programming and analysis at a technical high school. He had passed the exams to college twice, one for ship engineer and designer and a second for electronics engineer but he did not participated because working late at night and studying early in the morning in a school are two things that no one could bare for a very long time. At the same time he creates many teenage groups and played a lot for fun and in school festivals.
As a young student now he went to a drum teacher and learned reading writing and basic principals of technique, stick control, paradidles…

As a professional (session) musician for 24 years he has performed with some of the most famous singers in Greece like Tolis Voskopoulos, Dimitra Galani, Giorgos Dalaras, Eleytheria Arvanitaki, Kostas Makedonas, Natasha Theodoridoy, Melina Kana.... and composers-performers like Mimis Plessas, Giorgos Zikas, Takis Bourmas, Manolis Rasoulis, Xristos Tsiamoulis...



Simultaneously, he has created many bands with other musicians, like:
“DER FALCHE BAUM” with Kostantinos B. and other distinctive musicians well known today.

“OCCASIONAL DREAM”
The band won the contest and participated as representative of Greece to BIENALE 1999 for young artists, in Matatoyo, Rome, Italy and records their debut album label: MIKROS HROS, company: LYRA, copyright: 2001

“ETSI KI ALLIOS”
Being together for four years, performing all over Greece and made an album with Seven co& pro.

As a session musician, participation to many records.
Some:
STEREO NOVA “DISCOLATA” FM RECORDS
BATAYA “SPILIA” MASSIVE PRODUCTIONS
DIMITRIS KORGIALAS “PETA PSYHI MOU” POLYDOR (a universal music company)
GIORGOS DIMITRIADIS “AUTOS POU DEN XEREI” VIRGIN.
ANTONIS APERGIS “IKAROS” FM RECORDS
ELEUSIS “TALES OF THE HOLY” TRACK 7 .....