Greece, famous for the Olympics and I’m sure plenty of other awesome things, but when you think Greece, you probably don’t think amazing AOR and Melodic Rock, well change what you’re thinking, and check out Wild Rose. These guys know what they’re doing and if their debut album ‘Half Past Midnight’ is anything to go by, you should be hearing a lot from these guys in the AOR scene!
We loved what we heard and instantly branded Greece’s Wild Rose one of our Best Things You’ve Never Heard! We hope you enjoy them as much as we did.
Let’s start with the basics first – how long has the band been together and what is the inspiration behind the band name?
The band is in this form for about 1 year. The band was formed back in 2004. The inspiration of the band name back then, came by Andy Rock when he was playing guitar ,he saw a beautiful red rose and then like a glimpse he said: that is the name of my band .
Can you introduce each member of the band and give us a rock ‘n’ roll fact or myth about each?
Andy rock (Guitars, backing vocals) is the leader of the band, the inspirator and main composer
Dirty Haris (Keyboards, backing vocals) is the mind of the band, the calm force
Phil Gun (Bass) is the most crazy bassist in the entire greece, a real brother to all of us
John Jiosby (Guitars, backing vocals) is the junior virtuozo, a very talented guitarist
George the Captain (Main vocals) is the shining star of the band, a gifted and rare voice
You have twenty seconds in an elevator to try and convince someone to listen to your debut album ‘Half Past Midnight’, what do you tell them?
I play the “too late” ringtone from my cellphone, and give him the chance to ask me “what’s this?”
In terms of your song writing, what do you consider to be the most important ingredients that need to feature in one of your songs?
Like one of our songs say “It’s all about love”. And that means both music and lyrics are all about this MAIN ingredient. We only write songs if we have an inspiration, we never do it just to write one more song.
You’ve recorded demos in 2007 and an entire demo album in 2009, from that point what was the catalyst to you recording your debut album?
Yes we had recorded the demos in 2007 and the demo album in 2009 but we were always ready and had in mind that the debut album will come. Our main problem was that we couldn’t find members able to support the kind of music that we played. So the catalyst of the album was to reach this final line-up that we have today.
Some of the songs from the demo album made it onto ‘Half Past Midnight’ can we expect to hear the others re recorded one day also?
We continue composing songs as long as we have inspiration. We already have some songs that we keep in mind to record for the next album, but we’d definitely re-record some older ones such as “Dream on” and “If you still love me”. If not in the second album, maybe in a later one.
Specifically the song ‘Too Late’ which you’ve had since 2007 if not earlier, talk us through the meaning behind this song which is to us an AOR classic!
It’s actually earlier. The song was composed in early 2006 when Haris was heartbroken and came up with the verse lyrics. While jamming with Andy, the whole song came together like a glove. Of course at that time we didn’t expect it to be commented as an AOR classic 5 years later. Thank you for the compliment. 
Hailing from Greece, a country not really known for its AOR or Rock in general, how hard was it to find a group of guys who loved and wanted to play the kind of music you now do?
It was a real longshot to find today’s line-up. Considering that the bassist joined in 2005, the kayboardist in 2006, the guitarist in 2010, and the singer in 2011… Greeks listen mostly to folk music. A very few selected people appreciate rock music and a lot fewer like A.O.R.
What bands did you grow up listening to and how did they help create the style of music that can now be heard throughout your album?
Well, we could talk about bands that we listened to for maybe 2 or 3 days. I’ll just say the few that influenced us the most. That’s Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Europe, FM,Mark Free, White Lion, Michael Bolton, Richard Marx and maybe a couple more. Listening to these while growing up urges you to write songs like they did, having in mind that some people will love our songs like we love theirs.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of doing what you do with Wild Rose?
The applause, the crowd singing our songs, the messages we get through the internet from people that love our music. I’d say the recognition we get is the best reward we’d ever wish for.
So if you had to pick one song to cover at a live show, what would it be and why?
We’ve covered a lot of songs until now. Maybe “Someday” by “FM” is the song we’d do because it’s the most representing song for Wild Rose.
Here’s a chance to gaze into your crystal ball. In the next year, Wild Rose will:
1. record their 2nd album
2. do concerts around the world
3. drink a lot of beer doing the above (hahaha)
Essential Information
From: Evosmos, Greece
Sounds like: AOR / Melodic Rock
Band Members: George “Captain” Bitzios – Lead Vocals, Andy “Rock” Pegios – Guitars, John “Jiosby” Bitzios – Lead Guitars, “Dirty” Haris Patsos – Keyboards, Phill “Gun” Sakaloglou – Bass
Website: http://www.myspace.com/wildroseaorevo
Latest release: Half Past Midnight (Retrospect Records)
