A flag-waving Seattle Greek hits the U.S. rock scene

The Greek National Herald November 7 & 8, 1998
By Taso Mouhteros

NEW YORK- Yanni "Johnny" Bacolas, a Greek American who plays bass for the band Second Coming, the Seattle musical sensation that has broken into the music world like a few band before it, has been known to drape the Greek flag over his amp, and on occasion, wave it around at the audience, getting a roar from the hundreds of Greeks who are in attendance in his Seattle concerts.

George and Pat Bacolas are the parents of Yanni, the former from Athens and the latter from Lamia. They have stood steadfast by their son, and have attended all of his concerts in the Seattle area. "I couldn't have done it without their support," Bacolas says referring to his parents. "And I couldn't have done it without the support of the Greek community in Seattle, for that matter," explaining how people approach him after church to congratulate him.

If you've been tuned-in to the latest in the US rock scene, you would know about Second Coming. In a fierce bidding was involving behemoths such as Capitol, Columbia, RCA, Elektra, Virgin and others. The band finally signed a mega-deal with Capitol records for an undisclosed amount. Such a battle is a testament to the promise Second Coming shows for becoming the next lasting rock band on a par with big-name groups before them, such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.

President and CEO of Capitol Records, Gary Gersh, who is known for having taken on bands like Nirvana, was instrumental in bringing Second Coming over to Capitol. He paid close attention to the band from the get-go, nurturing a relationship which he believes will give both his company and the band the opportunity to make money and be successful. Gersh, talking about Second Coming, said in a recent interview, " I think they have a good idea of who they are in the marketplace, where they can fit in and what their strengths are….and they know what it's going to take to (succeed)."

It's easy to understand how Second Coming has gotten where they are after speaking to Bacolas, who is one of the two original members of the band, together with James Bergstrom (drummer), a friend since the age of four. Although he modestly credits the efforts of each band member for their success, "the best musicians I ever played with," it is because of his determination, hard-work and levelheaded business savvy that the stage was set for their music to be recognized.

In an interview with The National Herald, Bacolas discussed the evolution of his band. Together with Bergstrom, Travis Bracht (vocals, guitar), and DudleyTaft (guitar, programming) -a descendent of former US president Taft- they performed as FTA ("Funding The Album"), playing Top 40 rock covers in the outskirts of Seattle. For about a year and a half, the band gigged 7 nights a week, 320 days a year, in an effort to put together enough money allowing them to fund the production of their first album. They would bank their earnings and spend most of their days writing lyrics and composing music in a grueling routine that has paid off dearly.

While performing with FTA, each band member was responsible for different areas in developing their success. Yanni worked more on the business end of things doing taxes, arranging booking and negotiating with manufacturers and distributors to get their compact disc out. Finally, in December of 1997, after having co-produced their own 8-track CD with Kelly Gray (Candlebox), the band began shopping it around when only a few months later the bidding war began among the major record labels.

Bacolas admits that the deal with Capitol has allowed him to focus more on their music. "This has been a dream come true," says Bacolas, whose Second Coming is now touring with the major rock band, Candlebox. "This is like a continual vacation. All I've ever wanted to do is play music."

Ever since he picked up his first guitar at the age of twelve, Bacolas knew that playing music was "the missing piece of the puzzle in my life." With great passion, Bacolas played guitar in every spare moment of his time, honing his craft, sometimes at the expense of his grades in school. But, he says, "my parents realized early-on that music was my thing, and they've showed incredible support throughout. They believed in me." He will readily testify that he has never done drugs, or gotten drunk out of control, something one might associate with young, hard-core rockers, and something which made it easier for his parents to understand just how serious he was about his music. "I just like to play," he remarks.

Unlimited in scope, Bacolas plans on introducing the bouzouki to their music when they return from a current national tour and start working on their new album. He points out American acceptance of the mandolin in the success of songs such as "Losing My Religion" by REM and he believes that the bouzouki is "a much deeper and more passionate instrument.

Bacolas learned to play bouzouki about the same time he started playing guitar and has always listened to Greek music, remembering how often his father would be playing Stratos Dionysiou at home. In his car, Bacolas plays Greek music exclusively, even while traveling with his fellow non-Greek band members. In fact, Travis Bracht, impressed with the song "Afilotimi", by Stratos Dionysiou, decided to write his own version for the band using the same title, and it was eventually produced as part of their debut CD.

Some of Bacolas' favorite Greek musician include Dionysiou, Mitropanos, and Sfakianakis. And while at a Zig Zag concert in Greece six years ago, Bacolas remembers that, out of the blue, one of the dancers in the performance approached him and invited him backstage at the request of one of the band members. Ever since, he has remained a good friend to Zig Zag's singer/bouzouki player Dimitiis Zmbektos.

Sometime down the road, Bacolas would like to play for audiences in Greece where he believes there is a huge market for his music. And this for him is another dream "that is going to happen." He chuckles recalling his experiences years ago in Greece when no one really knew that his hometown Seattle is in a state called Washington and not in the nation's capital. Only today, with the recognition that Seattle has gotten as a breeding ground for musicians, the city became known in Greece much in the way Hollywood is known as a movie-making town.

Bacolas was a big fan of groups such as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Kiss, AC/DC and others back when he was a teen, with the Beatles and Doors remaining his two favorites. He describes Second Coming's music as "the Doors mixed with what today's technology has to offer," which has been described by Capitol as a hard rock sound which has "blurred the lines between the grunge sound (of Seattle) and classical rock." The band's focus is on producing good music that will have a lasting quality much like the classic rock songs we still listen to today. The band's song "Confessional" is over seven minutes in length, which makes it less commercially viable, but the group is determined to produce whatever they think is good.

And while Second Coming's popularity continues to develop, being limo-driven from gig to gig, touring with other major rock bands- soon with Aerosmith playing for thousands of screaming fans and hanging-out with Gersh at his California mansion, Bacolas has maintained a very down-to-earth attitude where the only thing that matters is his music. He pines at the opportunities he gets to play in small, crowded and sweaty clubs where he could just jam. After all, it has always been about the music to him. He has had an unwavering passion, and he says he would never want to go back and change anything about his past.

The band's current single "Soft" has entered the top 25 on rock radio with over 1200 spins in one week. Bacolas expects a number of other songs from their debut "Second Coming" CD to hit the charts as top singles.

Second Coming, Bacolas believes, is a "powerful name that will stay around for a long time like Black Sabbath has." Although the band members might give you their varying interpretations of it, the name can be seen as a metaphor for the new fresh sound of rock that the band produces. It is the second coming of music out of Seattle, which has overworked the grunge thing.

Whether a fan of their style of music or not, Second Coming's self-titled CD is a powerful collection of just hard core music that is best listened to blasted from you’re your stereo. The hard rock element dominates with a small injection of techno and a grunge influence. The musicians beat out high-spirited tunes that are harmoniously kept under control by their enticing rhythms. And in their song "Afilotimi," we hear the ingenuity of their music as Travis Bracht sings Greek during a deep and moody, Mediterranean-sounding interlude: "…stin diki sou tin kardia, afilotimi."