Yiannis Gougourelas
When I started playing bluegrass banjo in my teens I always thought that I would never have the chance to have a bluegrass guitarist around to play with in Greece. Not only did I find one but he was so good I could not believe it. Luck had offered me more than I could ever imagine. Yiannis’ sound is simply outstanding. So full and satisfying, almost therapeutical. Having examined closely Tony Rice’s style and tone production, Yiannis’ high quality sound is basically his trademark.
I am really proud and happy to have Yiannis playing with me in the only bluegrass band in Greece, the Train45 bluegrass band. Yiannis’ back up and chord playing, fills the acoustic space around me so nicely every time I take a solo.
Flatpicking Guitar Magazine featuring Yiannis
Yiannis was featured in Flatpicking Guitar magazine in the July-August 2006 issue. He has won the “mask” flatpicking competition in Beppe Gambetta’s flatpicking workshop twice. Read Yiannis’ interview at guitarbench and see what he has to say about this honour.
Yiannis is also a collector of fine vintage guitars. This basically means that every once in a while I have the rare chance to be listening to all these high quality instruments played by someone who can really do them justice. No wonder that over time I feel that my musical criteria have sharpened.
You can visit Yiannis’ site at yiannisguitar.com In his site you can listen to him playing some of his best sounding guitars and see photos of them.
For me Yiannis is not only a friend and a fellow musician, but also a constant reminder of the fact that music is all about one thing:
Sound!
Yiannis Gougourelas with two of his great guitars
Yiannis and Stergios