Νίκος Ντουνούσης

NICK DOUNOUSSIS AND THE BACKBONE “Nick and the Backbone” is the band created by Nick Dounoussis, well known to blues audiences from his 25-years radical involvement in the Greek Blues scenery.He is considered to be possibly the best Blues guitar player in Greece and one of his kind in Europe.His endless talent and unique musical action has turned Greek audiences to the Blues and helped establish the local scenery. Born and raised in Thessaloniki - Greece he first got involved with music in the late '70s. With his school buddies he co-founded Ghetto, playing rock' n roll in the world later to be known as "indie" rock. During 1983-1984 he co-founded BLUES GANG-BLUES WIRE, the most significant Blues band in Greece at the time.A long discography , thousands of concerts in Greece and many appearances in European blues festivals ,along with hundreds of collaborations with blues legends such as John Hammond jr. ,Carey and Laurie Bell, Katie Webster , Big Time Sarah , Angela Brown and opening gigs for Albert King, Buddy Guy and many, many others. In 1996, Nick left the band and founded NICK AND THE BACKBONE . His guitar prowess led many people to believe that the formation of his own rock-blues band was inevitable, since his playing is absolutely top-notch in that genre. Many of his own compositions were injected into the new band's repertoire, along with songs from people like Freddie King , Muddy Waters, Albert King , B .B. King, Duke Robillard , the Fabulous Thunderbirds , Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins , Lonnie Mack , Eric Clapton and Jimmy Hendrix ,among others, presented with the BACKBONE's uniquely explosive style. From 1997 and on the group has been steadily backing Chicago blues legend Nick Gravenites in his Greek and European shows while also performing with famous blues artists such as Louisiana Red, Johnny Nicolas, Nellie Travis and Phil Guy. Their debut album came in 1999, entitled "CRACKIN UNDER PRESSURE" containing Nick's own songs and featuring Nick Gravenites on vocals. The album was hailed by local critics as a real merge of Chicago,British and Texas blues styles, paying equal tribute to the likes of Jimmy Reed as well as Clapton and SRV. It contains songs about friendship, love and communication between human beings with the album's title track, Cracking under pressure, totally inspired by the memories of the war in former Yugoslavia, projecting the fragile side of human nature. The lack of a record company to steadilly produce blues in Greece ,has deprived the band from a second or third c.d, hence their intense presence through the alternative w.w.w. way.