• HERE 'S AN INTERVIEW VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I USUALLY DO. MARATHON IS NOT A METAL BAND. THEY PLAY BLUES/ROCK AND THEY REALLY KNOW HOW TO MOVE YOUR ASS. ANYWAY I HAD THE CHANCE TO TALK WITH MILTOS WHO IS A VEY GOOD AND INTELEGENT MUSICIAN WITH GREAT TASTE OF HUMOR AND THE WHOLE INTERVIEW IS VEY INTERESTING. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, CHECK IT OUT BY YOURSELF...

1. FIRST OF ALL POINT OUT THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS OF THE BAND’S HISTORY TILL NOW.

• WELL I BELIEVE THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENTS IN THE BANDS HISTORY, ARE WRITTEN, WHEN MARATHON IS ON STAGE.I COULD TELL YOU MANY STORIES ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED ALL THESE YEARS, BUT DEFINITELY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR US, IS TO PLAY OUR MUSIC AND COMMUNICATE WITH THE AUDIENCE.

• I'M SURE THAT MOST OF THE GUYS THAT WE'VE PLAYED ALONG WITH, DIDN'T REALLY WANT TO PLAY THIS KIND OF MUSIC, SO, SOME OF THEM DECIDED TO QUIT AND START SOMETHING NEW. A FEW OF THEM UNFORTUNATELY STOPPED PLAYING AND SOME OTHERS JUST...... DISAPPEARED. BY THE WAY IT'S IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO KNOW THAT AT LEAST, WITH ALL THESE EX-MARATHON MEMBERS WE ARE STILL FRIENDS.AND WHAT ABOUT THE NAMES?BELIEVE IT OR NOT THEY ARE TOO MANY TO BE MENTIONED HERE...... AS FOR THE CURRENT LINE UP? IT'S CONSISTED OF TWO OF THE BEST MUSICIANS THAT EVER PLAYED IN THE BAND. MY TWO GOOD FRIENDS NICK BAKARTZIS ON THE BASS , AND GEORGE TRAKAS ON THE DRUMS.

• WITH THIS NEW CD "BEST OF MARATHON" (WHICH CONTAINS SONGS FROM OUR 5 DEMO CD'S) THE PEOPLE CAN HAVE MORE EASELY A CLEAREST IMAGE OF WHAT WE PLAY AND WHAT MARATHON IS.IN THE OTHER HAND, SOME PEOPLE CAN'T COLLECT ALL OF OUR CD'S, SO IF SOMEONE WANTS TO HAVE SOMETHING OF US, IT'S EASIER TO LISTEN TO THIS BEST OF. WE DECIDED TO MAKE THIS ALBUM, BECAUSE WE WANT TO CONTINUE WHAT WE DO, AND NOT BECAUSE WE WANT TO STOP HERE..... YOU KNOW...... THE ONE HALF OF MY LIFE IS MUSIC, AND THE OTHER HALF IS MARATHON. IF I STOP PLAYING MY GUITAR OR STOP LISTENING TO THE MUSIC I LOVE, I WILL PROBABLY DIE. I WANT TO TRAVEL THIS ROAD UNTIL THE END, BECAUSE I LOVE WHAT I DO AND I TRY TO BE AS HONEST AS I CAN BE, WITH MUSIC AND WITH ALL THE PEOPLE THAT LOVE MUSIC TOO.....

• YES, WE HAVE SENT OUR DEMOS AND VIDEOTAPE TO SOME LABELS, AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT, SOME PERSONS LIKE OUR MUSIC. THE PROBLEM IS THAT HERE IN GREECE, THEY WANT US TO WRITE OUR SONGS IN GREEK. IF WE DO THAT THE CONTRACT IS READY AS THEY PROMISE US. BUT PLAYING OUR MUSIC IN GREEK LANGUAGE IS LIKE TRYING TO PLAY GREEK FOLK MUSIC IN CHINESE.WE HOPE THAT IN THE FUTURE SOME LABEL OUTSIDE THE GREEK LIMITS, WILL CONTACT WITH US. MAYBE THIS SEEMS LIKE AN UNCATCHABLE DREAM, BUT WE STILL HOPE. HERE IN GREECE I'M SURE THAT PEOPLE HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH ANY KIND OF MUSIC, THE PROBLEM IS ON THE BIG LABELS WHO KEEP ON PROMOTING THE SAME   FUCKING STUFF. I DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH ANY DIFFERENT STYLES OF MUSIC, BUT I BELIEVE THAT IT WOULD BE MUCH MORE DEMOCRATICAL TO BE EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL THE MUSICIANS AND ALL THE ALREADY KNOWN OR UNKNOWN STYLES OF ANY MUSIC AROUND THE WORLD. REMEMBER MUSIC CAN CONNECT THE WORLD.

• THIS IS NOT A VIDEO CLIP ACTUALLY. IT'S A VIDEOTAPE AROUND 50 MINUTES, FULL WITH HUMOR, PICTURES, LIVE FROM MARATHON, SPECIAL GUESTS, THE BANDS BIOGRAPHY, VIDEOS E.T.C. I CAN'T TELL YOU MORE ABOUT THIS.... MONSTER VIDEOTAPE, YOU MUST SEE IT WITH YOUR OWN EYES TO BELIEVE IT.... THIS MARATHON VIDEO (THANK GOD) DIDN'T WIN ANY OF THOSE 18 OSCARS, BUT WE  HAVE MANY PROPOSALS FROM PORNOSTARS AROUND THE WORLD, WHO WANTED TO PLAY IN THE NEW MARATHON VIDEO VOL.II (YES..... INDEED).......

• BACK IN THE MID 80'S I STARTED LISTENING TO BAND'S LIKE:NAZARETH, THIN LIZZY, Y & T, BLACK SABBATH, OZZY, AND MANY OTHERS WHICH I KEEP ON LISTENING AND LOVING THEM UNTIL TODAY. THE "BIG BANG" CAME TO MY LIFE WHEN I HEARD FOR FIRST TIME JOHN LEE HOOKER AND JIMI HENDRIX. BUT ALL THESE YEARS I MUST CONFESS THAT MY TWO FAVORITES MUSICIANS ARE FRANK MARINO AND FRANK ZAPPA. ALL I' M TRYING TO SAY HERE IS THAT NO MATTER IF IT' S CALLED HEAVY METAL OR HARD ROCK OR ROCK N' ROLL, BLUES, JAZZ OR WHAT EVER, THE POINT IS THAT ALL THIS STYLES HAVE THE SAME ROOTS....

• IN THE BEGINNING I STARTED TO WRITE SONGS BOTH IN GREEK AND ENGLISH. IN MY OPINION, IF YOU CAN EXPRESS YOUR FEELINGS, ONLY WITH THE MUSIC THAT YOU WRITE, WHITHOUT THE HELP OF THE LYRICS, AND MAKE THE PEOPLE LAUGH OR CRY ONLY WITH THE MELODIES THAT INSTRUMENTS CAN GIVE, THEN YOU ARE A TRULLY MAGNIFICENT MUSICIAN MY FRIEND. PERSONALY I PREFER NOT TO USE LYRICS, BUT BETWEEN GREEK AND ENGLISH LAUNGUGE, I BELIEVE THAT WHEN I WRITE  SONGS IN ENGLISH, I' M CLOSER TO WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH MY MUSIC...

• I WANT TO WRITE SIMPLE THINGS IN MY LYRICS SO THE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT I WANT TO SAY. MOST OF MY SONGS ARE PERSONAL STORIES, OR SOME THINGS THAT I LOVE TO TALK ABOUT. SOME OTHERS ARE LOVE SONGS. I DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY SPECIFIC WAY TO WRITE LYRICS. THE INSPIRATION COMES ANY TIME AND.......I LIKE THAT WHEN IT HAPPENS.

• OUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE? MOST OF ALL WE WANT TO DO AS MUCH LIVE PERFORMANCES AS WE CAN IN EVERY PLACE IN EVERY TOWN EVERYWERE. WE BELIEVE THAT STAGE IS LIKE OUR HOME. YOU WANT US? WE COME TO YOUR TOWN ANY TIME. WE LOVE PLAYING LIVE. IN ALMOST EVERY TIME THAT WE PLAY ALWAYS   SOMETHING MYSTERIOUS OR SOME FUNNY THING HAPPENS. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME, JUST CHECK OUT OUR VIDEOTAPE....AND YOU WILL SEE.......

• IF YOU CAN, COME AND WATCH US PLAY LIVE. IF YOU DON'T LIKE US, I WILL OFFER YOU A BOTTLE OF TEQUILLA. "MARATHON IS OUR NAME BAZOOKA ROCK WILL PLAY"

• IF OUR MUSIC WAS A PAINTING IT WOULD SHOW A BEAR WITH A JOINT........IF IT'S AN EMOTION IT'S....... COLD SWEAT..... (HA HA HA, EVIL LAUGH)

• NO I DON'T THING THAT GOD MOVED TO HEAVEN TO KEEP DISTANCE. GOD MOVED TO HEAVEN BECAUSE FROM UP THERE HE CAN SEE AND HEAR BETTER HIS CREATIONS PLAYING ROCK N' ROLL. IT SOUNDS BETTER UP THERE BELIEVE ME. AND US YOU KNOW GOD LOVES ROCK N' ROLL. YEAHHHHH.....

• I WOULD PROBABLY BE IN A STUDIO MAKING BZZZZZZ SO FUCKING LOUD THAT THE SOUND ENGINEER WOULD BELIEVE THAT HIS STUDIO EQUIPMENT HAVE A PROBLEM.

• 822.000.000.000.000 B.C.

• DEFINITELY WAR AND VIOLENCE. WE MUST LEARN TO LIVE TOGETHER. THERE ARE BETTER THINGS IN LIFE LIKE SEX, MUSIC, FAST BIKES, CARS, JOINTS, ALCOHOOL, WOMEN, GIBSON LES PAUL, YUGO ZASTAVA, MASERATI, CADDILAC, CHEVROLLET E.T.C.

• "MARATHON IS OUR NAME ROCK N' ROLL WE PLAY".

• NO EVERITHING WAS PERFECT. I ENJOYED THIS INTERVIEW. EXCUSE MY "BAD ENGLISH" THANK YA!

ROCK N' ROLL! MILTOS