Kosta Zafiriou
Kosta Zafiriou | |
---|---|
Birth name | Kosta Zafiriou |
Born | Zofingen, Switzerland | 26 September 1966
Genres | hard rock, Heavy metal |
Instrument | Drums |
Years active | 1982–2016 |
Kosta Zafiriou is a Swiss musician and music manager, one of the owners of Bottom Row Promotion company, which currently manages the bands Unisonic, Helloween, Axxis, Gotthard and Krokus. A former hard rock drummer, Zafiriou is known as one of the founding members of bands Pink Cream 69 and Unisonic.[1][2]
Biography
Zafiriou started to play drums at the age of 16, when he got in touch with bands of the new wave of British heavy metal. His first band was Redline, where he played with the guitarist Alfred Koffler, in 1982. Later in 1986 he joined the band Kymera where he played with vocalist Andi Deris. Kymera recorded two EPs with Zafiriou and Deris before they left to form the band Pink Cream 69 with guitarist Alfred Koffler and bassist Dennis Ward in 1987.[3]
Zafiriou played with Pink Cream 69 from their debut album to their tenth In10sity before leaving the band in 2012 due to his commitments with other projects, specially his work as a music manager.[4]
Zafiriou, together with Jan Bayati and Sasa Erletic (Pink Cream 69′s guitar tech), created the Bottom Row Promotion company. Since 1995 Zafiriou works as a music manager and owner of this company, and as a tour manager for bands Helloween and Axxis among others.
Zafiriou and Pink Cream 69 band mate Dennis Ward had also worked with two projects together with ex-Helloween vocalist Michael Kiske: Place Vendome, a melodic rock studio project created by the record company Frontiers Records, and Unisonic, a hard rock band managed by Zafiriou that released their first album and did the first world tour in 2012, also marking the first full collaboration by ex-Helloween members Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen in a band since Kai's departure from Helloween.
Zafiriou also recorded albums and played a few shows with bands Axxis, Krokus and with vocalist D.C. Cooper, as a drummer. [5]
On September 6 2016, Zafiriou announced his retirement as a professional drummer, remaining his job as music manager.[6]
Discography
with Pink Cream 69
- 1989: Pink Cream 69
- 1991: One Size Fits All
- 1993: Games People Play
- 1995: Change
- 1997: Food for Thought
- 1998: Electrified
- 2000: Sonic Dynamite
- 2000: Mixery (EP)
- 2001: Endangered
- 2003: Live
- 2004: Thunderdome
- 2007: In10sity
- 2009: Live in Karlsruhe
with D.C. Cooper
- 1999: D.C. Cooper
with Axxis
- 2004: Time Machine
- 2011: 20 Years of Axxis
with Place Vendome
- 2005: Place Vendome
- 2009: Streets of Fire
with Unisonic
- 2012: Ignition (EP)
- 2012: Unisonic
- 2014: For the Kingdom (EP)
- 2014: Light of Dawn
with Krokus
- 2013: Dirty Dynamite