Opa From Greece With Love

Tikanese and Yasou Y'all, Back in the podcast scene.  We have been broadcasting every Saturday via our terrestrial radio cast from Hollywood and on the internet but gave our podcast a break until the lovely Zarema poped into our studio for a surprise interview.  Here is a brief background check from our friends and Wikipedia that lay it all out for us. Zorba The Mad Greek OPA FROM GREECE WITH LOVE KCLA-FM 99.3 LOS ANGELES--LIVE SATURDAY 12 NOON PDT SIMULCAST KCALFM.COM AND TUNEIN.COM Zarema attended the National University of Theatre, Film and TV in Kiev, Cinema and Television and Stella Adler Studio of Acting in Hollywood. She is a qualified violinist.[4]. Zarema wrote her own lyrics and music for her debut album "Zarema." She has received media attention in relation to and articles about her have appearedpublished in literary magazines. Her songs “Hop Soyle” and “Savas” are popular on radio stations [5], music channels and night clubs in many countries. Only after 4 weeks of the release of the song “Hop Soyle” it played, broadcasting[6] it on different radio[7] stations, and cities in Europe, Asia, Canada and Israel. Her resume goes on including live performances on various radio stations and National TV[8]channels. This has become a break through of her career and in 2007 she quickly signed a contract Sony BMG Music Entertainment Turkey and soon enough released her self-titled[9]album, "Zarema"[10] collaborating with important musicians and arrangers in this album, such as Ozan Colakoglu[11], Mustafa Ceceli, Ozgur Buldum[12] and Mihail Nekrasov.[13] Zarema is very well known as the lead singer performing on Eastern-European and Mediterranean stages. In London[14], Baku[15]Moscow[16] and around the world she successfully held concerts in the world's most famous arenas with a record ticket sales in Baku[17] with 10,000[18] spectators and in Moscow's Olimpijskij stadium with spectators way over 20,000.[19] Her ratings exceeded most popular singers in America and and her top songs “Atak”[20], “Savash” and “Hop-Soyle” played on popular radio stations around the world. Later same year, Zarema released her debut song with the video clip, produced by Alan Badoev entitled, "Atak" that went straight to leading numbers on radio and music channels and was nominated by many TV channels as the best music video of the year and became a youtube sensation [1].[21] Zarema relocated to Los Angeles[22] and began yet another career and her English language album and is due to be released later this year.

Tikanese and Yasou Y'all, We have a special guest.  Andonis Zorbas in his Flash Dance debut as the Latino Heartthrob Dancer in the soon to be released romantic dance-a-thon "I LOVE YOUR MOVES".  Well we love his moves.  You will see what I am talking about.  This young man has the can do can win attitude and in just two years in Hollywood has landed several leading roles and is well on his way to making a difference with an impact.  So please join me in a casual friendly conversation with Andon Zorbas the new Fred Astaire of Hollywood...did I mention that his mom plays the violin?  Well she does. Zorba The Mad Greek KCLA FM - LOS ANGELES - LIVE SATURDAY 12 NOON PDT Simulcast www.kclafm.com & www.tunein.com Rebroadcast on iTunes and The Greek Press Radio Network Podcast

Tikanese and Yasou Y'all, As we draw nearer to the March 25th Celebration of Greek Independence and the Annunciation to the Theotokos we continue the 3rd installment of music and narrative of the events surrounding the successful revolution that overthrew 400 years of occupation, enslavement and subjugation at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Here is Part 3 of our commemoration to the heroes and heroins of the revolution for Greek Independence. Zito E Ellada!! Zorba The Mad Greek OPA FROM GREECE WITH LOVE www.opafromgreecewithlove.com KCLA-FM 99.3 -- LOS ANGELES - LIVE SATURDAY 12 NOON PDT SIMULCAST ON www.kclafm.com & www.tunein.com REBROADCAST ON iTunes

Tikanese and Yasou Y'all We continue our tribute to the Hellenes who were the living embodiment of faith and courage.  Outnumbered and outflanked by a vastly superior force they defied the odds and paid a steep price to live as free men.  Their clarion call "FREEDOM OR DEATH" became the anthem of all people the world over who have sought and continue to seek the liberties that are our inalienable rights as members of all of humanity.  So here then is Part 2 of our tribute to the hero's of the Greek Revolution of 1821. Zorba The Mad Greek OPA FROM GREECE WITH LOVE www.opafromgreecewithlove.com KCLA-FM 99.3 Los Angeles - Saturday 12 Noon PDT Simulcast www.kclafm.com & www.tunein .com - iTunes

Tikanese and Yasou Y'all, We open the month of March with a tribute to the Hellenes who stood up against a power that had enslaved them for 4oo years. All of March we will be devoting all or part of our programming to the March 25th revolution.  We are talking about he revolution of 1821 that birthed the modern state of Greece.  As the Greece of today finds itself at a crossroads in its destiny.  The rich legacy it has left behind for historians to mull over and write about is ripe with heroism, self sacrifice and a dogged will to overcome all odds regardless of the obstacles for Freedom was the call and Death the price they were willing to pay to call their home Ellada.    HELLENES ELEFTHERIA H THANATOS! Zorba The Mad Greek OPA FROM GREECE WITH LOVE KCLA-FM 99.3 LOS ANGELES LIVE SATURDAY 12 NOON PDT kclafm.com tunein.com iTunes

Tikanese and Yasou Y'all, From our archives of February 25, 2012. Zorba The Mad Greek OPA FROM GREECE WITH LOVE KCLA-FM 99.3 LOS ANGELES LIVE SATURDAY 12 NOON PDT kclafm.com tunein.com iTunes

Tikanese and Yasou Y'all, From our archives of February 18, 2012. Zorba The Mad Greek OPA FROM GREECE WITH LOVE KCLA-FM 99.3 LOS ANGELES LIVE SATURDAY 12 NOON PDT kclafm.com tunein.com iTunes [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nynMR6AZ8Rc]

Tikanese and Yasou Y'all, From our archives of February 11, 2012. Zorba The Mad Greek OPA FROM GREECE WITH LOVE KCLA-FM 99.3 LOS ANGELES LIVE SATURDAY 12 NOON PDT kclafm.com tunein.com iTunes

Tikanese and Yasou Y'all, From our archives of February 04, 2012. Zorba The Mad Greek OPA FROM GREECE WITH LOVE KCLA-FM 99.3 LOS ANGELES LIVE SATURDAY 12 NOON PDT kclafm.com tunein.com iTunes

Tikanese and Yasou Y'all, From our archives of January 28, 2012. Zorba The Mad Greek OPA FROM GREECE WITH LOVE KCLA-FM 99.3 LOS ANGELES LIVE SATURDAY 12 NOON PDT kclafm.com tunein.com iTunes [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZe1u1xnGrw]

Tikanese and Yasou Y'all, Another deletion we were able to save from our archived files.  You missed my commentary not that would make any difference to you but maybe to me.  Oh well remember Zorba humility, humility, humble your ego...whatever.

Yasou and Tikanese Y'all, Oops we slipped and accidentally erased so here is an archived copy of our show. We call this show We Are Therefore I Am Who I am. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaxbtbcNN1U] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrnzMpgISgo]

Tikanese and Yasou Y'all Zorba The Mad Greek here. When you were a kid didn't you just love watching those now classic Hanna/Barbera Cartoons. I remember one in particular and it wasn't Huckelberry Hound. Johnny Quest and that fantastic jazz underscore that made it the heart throb that continues today. Hoyt Curtin was the guy that wrote that fantastic score and we are proud to present samples of that soundtrack today and possibly into several more episodes to highlight the rich and universal appeal music has even to a young impressionable Greek American raised on Opa Ni Na Nai and the Syrtakis of Hadjidakis and Theodrakis. Also we continue with our weekly White House updates and our latest report on Greece's crushing debt. All this and AHEPA in 30 minutes. Can we do it? We did! Zorba The Mad Greek Opa From Greece With Love www.opafromgreecewithlove.com KCLA-FM 99.3 Los Angeles Live Saturday 12 Noon PDT Simulcast www.kclafm.com and www.tunein.com Re-Broadcast Sunday 6pm EDT at Radio Neo www.radioneo.us [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2mXxBMvfh0] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlRi7kSqIyw]

Tikanese and yasou y'all just wanted to wish you a Kalo Pascha and to wrap up our Easter month long observance with our Easter Special. From St Sophia Cathedral here in the City of Angels, Los Angeles comes the Dean of the Cathedral Fr. John Bakas as he shares with us the true meaning of Megali Edomada or as we call it here in the West Holy Week. We also present to you one of my favorite hymnals from the Byzantine period Megali Pareskevi the hymn of the Myrrh Bearers from the Good Friday Lamentations. We wrap it up with a surprise that to some may seem curiously not appropriate but is quite frankly a very appropriate way of sharing the joy of the season for with God there is always a reason even when we do not see it. Anyway wishing you and your family a Happy Easter and a continued blessed year in spite of the spike at the gas pump. Let go now and let God in the driver seat for the next 30 minutes. God Bless, Zorba The Mad Greek www.opafromgreecewithlove.com www.kclafm.com KCLA-FM 99.3 Los Angeles, Live Saturday 12:00 - 12:30 PM (PDT)

Tikanese and Yasou Y'all here is our expanded edition celebrating Greek Independence. We have put together the GO Telecom production of the history of Greek Independence with a brief intro by yours truly this is a tribute to our parents and grandparents. Our forefathers and ancestors who lit the flame of Liberty from Leonidis to Kolokotronis to Jefferson and Washington. This is our heritage, our pride our contribution to human progress and civilization. The first successful people revolution in Europe and the inspiration for the American Revolution (even though it occurred 40 years earlier). "It is better to die a free man than to live as a slave!" Zorba The Mad Greek Opa From Greece With Love www.opafromgreecewithlove.com www.kclafm.com KCLA-FM - Los Angeles, Saturday 12 Noon (Pacific Standard Time)

Dance pioneer was 'Zorba the Greek come to life' By Tony Castro, Staff Writer Updated: 02/16/2010 10:10:03 AM PST Greek dance pioneer Athan Karras, who choreographed routines for Broadway and Hollywood and was considered one of the leading authorities on Greek folk dancing in America, died Friday, Feb. 12, 2010. The Tarzana man was 82. (Courtesy photo) Greek dance pioneer Athan Karras, who choreographed routines for Broadway and Hollywood and was considered one of the leading authorities on Greek folk dancing in America, has died. The Tarzana man was 82. Also appearing on stage and in television and motion pictures as a dancer, Karras founded the Greek-language Theater in Los Angeles, where he produced and choreographed several plays. A noted dancer, teacher and choreographer who for 25 years taught Greek culture and dance at Loyola Marymount University, Karras died of complications from coronary bypass surgery Friday. Frosene Phillips, editor of the Greek-American monthly Hellenic Journal, said Karras was the country's leading voice of Greek folk dancing. "Athan was Zorba the Greek come to life," said Phillips, who also edited his column at the San Francisco-based publication. "Zorba was a free spirit, and so was Athan. He inspired people. He was driven. He was relentless." Fittingly, said Phillips, the name of Karras' column was "Did You Say Dance?" - Anthony Quinn's memorable line in the beachside climax of "Zorba the Greek." Karras produced Greek festivals at the University of California, Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount and the University of California, Berkeley. He also created ethnic folklore programs for the Southern California Heritage Society, and he co-founded the Intersection Folk Dance Center - a coffee house where in the 1960s Marlon Brando, Telly Savalas and other celebrities often went to dance. In Hollywood, Karras choreographed dance scenes for numerous TV commercials, specials and films such as the 1981 remake of "The Postman Always Rings Twice." "While he loved, enjoyed and respected all work preserving Greek dance, Athan preferred to reinterpret dance for the present," his widow, Jeanne Karas, said Monday. Karras starred in one of the first Greek-American films, "Dark Odyssey." He is featured in many folk-dance manuals and multi-cultural videos, and he is the author of numerous articles on Greek dance and music. Born Athan Karas in Thessaloniki, Greece, Sept. 22, 1927, he adopted Karras as his theatrical name - and came to embody the immigrant American Dream, arriving in the United States not knowing English but nevertheless speaking a universal language. "For me, dance has always been a way to communicate when words failed," Karras wrote of his heritage in one column, where he recalled as a teenager learning the boogie woogie and the Lindy hop. "Later, when I joined the Coast Guard and was sent to the South Pacific, the only way I knew to communicate with the natives was by dancing with them ... We couldn't speak to one Greek dance pioneer Athan Karras, who choreographed routines for Broadway and Hollywood and was considered one of the leading authorities on Greek folk dancing in America, died Friday, Feb. 12, 2010. The Tarzana man was 82. (Courtesy photo) another but through dance we expressed our joy and feelings."He remembered that, while a sailor in San Francisco, after losing all his money in a craps game, he browsed along Market Street and found himself homesick in a Greek restaurant where he ordered a meal even though he was broke. "A nice-looking family with two gorgeous daughters caught my eye," he wrote. "As the (Greek) music began, they started to dance, I leapt onto the dance floor and joined the line. In no time, the girls pushed me to lead the dance, and soon we were laughing and dancing as if we knew each other all our lives. "Their father generously took care of my bill ..." Maria Vlahos Sullivan of Oakland, one of the two daughters who Greek dance pioneer Athan Karras, who choreographed routines for Broadway and Hollywood and was considered one of the leading authorities on Greek folk dancing in America, died Friday, Feb. 12, 2010. The Tarzana man was 82. (Courtesy photo) became lifelong friends with Karras, remembered that the young sailor was an incredible dancer."My father saw Athan sitting by himself and said, `That sailor is all alone. Someone should pick up his bill,"' Sullivan said in a phone interview. "We danced and I don't think his feet ever touched the ground. People even applauded. "The next day he shipped out." After his stint in the Coast Guard, Karras attended New York University, where he studied classical dance and later also studied under Lee Strasberg, Uta Hagen and at the American School of Dance and the Carnegie Hall Dance Studios. Eventually he became a member of the Greek National Theater and the Dora Stratou National Greek Folk Ensemble. "My father had a zeal for life, always taking on new endeavors," said his daughter, Eleni Karas. "Activity, generosity and hospitality defined him." At Loyola Marymount University, Karras also choreographed several productions of Greek tragedies such as "The Persians," "Helen" and "Thesmophoriazusae." After creating the Intersection Folk Dance Center in Los Angeles, he carried on the tradition by founding the Athens Intersection in Athens below the Acropolis. Karras is survived by his wife Jeanne, their daughter Eleni and their son George, daughter Daphne Byers from his first marriage, his brother Gus and three grandchildren. Tikanese and Yasou Y'all Thank you Tony Castro of the Daily News Los Angeles for that fantastic and beautiful obit and double thanks to Frosene Phillips the editor and publisher of the Hellenic Journal which Athan wrote a monthly column until he passed away, called  to a new assignment in heaven. Therefore, we humbly present a special 30 minute tribute to the Real Zorba The Mad Greek, my mentor and second father Athan Karras who gave so much in his efforts to promote and expand the Hellenic ideals, culture and influence not through forced imposition or prideful boasting in bombastic expressive methods but by sharing his heart and love of his heritage as well as the appreciation of the opportunities that this great land of ours gave him.  He loved Greece but his home was America and with that we present to you our tribute to the man who was Axios!  Worthy! Zorba The Mad Greek OPA FROM GREECE WITH LOVE www.opafromgreecewithlove.com KCLA FM 99.3 -- LOS ANGELES www.kclafm.com