Two musicians explain how powerful the blow is in Athens' nightlife

Singer Christina Karali and composer Dimitris Bisdekis talk to newsbeast.gr about the effects of the pandemic

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For the Athenians the nightlife of the capital has something magical. Whether you go to a small bar, a big club, or a small box, or a big track, the ending will almost always be the same. Fun, smiles, alcohol, good food and plenty of fun.

Or so it was until the beginning of last March. Then everything changed. The tables and tracks were empty. Microphones and musical instruments were silenced. His pandemic coronavirus caused a major blow to Athens' nightlife (and not only, of course).

No one can know when the long-awaited normality will return to our lives and when we will be able to return to the past.

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Singer Christina Karali and composer Dimitris Bisdekis, both employees of one of the most famous shops with live music and food in downtown Athens, speak at newsbeast.gr for the effects of the pandemic on their work, for their fears for today and their hopes for tomorrow.

- Tell me a little about this new reality that we all experience, but also to focus on everything that you live in the shops where you work.

Dimitris Bisdekis: Stone on the head was all that. It was a shock. From one moment to the next, everything changed.

Christina Karali: We were stunned. As you can see us even now. We were told. We were told that things weren't going well, but it's one thing to be told and another to be realized. A harsh reality that you would have to face. We said okay it would be something that would last for two weeks and then we would be the same again.

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- For the measures announced by the government that concern a possible opening of the economic activity in your part?

H.K .: If something doesn't change by September and we remain with such strict measures and rules, I don't know. Hard. Consider this: If, for example, a store opens with 40% of the world below, there should be a corresponding reduction on the stage. Decrease in wages? Reduction in employees musicians? In any case, these are not easy things. And then there's the other thing: What do you tell customers: come but don't get up to dance? come but don't throw flowers? Flowers are a great source of income for shops. The food; this is also an important part.

D.M .: Our season is essentially lost. We worked half of what we would normally do. Stores like ours, under normal circumstances, would now be preparing to close. We would close at the end of May. And we have already stopped working since March. I stayed locked in the studio for two weeks to get the program that would be played from October until the end of the month. It basically cut us in half. It is not an issue that can be easily resolved. And let's not forget that we are talking about a space that had already received a major blow from the legislation on ban on smoking.

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H.K .: Of course, we can't even go to type solutions τύπου knitting gloss in stores like the ones we work with! You imagine it; Should the other person come to the chakir party and have the glass in front of him?

D.M .: I'm terribly anxious. I have been sleeping normally for almost two months now. I don't see how all of this can work and get back to normal. I don't think they can do what she says now government to work on us.

- How many people worked in the store you are in? Not just musicians. Generally.

D.M .: We are talking about six musicians and about 25 staff members. Lots of people suddenly lost their jobs.

H.K .: To understand the magnitude of the financial loss in the area, we are talking about a store that is considered small for live food and drink.

D.M .: And since we are talking about this, we must say that in general there are many people in the field who have this as a single job. For these cases of colleagues, the situation is really tragic. They stopped working in March and who knows when they will do a nightgown again.wkeet 2 735x459 1 Covid-19, smoking ban, employees, Coronavirus, Government, nightclubs, Nightlife, financial crisis, CUSTOMERS, SONG

H.K .: We will relive the moments we lived in her time economic crisis. And if you want to go one step further, there will be a reduction in salaries and I think that many are very likely to change professions, as was done then.

- Since we are talking about money and salaries, people will say "one is a conductor, the other is a singer, come on now, mother, they have money, what do they want the aid and help from the state"?

H.K .: I don't think people will say that

D.M .: And yet he will say it. I am sure. I have often found myself saying this about various occasions, not just about our own work. Not everyone is the same. There are big names that get many thousands of euros every night and now they come out and talk about support etc etc

H.K .: The one who has earned money also has the right to work. And he wants to work again. Everyone has their needs. It is the obligation of the state. It's not help. I would take that money and get even more. What the state gives me is the least it can give me from the moment it forces me to close. To everyone. And that's about everyone, not just what we're used to calling art workers in recent days. To everyone.

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- Let's go to that, then. What is your opinion about this action that started through social media under the title "Support Art Workers"?

D.M .: Personally, I support such initiatives. Those who did not intend to mobilize are also needed to mobilize, and especially to listen to our demands, and various positive things may arise through this.

H.K .: Again, I did not sign. I have nothing to do with the initiative or with the people who started it and run it. Barely. I'm just not of that logic. There are moves that have been made and are right, such as meeting some factors with the relevant ministry. It is good that they have come together, but I am afraid that in the end they may start to fight and a disagreement will come out, which in the final analysis may harm our case. The bell rang. No signature, no participation!

- Should we also give an optimistic message? How do you imagine the next day? When all this is over and we find ourselves in a situation that is analogous to pre-coronavirus…

D.M .: It will be a waste. I believe that. It will be like being free. It's as if they had us locked up somewhere and suddenly they opened the doors for us and told us to go out now. Fun and fun will hit red.

H.K .: Yes, I believe that too. Not just from them customers. And from U.S. From where we had entered into an everyday life and a routine of the style "instead of going out to sing again", we will go out on top and it will be a disaster! We will spend too. We'll say, "Oh, what a party she was!" How perfectly we played it! An excitement both above and below the track. Everything is going to be OK!

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