Stinking Lizaveta: "Just play your music and don't worry about all the things you can’t control"

I do not know to what extent the American Stinking Lizaveta ever had a wide reach in Greece, but they certainly love us dearly. That is because the band consists of Cheshire Agusta on drums and the Papadopoulos brothers on string instruments. Children of the Greek diaspora who grew up in America, the two brothers fell in love with rock music and soon infused it with Greek elements and references in their songwriting approach.

With a career spanning thirty-two years of constant activity, Stinking Lizaveta have found themselves in many wild situations throughout their lives. These range from recording their debut album with Steve Albini himself, to countless heavy rock festivals and a massive discography that masters instrumental heavy rock with an incredible personal style.

Despite their Greek heritage, various unfortunate circumstances prevented Stinking Lizaveta from ever coming to Greece to perform. That, however, is finally about to change, as they are set to appear at New Long Fest. So, on the occasion of this meeting that took more than thirty years to happen, we sat down with Stinking Lizaveta and learned a lot: about their songwriting process, their connections to members of the Greek scene, the story behind their name, as well as who they would have wanted as a vocalist if things had taken a different turn for them. Enjoy!

Hello, we are warmly welcoming you to Rocking.gr! I hope you are all doing good. How is 2026 looking up for you?

2026 is gearing up to be a phenomenal year for Stinking Lizaveta.  Our summer schedule includes some festivals which we have waited years to play, like Stoned from the Underground and Bearstone.  We are also thrilled to play the New Long Festival in Nea Makri!  Gigs in Greece have eluded us for years, but now we will have our Ithaca moment.

Stinking Lizaveta represents the force of nature to us

This being the first contact with our audience, you get your name from a very interesting character from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s work. Stinking Lizaveta was a mute person from "Brothers Karamazov", treated often as an outcast. I would assume there is a parallel with your music having no lyrics and the strength in being an outcast. But please, let me know your story behind your name choice!

You hit the nail right on the head!  Thank you for being so perceptive.  Stinking Lizaveta represents the force of nature to us.  Our music is best when we are tapped into that energy source.  Old man Karamazov had his selfish way with Stinking Lizaveta, and she gave birth to the son that killed him.

Greece has so much to draw from including pre- christian and Byzantine worlds

Looking further at your personal names, one can immediately understand that two of you have a Greek heritage. Please tell us where that is coming from and how is it affecting your artistry.

Our heritage is very important to us.  Our father was an artist, poet and craftsman who influenced us to be creative people.  I also draw influence from Nikos Kazantsakis, making it a life goal to turn matter into spirit. Greece has so much to draw from including pre- christian and Byzantine worlds.  I also feel the weight of the stories we heard from our father about the Pontic genocide, World War II, and the Greek Civil war.  We are all such a mix of things in life, if we can share some of what we are we are lucky.

A pretty convenient spot to mention that, we initiated this conversation since you are invited to play in Greece at New Long Fest festival, and it will be the first of your 32 years of existence! How do you feel about it? Is it the first time for you performing in Greece?

We have wanted to play in Greece for decades, but our connections were never good enough to make it happen.  Fifteen years ago we were on tour with a band in central Europe and the package had a date at An Club in Athens.  It was determined that the plane tickets were too much for one date, and we had to cancel.  I suppose time has caught up to us and the opportunities are coming in now.  It makes no difference to me how old I am, I was always determined to make this my life’s work.

We gave Steve Albini a demo tape at a Shellac concert and he agreed to record us at his house in Chicago

Let’s get to know you musically a little more though. A very interesting fact about you was that you were very early discovered by the legendary Steve Albini, who recorded your first album, "Hopelessness And Shame". How was it like working with that extraordinary man?

Steve Albini was of a great generation of hard working uncompromising people who were committed to following their ethical and aesthetic values.  We gave him a demo tape at a Shellac concert and he agreed to record us at his house in Chicago.  We set up in his basement with no head phones.  He didn’t care about bleed and believed that if we were a good band we would get the take we wanted on the first try.  He also knew that his unfiltered way of doing things would communicate our energy to the listener.  We hung out, talked about music and politics, and gave him a ride in our van.  I miss him, and I talked to him about playing some shows with Shellac the week before he died.

"Instrumental music is faster and you don’t need to wait for images to be added to the music.  Write riff, play it!

As we mentioned earlier, your music is strictly instrumental. What led you to that choice? Did the fact that instrumental rock was very much on the rise when you first started had any role on that decision?

We were inspired by Black Flag’s instrumental recordings, but also by every rock instrumental recording.  It seemed like most bands, Rush, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Van Halen, The Meat Puppets etc.. had one instrumental song on their records.  Our idea was just to do that for an entire record.  Instrumental music is a different process than conventional song writing.  It is faster and you don’t need to wait for images to be added to the music.  Write riff, play it!  Once you are working at that pace it is hard to get off.

Our cousin Kosta was the singer of a legendary Greek metal band called The Fourth Dimension

If you could imagine your music with a singer, who could that be?

I love good singers and exciting front men/women.  Rob Halford and Diamanda Gallas are at the top of my list.  I am always on the lookout for people that take their voice seriously as an instrument.  By the way, our cousin Kosta was the singer of a legendary Greek metal band called The Fourth Dimension.

What has been the equipment that you are swearing by the past few years?

Since I was 14 years old I have played Gibson Les Paul guitars.  I have other guitars, but the Gibson is where my voice lives.  I played a Messa Boogie head for 25 years and on a lot of our albums, but now I’ve switched to Orange.   I got used to the sound of Orange from the backlines at Desertfest and Freak Valley.   I just needed a change and I like the Orange roar.

Sometimes I think of our songs as national anthems for countries that don’t exist

You have however been constantly active, with your most recent work being "Anthems And Phantoms" about three years ago, marking your ninth album. What was the inspiration behind that?

Every riff I fish out of the musical sea must be memorable, or it goes back in the water.  Sometimes I think of our songs as national anthems for countries that don’t exist.  We also try to conjure spirits from the immaterial world through vibrational architecture.

After Internet, everything we do is public and we need to properly own it

In the three decades of your existence, you’ve seen the music world with and without the internet, you’ve experienced covid, and generally we can say that these past few years we have been experiencing the world constantly changing. What are two changes in the life of a musician that you can say you have experienced - the most positive and the most negative one.

I like that there isn’t as much of a generation gap between people anymore.  Older and younger people can take each other's opinions and art seriously without dismissing it as an artifact.  Before the internet, being in a band was like a secret life one lived outside of normal circles.  Now everything we do is public and we need to properly own it.

One good thing we see for sure, is the ability for young bands to reach an audience. What bands / artists have you spotted that you believe are worth a listen and you like what they do?

I really like Rotor and Dyse from Germany.  They both blow me away with their creativity and energy.  Greece is lucky to have rock ambassadors 1000 Mods.  I saw them at a club in Philadelphia and at the Freak Valley Festival, and they put out maximum rock energy.

As a band you have been constantly choosing to feature some amazing art or even grotesque photography in your album covers. What leads you to decide how to present your albums visually

I am not a visual artist, but I am a great fan of the medium.  My good friend Chuck Tisa is a painter and he used to say that a work isn’t finished until it finds its apocalypse.  I try to apply that philosophy to our music.  Our newest record will feature the artwork of my cousin Stathis Panou.  It is called, "Cassandra, Prophet of Doom".

We are going to rock you pretty hard

Since we’ve never been in contact with your live music, what should we expect in New Long Fest from your performance?

We are going to rock you pretty hard.  When you see Stinking Lizaveta remember that we’ve shared bills with some of the roughest bands in the underground scene.  But we will also be lyrical, because that’s where the heart is.

My advice to young bands is just play your music and don't worry about all the things you can’t control

The festival that you are going to play has been supporting the underground scene of Greece for a long time. What is your relationship with your local underground scene and what is your advice to newborn bands?

Sometimes I call Philly the Land of the Lost.  We have a good local scene, but it’s not as organized as European cities.  We have a good local record label called SRA that puts out our records, thanks to Bruce Howze and his band Deathbird Earth.  My advice to young bands is just play your music and don't worry about all the things you can’t control.  Try not to compare yourself to lottery winners, they are just lucky and have to live with their Midas touch.  The only thing you have power over is what  you will do on that stage.  Make it worth people’s time and your sacrifices.

It’s been a pleasure speaking with you all. Thank you so much for your time. Please conclude this interview with something you want to share with your audience!

It is very much a dream come true to be playing this show at the New Long Festival.  Thanks to Oresties and Lambros for hooking us up.  We hope do a full tour of Greece soon.