Johnny Bacolas

Johnny Bacolas (Greek: Ιωάννης Μπακόuλας; classical transcription Ioannis Bakoulas, born March 3, 1969) is an American musician. He is best known for his work with the post-grunge band Second Coming, where he played bass guitar. He was also a founding member of the band Sleze, which was later renamed Alice N' Chains (a precursor to Alice in Chains that also featured vocalist Layne Staley), The Crying Spell, and The Rumba Kings.

Early life Johnny Bacolas is a first-generation American born to Greek parents who met at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Seattle, Washington. His mother, Patricia Bacolas, was born in Lamia, Greece, and works as an artist from her home in Kirkland, Washington. was born in Athens, Greece, Soon after, he formed his first band with childhood friend and drummer, James Bergstrom.

Bacolas has cited a myriad of musical styles (particularly from the 1970s) and artists, such as Black Sabbath, Pet Shop Boys, and Gipsy Kings, as some of his other influences.

Career

Sleze and Alice N' Chains (1984–1987)

In 1984, Bacolas started a garage band called Sleze along with James Bergstrom and two other Shorewood High students, Zoli Semanate and Byron Hansen. At the suggestion of Bergstrom's friend Ken Elmer, they recruited Elmer's stepbrother Layne Staley, who back then also went by the surname Elmer, as vocalist.

In 1985, Sleze began performing live at various high schools with Bacolas on guitar. They mostly played Slayer and Armored Saint covers. "The first song we jammed was, "L.o.v.e. Machine" by Wasp. Then we did an Armored Saint song, a Mötley Crüe song, and after doing a few songs together, that was the band."

Sleze went through several lineup changes before they eventually changed their name to Alice N' Chains. At one point, Bacolas briefly left the group to jam with another band called Ascendant, where he took up playing bass guitar. By the time he rejoined Sleze, the band had already written what would eventually be recorded on the two demos they put out under the moniker Alice N' Chains. The group continued to perform throughout the Seattle area before they broke up around 1987, which was the year that Bacolas graduated from Shorewood High.

A few months after Alice N' Chains broke up, Layne Staley joined the glam metal band that eventually took the name Alice in Chains, which Bacolas later claimed was the name that the two of them along with the other members of Sleze had initially flirted with. Throughout the rest of his career, Staley continued to stay in touch with Bacolas and the two of them shared an apartment during the mid-1990s.

Formation of Second Coming and Layne Staley (1994–1996)

Meanwhile, Bacolas continued working with James Bergstrom, and in May 1993, they formed a band called Second Coming. In 1994, they independently released their debut album L.O.V.Evil, which features a guest appearance by Layne Staley on the track "It's Coming After". The band, along with special guest, Layne Staley, performed at its CD release party for L.O.V.Evil on September 9, 1994, at The Fenix Underground in Seattle, Washington.

In 1995, Bacolas and Staley became roommates after Staley asked Bacolas to move in with at his home located in the Queen Anne area of Seattle.

Staley arranged for Bacolas' band, Second Coming, to open for Mad Season at Seattle nightclub RKCNDY on New Year's Eve of 1995.

Bacolas says of Staley in Greg Prato's Book, Grunge is Dead, "The guy was one of the nicest, most humble, sincere people that you'll ever meet."

Second Coming (1996–2008)

In 1996 Bacolas and Bergstrom replaced the vocalist/guitarist of the group. In the subsequent months, the new members of Second Coming wrote, produced, and financed an 8-song demo (which was produced by Kelly Gray and Dudley Taft). The band performed cover songs on the outskirts of Seattle under the moniker FTA to finance the demo. Once the recording was finished, the band dropped their cover act, and began performing solely as Second Coming. The band subsequently generated a massive buzz in the Seattle area performing their original songs. On May 9, 1998, Second Coming signed an exclusive recording agreement with Capitol Records Inc. and released their eponymous second album Second Coming. The band toured extensively throughout the US supporting and performing with acts such as Van Halen, Candlebox, Monster Magnet, Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz, Fuel, Sponge, Sammy Hagar, and The Goo Goo Dolls. The band split from Capitol Records in 2002 after the departure of Gary Gersh, the president who signed them to the label.

In 2010 Bacolas performed several shows as the bassist for the group Lotus Crush. The group features vocalist Terry McDermott, who was made famous on the third season of NBC's The Voice (2012) as the 2nd runner-up. Lotus Crush also features guitarist Peter Klett and drummer Scott Mercado from the group Candlebox.

In December 2011, Bacolas released a video for the Greek classic "To Agalma" of which he produced and engineered the music and co-directed and produced the video. The song was originally recorded in the late sixties by Greek singer Giannis Poulopoulos and written by the highly respected songwriters, Lefteris Papadopoulos & Mimis Plessas. Bacolas is also credited as the bassist and keyboardist on the track. The project was an international collaboration, featuring several artists from Bacolas' hometown of Seattle, and well as well-known Greek vocalist Giorgos Sarris (formerly lead vocalist for Greek group Zigk Zagk) from Athens, Greece, and guitarist Josh Sulfaro, from Los Angeles, CA. To film the shots of vocalist, Giorgos Sarris in Athens, Bacolas partnered-up with Greek director Sherif francis.

In June 2011, Bacolas produced a track titled "Ophelia" by the Alexandroupolis, Greece-based group, INK. Bacolas makes a cameo appearance in the official music video.

In May 2012, Bacolas produced and released a remake of George Michael's "Careless Whisper" with X Factor US (2011) contestant Tiger Budbill.

The Rumba Kings

In June 2015, Bacolas formed the Latin & Mediterranean inspired group, The Rumba Kings, with Romany-Gypsy guitarist/songwriter, George Stevens. Soon after, Bacolas and Stevens began recording The Rumba King's debut double-disc album, titled The Instrumental and Vocal Sessions, Vol I. Bacolas produced and engineered the record, and was mixed and mastered by Martin Feveyear. Recording of the music took place in Lakeview Studio in Kirkland, WA., Northside Studio in Athens, Greece, Sofita Studio in Athens, Greece, and Robert Lang Studio in Shoreline, WA. The Instrumental and Vocal Sessions Vol I was released on February 17, 2018. In early and mid 2020, The Rumba Kings released two more singles, "Mirame," (February 2020) which was written by Horacio Alcantar (lyrics) and George Stevens (music), and "Dance with me," (June 2020) which was written by Bacolas (lyrics) and George Stevens (music). During the pandemic of 2020, The Rumba Kings stayed busy re-crafting their entire live show, writing, recording and releasing new music, and publishing several videos, which they titled, "The quarantine sessions." The Rumba Kings began performing live in the greater Seattle area beginning in April 2016 to present day.

Discography Second Coming Released: June 16, 1994 Released: September 22, 1998 Released: 2002 Label: Timestyle200313 Released: 2003 Label: Timestyle Darin Isaacs Released: 2007 Label: Electric Head The Crying Spell Released: July 15, 2008 Label: Streamline Lotus Crush Released: 2011 Label: Fontana Owin' Soul Released: 2012 Released: 2012 Released: 2012 Label: Private Solo Released 2011 Released: 2012 Label: Johnny Bacolas Productions Tiger Budbill Released: 2012 Label: Private The Rumba Kings Released: February 17, 2018 Released: June 1, 2019 Released: September 21, 2024 Label: The Rumba Kings Recordings