From Milwaukee to Flamenco: A Journey of Passion and Perseverance with Basilio Georges
From classical piano lessons in Milwaukee to the vibrant dance halls of New York City, this artist's journey has been anything but conventional. A seasoned musician, composer, and nonprofit leader, he shares how his diverse upbringing, creative drive, and love for Flamenco have shaped his life and career. Through challenges, cultural immersion, and a relentless commitment to his craft, he continues to forge connections across musical genres and communities, inspiring others along the way.
What's a typical day in your life look like?:
As a musician/composer or NP administrator? I also joke, en español, que llevo el papel de bombero porque siempre "Hay fuego en el 23!" I'm always putting out fires, despite my creative projects. Admin is always pulling me away from them. Even briefly expanding our team has not reduced the "emergencies".
What is the most rewarding part of your work?:
I have been on a quest to authentically merge my Flamenco guitar style and 45 years of experience as performer and dance/canto accompanist, with my earlier career background as jazz and salsa guitarist and bassist. I think I really started arriving only during the past 5 years. I have a piece based on a recording by Muddy Waters "Can't Get No Grindin". Sometimes you have a metaphorical product, or creation in life. You take it to get processed, to the next step and you STILL Can't Git No Grindin'!
How would you say your upbringing and cultural background contributed to your career aspirations?:
Totally unlikely. Born Milwaukee WI (during a more Progressive period in that State). I had four years classical piano through public schools, but I was into baseball and football. My parents suggested taking up a second instrument. I had begun listening to Top 40 AM Radio. There were early rock tracks my brother and I were interested in. I said guitar and they said ‘ok, but we'll buy you a classical guitar. If you want to play rock n roll, you'll have to save up your own money’. Then the Beatles debuted on Ed Sullivan around my 11th birthday. I was hooked. I left sports behind. Got a paper route to save tips in coins. I had already put together a basement band. Due to budget, I decided to buy an amp and mic instead of an electric guitar, because I was also singing. Used to put the mic inside the classical guitar sound hole. I formed rock groups and earned money playing teen dances at YMCAs, parties, teen soda bar clubs. My tastes and styles evolved: Beatles/Top 40/R&B, the power guitarists Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, then a turn to composition and other types of music through Frank Zappa and the original Mothers of Invention. By senior year in highschool and first year of college, I was seeking jazz. I came to NYC in 1974 as a jazz player, changed instruments to bass to work more, and also discovered salsa and worked with bands in the many dance halls of the Fania Record heyday. Aurora Reyes, eventually my wife, got into Flamenco dance first. Flamenco later drew me in, inspired by its complex right-hand techniques, though learning it meant diving into a challenging, non-theoretical tradition.
What would you say is a common question or concern you get from your clients/followers?:
Continuing, "how does a guy from Milwaukee get into Flamenco?" This used to feel disparaging, but now I joke, "me llaman El Guapo de Milwaukee," a nickname from a fellow Midwestern flamenco aficionado, or "el viejo cabrón wisconseño," depende de mi actitud. Many Americans see Flamenco as a mysterious ethnic art only authentic to Spaniards or Spanish Gypsies. But Flamenco, like Jazz, is international and has grown even more so over the past 30 years. Because of my early singing and interest in accompaniment, I’ve immersed myself in Cante for years, becoming fluent in Spanish, which is essential to mastering Flamenco. Many who hear me perform ask which part of Spain I’m from, though others focus on where I was born.
What would you say has been your biggest obstacle in launching a successful career? How have you overcome it?:
My ambitions creatively are too diverse and I get going on too many projects without a supportive team. If things start losing momentum, I end up pushing hard, to the point of irritable temper, or in earlier periods, months of burn-out. Also, since Flamenco Latino is a non-profit, and dance is in the foreground, I have had to take a backseat many times as a musician. We are well documented by videos of concerts, but the mix of the music is never recording quality. So I've made this steady foray into home-studio recording since the pandemic in 2020. But somehow, the non-profit can be very consuming in all aspects of admin and marketing/promo. Since I am good with technical skills, I end up being the only person who can navigate many of the tasks, because we can't afford more than two employees, the founder/directors.
What is the phrase, sentence, or conversation that stopped you in your tracks and changed your outlook in life?:
There are several: "Can't Git No Grindin"; "Talkin Loud an Sayin Nothin"; "When you hear music, after, it's gone, in the air. And you can never catch it again"; “the likes of which we've never seen before”.; "Ban the teaching of Slavery and Critical Race Theory”. “We don't want our kids feeling badly".
If you had the choice to go back to your past or fast forward to your future, which one would you choose? Why?:
As a musician, I should have focused on my own career more. But it would have meant that this partnership with dancer Aurora Reyes and the inspiration to get so deeply inside Flamenco, might not have been pursued as thoroughly. I am generally a future facing person. I have many strong words to say about Backward Facing Individuals, especially the members of the so-called Conservative Right. I like to call them Confusitives. We live in a political environment where one side is trying to look to the future and solve imminent problems, and the other side is wishing not just for the superficial stability or economic comfort of the Eisenhower Era, but many of its members appear to be wishing we were back in the Segregation era the late 1800s or the 1930s. The people at the front trying to define policies are tremendously anti-science, but they sure wish there was development of a Time Machine which only goes backwards.
What are you committed to doing no matter what happens?:
Hopefully, I will not pass through any more periods of burn-out. Have to continue to be creative and productive, put out more recordings. I have enough for 3-4 more Cds that includes undocumented material.
Where might you be found on a Saturday afternoon with no plans?:
Sat is not one of those days. It's full of Private and Group Class scheduling, sometimes followed by a gig at night. Maybe a Sunday afternoon reflects the question for me. From September to early February it includes a lot of NFL football. We have also continued to have Admin responsibilities, so no rest for the weary. I haven't even been able to completely follow the games that have been played. Sometimes they're just on in the background, as long as I'm not trying to Mix a Track.
If you were to meet 10 year old you, what would you say to them?:
You've got some great creative potential. Try to develop confidence in your abilities, and don't be discouraged, or lose that confidence. The best way to lift yourself when you get down is listening to or looking at recordings, videos or documentation of what you produced, even if you think you changed direction from that documentation. Also, look for, and take advantage of anyone interested in helping your career, even if they seem like more talk than action.
What is something you’re willing to start all over again?:
My whole life is starting things over again.
When are you the happiest?:
When I'm productive, and it seems like progress is moving forward, not backward.
What is stopping you?:
Seeming lack of visibility. We have gotten amazing coverage by Publicists this year. It hasn't increased ticket sales at self-produced events. I also believe that e-marketing through email, social media has hit a wall.
Hustle culture and burnout is so prominent in our community. How do you prioritize self care?:
Not well. I push as many hours as I can stay awake when under deadlines. Then comes the yelling. Then hopefully something distracts me or chills me out. Just sitting and playing guitar can do that, but sometimes it is not a "planful" use of my time under deadlines.
Same goes for imposter syndrome. How do you combat those feelings (if any)?:
Don't have them anymore. Becoming more talkative in public settings, and more bi-lingual has helped. There are times when I have to speak in Spanish because the thoughts don't come out in English, or the statement is more forceful and amusing in Spanish.
How do you stay connected to your culture, heritage, and community?:
Well, my actual culture and heritage is Greek on my father's side and Ukranian Jew on my mother's. She always said the grandparents were Russian from Kiev but I later learned from an older cousin that they were from Kharkiv. We think they were Ukranians. But my father, who spoke Greek, never had the patience to teach us at the dinner table. As a kid, I was never really into Greek music, like I was into rock. But I already got adopted into Spanish culture. The Greeks invented the castanets (crotalos) and the Romans took them to Spain. Also, we all know that the Greeks invented democracia, along with the Cheeseburger Deluxe Platter. That's about as close as I get to my heritage community. I am much more involved in the Flamenco community, and with all the Hispanic community interaction I brush into here in Jackson Heights.
What would 18-year-old you say about where you are at in life now?:
Tío, estas loco!
What accomplishment are you most proud of, both in your personal and professional life?: I have found the musical portals between diverse unrelated styles, and how to pass through them. I am also very clear at explaining this info to anyone who wants to learn more, or study the art form.
Drink 🫖
What is Basilio’s go-to drink?
Strong coffee with only a bit of half and half, no sugar. Sometimes café encargado. Depends on the café and strength of brew. Some places need that shot of espresso to punch the brew up a notch.
Listening To 🎧
What is Basilio listening to at the moment?
Moraito Chico, La Chiqui de Jerez, Fosforito, Juan Moreno El Torta, Antonio de la Malena, Rosario la Tremendita.
Your Truth 🗣️
What is a Basilio’s truth?
Stay informed. The mainstream media is not fake news. It's real news about a fake president and a party of backwards thinking ignorantes. Don't become so overwhelmed with content that you start buying into quick fix ideas based on poor logic based on a principal of divert-distract-deceive and a delivery involving obfuscation.
Your Plug 🔌
What is Basilio plugging today?
My album Acabo de Empezar - Just Gettin Started (Nueva Frontera NF008CD). Release date 11/29/24 - hopefully. Cd will arrive in limited quantity. Streaming services may take a few weeks more to populate.
More about Basilio Georges
Basilio Georges is a flamenco guitarist, singer and composer. He began his career in 1974 as a jazz and salsa musician. After studying flamenco, he changed careers and toured with Jose Molina Bailes Españoles from 1983-85. Between 1982-86, he honed accompaniment skills in Madrid and Sevilla, playing for classes of La Tati, Faico, Ciro, and Manolete, and for singers at flamenco peñas.
From 1987-2000 he composed and arranged pieces for the professional companies of Carlota Santana Flamenco Vivo and Andrea Del Conte Danza España.
His interest in Latin music and the flamenco Ida y Vuelta genre inspired him to found Flamenco Latino with his wife Aurora Reyes. They ran a studio theater from 2006-2016 in Midtown Manhattan. Programming included unique, innovative concerts by Flamenco Latino and other flamenco artists, classes in guitar, dance, cante and palmas, student rectials, and workshops with Spanish artists when they were in NYC on tour. Flamenco Latino collaborated with Thalia Spanish Theatre for four different productions, and performed in Knoxville Opera’s “Carmen.” Basilio has two CDs, “Retrospectiva Vol 1” and “Cante Flamenco En Nueva York” with Luis Vargas. He is releasing “Acabo de Llegar – Just Getting Started” in November 2024.