The Greek-Cypriot billionaire – best known as founder of airline easyJet – is working with private equity firm Fore Fitness on the project. Fore has signed a licensing deal which gives it brand rights.
The first two gyms will open in the summer, with plans for others later in the year and then a roll-out of 10 sites a year from 2012.
The first two will be in Slough, Berkshire, and Wood Green, north London.
Like all of the “easy” concepts, the gym business will focus on providing a value-for-money offering in what can be an expensive marketplace.
Sir Stelios to roll out pay as you exercise easyGyms
Composer & Pianist Yanni Goudelis Tours the United States
Greek composer and musician Yanni Goudelis joined the Jagermeister Country Tour 2011 featuring Dierks Bentley. Yanni performs in 26 states with an opening act of the very talented and upcoming singer named Miss Willie Brown.
The Greek artist has composed music for CBS Radio Los Angeles, short and feature films, documentaries, commercials and online media. Recently, he scored the feature film “The Church Office”, directed by Nancy Bellany. Additionally he performs as a pianist at festivals, clubs and concert halls throughout the world from Greece and Europe to Africa and the United States. He has recorded more than twenty albums as a sideman on the piano and accordion, and also his debut album with original music “Life Goes On…”.
Yanni Goudelis talked to us about the tour, his career, and his musical journey.
Tell us about the tour.
The tour is the Jagermeister Country Tour featuring Dierks Bentley. I perform with Miss Willie Brown. The two very talented female lead singers of the group are Amanda Watkins and Kasey Buckley based in Nashville, TN. They are a powerful and dynamic duo, very energetic, putting on a great show. They recently got signed with the A&M/Octone Records based in NY.
What was your best experience until now?
Best experience so far are traveling around the country seeing beautiful places and performing in large audiences with great musicians. My favorite venues was Joe’s Pub in NYC which was with Miss Willie Brown as headliner and House of Blues in Atlantic City, NJ with the Jagermeister tour.
Are you traveling in a bus? How is crossing the country with a band?
We are traveling mostly with the bus and some flying. Great experience with the bus cause you get to see beautiful parts of the country. We are seven of us in a bus of twelve so is not too bad, plus the bus has beds, TV’s, a kitchen, bathroom and a couple of lounge rooms. Great experience overall!
How did you get the job?
I got the job through a friend and great bass player named Brian Allen. We did a few jazz gigs in LA about a year ago. He is now the musical director for Miss Willie Brown and he called me when the position became available. I got to audition and got the gig. Then I went to Nashville, TN. for rehearsals and started the tour.
What other cities will you visit?
After Los Angeles we are off to Las Vegas, Houston and some other towns in Texas, Knoxville and Nashville, Chicago, Indianapolis, Miami, and quite a few more. The tour started March 15th and goes till May 14th. We are going to visit 26 U.S. States total.
What part of Greece are you from?
I am from the island of Corfu.
In what ways has your Greek heritage influence your music?
Growing up in Greece and playing Greek music was a beautiful gift which at that time I wasn’t able to appreciate it as much as I do now. It helped me in so many ways musically, being performance or composition. Also, the Greek rhythms and the overall feel of music that I inherited from our music culture are both very important elements that I implement in many other styles of music, such as latin, jazz, classical, gospel, rock, e.t.c.
Greece is not know for “jazz” music , however this seems to be your niche. How did this happen?
I got introduced to jazz relatively late (24yrs old) from a friend of mine in Corfu, considering that I started music lessons when I was 11. This is the reason I came to the U.S., I got a full scholarship at Arizona State University in Jazz Performance. Jazz is a great music art-form which I respect and love. It challenges me and I like it! Of course, I love many other styles of music and I always look out for new sounds to explore.
Tell us a few words about your album “Life Goes On”?
“Life Goes On” came to me when I was finishing with ASU. At that time I wasn’t sure if I was gonna go back to Greece or stay in the States and I said to myself it would be nice to have an album with some original music performed with friends that I used to perform together in AZ. It feels to me like my graduation present! It consists of thirteen original compositions performed by a total of twelve musicians. It is a blend of jazz, Latin, European, Mediterranean tone.
What are your future projects?
Since I arrived in Los Angeles, about a year and a half ago, I studied at UCLA film scoring program. FIlm music is another art-form that I have a lot of respect and love as well. It is definitely a field that I am very interested. I’ve been exploring and studying a lot of orchestral music and I look forward to record more with live orchestras in the near future. Recently, I am working on a new original album which is going to be a blend of orchestral and traditional instruments with compositions influenced by the Greek/Mediterranean and Latin worlds. Last but not least, I would like to share with you that I have the pleasure and honor to collaborate with my good friend and marvelous Greek Cypriot singer and performer Alexia Vassiliou! Her marvelous voice and talent inspires me to compose new music that I am very excited for!
You can visit Yanni’s personal page at: http://www.goudelis.com
American College of Greece Honored Actress Melina Kanakaredes
Greek-American actress Melina Kanakaredes, who is well-known for her role in “CSI: NY”, was honored by the American College of Greece yesterday. The Greek-American actress was awarded the Heritage Award for her contribution to the preservation of Greek culture in America during an event held in Athens Music Hall on Saturday, April 2, 2011.
Reuters Claims IMF Denies Pressing Greece on Debt Restructuring
According to Reuters
, the International Monetary Fund on Saturday denied a report in the German magazine Der Spiegel that it was privately pressing Greece to restructure its debt.
“As we have said consistently, the IMF supports the Greek government’s position of no debt restructuring and its determination to fully service its debt obligations. Any reports claiming otherwise are wrong,” an IMF spokeswoman told Reuters.
Ambassador Mara Marinaki Appointed Chief of EU General Directorate
Greek Ambassador Mara Marinaki (photo) won one of the best positions of the European External Action Service and she was appointed chief of the Directorate General of International and Multilateral Affairs by High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton. “Maria is an experienced diplomat who has contributed to our service in several sectors, such as those of human rights and of non- proliferation of mass destruction weapons”, Mrs. Ashton reports. From this position Mrs. Marinaki will control European foreign policy in internatonal organizations, in issues concerning human rights, security and non-proliferation of mass destruction weapons. Mrs. Marinaki is now the permanent representative of Greece in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, located in Vienna and has also been head of the Greek representation, during the Greek presidency of OSCE in 2009. She has a lot of experience in the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs and among others cities, she has served in Washington, Berlin and Vienna.
Hard-Working Family of Patras Inherits 17 Million Dollars from American Uncle
A woman with a leg disability from Patras has become a golden heiress. As newspaper “Kosmos” mentions, she is happier than ever, as her financial situation was dismal due to the crisis. Her story looks like a film, since her uncle from the U.S.A. bequeathed her all his property which amounts to 17 million dollars! The woman’s husband is a municipal worker, while she has a leg disability of 80%, which is the reason why she left her island and settled permanently in Patras. The Municipality of the island didn’t seem willing to construct a ramp for her house, claiming that they had financial problems. Recently she received a letter from the U.S.A. It was written in English and was sent by the attorney office her uncle was cooperating with. According to information, at the beginning they couldn’t even read it! When they managed to do so, it was a real shock for her and her family to realize that the woman was a heiress of 17 million dollars!
George Achilleos Wins Silver Medal at Skeet World Cup
George Achilleos won the silver medal in the athletic contest of skeet at the World Cup of Sydney, Australia. He completed the game with 149 successful shots out of 150 discs and with 25 out of 25 he went to the finals. Unfortunately, he missed the second disc of the finals and he lost the gold medal. As far as other Cypriots are concerned, Antonis Andreou conquered 25th place and Kuriakos Christoforou won 50th place.
Eurostat Releases Demographic Data
The life expectancy of Greeks, according to demographic data for 2009 publicised by Eurostat on Friday, is slightly above the European average.
According to the same data, Greek women’s fertility rate, despite increasing over the past six years (1.52 children on average), remains below the corresponding European rate (1.60 children).
Regarding life expectancy in Greece, women live on average 82.7 years, while men 77.8 years, according to Eurostat’s data. The corresponding figures for EU members is 82.4 years for women and 77.8 years for men.
Lastly, according to Eurostat’s data, in 2010 foreigners in Greece represented 8.4 percent of the country’s total population (about 954,800). Seven percent of foreigners come from EU member-states and 1.4 percent from third countries.
(source: ana-mpa)
Finance Ministry Announces all +3,000 Euro Transactions to be Executed via Credit Card or Check
As of today, all transactions between private parties and companies in Greece of more than 3,000 euros have to be executed using credit cards or checks only. The goal of this measure, according to the Finance Ministry, is to monitor and control transactions between private parties in the context of the fight against tax evasion. The limit of 3,000 euros will be lowered to 1,500 euros on January 1, 2012.
Chicago’s The Greek Star Publishes Issue Dedicated to Greek-American Education
This week, The Greek Star newspaper in Chicago, the oldest continuously published Greek newspaper in the United States, published an issue dedicated to Greek-American Education.
With articles written predominantly by area Greek school principals and educators, the paper focuses on issues relating to Greek-American Education, at all levels, from preschool through adult learning. The keepsake issue also includes a directory of Greek schools in Illinois, Southern Wisconsin and Northwest Indiana.
Topics include choosing a school, the benefits of a bilingual education; dispelling the myth that day schools are simply ‘Greek schools’; about the Archdiocese efforts to rewrite Greek school textbooks tailored to the needs of Greek-American students; the Ellinomathia proficiency examinations; a new certification program for Greek teachers at Northeastern Illinois University and more.
The subscription-only publication has served as the voice of Chicago’s Hellenic community since 1904.