Xylina Spathia

Xylina Spathia (Greek: Τα Ξύλινα Σπαθιά; transl. 'The Wooden Swords') was a Greek rock band from Thessaloniki, Greece. From 1993 to 2003, the band released five albums and a CD single.

Personnel

The original lineup consisted of:

Pavlos Pavlidis – vocals, guitar

Vasilis Gountaroulis – keyboards, samplers

Christos Tsaprazis – bass

Panos Tolios – drums, percussion (1993–1997)

Former members include:

Stavros Rossopoulos – guitar (1993–1994)

Takis Kanellos – drums (1997)

Giannis Mitsis – drums (1998–2003)

Kostas Pantelis – guitar (2000–2003)

Nikos Kyriakopoulos – percussion, backing vocals (2001–2003)

Session musicians who appeared on the band's albums include:

Dimos Gountaroulis – cello

Giorgos Tolios – percussion

Giorgos Papazoglou – percussion

Rita Hatzinikoli – percussion

Fotis Siotas – violin

Aristeidis Hatzistavrou – classical guitar

History

Pavlos Pavlidis was previously involved with the Greek rock band Mora sti Fotia (Greek: Μωρά στη Φωτιά; transl. 'Babies on Fire'). In 1989, he traveled to France and stayed with Nikos Kantaris in Mériel, a commune near Paris. They established the Brancaleone Studio, where Pavlidis recorded the first demos of his songs. The band's first two albums were later dedicated to Nikos Kantaris. During his stay in Paris, Pavlidis also met Giannis Mitsis, who would join the band in 1998.

In 1992, Pavlidis returned to Thessaloniki, and together with Vasilis Gountaroulis, Christos Tsaprazis, Panos Tolios, and Stavros Rossopoulos, began working on material that he had developed during his stay in France.