FORTUNE TELLERS - Musick Without Tears

FORTUNE TELLERS Musick Without Tears lp 1986
Good Time? / Lowdown / Dance / More Miho / No More / D.M.F / Broken Heart / Home Tonight.
Produced by Mike Stewart
The Fortune Tellers: B. Kolliopoulos: vocals, guitar / M. Kolliopoulos: lead guitar, slide / M. Newberry: drums / V. Goetz: bass.
The Fortune Tellers were an american band from Oklahoma. They recorded three albums from 1986 to 1990. "F.T.F.F. (Fortunes Told For Free)" in 1986, issued only on lp on the french label New Rose Records, "Musick Without Tears" one year later also on New Rose (lp only) . Both were recorded in Austin, Texas and produced by Dino Lee for the first & Mike Stewart for the second. Their third and last record, in 1990, was produced by their guitarist & singer B. Kalliopoulos and was called "Lively Up" (always on New Rose Records: cd exists). All are rare long out of print albums, but can be found on the net.
"The Fortune Tellers, an Oklahoma City rhythm'n'blues band, recently returned home after recording a second album "Musick Without Tears" in Austin.
Oklahoma City doesn't seem like the most profitable place for four ambitious R&B musicians. Especially when Austin is so close. Austin and other big cities offer recording studios, record contracts, and some of the hottest clubs in the country. These temptations have enticed a number of bands, but not the Fortune Tellers. For them, Austin is just another place to record and play. Oklahoma City is home...
Though faithful to the basics of Bo Diddley and James Brown, the Fortune Tellers add the sounds of Greek instruments to their brand of R&B. How do they describe their sounds? "You mean name another band we sound like?" Basile asked. "In my opinion...well I don't know. Miho, who do we sound like?" Miho skips all comparisons and describes what he hears. "Rhythmic rock and roll with a wild guitar and vocals to it." "Yeah," Basile said, "Its kind of like a combination of Bo Diddley and James Brown with a Greek guy singing on top of it.
The music they record is the music they listened to in Athens in the '60's. But the music was not Greek - it was hardcore R&B and solid soul. They had access to R&B records - rare in Greece - from a friend who owned a record store...

Miho said the band picked the tunes for the new album, which will be released this spring, from a collection of original material. "We have our material ready at any time," Basile said. "We just pick 10 songs to do that night." Since the band was well-prepared, it only took two days to record the album.
Though the band and the fans were pleased with the first album (which sold about 25,000 copies), Basile said they were happier with the second album. They describe it as less rock'n'roll, more straightforward R&B, and more "live" sounding than the first album, "Fortune Told For Free"...
With the help of producer Mike Stewart (Tail Gators), a former Oklahoman, the band produced the second album. Devoid of studio gimmicks, it's an album truer to the bands live sound. "The first time I didn't really get my live sound the way I wanted it," Miho said.
Basile said the band is content with New Rose because the label is more interested in producing original talent than in packaging what Basile calls "product"... Creative control is one advantage of an independent label. The Tellers selected the music for the first two albums, helped mix them and designed the cover art..." Source

Check the Reverb Brothers, the new band of B. Kolliopoulos here !
Cd covers by Max !