At a time when most children learn how to ride a bike or kick a ball, four-year-old Jerry Tee (Kyriacos Tsitas) was already striking his first notes on the bouzouki. Soon after, he discovered the drums, which he plays with a passion to this today.

The talented Greek Australian musician from Adelaide spoke to Neos Kosmos about his childhood, his love for the drums and Greek music, and how – despite of the pandemic – he has signed 6 major contracts recently with the world’s largest music brands, in Melbourne, Los Angeles, California and Switzerland.

From the day he was born, Jerry Tee was surrounded by music. His father, Dimitris Tsitas, a singer with the band ‘Akropolis Live’ would perform extensively in Adelaide for weddings, panigiria, and festivals, inspiring his young son to follow in his footsteps.

As a young boy, Jerry Tee would practice every day, for hours, straight after school, listening to old cassette recordings of famous Greek singers the likes of Makis Xristodoulopoulos, Zafiris Melas, Terlegas, Kazantzidis. By the time he was 13, his father encouraged him to join his band as his full-time drummer.

“He knew I was ready to perform. He saw the hunger in me to succeed and the willingness to learn from some of the best Greek musicians within the industry,” Jerry Tee told Neos Kosmos in an interview about how his journey into music began.

He feels lucky to have found his passion at such an early age. “It was amazing. When you are surrounded by excellent musicians who have been in the industry for many years, you learn off them, they teach you, they take you under their wing, and they show you the right way.”

“My very first performance in dad’s band was at a Greek dinner dance for a Greek church. I was extremely nervous and could barely look over my drumkit.”

Two years later, Jerry Tee was approached to perform with Glykeria at a major Greek festival – ‘The Glendi’, where 40,000 people turned up during the two-day festival.

As he matured, Jerry Tee started exploring other genres of music, electronic, house, which would see him perform in nightclubs, venues and major events. Though he loves all music, he tells us that Greek music is by far his favourite. “It is in my soul,” he said.
When he was younger he toured Rhodes and Crete for 6 months, playing in the summer beach clubs.

“It was an excellent experience. The Greeks know how to party!”

Perhaps this experience in Greece would inspire him later on to establish the monthly Greek night “Magazi-Baraki”.

“Adelaide was screaming for something exciting,” he explains. For three years, once a month, he would bring entertainers from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. We had people come from all around Australia to watch us perform. It was Adelaide’s most successful Greek night.”

The good old days, with kefi

Throughout his music career Jerry Tee has seen a big change in the Greek music scene. “Back in those days the patrons would smash plates while dancing, buy endless bottles of Johnny Walker Red, the venue owners would shout everyone shots and dance with the crowd,” he tells us.

Usually the band would perform until the early hours in the morning, without any breaks or restrictions. The venue management and patrons would spend a lot of money – sometimes even thousands of dollars – tipping the band. “The good old days filled with amazing kefi!”

“Times have changed now,” the Greek Australian musician adds. “Most venues end the night at 11.45pm just as the crowd is starting to get into the kefi. We didn’t have social media back then. All we had was a kick ass song selection, the best musicians, and many hours of fun.”

When the pandemic broke out and lockdown was imposed, everything froze. But soon Jerry Tee started to livestream videos on his Facebook page gaining thousands of views.

The year of the pandemic, though a hard one, turned out to be an important one for Jerry Tee, who signed endorsement contracts with some of the largest music brands in the world.

“They like what I do. Now along with the drummers of Guns and Roses, Kiss, Jon Bon Jovi some really big names, there is Jerry Tee,” he says enthusiastically.

When the border restrictions are lifted, the first thing Jerry Tee will do, is travel to Los Angeles to start recording.

You can follow Jerry Tee on his Facebook page and on Instagram: @officialjerrytee, and for more information visit his website www.jerrytee.com.

Taking the opportunity Jerry Tee thanks his fans for their love and support, his workplace ‘Derringers Music’ for supporting his dreams, and his endorsement companies around the world for believing in him: Soultone Cymbals, London Drumstick Co, LP, Daddario Aus Drums, Cympad International, Remo.

Enjoy a video with the talented artist performing Jerry Tee performs