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Besides being known for his wild stage presence, the bassist/composer/singer Djordje Stijepovic (prn: George-eh Stee-yeh-po-vich) is largely considered as one of the world’s best slap style upright bassists. He is the bassist/singer for Tiger Army, Drake Bell (of Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh fame) and he leads contemporary rockabilly band Atomic Sunset. He was also a member of the rock’n’roll supergroup Head Cat (with Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats and Lemmy of Motorhead) and US Gypsy music stars Fishtank Ensemble.Djordje’s musical interests started after hearing rockabilly musicians like early Elvis Presley and the Stray Cats. As a teenager in Serbia during difficult times, while his country was bombed and under 10 years of sanctions, he could only dream of attending concerts of his teenage heroes. Never losing faith, he has achieved his dreams and more. He has played all over the world with some of the biggest rock’n’roll, blues, swing and bluegrass artists including Presley’s sidemen Scotty Moore band and DJ Fontana, Dale Hawkins, Wanda Jackson, Donovan, Billy Boy Arnold, Tommy Emmanuel. Molotov and others.

Djordje has Conservatory degree in classical double bass performance and degrees in jazz bass and jazz arrangements, but his real education came from smoky eastern European juke joints where he played since he was 13 (often being the youngest in the bar). He has the rare ability to switch between many different music genres. His playing can be heard on world music recordings of Gypsy band Kal (#1 on World Music Chart Europe), electronica Beats Antique, Rupa and the April Fishes, Sephardic Shira Utfila (RASA Award for the Best World Music Ensemble), Persian Kiosk and others. He regularly collaborates with some of America’s best bellydancers (Rachel Brice, Mira Betz) and is featured as a solo artist on the latest Serbia Sounds Global compilation “All Stars” among Balkan legends like Saban Bajramovic, Boban Markovic and Zvonko Bogdan.

Djordje’s latest project is the website Art of Slap Bass where he interviews and promotes current exponents of this style, ensuring that this lost art never disappears and finally earns well-deserved recognition. He also wrote the first book about the history of slap bass and plans to publish it with a series of instructional videos.

Djordje Stijepovic proudly endorses Blast Cult basses, Thomastik-Infeld strings, Orange amps, CodaBow bows, Mogami cables and Mojave microphones.

Touring highlights include following festivals and venues:

FESTIVALS

  • Riot Fest, Chicago IL with Tiger Army
  • Sziget Festival, Budapest, HU with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Free Press Summer Fest, Houston TX with Tiger Army
  • Lightning in a Bottle, Irvine, CA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Festival Katrina, Puebla, Mexico with Drake Bell
  • Ink & Iron, Long Beach, CA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Ponderosa Stomp, Memphis, TN with Scotty Moore band, Sonny Burgess, DJ Fontana, Billy Boy Arnold, Jody Williams, Joe Clay, Eddie Bond, Travis Wamack, Deke Dickerson
  • Ponderosa Stomp, New Orleans, LA with Dale Hawkins, Joe Clay
  • 1950’s Rockin Fest, Green Bay, WI with Head Cat
  • Outside Lands, San Francisco, CA with Rupa & the April Fishes
  • Festival International, Lafayette, LA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Adams Ave St Fair, San Diego, CA with Wanda Jackson (featuring Danny B Harvey)
  • Festival Mémoire et Racines, Joliette, Quebec, Canada with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Djangofest, Los Angeles, CA, San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Hollywood Rockabilly, Hollywood, CA with Joe Clay, Gene Summers, Deke Dickerson
  • EXIT, Novi Sad, RS with Shira Utfila and Marsya
  • SXSW, Austin, TX with Fishtank Ensemble
  • California World Music Festival, Grass Valley, CA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Chicago World Music Festival, Chicago, IL with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Festival Internacional Tamaulipas, Tamaulipas MX with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Bliss Fest – Harbor Springs, MI with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival – Marquette, MI with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Golden Fest, New York, NY with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Novosadski jazz festival, Novi Sad, RS with Ivan Svager Quintet
  • Beogradski jazz festival, Beograd, RS with Havana Whisper, Ivan Svager Quintet

VENUES

  • Foro Sol Stadium, Mexico City MX with Drake Bell
  • Lanxess Arena, Köln, Germany with Tiger Army
  • Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, CA with Drake Bell
  • Max Schmeling Halle, Berlin, Germany with Tiger Army
  • Millennium Plaza Park, Chicago, IL with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Arena Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany with Tiger Army
  • Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany with Tiger Army
  • Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville CT with Tiger Army
  • Stadthalle, Rostock, Germany with Tiger Army
  • Auditorio Telmex, Guadalajara, Mexico with Drake Bell
  • Pepsi Center, Mexico City, Mexico with Drake Bell
  • Arena Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico with Drake Bell
  • Halle Münsterland, Münsterland, Germany with Tiger Army
  • The Theater at Ace Hotel, Los Angeles CA with Tiger Army
  • Aragon Ballroom, Chicago IL with Tiger Army
  • Swiss Life Halle, Hanover, Germany with Tiger Army
  • Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA with Tommy Emmanuel
  • Trier Arena, Trier, Germany with Tiger Army
  • Knitting Factory, Hollywood, CA with Head Cat
  • Webster Hall, New York NY with Tiger Army
  • Messe, Erfurt, Germany with Tiger Army
  • Gibson Factory, Memphis, TN with Scotty Moore Band, Sonny Burgess, DJ Fontana
  • Fonda Theater, Hollywood CA with Tiger Army
  • Orpheum Theatre, Madison WI with Tiger Army
  • Stubb’s, Austin TX with Tiger Army
  • Regency Ballroom, San Francisco CA with Tiger Army
  • Marquee, Phoenix AZ with Tiger Army
  • Fillmore Auditorium, Denver CO with Tiger Army
  • Ricardo Montalban Theatre, Los Angeles, CA with Fishtank Ensemble and Matt Sorum (Guns’n’Roses)
  • El Rey Theater, Los Angeles, CA with Squirrel Nut Zippers, Fishtank Ensemble, Rupa & the April Fishes
  • Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), New York, NY with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Batschkapp, Frankfurt, Germany with Tiger Army
  • Roxy Theatre, Hollywood, CA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Oneida Casino, Green Bay, WI with Head Cat
  • Tasmajdan Stadium, Belgrade, RS with Havana Whisper
  • House of Blues, Las Vegas, NV with Tiger Army
  • House of Blues, Hollywood, CA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • House of Blues, Anaheim, CA with Drake Bell
  • House of Blues, Cleveland OH with Tiger Army
  • House of Blues, Chicago, IL with Deke Dickerson & the Ecco-Fonics
  • House of Blues, Houston TX with Tiger Army
  • House of Blues, Dallas TX with Tiger Army
  • House of Blues, New Orleans, LA with Dale Hawkins, Joe Clay
  • House of Blues, Boston MA with Tiger Army
  • Bardot, Hollywood, CA with Danny Elfman, Fishtank Ensemble
  • Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix, AZ with Fishtank Ensemble

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