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About / Biography
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 mostly known as a bassist/singer for US Gypsy stars Fishtank Ensemble, leader of contemporary rockabilly band Atomic Sunset and bassist of the rock’nroll supergroup Head Cat (with Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats and Lemmy of Motorhead).

Djordje’s interest in music started when he heard rockabilly musicians like 1950′s Elvis Presley and Stray Cats. For a teenager that was raised in Serbia during very difficult times, while his country was bombed and under 10 years of sanctions, he could only dream of even just attending concerts of his teenage heroes. He never lost faith, followed his dreams and archived the success of playing all over the world with some of the biggest rock’n'roll, blues, swing and bluegrass artists; from Presley’s sidemen Scotty Moore band and DJ Fontana, Dale Hawkins, Wanda Jackson, Billy Boy Arnold, Mike Marshall to one of the best guitar players today Tommy Emmanuel.

Djordje has Conservatory degree in classical double bass performance and degrees in jazz bass and jazz arrangements, but his real education comes from smoky eastern European juke joints where he played since he was 13 (often being the youngest in the bar). He has the extreme 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), electronic 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 the world’s best bellydancers (Mira Betz, Rachel Brice) and is featured as a solo artist on the latest Serbia Sounds Global compilation “All Stars” among Balkan legends Saban Bajramovic, Boban Markovic, Zvonko Bogdan etc.

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

Djordje proudly endorses Blast Cult basses, Thomastik Infeld strings and Planet pickups.

Touring highlights include following festivals and venues:

FESTIVALS

  • Lightning in a Bottle, Irvine, CA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Ink & Iron, Long Beach CA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Ponderosa Stomp, Memphis TN with Scotty Moore band featuring Paul Ansell, Ashley Kingman (Big Sandy & his Fly-Right Boys), Sonny Burgess featuring DJ Fontana (Elvis Presley), Billy Boy Arnold, Jody Williams, Joe Clay, Eddie Bond, (featuring Travis Wamack), Deke Dickerson
  • Ponderosa Stomp, New Orleans LA with Dale Hawkins, Joe Clay, Deke Dickerson
  • 1950′s Rockin Fest, Green Bay WI with Head Cat
  • Outside Lands with Rupa & the April Fishes
  • Festival International, Lafayette, LA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • SAN DIEGO, 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, SR 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, Ciudad Victoria, El Mante, San Fernando etc 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, SR with Ivan Svager Quintet
  • Beogradski jazz festival, Beograd, SR with Havana Whisper, Ivan Svager Quintet

VENUES

  • Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles CA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Gibson Factory, Memphis TN with Scotty Moore Band, Sonny Burgess, DJ Fontana
  • Millennium Plaza Park, Chicago, IL with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Knitting Factory, Hollywood, CA with Head Cat
  • Ricardo Montalban Theatre, Los Angeles, CA with Fishtank Ensemble and Matt Sorum (Guns’n'Roses, Cult)
  • El Rey Theater, Los Angeles with Squirrel Nut Zippers, Fishtank Ensemble, Rupa & the April Fishes
  • Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), New York, NY with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Roxy Theatre, Hollywood, CA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Oneida Casino, Green Bay WI with Head Cat
  • Tasmajdan Stadium, Belgrade, SR with Havana Whisper
  • House of Blues, Hollywood CA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • House of Blues, Chicago, IL with Deke Dickerson & the Ecco-Fonics
  • DeYoung Museum, San Francisco, CA with Fishtank Ensemble, Orkestar Sali, Deb Rubin
  • Pennsylvania Academy of Music, Lancaster, PA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Largo at the Coronet, Los Angeles, CA with Fishtank Ensemble, Donovan Leitch
  • Bardot, Hollywood, CA with Danny Elfman, Fishtank Ensemble
  • Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix, AZ with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Freight & Salvage, Berkeley, CA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Ashkenaz, Berkeley, CA with many different acts
  • Levitt Pavillion for the Performing Arts, Pasadena, CA with Fishtank Ensemble
  • Sava Centar, Belgrade, SR with many different acts
  • Kolarac, Belgrade, SR with many different acts