Sarasota native, blues-rock musician Greg Poulos dies at 70

A musician whose decades-long career included playing with several bands in his hometown of Sarasota, as well as performing with some of the biggest names in blues and rock, has passed away.

Greg Poulos, a guitarist who played in groups including Kettle of Fish and The Venturas and toured with blues legend Freddie King, died on April 29. He was 70 years old. An official cause of death has not yet been confirmed, but was believed to be a heart attack, said his daughter Sarah Bikos. Stottlemyer’s Smokehouse will host a public celebration of life for Poulos starting at noon Sunday with two stages of live music, featuring some of the many musicians he played with during his career.

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Born Nov. 12, 1951 in Sarasota, Poulos took to music from a young age, playing guitar in rock band Crystal Pain with Richard "Hombre" Price in the late ‘60s while a student at Sarasota High School. Poulos would spend much of his life in Sarasota, though he also lived in Boulder, Colorado, and Atlanta, where the 40-year-old Bikos was born and immersed in music early in her life.

“He would take me to band practice as a baby, which has pretty much given me the habit that I can sleep anywhere," Bikos said. "There was always music around the house, always. We were always at music festivals."

The apple didn’t fall far from the tree when it came to music. Bikos formerly performed with goth group The Crüxshadows as a backup singer and dancer, while Poulos’ son Nick Poulos, 36, currently plays guitar in the popular thrash metal band Municipal Waste.

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It was in Boulder where Poulos got the gig performing with Freddie King, known as one of the "Three Kings of Blues” and named the 15th best guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone. According to Suncoast Blues Society publication Twelve Bar Rag, Poulos heard King was in town and holding auditions for a new rhythm guitarist in 1976. King looked at his hippie attire and was initially unconvinced, until he learned Poulos had recently sat in with Muddy Waters band member Sammy Lawhorn, and heard Poulos play.

Some of the highlights during his time with King included sharing the stage with Eric Clapton and playing a private party for Paul McCartney, as well as performing with King in Sarasota in a space known as “Mildew Manor.” However, King would die on Dec. 28, 1976, near the end of the same year he hired Poulos.

Poulos later moved back to Sarasota in the '80s, Bikos said, playing with numerous area acts including The Venturas along with releasing the 2008 album "Angels from Hazard." In recent years, Poulos was known for performing with Kettle of Fish, the popular blues-rock group led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Dana Lawrence.

Lawrence said he connected with Poulos at a show the latter played at Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa in the early 2010s celebrating Clapton's birthday and the 1970 full-length by the guitarist's former group Derek and the Dominos, "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs," a shared favorite album of Poulos and Lawrence. Poulos joined Kettle of Fish not long after, playing shows including the Allman Brothers Band-hosted music festival Wanee in Live Oak, Florida in 2013.

“He was literally one of the sweetest people,” Lawrence said. “He was known for his smile and for his hugs – especially if someone was down, ‘Come on, get in here!’ His hugs and his smile, he was just as sweet as he came off, because he was always smiling on stage.”

One of the venues Poulos played most often in recent years was Stottlemyer's Smokehouse, where Kettle of Fish had a regular Sunday gig since shortly after the open-air restaurant and tiki bar opened in 2015.

“We became good friends of Greg's, and shared a lot of stories about the music world, about the world in general and about personal things," said Stottlemyer's Smokehouse owner Steve Stottlemyer. "He was just an outstanding human being. You just couldn’t find a nicer person, and of course, his talent was just off the charts.”

Bikos said they are looking at the possibility of creating a foundation in Poulos’ name that would donate musical instruments to public schools. Poulos taught guitar for years at Fogt’s Music in Sarasota, and would keep track of his former students’ careers and accomplishments.

"He was just a really great guy," Bikos said. "The world is definitely a little bit darker, and quieter, without him in it.”

Along with his two children, Poulos is survived by his sister Niki Poulos Joyce, his brother Richard “Dick” Poulos, and his girlfriend Cynthia Caroline.

Greg Poulos Celebration of Life: Noon-8 p.m. Sunday; Stottlemyer's Smokehouse, 19 East Road, Sarasota; no cover; 941-312-5969; facebook.com/stottlemyerssmokehouse

Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota blues-rock musician Greg Poulos dies at 70