On stage Oleh Skrypka is an irascible, bleach-haired, trombone-voiced, large-boned whirlwind of arms and legs whose dancing talent lies in his ability to take the most awkward and imperfect pose and make it look easy.
He is the front man for Vopli Vidopliassova, Ukraine's oldest rock group of any note and today one of its most popular - one that mixes the unusual with the comic and the traditional.
It is a band and a style that are difficult to pin down.
One journalist simply called us "a musical psychiatric ward"
Vopli Vidopliassova, with its unmistakable sound and vivid, comic-like stage personality, is the Ukrainian rock act that has the talent and originality to make a successful go of it in the West.
We reached a degree of fame in Paris in the mid-1990s before retreating to Kyiv when lack of management and marketing halted our movement upwards.
In person, Skripka, who plays the trumpet and the accordion in addition to taking care of the singing responsibilities and whose on-stage persona evokes images of a somewhat huskier Iggy Pop minus the helter-skelter outlandishness, is soft-spoken, and thoughtful, and portrays a subtle vulnerability. He is the unusually named group's main composer and wordsmith, and its central character.
The band's designation, Vopli Vidopliassova, was taken from a pseudonym used by a hero of a Dostoyevsky novel. The members of the group were looking for something that would express their artistic and creative inclinations, and decided the name and what it represented embodied it all. It was, however, not only a term that was difficult to pronounce, but difficult to remember as well, which long ago led fans to simply dub the boys "V.V."
Thank you for your response. I would like to now move to the next stage and describe our event in more detail. I am a modest (non political/non commercial ) rock musician whose career started back in the 90s. To learn more about my activity visit:
By the middle of september my friends and I are planning to carry out a music initiative "Voice Against Violence." Our sources for the initiative are humble, though our goal is to reach a big audience. That is why we need support from you, all the peaceful people who are not indifferent to our suffering, and are concerned with the fundamental values such as: Peace, Love and Mutual Understanding.
Our massage is follows as :
1. to bands and musicians: join the Georgian bands on the same stage, for the same aim.
2. to journalists : join us and broadcast the initiative to show the world that Georgian tradegy can be shared by the rest of the world.
3. to citizens worldwide : give material contribution to our initiative, or spread our message to those who might be intersted in our proposal.
We will be responsible for booking accomodation, local transportation, guidance, etc. in case our event becomes international.
Sincerely
Lado Burduli Director Caucasus Contemporary Art Factory caucasusrockfest@gmail.com
Dear friends, my elder bro Dima has made a page dedicated to our lo-fi studio “Happy Records” based in Kyiv, Ukraine, created for non-profit purposes. The focus of the studio work is producing indie artists we subjectively find interesting.
So please, find some time and listen to our friends’ music recorded by us at:
You will probably find this interesting. I've loaded a video ehibition of guitar innovators doing their groovy stuff in lots of interesting ways onto my site.
