Well, we've been quiet for a while because we've been organizing our launch in Kiev (set for Jan 23, 2010), but we haven't been able to talk about it yet, but... we're super excited.
First, Andy Harlow writes the liner notes for our CD. And now, Jimmy Bosch is agreeing to come play with us at our CD release party in Kiev!!!
We're going bananas with excitement. I think JB is one of the only musicians that actually every single member in the band likes. (For other artists, we have varying opinions, which of course keeps things interesting.) He's the real symbol of salsa dura these days, and we're so happy to partner with him to promote international hard salsa!
Everyone is going mad. For me and Ilya this is the best of the best at this point for us. Now our task is to make a KILLER event.
But even I saw Sergey (2nd trumpet & flugelhorn) in our Lvov concert about a week ago, and he couldn't stop giggling like a schoolgirl. I hope Jimmy gives him a big wet kiss when he sees him, haha, that'll be it for him, he'll be set for life.
It's really important for me and Ilya that we use this event to broaden our audience in Ukraine. This is so that Ukrainians can really start respecting what they have in their country as much as outsiders do. We are
really trying to open up Ukraine culturally, and so we don't want only the regular dancers to come, although we LOVE it when they do. We of course want to take advantage of the exhibition of real live salsa dura to show the Ukrainian dancers that it's the best music to dance to (their repertoire is still a bit limited, although growing every day).
We also want to take the opportunity to show Ukrainian musicians that salsa offers a lot of satisfaction technically, artistically, musically... and to encourage opening cultural horizons in music.
As well, we really want international representatives to show up to support us, because we know the Americans, French, Germans, Canadians, et al, have all at some point expressed interest in investing in Ukraine not only financially but culturally. But, this is their chance to participate in a historic cultural event.
This is a huge deal. There has never been an event like this in Kiev. That's why we have to make it good now.
In other news, our beloved bandleader, Ilya Yeresko, just recently went to Yalta where he arranged the music for a certain portion of a new huge film that's being recorded there. I think they're doing it in Russian, it's called "Алые Паруса" ("Scarlet Sails"), but we're super proud that people are starting to recognize his talents. He recorded the track with our old friend Susana, who has recently gained fame as Jamala, the new Ukrainian pop sensation.
Let's hope "film composer" will add itself more and more to his resume. Congrats, Ilya!
I also mentioned we went to Lvov together. I can't believe I forgot to post news about that. It was super fun - our first time in Western Ukraine, a
nd the audience was great! We had a few technical issues (ahem) but in the end, the crowd kept their energy, and we're super happy they did. We had a great time, and I'm especially lucky because I
was able to come down for that (as I'm now living in Poland for a while).
Ok, I think that's all the news for now. Like I said, this is just when it starts for me an
d Ilya in terms of organization, and the whole band in terms of preparation, but we're really hoping we can create a valuable event to enrich Ukraine's musical landscape even further.
