Dislocados nominated TWICE to the Independent Music Awards!

Kiev’s Own DISLOCADOS Joins Ra Ra Riot, Melissa Auf der Maur, Flying Lotus, Jim Campilongo, Jackson Browne and David LindleyAs Nominees for The 10th Independent Music Awards
More Than 300 Self-Released and Independent Label Talent Nominated

For Immediate Release
February 17 2011 – Kiev based Dislocados join Ra Ra Riot, Melissa Auf der Maur, Flying Lotus, Hemoptysis, Darrell Scott, Jim Campilongo, Jackson Browne and David Lindley and other self-released and independent label talent as Nominees for The 10th Independent Music Awards (The IMAs), the influential awards program for independent bands and fans.

Representing the broad spectrum of today’s global independent music scene, the more than 300 Nominees in nearly 70 Song, Album, Music Video and Design categories were culled from submissions from North America, South America, Asia, Australia and Europe.

Known for celebrating artists that follow their own muse, The 10th IMA Nominees are an eclectic mix of rising stars including Strawfoot (Alt. Country Song), Hemoptysis (Metal/Hardcore Song), and Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three (Amerciana Album) and established talent including telecaster virtuoso, Jim Campilongo (Instrumental Album), experimental multi-genre artist, Flying Lotus (Music Video and Dance/Electronica Song), and indie rockers, Ra Ra Riot (Pop/Rock Album). Perhaps better known as major label acts, this year’s Nominees strutting their independence include former Hole bassist, Melissa Auf der Maur (Indie/Alt./Hard Rock Album), and songwriting legend Jackson Browne with David Lindley (Live Performance Album).

Winners will be determined by a panel of 62 influential artist and industry judges including Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, Suzanne Vega, Aimee Mann, Pete Wentz, Bettye LaVette, Seal, Adam Duritz, Ozzy Osbourne, Arturo Sandoval, Martin Atkins, Andrew W. K., Shelby Lynne, Kevin Lyman (Warped Tour), Bill Bragin (Lincoln Center), Anthony DeCurtis (Rolling Stone), Pat McGuire (Filter Magazine) and Evan Schlansky (American Songwriter) and will be announced in mid-March 2011. Music fans have until July 11 to cast their votes at The IMA Vox Pop Jukebox to determine the fan-selected IMA Winners.

Hear the music of all Nominees at: http://www.independentmusicawards.com/imanominee/10th/albumArtistry Has Its Awards
Celebrating the democracy of creativity and meritocracy of talent, The Independent Music Awards honor exceptional independent artists who are, traditionally ignored by mass media and big box retailers. For the past 10 years, artists and labels from around the world have found new fans and prominence through The Independent Music Awards. Produced by Music Resource Group, publisher of the popular industry networking database The Musician’s AtlasOnline, and producers of the original webTV series, Grooveable Feast, The IMAs use its unrivaled access to performance, promotion & distribution opportunities to connect Winners and Nominees to new audiences and revenue opportunities. Earning IMA honors goes beyond a badge of distinction. Artists credit The IMAs with increasing recognition among music fans and industry gatekeepers.

Past winners and nominees include: And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Cursive, fun., The Flatlanders, Spinerrette, Holly GoLightly & The Brokeoffs, Vienna Teng, The So So Glos, Cephas & Wiggins, The Matches, All That Remains, The Cliks, Oran Etkin, State Radio, Lee “Scratch Perry, The Very Best, Tim Easton, Marco Benevento, Kes The Band, Jamie Lidell, Lacuna Coil, The Trews, Joan As Police Woman; Koko Taylor, Miguel Migs; Speech, God Forbid, Lionel Louekee; Jeff Healey, Johnny Dowd, Chris Whitley, Ike Turner, The Apples in stereo, Mary Gauthier, Jennifer Nettles (Sugarland), The Mooney Suzuki, and Denque Fever among many others. Submissions for The 11th Independent Music Awards will open in March.

Nominees For The 10th Annual IMAs Are:

Best Latin Song:

Damian Wyldes: Tu Que Lloras Por El
Dislocados: Ya (Nada Menos)
Domino Saints: Ahora es Ahora
Manicato: Familia
Omar Torrez: Marina

Best Latin Album:

Arturo Ortega: Teoria Hibrida
Dislocados: La Salida
Orquesta Sabadonga: Pa' los Rumberos del Mundo
Savor: ¡Moviendote!

Dislocados pays homage to Michael Jackson with Billie Jean!

So, the single is out! Like I said, we were coming out with a BIG song for us, and it's finally here! We've pre-released our new single which is a pure hard salsa interpretation of Michael Jackson's classic, Billie Jean. The song is coming out officially on June 25, 2010, the one-year anniversary of MJ's death, but you can catch it on youtube here!:

The song was a lot of work and effort from our side, mostly from Ilya, who did the awesome hard salsa arrangement. But, it's always hard when you're doing a cover, especially such a FAMOUS one, because everyone is going to have their own opinion. For us, the most important thing was to maintain the main singable parts of the song so people could enjoy singing along in the club, make the beat very salsa-groovy, but still do it the Dislocados way, meaning that I wasn't trying to be too much like Michael on the vocals, and the band does its hard salsa thing.

I hope you all enjoy it, we're really pleased. Special thanks to Sasha Sadovets from Na Hati Records for doing such a great job with the sound post-production.

And, no, we haven't abandoned our old style and now are going to be doing just danceable salsa covers. But, we like to see what we can do when we experiment a bit. Be assured that on the next album you'll have the whole spectrum from this kind of stuff to intense jazzy hardcore jams!

Dislocados records NEW SINGLE!

So, just came back from the studio in Kiev this weekend. Awesome fun. I laid down the lead vocals for our new single coming out on JUNE 25TH! It's supposed to be a big deal for us, so I'm really excited.

I went with my brother, Nicholas, who joined Ilya and Lesya on coro and I think it worked out great. Nicholas gave a new flavour to the coro that you guys won't regret.

Before I forget, as always, special thanks to Sasha Sadovets of Na Hati Records, Ukraine, who made the recording process as enjoyable as possible, as usual. What a professional.

The plan is that the song will be available as a single download from iTunes, etc. Although, it always takes a little delay with iTunes, but even if it's not available there straight away, you'll be able to hear it starting June 25th on Hard Salsa Radio in New York, around a bunch more radio stations worldwide, and I'm going to make it available for immediate listening on youtube.

We're keeping the song a big secret until it's out. The song has a couple of purposes. Mainly, it's to increase Dislocados' visibility among salseros that don't know us yet. Our main concentration was on:

1. increasing visibility

2. increasing "dance-ability"

3. making a special dedication to a beloved artist

Well, without saying more, I just have to say that the song seems awesome. We already pre-performed it twice in Kiev, and I gotta tell you, the audiences loved it. Ilya paid special attention to make the arrangement as danceable as possible without losing Dislocados' hard salsa essence. Be especially prepared for some great coros, great horn parts, and sing alongs...

Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know about it for now. It's the most exciting thing right now for us... We're done the rhythm section, lead and coro, and now we have to record the horns and mix it, and it'll be ready to go!

So, the countdown begins. T-25 days until Dislocados' new blockbuster hit...

Get ready to hear it in a salsoteca near you!

Spotlight on Andrey Chayka

Andrey is a fiercely committed Dislocados member and dedicated musician, and shines as a timbalero, particularly in his mind-blowing solos.

АНДРЕЙ ЧАЙКА - ANDREY CHAYKA

Национальная Музыкальная Академия Украины им. Чайковского 2006

Dislocados c 2007 года

Ансамбль ударных инструментов НМАУ им. В. Колокольникова

Олег Путятин & Валерий Кошман Project

Salsa dura очень актуальна в наше время. Она несёт колоссальный заряд позитивной энергии и радости. В ней есть всё! - музыка, самые разнообразные ритмы, жизнеутверждающие тексты с глубоким философским содержанием и очень жовой энергичный танец, как спорт и интелектуальное развитие!!! В сальсе очень много разных ритмов, которые можно и интересно играть на любом инструменте. QUE VIVA LA SALSA DURA!!!

Salsa dura is a very relevant and current form of music. It brings a colossal charge of positive energy and happiness. It has everything! - music, a huge variety of rhythms, life-affirming lyrics with deep philosophical content and a lively and energetic dance, like a sport, and intellectual development!!! In salsa there are many different types of rhythms that you can play in an interesting way on any instrument. QUE VIVA LA SALSA DURA!!!

Spotlight on Valentin Korniyenko

Valentin Korniyenko / Валентин Корниенко

Dislocados' baby bass player, Valik's creative skills are especially well featured in a 3-minute long solo on Descarga de 44, a real La Salida gem!

Харьковское Музыкальное Училище им. Лятошинского 1992/1996

Харьковский Педагогический Университет им. Сковороды 1996/2001

Харьковский Институт Искусств им. Котляревского 2001/2003

КГВМУ им. Р. М. Глиера 2003/2005

Skhid-Side, Квартет Гетца Грюнберга, Трио Константина Стрельченко, Квартет Сергея Капелюшка, Овсяников & Ересько Band, Lush Life, Квартет Theodora Enacia, Dislocados c 2007 года

Когда джазовый музыкант начинает слушать сальсу,он думает что это просто ,легко и не очень интересно....во всяком случае со мной было именно так....Но стоит ему вслушаться повнимательнее в эту музыку или попробовать сыграть ее и , он начинает менять свою точку зрения - не так уж это легко,и ,когда у него уже начинает получаться он чувствует удовлетворение от своих новых ощущений......если это продолжается - музыкант и сам не заметит как влюбится в этот ,наполненный бешеной энергией, необычный для европейца стиль музыки....... Лично для меня сальса открыла качественно новые ритмические ощущения....и джазовая музыка от этого только выиграла....

When a jazz musician begins to listen to salsa, he thinks it's easy, simple, and not very interesting... either way, with me it was exactly like that. But, it's worthwhile to listen a little closer to it or to try to play it and, you begin to change your perspective - not so easy anymore, and, when the jazz musician starts to get it, he feels satisfied by his new feelings... if this continues, the musician himself won't notice how he falls in love with this full fury of energy, an unusual style of music for a European. Personally for me, salsa opened numerous new rhythmic feelings... and my jazz side only got better because of it...

Jimmy Bosch in Kiev!

WE DID IT! We put on our CD release concert with Jimmy Bosch, and it was a success! First of all, we completely sold out, and more people were demanding tickets at the door. Salseros came from Kiev, Kharkov, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Prague, and perhaps other cities we're unaware of to celebrate live music in Kiev with the special honorable appearance of Jimmy Bosch!

There is so much we can talk about, so I hope that Ilya will use the opportunity to make his own post so that I don't miss anything, and so that you can get a different perspective on our adventure.

Among the difficulties was the fact that this was one of Kiev's coldest weeks in YEARS probably, with every day averaging -25 degrees Celsius. Because of this, many of us got sick, including Jimmy, Lesya, and myself - I was out the night before the concert with a super high fever, scared that I wouldn't be able to ATTEND the concert, let alone sing in it. Sacha's car broke down, the car I rented got stuck in ice and snow many times and Jimmy himself pushed it out of many a snowbank, something in my arm snapped from playing the guiro that I couldn't really play it anymore, the venue people (Galeria Lavra) did nothing that they were supposed to - the place was completely frozen by the day of the concert (and we were especially careful to ask about heat all throughout our preparations for the event), the toilets were broken, the place was filthy, and the cleaning people were nowhere to be found. We had to emergency-order extra special heaters for which we were going to pay a large yet needed amount, yet they never ended up showing up because they were "stuck in traffic". So, the salseros came and filled up an icy room, but it got warm really fast.

Despite all of these problems the days were great. Two rehearsals with Jimmy were amazing. All of us were focused on his amazing skills, sound, rhythm, phrasing, and technique on the trombone, and his deep knowledge and experience with salsa music. All of us - I think especially the horns - were trying to observe every movement so that any detail could maybe make us just that much better of a salsa player.

Meanwhile, we got to hang out with Jimmy socially and he was great. Telling us the stories behind his songs, something about our other salsa idols, and generally laughing and having a ball with us, being the life of the party. Despite the INCREDIBLY difficult weather, Jimmy was a real sport and he seemed like he was having just as much fun as he would if he were playing in Puerto Rico, which made us feel very honored that he would go to the effort to make us feel so comfortable.

Ilya, Jimmy and I even got to go on M1, the Ukrainian version of MTV, for an interview eaaaaaaarly Friday morning (again, reminding that it was COLD - the offices had very little heating). Otherwise, a few news channels came to take interviews with us on the night of the concert and we had our own camera crew which hopefully got to capture the magic.

The actual concert was great, although it started a bit late. Paradush was amazing, perfectly supportive and full of energy with their Brazilian beats. We also had Yulia and Gabriel, two dance teachers from Kharkov, who were our last-minute MC's because Adrian couldn't make it in the end, and they did a fantastic job! They also brought 60 people to come see us all the way from eastern Ukraine, so we really appreciated it!

The actual concert of Dislocados + JB was great. We played a couple of our tunes that Jimmy played along with, which were great, and otherwise we had SO MUCH FUN singing and playing Jimmy's songs. Jimmy was so full of energy, and this time the band let loose a bit too (not like at rehearsals as much) and had a great time, trying to improvise and generally just feel the music and have a great time.

The whole experience was amazing, and we'd like to sincerely thank Jimmy Bosch again. When we get official documentation up of the event, of course we'll share it.

And, once again, I'd like to thank our sponsors (Caribbean Club, Na Hati Records, Opera Hotel, Den Schliker, Verano Tours, Berman Group, What's On Kiev) as well as our amazing assistant - Anya Lukanina.

Lonely greaseball

Ilya was hanging out with Jimmy Bosch all day, sightseeing in Kiev.

And all I had to do today (besides work) was get on the plane.

Instead I waited 5 hours at the airport before they sent me back home. Broken plane.

And here I am in my house eating McDonalds before I fall asleep on the couch.

Let's hope that's the only hiccup this weekend.

Korrespondent.net

Apparently it's a big deal that we're in this.

We're also in some Ukrainian Diaspora news site, that's funny (and cool, of course).

People are calling Ilya every 15 minutes or less to get info, etc.

Anya, our assistant, is helping us constantly.

I'm doing a full day's work, and still I managed to get my hair done, buy a few last-minute things (like options of clothes for Ilya cuz apparently he likes nothing in Kiev) before I leave and still I have to work more now when I finish doing Dislocados work.

And people keep calling and wanting us.

This is amazing... I'm getting really excited, we're starting to realize our dream within this project...

And a few TV channels already want interviews with us.

"We're gonna make it after alllll..."

Opening band for Jimmy Bosch concert!

Here I'm having problems with the order of pictures again... forgive me, guys.

Anyway, we have an exciting announcement! We finalized the opening band for our concert with Jimmy Bosch on January 23, 2010! I'm super excited because they were my first choice: I wanted a group of musicians that are also trying to promote international live music, and quite frankly, I was just unsure that we'd be able to get them because they're quite good to be *just* an opening band for us. But, we wanted this concert to be of the highest caliber, and so I'm really excited for our audience that they'll be able to see these guys at the event!

The band is called PARADUSH, a pair of souls, as they tell me, but it also sounds like a Portuguese word kind of if you say it, which is appropriate because they play a lot of music based on Brazilian rhythms as well as in Portuguese, but from what I understand, they also sing in English, Ukrainian, etc, so it's a really nice mix of everything.

I'll post some more official information when I get it from them, but I wanted to just say how excited I am!

Also newly announced to be working with us is Adrian Garcia! He will be the MC of the concert, and I'm super excited, because he unites all these cultures on a daily basis - himself being Cuban-Ukrainian. Adrian also has his own music career which you can check out on his website, so we're extra excited to have him support us like this.

6 days 'til JB concert... insane...

Cheers to our sponsors!

What's On Kyiv came through and printed a full page article about Ilya, the band, and the event, along with our event poster on another page.

Thanks to Neil and Tatiyana from What's On - the article and photo look great, and I hear we're already getting calls inquiring about the event! Success!

Man, wouldn't it be cooooool if we sold out? Tres cool...

Check out the online version here (even though it's prettier in print). ;)

Ironic experience with Jimmy Bosch

So, it's Bosch T-9 and I'm getting closer and closer to *****ing my pants. ;) In all seriousness, we're quite excited. In fact, before anything crazy happens, I tend to get very calm, and that's kind of where I'm at now.

In fact, I was so much the "calm before the storm" that when I called JB yesterday to finalize the last plans, I was trying to not be hyper and I think I put him to sleep... haha.

But there was one ridiculous part of the conversation. Jimmy, as the great man that he is, wanted to let me know that people already know about us. Now, the more times I tell the story, the more it could be like the fishing story, where you keep exaggerating the size of the fish you caught, but I'm pretty sure this is how it went:

JB: "By the way, did you know that you guys are well known?"

KP: "Really, what do you mean?"

JB: "When I was in Cali, Colombia, I said that I was going to Ukraine and people were asking me if I was going to play with Dislocados. So, they know you down there. They even have your music."

Now, when I was re-telling this to Ilya, the irony suddenly dawned on me. JIMMY BOSCH was telling ME, Karolina, that DISLOCADOS is well known.

Jimmy Bosch.

It reminded me of this Seinfeld scene (minus the anger and the dumping, but my enthusiasm for the irony was pretty much similar to Elaine's here):

Gotta love JB. I'll try to keep up with the blog a bit more if I can for the days leading up to the concert cuz I think it'll be interesting to keep track of this ridiculous experience. I already told my facebook friends, the next stop for me is dancing on Mars in my underwear.

Preparing for JB

I was gonna put this at the end of the blog as a "by the way", but when I uploaded the pic, it wouldn't move to the bottom of the blog, so I'm starting with it. So, a couple of weeks ago, I was searching around for different pics of our guys, and I found this pic of Sergey (2nd trumpet/flugelhorn) playing with Gogol Bordello! (That's him, smoking and playing, haha). Awesome.

Anyway, back to the normal post. Since we're all quiet, you might think that nothing much is going on as we're preparing for JB, but you be wrong... That's exactly why I'm not writing.

First of all, let me say that Jessie Kawata is an amazing designer and the amount of stupid things that have been going on with the poster are annoying the hell out of me, as with her. As you can see at the top of this page, the poster is done, but someone keeps whining about something or stopping the process for some reason or another and we're just trying to get them printed already... Plus, we wanted to paste them around the city, but apparently that costs a lot more than we were prepared for, and since it's wintertime, we figure that maybe people won't be walking outside so much anyway...? We've decided to put our money into more targetted promotional media.

Secondly, we're trying to find an opening act. Who knew it would take this long... We have to make the exact right decision for us, and also make sure that the people we invite feel like it's a good fit for them too. And for some reason, it's been difficult for Ilya and I to come to a perfect decision and find the right act. And, it's cutting it close...

Jimmy and Ilya have finally agreed on a setlist, which is quite exciting, and it also enables us to start preparing the right songs, rather than just prepare in general. In that, it's hard for me because I'm away from the band, so I have to be disciplined enough to rehearse my voice in general, practice those songs and exactly the feeling I want for them (I came up with some new ideas and variations in some of our old stuff), to practice the Cuban guiro which is a new instrument for me and I'm very conscious that I have to find the right groove, practice the Puerto Rican guiro which our amazing friends from Tres Panderos sent me, figure out the new coro arrangements with Ilya (because now Andrey is singing with us), practice my movements onstage, actually plan with Lesya how some songs will look visually, especially practice the JB songs so he'll be pleased with them, and most of all, practice my rhythm while singing - which is a daily feat for me. And that's just me. Can you imagine what Ilya has to do as a bandleader?

Two other people we have to find that are crucial - one is video crew, since we're planning to record the whole concert live. Our good friend Adrian Garcia gave us a good tip, and otherwise, I've got some backup crew from Poland that could eventually come. And, the last thing is to find the right MC........ and so far we're more behind with that than with the opening band. Because that's the trick. We can easily find "any" MC and "any" band, but it's about finding the *right* ones.

And of course, we always welcome more money. I just watched Julie & Julia today as I was making promotional stuff for the concert, and she got people to send her stuff by the sole act of writing a blog. Well, in case anyone has any spare money that they have no idea how to spend, you are welcome to send it our way. I assure you, it won't go to waste. ;) hehe

Dislocados is out of work for one week while Caribbean Club takes a break from live music for the first weekend of 2010, so there's more time for practicing and a bit less time for earning a living.

So, here I am, practicing and practicing. In fact, 24hr/day connected Ilya isn't even ever online anymore because he's practicing all the time. We're going into lockdown mode here.

Meanwhile, EVERYONE is telling us they want to go to this concert, but they all want to wait to buy their tickets, which is making me really nervous. And, we did what I thought you should do - make the tickets more expensive at the door than beforehand, and make the salsa school dance teachers push the tickets on their students, but still ppl are being lazy. That's weird, right? What can I do? Any ideas? I could use some audience participation here like on Julie & Julia... :P ;)

Ok that's it for me now. I have to record my voice and send some stuff to Lesya that I made up that we'll be doing at the concert. I'm out, see you in a bit.~

Finding Dislocados info in random places

I just came across this newspaper today. Check out page 9!

It's a Ukrainian-American newspaper by the looks of it, and it wrote about our CD release! Too bad I just found it now, because it was published on August 9th, but this is awesome!

Somehow from the text, it seems like I may have talked to these guys, but I don't really remember... Either way, I must say this is the first time that any text has gotten all the info about us and our release 100% right. You would think that's easy, but it's not. Every publication, review, promotion, etc has made at least one mistake so far, even if the whole thing is almost copy/pasted, so props to these guys for getting it right!

Special thanks to Matthew Dubas and Yarema Belej for the shout-out and enthusiastic writing. We're so happy that the Ukrainian diaspora is supporting us. Now, if only we could work on the Ukrainians... ;)

Great review

Big thanks goes out to Azucar y Candela for doing this great review of our album! Check it out here.

In other news, we're just working really hard for this Jimmy Bosch concert... so much stuff to prepare... But it's going to be worth it. I can't believe we've got like 15 people working full or part time on this and we still have new stuff to do every day... but it's kind of fun. And it will definitely be worth it.

Official ads and announcements go out in December. Keep your ears and eyes open...

In yet more news, my wooden guiro stick - my favorite one, the white one doesn't have enough friction for me - is finally starting to split... :( Also, I didn't realize how hard it is to find a Puerto Rican guiro anywhere outside of Puerto Rico. I can't even find it online to order (or at least a place that will ship to Poland). Boo.

Dislocados with JIMMY BOSCH!!! Jan 23, 2010

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.

... We're back!

Yes, it's been a little while, but now we're back from the dead. We've had a lot of things that took us in a lot of directions this summer, but now the blog resumes. :)

Just writing a message to kick start this thing. Soon we'll talk about the things that went on this summer and, more im

portantly, the challenges that lie ahead.

First, let's take a look at the picture of the horns at sound check in Yalta. Ridiculous and hilarious. Love it.

Secondly, we're in the process of planning a couple of concerts and trips. The trick is going to be to see which ones we can swing the fastest and with the highest quality.

Third, Ilya (our bandleader, just to remind you...) has been caught on video and it's posted on YouTube in a jazz thing he did (Piano Kolo in Kiev). This is his composition, Running Away from the Small Apple. It's quite cool to see what our salsa master does in his jazz time.

Fourth is a combination of

2 new things (in one picture). "La Palapa" is now playing on New York City airwaves on Hard Salsa Radio, which is awesome, because it's Lesya's first solo song to debut in New York. Before we had Resaca and Miedo that featured me on lead vocals, and Descarga de 44 which is a great instrumental track that showcases the talents of the whole band. Now, "La Palapa" makes its debut in New York, which introduces Lesya to the US salsa scene. She's got an awesome salsa feeling to her, so much so that nobody can believe she's Ukrainian.

The second awesome piece of news is that Andrei (the other one in the pic) has now become even more valuable to our band. Since we've had a long line of coro singers in the band, we've found the hidden gem of Dislocados! Andrei, after a long time of being Ukraine's best timbalero and one of the hardest working members of the band, has decided to try singing coro. As it turns out, he's got an amazing old school salsa timbre to his voice, and it's also very high. Amazingly, his Spanish pronounciation is great, and what I love the best is that he's very well tuned all the time. :) Welcome, Andrei, to salsa coro, haha. He's gonna soon become our little Sabater.

The last piece of news is that I've moved from France to Poland, which is cool because it's much closer to the band and makes it easier to get in a couple of salsa concerts on the weekend and organize our future salsa bonanzas. But, I'm having a hard time finding the salsa scene here. Out of 3 places that are supposed to be "the" salsa spots according to salsapower.com, only one of them still exists, and it's still not a very hard core salsa place. Hopefully we can discover the hidden salsa scene in Poland to bring the band here, and maybe do a few other concerts in Europe again, because I think Europe suits us nicely. ;)

Ok, that's it for me. Welcome back.

More Sweden

Hey, so I wanted to put up just a couple more pictures and tell you one important thing we forgot.

First, here's a picture of the whole band with Ibi and Marina from the Salsa Akademien. This was taken right before we went to the airport to go back to our "real lives". Only Valik wasn't there, we almost left without him. Still wondering what he was doing...

But, the other great thing is that the first night that we arrived, Chris and the other lovely organizers got us into a concert of Orquesta Aragon (pictured here)! It was really amazing. They were celebrating their SEVENTIETH anniversary as a band. Isn't that insane? This is where you know it's at, when there are a bunch of older guys still singing and playing together, with as much passion as always, with incredible technique, and the audience is going nuts for them!

Here is the bassist from Aragon with our bassist, and the singer with one of our singers. Ilya and I had to leave early, but the rest of the band stayed and chatted with them, and I hear they were awesome, very friendly, very interesting and interested, and a pleasure to meet. Thanks, Aragon, for a great night!!!