H I S T
O R Y
(what a blow, what a blow)
Ten Years After the Velvet
Revolution,
Uz Jsme
Doma
Is on Tour in North America
New CD Out Soon
On November 17, 1989, a student protest in Prague set in play a series of
events
which would lead to the collapse of the Communist government within a month
and return democracy to the Czech people after 41 years of Soviet rule.
By December 3, inimitable Czech avant-rockers Uz Jsme Doma, a group
which had not long before been considered "antisocial" by the state,
was playing in front of 15,000 in Prague at a concert in celebration
of the changes. Soon afterwards, UJD frontman Mirek Wanek found
himself drafted as a leader of an interim government in the band's
hometown of Teplice,
cleaning out corrupt officials, before returning
to his duties in UJD.
"These guys are touring MONSTERS." --Nils, of Sleepytime Gorilla
Museum,
something of
a monster himself.
Ten years later, UJD is previewing its first studio album in
four years, and fifth overall, Usi/Ears, with its current tour.
Since 1996, UJD has toured extensively in Europe and North America,
honing the performances which have earned them the reputation of one
of the best live rock acts on the planet. The nine tracks on Ears
were recorded and mixed in July and August at Prague's Sono Studios,
with Bay Area sound guru Dan Rathbun (formerly of Oakland's sonic
grand guignol players,
Idiot Flesh) at the
controls. Set for release
in North America on November 9, Ears finally distills the band's
energy in the studio, producing a concoction as potent as a bottle of
homemade slivovitz.
The songs on Ears focus on what goes on (and doesn't go on)
between those two underused organs. Songwriters Jindra Dolansky and
Mirek Wanek have produced their most energetic and involved
compositions yet for this new release, while Mirek's lyrics, sung in
Czech, delve deeper into the fears, deceptions, misunderstandings ,
and general blind fumbling that cause folk to fall into and out of
personal relationships. Guitarist Radek Podvesky, bassist Jan
Cejka, and drummer Petr Bohm contribute powerhouse backing to the
album on their first studio recordings as band members.
In conjunction with the release of the new album, UJD
embarked on a whirlwind four and a half week tour of North America
beginning on October 21 in New York City. The band's seventh tour
in the Western hemisphere since March 1996 takes them out to
Vancouver and down to Texas before winding up on the East Coast on
November 20. Be sure not to miss
the live show that's had critics reaching for their thesauruses for
adequate words to describe it.
Since forming in the small Czechoslovakian border town of
Teplice in 1985, Uz Jsme Doma has weathered the tyranny of Communism,
numerous line-up changes, and relentless touring, including
performances in war-torn Bosnia. Featuring Mirek Wanek on lead
vocals, guitar and keyboards, and Jindra Dolansky on tenor sax, the
band's music, through a juxtaposition of the beautiful and ugly,
familiar and strange, aims to provoke the listener to feel something
genuine and new; in the famous words of one of the band's
inspirations, Franz Kafka, to be "an axe for the frozen sea inside
us."
D I S C
O G R A
P H Y
Uprostred Slov/In the Middle of Words
(1990, Czechoslovakia; 1998 North America)
Nemilovany Svet/Unloved World
(1992, Czechoslovakia; 1997, North America)
Hollywood
(1993, Czech Republic; 1996, North America)
Pohadky ze Zapotrebi/Fairytales from Needland
(1995, Czech Republic; 1997, North America)
Jaro, Peklo, Podzim, Zima/Spring, Hell, Fall, Winter
~soundtrack to Czech television film about the work of Martin
Velísek~
(1996, Czech Republic)
Czeching In
(compilation --1996, North America)
Usi/Ears
(1999, North America/Europe).
All of UJD's CDs are available for $12 postpaid from Skoda, except
for In the Middle of Words, which is now $15 (it's a two-disk set).
Hollywood is currently being reprinted. Wait 4-6 weeks for delivery.
For booking and other information:
Patrick O'Donnell
Skoda Records
P.O. Box 77611
Washington, DC 20013-7611
Ph/fax: 202-547-8006
email:
skodarec@bellatlantic.net
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