Interview with Pál Viktor
Q>>
Hi Viktor! I know "The Eastern Fashion" is a title that has a very
special meaning to you. Could you please explain it to our readers?
A>> You are right, Rno. The Eastern Fashion is a special type of thinking,
way of life what is a mix of the western-like living and the Russian way of
life. Although the Eastern countries belong to Europe, the everyday life here
is a bit different - somewhere between the western and the Russian traditions.
We come from a special place with a special history and that's the point; we
want to preserve the heritage and bring it to the people.
Q>> You describe
things as if there were extremely strong roots in people's minds and hearts...
Is it something that all people think in the Eastern countries or is it just
you? Do you talk a lot about these topics with friends/musicians over there?
A>> I guess some people think the same. We have quite a similar cultural
heritage as the Slovaks, the Czechs, the Slovenias, the Croatians and the Polish
have. We also have almost the same genes although we speak different languages.
We aim to create a meeting point for all these cultures and that is why we will
organize our second Eastern Fashion Festival in October. It will be exclusively
for eastern bands; the previous day, the festival building will harbor some
exhibitions focusing on young eastern artists and a few lectures on eastern
history and culture will also take place. So we try to forget all the stupid
stereotypes of history.
Q>> What
is it that you call "stupid stereotypes of history"? Do you have some
examples?
A>> Stereotypes... well, I guess they're te only tool we have :-) Take
the colonizer UK, the ultra nationalist Hungary, the rapidly developing Finland
for example. This question is one of the best I have ever got from a reporter,
but I am afraid it would be better to discuss this topic live over some pints
of beer :-))) Sorry...
Q>> OK, so
those cultural matters are a big part of Varso's mind... Let's talk about the
music now! Can you give me some details on your musical education? I heard someone
say that Portuguese people are all like "born-musicians". Is that
true also in Eastern-European countries like Hungary?
A>> It is usually said about gipsies in Hungary; our bassist is one of
them. :-) Of course he is the laziest one :-) The others have been learning
for about 10 years with different teachers. I have never learned anything about
music. I guess they are natural born musicians they have some project as well.
Like a grind-death project and a standard jazz combo. :-) I am not joking. I
usually make electronic music beside Varso. Music is really important for all
the Hungarians and I guess for the surrounding nations as well. I would not
say they are natural born musicians but there are a lots of talented people
for music around... well, I do not know :-)
Q>> So all
Varso's members play a lot of music... even in different styles! I think that's
great! Still, I'm very impressed by the contrast that exists between that great
collective artistic mind of musicians and their everyday life with all the social/political
background, all the pressure, trouble, etc... Do you consider your music as
a real way to escape from things or is it just like a "parallel life"
where you live and express things differently?
A>> Both. On the one hand we try to escape and this common activity is
the only way to survive and reload. Although there are some other activities,
just check all our covers... Kovacs, our guitarist painted them. I published
some short stories in Hungarian for different anthologies, the bassist wrote
some scientific articles about Ancient Egypt and the drummer has at least 3
or 4 projects from tango music to an RATM cover band. On the other hand maybe
it is a paralel life 'cause there we behave in another way than the one our
family members or girlfriends are used from us.
Q>> Let's
talk about how you feel as a Hungarian band... How is your relation with other
Hungarian bands? Are you all friends or do you compete a lot? What have the
principles of communism become? ;-)
A>> We have quite a good relationship with all the Hungarian bands. The
Metal market is a bit small so we know each other well; we meet usually at festivals,
in clubs, or on tour. Of course we compete as well, some of them are jealous
of the others' success, but I guess we are not that kind of people. For us,
the priority is to manage our business and help the others if they ask us. 'Cause
if anybody could get onto the international market, that would help the others
as well. There is no infrastructure to export our high quality Hungarian Rock,
so this must be the priority for all the Hungarian people whom are involved
in Rock or Metal. But unfortunetly the mentality is really far from adequate.
:-)))) Let's see what happens if we try our best...
Q>> Why in
your opinion do some bands become jealous and stop being cooperative? Is it
more a question of money of is it just for the fame? (Or something else?)
A>> I really don't know, we are not that kind so I cannot possibly imagine.
It might be a normal human reaction....:-)
Q>> Can you tell me something about the recording of your latest EP? Was it a positive experience? A>> Yes it was. We recorded the whole thing with the help of a friend of ours. A computer, a few microphones, the instruments and the musicians... that's all we needed. The circumstances were really primitive, but that did not matter. We started the recording session in September and finished somewhere in November. Late nite recording sessions, pizza eating, beer drinking lots of fun and jokes... There was no stress; the whole EP was produced by and for us for our own pleasure. :-)
Q>> So, if
there was no more fun and you were forced to work full- time with a big label;
the kind of label who tells you everything you must do, from the music itself
until the clothes you wear etc... Would you still be interested in being a musician?
A>> NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We want to be faithful to our plans. Would be nice
to be popular and famous. We are dreaming about it but not at any cost. We have
dreams but fortunately made some plans as well:-))) We are ready for a compromise
but we want to keep our roots, identity and human character and with a slave
contract we would turn into money-making puppets; we just don't need that shit:-)))
Q>> So your
main aim would be to stay true to yourself, have fun, play what you want...
I guess you must strongly believe in yourselves, right? Still, have you ever
feared that Varso could remain unknown during your entire career? If it happened,
would that be a real problem?
A>> Well, not exactly. If there were a contract, we would be ready to
change some parts of the music and some parts of our dress style as well :-
))) ... but within certain boundaries. Maybe there is no label that wants to
sign a contract with us straight away, but that would be tempted to offer us
a good deal after some changes. Would be OK. Of course we strongly believe in
ourselves, otherwise there would be no need to play gigs and market ourselves.
We could just as well go back to our garage and play on our own in that case.
So many people told us we would stay unknown forever because of the style of
music we play but I don`t think so... We give it our best shot, because I don`t
want to feel like I missed something when I will turn 45...We try to work as
hard as we can and just see what happens... There really is no time to be depressed
because of the fact that we're unknown and live under miserable economic conditions.
I believe we are brave and wise enough to succeed in realizing our aims:-))
On the other hand, we like to take a few risks: it wouldn't be a big mission
to make a conventional Rock band well known... it's much more of a challenge
to do the same with Varso. We believe in our music and our friendship and I
am sure there is no result without hard work... so the question is just about
the time you dispose of to work for the result. But we are very patient; we
don`t want everything at once :-)))