Definitely Not Zabava Music

Klooch launches CD at UNYF's Hallowe'en bash

By Nestor Gula

There’s a new sound in the air in Toronto, and it is spreading across North America–and even into Ukraine.

Klooch is Toronto-based four-member band that is making its mark on the music scene by playing Ukrainian rock music. The band is a  brainchild of Yurko Mychaluk and Taras Blyzniuk. Both were members of the zabava band, Zahrava, a band Taras formed.

Although Klooch has had several shows this past summer at Ukrainian festivals in North America, their show in Toronto on October 27 was a  special one.  It was their CD-release party, signifying that the band had really arrived on the musical stage.

The event, held at the Golden Lion Restaurant/Ballroom, was a fantastic affair, not just because of the music but because it also coincided with a  Hallowe'en night organized by the Ukrainian National Youth Federation. Many revellers were dressed up extravagantly; one was even dressed as a key — go figure. The opening act, Hudi a Mocni, did an excellent job of warming up the audience on what was a cold, rainy and blustery evening. The audience of more than 400 reacted very positively to Klooch’s music, dancing and shimmying about.

Although the members of Klooch are all part of Zahrava, the music is definitely not zabava music. All songs are original. This is rock-and-roll. Power-pop if you will. The music is driving and forceful, with plenty of hooks and memorable riffs and choruses. It is radio friendly; perfect for stations that would play Ukrainian-language rock music. “It’s not controversial,” said Yurko. “I don’t write stuff like that.”

The impetus for creating Klooch came from Yurko when he got an idea for a song, “Za Stara.” “I got the idea, the lyrics and the hook, and called Taras,” said Yurko. “At first I though who would want to listen to this, but the more I though about it the more I though it was a good idea,” said Taras.

At first the two tunes that Yurko wrote with Taras were going to be added to a Zahrava CD that they had been working on. But they changed their minds. “This is not Zahrava music. I did not want the songs to just be added on,” says Yurko. In a short while, Taras and Yurko wrote more songs, eventually getting together the 10 songs that are on the CD.

As they recorded the songs as demo versions, they posted them up on the Internet, on MySpace, and did a bit of self-promotion. They met with a resounding positive response that led to gigs in New York, Toronto and Cleveland. They even had a great gig at the Lemko Vatra in Poland when they played there as part of Zahrava and debuted three Klooch songs. “It was amazing,” said Yurko. “Just based on three songs we were getting a lot of positive feedback and people asking us to play.”

A refreshing aspect of Klooch is its professional approach—this is not a basement-tape project. Both Taras and Yurko have been involved professionally in music for many years. Taras has a recording studio, Trubble Clef, and Yurko has played guitar for Nelly Furtado on her first world wide tour, wrote the song “Win The Cup” that was used by the 2004 Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning throughout the playoffs and on the year-end Stanley Cup Championship DVD. He also works as a session musician.

The other members also have a solid musical background. Jaroslaw Nazarowicz has been involved with music most of his life and drummed for Cafe Kiev, Seven Year Itch and Zahrava. David McMillan is a professional bass player who met Yurko at a studio session, joined Zahrava and was asked to be a member of Klooch.

Klooch’s sound is very different from that of rock bands from Ukraine. “This is because my influence is much different than theirs,” said Yurko. “Although I like the bands that I hear from Ukraine, I would not say they influence me in any way. My influences are basically American rock music:  Foo Fighters, Nickleback, Blink 182. This makes our music much different than that coming from out of Ukraine.”

With a CD out, the band is now working on building on their early successes. “As an independent band, we do everything: marketing, promotion, booking,” says Yurko. The future looks good for Klooch, although both Yurko and Taras are realistic enough to know that success won’t come easily. They are planning more shows in North America and are speaking with some people in Ukraine about a distribution deal for their CD and a concert tour there.

You can get a sample of their music on the internet at www.myspace.com/klooch or www.kloochmusic.com