Interview date: 03.09.2006
The press conference of the reunited legends Buldožer is surely one of the most talked-about events on the Slovenian rock scene this year. In the one-of-a-kind atmosphere of the little hall inside Stari Glej, the legendary musicians talked about why they got back together, about the upcoming concerts, and about one more really important thing: the release of a box set of all their career albums, most of which will be coming out on CD for the very first time. Most of the questions were answered by Boris Bele, who took over as leader of the reunited Buldožer in Marko Brecelj’s absence. After all these years, the guys haven’t lost one bit of their spark, their rock ‘n’ roll spirit and their sense of humor, which they spiced their answers with generously.
“Can you tell us something about the releases themselves?”
Bele: “The release will have 8 records plus a rich booklet full of lyrics. It’ll be called “Lik i dijelo” and split into parts. “Dijelo” will be the first part, covering our discography, while “Lik” will gather the thoughts of six or seven well-known people who’ll give their opinions on Buldožer. Foks and Vidmar, for example.”
Bele (glancing toward the audience): “Foks, did you get anything done? I’ve already announced you.”
Bele (continuing): “Then Aleksandar Žikić from Belgrade will add his bit, and Kremer too – “Viđenje Buldožerjev”. It’ll all come in one box. We don’t know yet what it’ll look like, the design was done by Rudi Vrančič. We planned to mark our 30th anniversary with this release, but we missed it. At the age we’re at, you’re not in such a rush anymore. But this year it will definitely come out, and the occasion will be accompanied by concerts in Ljubljana, Zagreb, Belgrade, Sarajevo and Skopje.”
“What about the dates of those concerts? When are they? Zagreb is supposedly already confirmed?”
Bele: “For Zagreb, October 14 was in the running, but I’m not sure…”
“October 15.”
Bele: “Ah, right. October 15 is the exact date of the Zagreb concert.”
“Do you also have a new record planned, or are you first waiting to see what the response will be in the former Yugoslavia?”
Bele: “Honestly, we haven’t thought about that. The basic idea was just to put these records out, because many of them never came out on CD. I first thought about making a promo film, but it was too expensive, and the other option was to play a few concerts to promote this compilation. Considering that of all the options, playing our own material is what we do best, that seemed like the best variant to me. Besides, I’m not a fan of all these “comebacks” of old bands.”
Bele: “Two more musicians will be helping us out at the concert. The first is Cole Moretti…”
Žan: “Quiet, rainy Cole.”
Bele: “…who’ll play percussion and back vocals. And there’s “Miki” too – Miklavž Ašič, who’ll play sax and sing backing vocals. He also plays bass, violin, piano…
Žan: “Driver.”
Bele: “… but we’ll only let him play sax. Oh, and he’s constantly in conflict with the police. Then there’s Janez Zmazek “Žan”, Borut Činč on keyboards, Andrej Veble on bass guitar, Dušan Vran a.k.a. “Cika” on drums, and of course Cole and Miki as the “first aid”.”
Žan: “And Boris Bele sings and saws away at the guitar!”
“What was the reunion process like? How did it come about? Who was the main instigator?”
Bele: “Very painful, it hurt me something awful, ha, ha, ha…. The offer to play in the same five places as back in the day seemed interesting to me. At first we were playing it cautious, because we didn’t know how we’d click, but now it’s really humming along and we’re getting close to, as athletes call it, peak form.”
“Don’t you Buldožer guys recognize Montenegro?”
Bele: “You know, when we were arranging this, Montenegro wasn’t independent yet, but there’s still the chance of a sixth gig, a gig in Podgorica. We’ve never played there at all… and Pristina would be an option too.”
“Why did you decide to start with a show at Križanke?”
Bele: “The Križanke space offered itself as the best option for the concert. Then you also have to catch the season, so the weather is still halfway decent. You know, on September 23 it’ll rain again (laughter)…”
“Are you planning to record a “live” CD at Križanke?”
Bele: “Definitely not. No, because it’s the first gig, we’d like to get a bit tighter first, and I don’t know how we’ll play. I mean, maybe we’ll play well.”
“What kind of venues will you play at the other concerts in the former Yugoslavia?”
Bele: “Halls for 1,000 and 1,500 people. Not small ones and not sports arenas. Say, like Aquarius or Tvornica in Zagreb. That size. It would be too ambitious… or too cocky to play bigger halls. We’re trying to be realistic. We know that not everyone’s going to go crazy for Buldožer anymore.”
“Is there going to be a support act? Will Marko Brecelj be playing with you?”
Bele: “We talked with Brecelj about him being our guest, but he wasn’t up for it. Or for playing one of his newer songs together.”
“So he won’t be there?”
Bele: “Our door is open to him. It’s up to him.”
“Are you rehearsing here (Stari Glej) or somewhere else too?”
Bele: “Yeah, here for now. Before that we rehearsed in Borut Činč’s studio, but when we were all in the studio at once, it was too cramped, and for the home stretch we wanted a feel for what it’s like on stage, so we’re here. We also rehearsed at Andrej’s place in Maribor. It was an excellent location. In a bunker 20 meters underground in the summer, under the Špar, gorgeous summer temperature, only 22 degrees!”
“How long will the show be and which songs will you play at the concerts?”
Bele: “Everything. From the first record to the last. It’ll be a cross-section of songs that set the place on fire live, that aren’t, how should I put it, so studio-made…”
Bele: “Now let me ask something. Cole? How do you feel in the studio?”
Cole: “Fucking great. (Looks at Boris and continues) I’ve known this guy for 26 years, we played together for a stretch in ’81, ’82, ’83, and I’ve always been a Buldožer fan. As for my current collaboration with them, it all started this summer when Boris called me up and invited me for coffee, because he knew I’m a coffee addict and that’s how he’d get me with a trick. He asked if I knew any female backing vocalist and I said I know our “Mikica” (meaning Miki Ambrožič). At first we played with a crate of beer and coffee, now it’s getting serious, and maybe we’ve done the most so far at Glej, in these three rehearsals. We even got a visit from the police, and Miki had to pay them 25 grand because he was too loud on a weekday. For me personally, being with Buldožer feels really good. Buldožer are legends to me, and I think anyone from my generation would be proud to get an invitation like that. It’s an especially nice feeling because we’re big friends. We became big friends during this time.”
Bele: “Those two (meaning Miki and Cole) brought quite a bit of extra life. A bit of goofing around, work, music, a few fresh takes on things. It’s true, though, that when Cole and I met up, I told him: “How about you first find a girl for the backing vocals?” And Cole said no way: “You know, it’ll just be trouble with girls.””
“And what about Dr. Veble’s comeback?”
Veble: “I’ve been hearing worse and worse so far anyway, could you please repeat your question?” (laughter in the hall)
Veble: “I’m bad at counting my comebacks. This is already my eighth comeback…”
Cole: “He’s forever coming back up.”
Veble: “True. I’m forever coming back up.”
Bele: “Borut, Andrej and I all recorded the first record, and Borut and I did all the records together… Cika and Žan joined the band in 1977. That lineup played on the “live” record “Ako ste večeras slobodni”, in 1982.”
“Will the “Pljuni istini u oči” album keep its original cover in the box set?”
Bele: “Yes! With the box, the aim is to be as close to a replica of the originals as possible. We tried to squeeze the ideas into the smallest possible format so that everything looks as much like the originals as possible. The covers will be just like the originals, and so will the two maxi singles and the live record, which will come out as a double CD, just as it was once a double vinyl, to keep the original look, in a smaller format of course.”
“And how does it sound?”
Bele: “Not very good.” (laughter)
“What will the price be?”
Bele: “The price won’t be high…. 2 grand for a single CD, the singles will be cheaper, the double live CD a little pricier, and whoever buys the whole set gets an extra discount.”
“So the albums will also be available to buy individually?”
Bele: “Yes. I forgot to add that. The albums will be available individually too.”
“What will the box set’s print run be?”
Bele: “I don’t know yet. Dallas is the distributor, the company Racman d.o.o. will be putting it out. Personally, I don’t even know if there’s still demand for this kind of thing.”
“Did you take the recordings from the original tapes?”
Bele: “Yes!”
“Have they been “cleaned up” at all?”
Bele: “Yes. Everything is remastered. The sound is now much better, cleaner.”
“Will there be any bonus tracks on the reissued albums?”
Bele: “No. Everything stays exactly as it was. No bonuses!”
“And what do your wives say about the comeback?”
Cole: I’m divorced, so no problem there”
Žan: “I haven’t seen mine in 7 or 8 years.”
Veble: Whatever she had to say, she said ten years ago.”
Bele: Most of us here are divorced, you know? I figure the women will be glad we’ll be out of the house at least a little, so we’re not on the couch in front of the TV all the time.”
What’s your take on the Slovenian “rock” scene today?
Bele: “You know what. I think it’s not as strong as it used to be, a couple of bands know how to play, but they’re not that exposed in the media. Actually, I don’t follow the scene at all.”
Bele: “Oh, right! Each of you can take a promo CD, which won’t be on sale. On it is our subjective selection of 16 tracks. This promo CD is a teaser for the “box set”, the box set cover will look similar to this promo CD’s, and the promo CD says “not for sale”, which, for example, the box set won’t say (the hall bursts out laughing). So it’s a kind of announcement. This promo CD has lots of info about our records, and if you put the CD in your computer, there are also lots of pictures on it, in the right resolution for use in newspapers and other media.”
Then Buldožer headed up on stage and ripped through three songs for us, among them the real treat Dobro jutro madam Jovanović. You could feel the enthusiasm and the joy of being able to play and have fun together again. On stage the guys actually said a lot more than at the press conference. So, a recap! The release of the box set “Lik i dijelo” is announced for 20.09.2006, the concert at Križanke for 23.09.2006, and the one at Tvornica in Zagreb for 15.10.2006. And that was far from the end of the hangout with Buldožer. At 8 p.m. in Stari Glej, Buldožer played a shortened set of the songs they’ll also play at Križanke. In total they played 14 songs in an hour and a half. The concert was meant for the band’s inner circle of acquaintances and friends, but all the media representatives were invited too. Of course, we’ll get into more detail in a concert report published on our pages. At the same time, I’d like to sincerely thank the representatives of Dallas Records and StageArts, the concert’s main promoter, for the invitation.
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