Sergej Ranđelović – RunJoe and Klavdij Skrt – Co-Authors of the Book “zGodbe Generacij”

In the fall of 2023, the book zGodbe generacij, Glasbeni odmevi Zgornje Vipavske doline saw the light of day. It presents bands and solo artists from Ajdovščina and the Vipava area, spanning every era of the local music scene from the 1960s to today. It covers pop, rock and other acts, the musicians who made and are still making original music in the Upper Vipava Valley (from Lozice to Črniče). The list includes a whopping 49 bands and 18 solo artists. The roster of musicians in the book could probably have been even longer, but time was limited, from the initial concept in January 2023 to the book’s release in November 2023. The book comes with a music compilation on a USB stick, to which local musicians contributed an original track of their own choosing, which is a real curiosity. Some of the older bands even recorded the track you’ll find on the USB stick in a studio just for the occasion.

In a cozy setting, over a glass of rujno wine, a mug of beer and a glass of lemonade, I sat down with two of the four main players: Sergej Ranđelović – RunJoe and Klavdij Skrt.  I started by telling them how thrilled I was about the book, since they didn’t stop at the idea but made sure the musicians of the Upper Vipava Valley got written into a piece of Slovenian music history. Music means a lot to me and I give it a huge amount of attention, so I can’t help but realize what an invaluable thing this officially published collection of musicians from these parts is. My two interviewees agreed with me.

Even though I’m from around here, I didn’t know this book was coming out. I did know something was “cooking,” though. And it did get cooked up. Tell me how the road to the book began, along with the song compilation on the USB stick, which is an original idea, since nobody in Slovenia has put out anything like it before. 

Sergej: It started with the idea of putting on a concert with the bands that once existed in our parts. The Koncert generacij happened back in 1990, not as a book but as a concert. We were a bit naive back then. We wanted to put together a “review of bands” in Ajdovščina that had played at some point but weren’t doing original music. There were seven bands at the first concert. One of them played original music, and the other six played covers. Thirty years later, 27 bands played at the Koncert generacij, 20 of them with their own original music. It took us 30 years for the scales to tip in favor of original music. After that remarkable achievement for the local music scene, we developed a desire to put together a compilation of Ajdovščina bands and artists who record, or have recorded, their own songs. We enriched it further by publishing a book about the bands and soloists from Ajdovščina and the Vipava area.

The book was published by Zavod Fluvium 7, headed by Maja Doljak Marinkovska, and has four authors: Sergej Ranđelović and Klavdij Skrt, with Jure Ferjančič handling the technical side and Sandi Škvarč on writing and editing. At first we wanted to create a record of the bands in Ajdovščina, as archive material. Then we wanted to record music and create an anthem. Klavdij Skrt basically rearranged an old song in a more rock-oriented manner,  and seasoned instrumentalists and vocalists took part in the recording, and so the anthem was born.

Klavdij: The book is a good start. A critical eye might find it dry, because it’s a factual rundown of the bands from Ajdovščina and the Vipava area, with text and pictures.

What kinds of problems did you run into while making the book?

The hardest part was getting photos of all the musicians on the list that Sergej had already put together earlier. Sergej also spent quite a while collecting the content for the artist profiles. The goal was to talk about the music in our parts and document it. So in the book you’ll find write-ups and photos of well-known faces from the bands, in alphabetical order, like Elvis Jackson, Big Bibls Brothers Band, Jet Black Diamonds, Pelhan  and many more …

What do you think of how the locals treat culture in Ajdovščina? How did people respond to the book?

Klavdij: Right now bands have nowhere to play in Ajdovščina, which raises a big question about preserving subcultures here. We’d like to see more support for musicians who make original music. Just thinking about the old cultural center, where one of the shopping buildings now stands – how many great gigs happened there … Sadly, there’s now a building that’s a product of consumer society. Baze is gone too, and the concert lineup at Hiša mladih is rather thin. Ajdovščina needs a proper cultural venue, run properly, that gives local acts a place to show what they’ve got, and others too, of course.

When the book came out, we expected a better response, better reception. I don’t know if it’s envy, apathy or plain lack of interest. We just don’t know how to appreciate the effort of local artists.

A book with a USB stick is probably the first product like it in Slovenia. Bravo for the original idea. Can you walk me through how the creative process went?

Sergej: The book took less than a year to make. It all really kicked off in January 2023, and it came out in November 2023. We started with a list of bands, we had to get consent from the members, and we decided on the content of the profiles, backed up with photos. Along the way there were unexpected costs and formalities that pushed the release back a bit. In the end we got to 1,300 copies printed.

How did you decide on the content of the book and how did you pick the bands?

Sergej: The bands in the book don’t promote the book, and the book doesn’t promote them. Interestingly, it’s people from other places, not exactly locals, who are interested in the book. When we were gathering info, we asked the bands to send us details about themselves, but from some of them we didn’t get what we needed for publication, so we had to dig up some photos and information ourselves. We managed to steer clear of village oddballs and the tabloid press. The hardest part was gathering material suitable for publication, which meant tracking down contacts and then waiting for a response with the right information. Something else surprised us too: we were disappointed by the attitude of some authors and bands who don’t know how to appreciate their own work, let alone anyone else’s.

Klavdij: The only condition for inclusion was that bands and soloists had recorded their own original music. We even helped some bands record their music. We didn’t manage to cover every act because of incomplete information. There really are a huge number of bands, and we can be proud of this creative potential. But we know we didn’t manage to include everyone. I’d like to take this opportunity to encourage the younger generation to carry on the story we started.

Where can our readers find out more about the book?

Sergej: A website is in the works where info on the bands will be kept up to date. It’ll have details about the book, the individual songs and the artists. The USB stick that comes with the book has a genre-diverse selection of 59 original tracks, from rock, pop, ska, blues, jazz, metal …  We didn’t include narodno-zabavna glasba (Slovenian folk-pop). You can buy the book at the TIC in Ajdovščina and Nova Gorica, and at the Zavod za kulturo, znanost in umetnost Fluvium 7, which is based in Ajdovščina. The book is also backed up by the stories of the Koncert generacij events, which happen in Ajdovščina every 10 years. So far there have been four of these concerts, the first in 1990. The bands that played them are also featured in the book. The turnout at those concerts proves people are hungry for events like this. The best part is seeing different generations cheering on their favorites onstage. An event worth showing up for.

And that’s a wrap on the interview. We had a lot of laughs along the way at the stories Sergej and Klavdij told, which aren’t mentioned here. You know how it is, some stories are only for privileged ears … Just kidding …

Let me close by quoting Sergej, who said: “It’s easy to follow a winner, but those winners put in a huge amount of effort to get to the finish line. Let’s appreciate and support the local, because that’s the only way it can ever go global.”

The book is a living thing. The stories keep going. A book like this belongs on the shelf of every music lover who respects the genres it covers and values homegrown products. I suggest the rest of you pick it up and flip through it too, since zGodbe generacij is one of the few books about musicians in Slovenia and the only one about those from Ajdovščina and the Vipava area. History has been written. The authors and co-creators of the book have left a musical legacy to future generations. Here, gratitude for their enthusiasm and effort is never out of place.

Bravo, guys; you proved that an idea that started out as a bit of a prank can come true and grow into something truly one of a kind. Rock on!

Author: Silvija Makovec