"We got scared and became laureates — that's how it all started"
Armen Grigoryan turned 65 on November 24, and now the Crematorium is preparing a unique double concert at the Gorbunov Recreation Center this weekend, on November 28 and 29. This will be a show using a unique multimedia screen-a stage where Grigoryan and the musicians will not be next to the image, but directly inside it. In addition, the Gravity theater does not prepare a backup dance, but full-fledged choreographic numbers for individual hits of the group. For example, there will be several "sexy cats" on stage at once, and in the images of Batwoman. And these are not all the surprises that the Crematorium is preparing for fans.
"They took us after the concert..."
— Have you ever imagined that the fantastic characters of your songs could be embodied on stage like this?
— Of course, I imagined it! It was even done at one time. There was a program called "Transformation," where our songs were accompanied by their characters. They were embodied by several artists.
— Was it similar to what you plan to do at concerts at the Gorbunov Recreation Center? Or do young boys and girls see your characters in a completely different way?
— You can't even compare it! Fantastic acting is used here. The girls are dancing, there is a beautiful Zombie, a very plastic guy. We had no idea that such a thing was even possible. Plus, there's a staircase that appears on stage, which I walk up, and you know, it's a life story just a few steps away. Well done to the artists who did this, well done to the directors who subtly work with a non-professional artist. Everything turned out very well.
— You meet yourself at different ages on these stairs. And at what age do you like yourself more, in what period?
— Frankly speaking, it's all very touching. When you walk up these stairs, you perceive your whole life in a concentrated way. My parents, who are no longer there, appear there. This is incomparable to anything. I am a man devoid of sentimentality. But here she appears.
— Do you remember your first performance?
— It was 1987.
—In Bulgakov's house?" There was also a big story, remember?
— They took us after the concert. They were invited to the district police station. There, a friend in civilian clothes said that, guys, stop with underground concerts. Otherwise, it will be bad for you and your parents. Wait, they'll call you. And — they called. As a result, a rock laboratory was formed, and we were invited to perform at the Nadezhda Festival. We got scared and became laureates as a result. That's how it all started.
— What confused the representatives of law enforcement agencies? Have they heard your songs? Or was the fact of the underground concert itself confusing?
— The person who talked to us there was most interested in where the band got its name from. He probably had associations with the pipes of Buchenwald and Auschwitz in his head. But I asked him.: "Comrade, what kind of music do you listen to?" He: "I love Chris de Burgh." Back then, it was the same in St. Petersburg and here in Moscow: they tried to bring us all together, and they succeeded, and everyone was under control.
"The violin part in Claustrophobia is very difficult — we can't handle it on stage yet"
— We saw a rehearsal where a violinist and four "sexy cats" are on stage at once. Aren't there too many of them for one?
— A lot. We'll have to rename the song to "Sexy Cats."
— In general, the rehearsals went on for many days, how do you feel on the eve of the concert on this inclined media stage?
— Much more confident. The training sessions were not in vain, and I have good coaches. All the guys work so professionally that it would be wrong if I didn't listen to them. And now I'm not just walking, I'm running on this trapeze!
— What awaits us at the concerts in the Gorbunov Recreation Center? After all, it's two days, will there be the same program every time, or do you have to come twice to see everything in its entirety?
— Of course, we'll have to play some songs at both concerts, because if we don't, they might beat us. Therefore, there will be some repetitions. But as for the program, we have about 70 songs, and we don't use a playlist. Therefore, to some extent it will be an improvisation. Except, of course, for those compositions that we are working on together with the Gravity Theater. I can't say what the difference will be between these concerts. You know, it's like dealing cards. No one knows who gets what combination.
— Maybe there is a song that you have in your repertoire, but has never been performed live?
— There is. It's called "Claustrophobia." We tried to play it a couple of times, but then we stopped. Because there's a very complicated violin part, the author wrote it too fast. I recorded it in the studio recently, and we had to try out three violinists for it. Then a young girl came and played, but we still can't handle this part on stage.
— Do you have any other special relationship with Voronezh? And, probably, with Andrey Platonov, who has a story "Garbage Wind", although the lyrics of the song do not relate to him in any way?
— Of course it does! The impression of the story became an incentive for writing the song. Andrey Platonov has a very interesting style. He's a gloomy writer, although I like his short stories more than, say, "The Pit." Anyway, I read that story, was inspired, and wrote a song of the same name. And then, when we came to Voronezh on tour, we found out that Platonov had been working at the railway depot there for some time. An engineer. Subsequently, violinist Slava, also from Voronezh, joined our group. We have a special relationship with this city, we go there very often. It's a cultured, pretty city.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
