interview with Bonobo Kid.
Have any of you played in other bands? I play in Croatian band-Bonobo Kid, but also have my own project ,making my first album this year
How is it that you started playing music? I saw a guy in a bar playing the blues, and than the magic happened :) His name is Denis Makin ,and he showed me how to play the very first chords.
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you? My artist name is "Blondie Widow", I play guitar and sing ,this June we will record the rest of my songs in Serbia-Marko will play the bass and Nemanja will play the drums ,my first single is recorded in Zagreb -studio "Jura" and these days we should make the video and it will be out on youtube. In Bonobo Kid band I play lead guitar ,Jerry is singer and rhythm guitar,Damir on drums and miss Slavica on the bass :) Im 23 years old.
Have you had other previous members? In my project no, I can thank to Ride to Rock and mister Wade Childs because he meet me with those great guys in Serbia and we gonna play lots of festivals together this summer. Bonobo kid had just one previous member ,bass player Ana.
Did you make music even when you were young? Not at all,actually I started quite late,when i was 19 i had the guitar in my hands for the first time,but its never too late to rock n roll.
Where are you from? Im from a small town in Croatia -Buzet ,but i live in Zagreb now wich is the capital of Croatia.
What year did the band form? Bonobo Kid formed in 2015 ,and for Blondie Widow i still dont have permanent members because mosty I perform in duo/trio combinations.
What's your style of genre? I play blues/rock music.
What inspires you? I can find inspiration in people,nature ,everyday stories ,but as i play the blues the everlasting inspiration is love.
How often and where do you reherse? Its an everyday routine ,sometimes more sometimes less,but there are times when it happens that i have some other things to do and i become very very nervous if i dont play at least 1,2 hours ,it became a part of me . I live in a reahersal room so the place is not a problem haha.
How have you developed since you started with the music? Quite much,not only you develop as a musician ,but i think music helps you to develop as a person as well. Music is the medicine :) And the best thing,you can learn as long as you are alive.
Do you have other interests of work outside the band? Not anymore haha :D I was working as a pastry chef before i discovered music ,but after that life changing moment,music is the only thing worth living for for me.Besides that ,i really like nature and long walks.
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? I have my manager for this part of Europe ,but would love to play Sweden as well ,so if there is any club or organiser that loves blues -feel free to contact Wade Childs([email protected])
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? When i finish the recording of my album , I will send it for sure to some record labels ,but not here in Croatia,i wrote on english ,and to be honest ,this is very small country ,and this kind of music is not very popular here.
What are your songs about? You gonna find out soon ;) But as I arealdy mentioned – love & everyday crazy situations are great inspiration.
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? For Bonobo Kid band its Jerry -singer and rhythm guitarist ,and for Blondie Widow its me.
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Huh,it depends ,sometimes i start to write some lyrics and dont have the inspiration to move on ,and then months later it just starts to come out and i finish everything in 5 minutes ,and sometimes i play some riff and than lyrics,there are really no rules.
Do you compose in a certain inviroment? Mostly in my room that looks like a cave haha ,small place with just bed and my instruments ,and black curtains on windows.Its very peacefully by the night so you can think a lot .
Have you done any covers live? Of course ,when i started to play ,I had got the chance to play in a ACDC tribute band ,that was a great experience and thanks to those guys for having me and pushing me forward ,today I also play covers ,but just a bit different genre,Stevie Ray Vaughan ,Rory Gallagher,Eric Clapton etc.
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Hmmm well right now I cant remember situations that there was really no one haha ,but i would say maybe ,15-20 people is the least ,and about 350-400 the most.
What ages are most of your concert attendants? I would say from 30 on. There are not many young people that like the blues,at least here.But working on to do some changes.
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? I have my regular setlist ,sometimes i do a song or two differend -add it on the regular setist ,and its not always the same order of songs.
Do you have a regular place you play live often? At the moment no, before there were some places where we played once a week for a month or too ,but not now.
What was your first gig like? Oh man ,the weirdest feeling in the world haha I was so excited ,my body was shaking,and I was looking in the guitar neck all the time scared not to miss a chord or something ahhhaha ,that was in my favourite bar ever -American Bar Umag ,so it was nice to be surrounded with the people you know.
What was your latest gig? Same one hhaha :) Usually the gigs there start at about 1 am.
Have you had to cancel a gig? No,the last thing that happened was that i was sick and just called a friend to do a gig this week for me and the next week i will do for him,so we just changed the dates,but there were no announcements,posters or anything so there were no problems too.
Where do you plan to gig the comming year? Well my wish for the comming year is to travel all around Europe and promote my 1st album.
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? Merchandise is a new thing for me , we started to do it at the "In flames" tour in Macedonia & Serbia ,for now we sell Blondie Widow shirts.
Where can people buy your merchandise? They can send me a message on facebook -Vanja Krbavcic or Blondie Widow-page ,and also inbox Ride to rock Europe. Instagram is also an option-Blondie Widow.
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? Ahhh it surely is not good for the artists ,once you had to wait for months till you get a vinyl or a tape and work and pay for the same ,now everything is online. I mean its a great thing because everything is avaliable ,but most people dont understand how much money musicians have to invest in just on song,not to mention the cost of the whole album..So we really appriciate anyone that pays to listen to to ,anyone who buy a t-shirt,or does anything to help and keep the music alive.
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? Of course ,I think the record companies are also dealing with lots of problems because of that.
What do you think of my work? You are awesome ,and thank you for this intervju ,and for the chance that people in Sweden hear for my music.Love your commitment to the work.
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? I know it will,you have lots of followers ,and same thing happened last time a did and intervju for a Serbian magazine ,very soon after that i was on my first tour over there.
Do you have any role models or idols? Yeah, I mention 2 of them before ,SRV & Rory Gallagher.
Why do you think that they exist? Well ,there is always that someone who makes you push forward and learn,learn and practice more.
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? For me definitely older bands and older music.
What have been your biggest obstacles? Money. I hate it ,but you cant live without it . Its very hard to live from music.
What advice would you give other bands or artists? To live they dreams ,and just follow their hearts.
How do you get psyched for a gig? Good preparation is 80% of the work. So the most important is to come to stage well prepared ,and to have reahersals. And a beer before the show :P
What are your web sites? You can find me on facebook – Blondie Widow ,Ride to Rock Europe and Bonobo Kid band. Instagram-Blondie Widow 45.
How can people reach you? They can come to our live shows ,thats the best support,also follow our facebook pages.
What are your plans for the future? Just play ,play play and improve.
Do you have something to add? Music says everything.