Untitled.

I’m 29… As a child I used to listen to Nirvana, a Grajdanskaja Oborona (Citizen) and Hyi zabei (Dick forget it)

Music, street and guys… Life on the street, was my salvation…

At 12 I started to use drugs… and was like that until about 23. Then I also became sociable… Working as a hairdresser, painting, came to university. I love music… still music, which I believe in…

I’m afraid to offend someone, I get sad from other people’s tears, I believe in love and the law of conservation of energy.

I like to indulge in dreams.

Music is the only way, every time when I play the instrument the time stops. As apathetic and paradoxical as it may sound.

To me this is a way to abstract myself from day to day life, this so-called refuge just one of the ways.

When i was a child, i couldn’t even imagine that I would live in St. Petersburg, travel a lot and work bartender.

When i was a child we didn’t have internet and if i wanted to know something new, I had to develop it myself, everything was my personal experience.

At the age of 14 i met my punk rock friends, we were singing songs on the street, got some money and bought the cheapest alcohol and hash.

Of course, my parents didn’t know about that.

At the same time i used to play in the orchestra and took part in musical and linguistical competitions. At the age of 16 i moved from my parents to St.Petersburg and my life changed totally.

I achieved the environment that i wished. I had full freedom but i was responsable of myself. I visited all the museums and galleries and all local gigs. I met fantastic people, smart, talanted, successful people who help you to know something new and upgrade your personality.

I was in different situations, sometimes scary, sometimes funny, sometimes humiliating and have a lot of stories to tell.

My lifestyle is easy: do what gives you pleasure, always have your own opinion, don’t panic and expand the world inside yourself.

I lived with multicolored Iroquois was making tattoos and wore 15 earrings on my face. I was studying at the filmmaker, and in parallel received a diploma stylist — makeup master , and worked in this specialty, mostly in the Fashion.

I always lived music. At the first concert I went when I was 3-year, at his own request. I started to work in the music industry a little later. My friend is a music photographer began to call me on her projects as make-up artist and this continued.

Then I went out of the profession and left the University of the movie, but not from the world of music.

Temporarily started to work in clubs and disco-bar. 2 years ago, after years of painful thoughts, I entered the Pedagogical University.

Let his hair grow, because school administration swears. I go to the children’s home to the kids but the money still getting from music. I work as a music-director of the musical band! And of course pank-rock , as it lived inside me, and remains there till now independently of the teaching profession. Children love me, because I love them very much, and no matter if I have a tattoo, and go to the punk and hardcore concerts!

The main thing is good, honesty and love.

As a journalist, I find it hard to be objective. Although I do not see any difference between the opposition and the government.

I always wanted to write a book about my mother, and not to invent articles about politicians — they do not deserve it.

Editor of the news agency, the bartender.

I was excruciated for a long time and decided that for the moment I was most touches the situation around me.

On the way for ages Born on one end of our country with view on Japan, I was built up on the other, holding a piece of amber in a palm. A 9000 km way from childhood to adolescence.

Craving for beauty brought me to the motherland of my ancestors, the Saint-Petersburg city. But once and forever my heart was given and still belongs to Georgia. Crazy in love with airports, wish I could live there! I admire my friends. I don`t know anything, though know a lot. Prefer heart to reason. Happy person.

Woke up with idea to play saxophone and started playing. Soon I realized I was just a player not a composer and stopped lying to myself.

My heart trembles when I hear the sound of clarinet or trumpet. My life is changing when my the middle of 20th century is in my headphones.

I wish I could hug Dean Martin. My holiday! for me this is Xmas in NY

I was born in the wilderness called Kamchatka in the small town of Petropavlovsk with nothing else but nature, crabs and people who live their stereotypes.

Since my childhood I loved music, listening to it, but I couldn`t make it, didn`t even know that one can be so into music, my parents used to take me to fucking karate and skiing, cuz there was just nothing else in our desperate spot. I loved taking pictures, but we didn’t even have that, so I played football from the cradle to 19 until my brother grew long hair down to ankles and hung a lock on his neck.

So once when I was about to go to football training, I happened to go past his room and saw some CDs on the floor, on the cover of those there were four men with painted lips, hair long as hell and with a title CINDERELLA, so I got curious and decided to find out what dat shit is about, I asked my brother to leave it in my hut.

Upon my return I instantly loaded the CD and literally froze from what I saw and heard. That was so fucking amazing that I immediately realized I wanna guitar and hair the longer the better.

Well then yeah I had to quit football and dived into music, I moved to Petersburg with my brother, that was a year ago, now I am 23, exploring the skill of photography, walk around in cowboy boots, saving money for Harley and faking cool leather jacket, things are slick!

Bartender- “Avicenna” of human souls. This thought came to my mind when I was studying in medical university and free-lanced in a bar.

It was a short hesitation as to which profession to choose: a trip to Europe helped to understand that bartender is not just the one who mixes drinks.

He is a psychologist in art of alchemy and medical treatment. To mix means to reach maximum harmonic combination of ingredients, which, like elaborate perfume, corresponds to particular personality and particular mood.

This profession requires syncretical skills, the result of which instantly becomes visible. The precision of medical treatment is relative and keeps you waiting, while the treatment of a bartender is what you spot at once. My work allows me not only prescribe recipes but to cure people. Trust, i’m a doctor.

Im so fucked up with popular music cuz i’m working in a popular bar. Now i’m rating old school rap and tunes of 20-60`s) and ACDC for sure and disco stuff!

Well, being a child I dreamed of becoming a ballet dancer, so I danced anywhere and always, my mother took me to a music school in the class of choreography, which I gave eight years of my life, I never became a ballet dancer, but I did not get addicted to drugs also, which my mom feared so much: bad company and drugs.

But even now when I hear the Chaykovsky and his dying swan, I imagine myself on stage like Maya Plisetskaya and I dance, I dance like never danced in my life and never will.

In 2000 I moved from a small northern town to St. Petersburg, I was admitted to the university, which I also gave 5 years of my life, I like to give away years, but i never worked by profession- management of municipal education, the system of our the state does not allow to get employed due to lack of experience, so at that moment I chose the easiest way: to work in sales... the seller with high education.

In two years I was already a boss of the department, must`ve been a benefit of education.

So having worked over 7 years in sales, now I am not working anywhere and not doing anything...middle age crisis, you know.

I entered the Musorgsky Music College in 1995. Then I met different outstanding people, who turned everything upside down.

Once in the concert ( Veteran rock) I occasionally played on a trumpet a song of Tekilla Jazz and Colibri — and I loved all that wildly!

Later the band Spifire needed a trumpeter, and it happened that one of the participants of the band studied in the same College.

I became the trumpeter of that band in the end of 1997 and we went on tours. To tell the truth I am still on the road. From 2002 I play with the band Leningrad. Sometimes I perform with other bands, when I feel like and have time on my hands or when I am invited as a star.

Just imagine.. when the band Nirvana released Nevermind I was about 13 years old. When I switched it on, I found it fucking awesome. On physical level I was feeling what they were playing. I still remember this feeling of the complete victory of music over me. I haven’t recalled such a great shit happening to me ever after.. really...

To write couple of sentences about myself appeared to be not such an easy task, in spite of the fact that we daily weave our personal history into tales told to friends and acquaintances. Anyway, the matter speaks for itself.

Once upon a time, in my past life, I got the Master degree in Law and immediately went to work in the office. Eight years of voluntary imprisoning had flown imperceptibly presenting me one more Manager degree, numerous useless certificates of professional skills upgrading and puffing my feeling of self-importance.

Had there been music in my life? Definitely yes. But the change of my world perception was not caused by music.

I remember quite precisely that the cornerstone which my career stumbled on had a name of Carlos Castaneda. Passion for Eastern philosophy and Buddhism in particular gave rise to my new self-identity. The snowboarding craze caused my wild hairstyle and baggy pants, completely incompatible with the reality.

Ever since I became a ski gear seller, a tea master in Chinese teahouse, a barman and at last a motorbike mechanic.

The expression: "You are the owner of your own destiny" is no longer metaphysical for me. I just become a person I consider to be the right person at the moment. Is there a place for music now? I am surrounded by music everywhere, and it seems that I found my instrument. My songs are sung by the motors, and I am still collecting my unattended concerts and performances.

The last five years I used to listen to roots raggae as my background music. My friend, an orchestra conductor by education, teases me telling that it’s a funeral music for idiots.

Why not? The Skatalites is a perfect funeral march!

Sonya, 30, working with scissors, under my diploma of PR — not working, sometimes 5 girls and me sing songs of soviet times in leopard-patterned dresses… mocking..

Painting small books-the main character is same all the time-sunny limericks-minimalism and primitivism.

Sometimes mixing drinks in bar.

But what I want is to play the harmonica, ride a motorbike with my husband and go to museum with my kids.

My mom thinks I was replaced by someone else when I was a small child.

In 1996 my dad came to visit me and gave me his CD player with couple of CDs- ACDC and Zvuki Mu — Here is the result!

Selenge Makangila, known more as Seraphim, had performed energetic dances and songs in the band Markscheider Кunst in 1996-2003. Some years ago he founded his own band Simba Vibration, executing more or less traditional African music. On the streets you can easily pick him out in a crowd by his dancing gait and incredible motley outfits. Seraphim is a Congolese-born by education and a cosmopolitan musician by nature.

The first time I sang in front of strangers was in Soviet Union. In Africa in my childhood… when the parents received some guests…the same like here — a child could sing some song. Or in the church we sang religious songs… or in school.. But not more than that.. In Africa the profession of a musician is not а prestigious one. The modern Congolese music was invented in the 50’s, in the colonial times. After we got independence in the 70’s, new musical trends were developed.

And somehow those guys were always seen as crazy…singing something on the stage, how were they not ashamed?… It was believed that such a guy was not a serious person, no one would ever let a daughter to marry him.

It happened so, that when we came to Soviet Union we actually became «hostages» of the dorm where we were living.

We were going from our dorm to the university and then from the university back to dorm. You know, there is a campus at the metro station «Lesnaya». There we lived.

In someone’s room we drummed on the chairs, books and drums. The guys who gathered there wanted to make their own special music, just for themselves. And we did it beyond the opinion of others. As a result we ended up in «TaMtAm» ( the first independent music club in St.Peterburg).

Nika,18, a careless student, emo, liked hardcore, post-metal, doom, sludge, black metal, used to be depressed and made herself very pessimistic about the whole life, used to paint a lot, wrote poetry, composed various pieces of music, participated in explicit photography, cultivated desperation and frustration, former credo: if life was eternal I would do my best, but as it is not I don`t give a shit.

Nika,24, economist, likes jazz, soul, lounge, rap, house, reading, traveling, fun, love, sex, joy, comprehension, self-education, job, self-realization, not interested in guys with tattoos and long dirty hair who smoke weed and sing about marginal lifestyle, dedicated career ladder crawler, competitive, credo: I wanna achieve it all.

Vanya had a simple life in family of a military man in a village where was nothing but a military unit. After the divorce, he went with his father, leaving his mother and sister 7000km away. They moved to another very similar village, which didn’t even exist on the map of USSR. Later he went to school and college for programmers, then there were drugs and work in the bar.

Vanya speaks foreign languages badly, he prefers to listen Russian hip hop and foreign electronic music.

Recently I’ve run across the problem — all my new friends have at least once ridden a skateboard or roller blading, or BMX, and I’ve never done this!

I started to think why.. and remembered! In our village the roads were never asphalted. Apparently since then I love cars.

In 1976 I listened Frank Zappa for the first time and I was so fucking impressed that I still won’t stop listening to him. When I was young I considered Deep Purple and Slade to be a shameful pop. I respected Yes, Genesis, King Crimson. Later I liked David Bowie, Police, Sex Pistols.

I love motorcycles and skydiving. I like to get on my Defender into a wild place, where there’s not a soul within hundreds of miles. I’ve no idea how to shoot a city, landscapes and beetles, though I am constantly trying to do it. I do work a lot. My main work is rock -n-roll. I am really good at it. Sometimes different magazines buy my photos, I definitely like it. I am a St.Petersburg’s photographer, an artist, a blogger, a rock culture veteran, an art photographer who has developed a unique mixed technique, combining traditional painting, photography and modern technology.

In my workshop, whiffed with myths and legends, you can meet American rock stars, Russian and foreign politicians, trendy film directors and underground musicians, writers and fashion designers.

I am an innovator and an experimenter in all what is connected to the realization of my work.

When coming home to visit my parents I see the piano, nine torturous years of the comprehension on this «aggregate» are coming up into my mind.

My father (a painter) and my mother (a designer) wanted to raise me as a piano player, rejecting any possibility to follow their tracks. By having my both arms broken I finally put an end to this mockery. I grew up on Vaska (central district of the city). It was a pity to move from there, especially considering the fact that the Arts Academy was so close — just a gift of Destiny.

So here’s when my choice fell on the architecture. I started to practice drawing. One year passed by. And that was it. I couldn’t say I learnt drawing, but my interest was awakened. I entered the Academy at the second attempt and finally learnt to draw. The first years of studying were real fun, just like in films.

Trash, Dumskaya Street (the street in St. Petersburg with a huge amount of bars), foreigners, architects, fancy talks, unlimited alcohol with 100 rubles in my pocket. Delight and breeziness...

Closer to the 3d year I had to wake up and start to work hard. Senior students taught us 2 Rules of a Real Architect: 1. Never chicken out! 2. Not sure — draw strokes! Thanks to these rules I finally graduated with honours.

Now I am working in my specialty field, but it’s far from what we were studying. That’s why I am still participating in contests, moonlighting, getting blasted on the same old Dumskaya (the street in St. Petersburg with a huge amount of bars), just my brain grew a little...