Gogol Bordello Hits 9:30 Club for New Year's
Every Gogol Bordello concert turns into a frenzied, boisterous party. To that end, it is no surprise that the 9:30 Club booked the gypsy rockers for the coveted New Year’s Eve slot. Whether you go for the frenetic singing and dancing of Eugene Hütz, the squeezeboxing of Yuri Lemeshev, or the champagne toast at midnight, you will be sure to kick off 2011 in bawdy style. On Tap recently caught up with Hütz, the charismatic singer and Chernobyl survivor, to discuss the upcoming show.
OT: Do you have anything special planned for the New Year’s Eve show?
EH: Our shows tend to be special by nature. I guess we can make it extra special because we love DC and it’s become a tradition that we always play in DC when we tour. One thing about Gogol Bordello that’s consistently there is that it’s fun. Whether we sing material that’s heavy or tragic or about some absurd or hilarious experience, we have fun with it. That’s a pretty big thing about us.
OT: Do you always perform on New Year’s Eve?
EH: I think there was one night five or six years ago we decided not to have a show on New Year’s. We were at somebody’s party and we all just kind of said, ‘what the f**k did we do that for?’
OT: How would you describe your sound to someone who is unfamiliar with the Gypsy Punk genre?
EH: Gypsy Punk is nothing else but another name for international rock and roll. We’ve come to incorporate into our style everything that we love about music. I think that we are able to combine all of the parts, such as rock and roll, reggae, Eastern European music and Latin American music, in such a way that it never fails to really tear the roof off. This idea does not come from some kind of intellectual pursuit. We simply love music. We listen to a lot of music and we create a lot of music for the sheer joy of it.
OT: Trans-Continental Hustle is your first album with a major label. Was the creative experience any different working with a major?
EH: The studio experience continues to be just a messy, creative experience. The creative process was different this time around, not because of that, but because we were working with a new producer, Rick Rubin. Working with Rick is an enlightening experience for any creative being, whether you are an upstart or mid-career artist like us. Combining your talent with Rick’s gift just doubles, triples, and quadruples the creative horsepower.
OT: You’re a multi-national band. Do you have a home base?
EH: The band is located in New York City. Most of us spend most of our time devoted to this city. We all come from different parts of the world, so we all bring in our different backgrounds. I have always been a student of my own Eastern European folklore, but I have moved way beyond it by exploring Latin American music and folklore, Mediterranean, African and so on; and that’s because of the members of the band. And I think it goes vice versa. But overall we think of Gogol as a band that definitely represents New York and New York’s creative scene. It’s where we formed. It’s a town that basically gave us everything.
OT: But rumor has it that, back in the day, there were some New York clubs that banned you after your first performance. Have you been invited back?
EH: [He laughs] It’s true. Back in the original days of Gogol Bordello we were very much interested in creating a happening. Rock clubs were just prepared for rock shows, they were not prepared for this kind of 360 experience. It was difficult for them to handle this extravaganza. As the years have gone on, all of those clubs try to book us back for one hundred times more money but we just don’t need them anymore. But that’s not really the point. The point is that we did it our way, in a way that we thought was exciting and a progressive way to express ourselves. And those venue regulations didn’t affect us on our way to success.
Gogol Bordello with Man Man, December 30th at the 9:30 Club. Tickets are $35. Spend New Year’s Eve with Gogol Bodello and Trouble Funk, December 31st at the 9:30 Club. Tickets are $55.9:30 Club 815 V St. NW, DC; 202-265-0930; www.930.com
