Cafe Kyiv has dreams in Toronto (02/11/96)

Cafe Kyiv has dreams in Toronto

by Nestor Gula

TORONTO - Cafe Kyiv is not just another Ukrainian band that plays weddings and dances.

The genesis of the band was in Munich, when two Ukrainians, Roman Lajkosz and Roman Sokolicz, were waiting for permission to enter Canada after escaping from Poland. They were living in a Ukrainian boarding school, and the band was formed as a way to pass the time. In Munich they played at receptions and at pubs at the Uke Bar.

After coming to Canada, they played in the band Zhest, Mr. Lajkosz on guitar and Mr. Sokolicz on keyboards, before reforming Cafe Kyiv in 1990. Borys Kowalski, who played with Mr. Sokolicz in the fusion band Orden in Poland, joined them initially on guitar and now plays bass. As drummer they obtained the services of Yarko Nazarowicz, also a Ukrainian emigre from Poland. In October they added a second guitarist to the line-up by incorporating Volodymyr Yarun, formerly a guitarist with Ukrainian pop sensation Vika.

Musically, Cafe Kyiv blends traditional Ukrainian songs with tasteful modern stylings. They say their music differs from other Ukrainian bands because of the songs they play. "We avoid songs that have become cliché among Ukrainian bands," said Mr. Lajkosz.

Many of the songs performed by Cafe Kyiv hail from the Lemko region. "We play these songs because the Lemko region is now in Poland, where we grew up. We know these songs, we sang them since childhood," noted Yarko. "The songs have a lively feel to them. This also affects our arrangements of songs." Band members also cited artists like John Lee Hooker, B.B. King and Eric Clapton as great influences.

In the short time the group has been together Cafe Kyiv has enjoyed some measure of success and notoriety. Besides playing the occasional wedding and dance, they had various club gigs in Toronto, they performed at festivals in Edmonton and Saskatoon in 1991 and at the Vatra festival in Poland in 1994 and 1995, and have headlined the Plast "malanka" (New Year's dance) for the last two years. They also perform at various functions to raise money for such charities as Ukrainian schools in Poland and cancer treatment for individuals.

In July of last year the group released a cassette containing nine songs which gives a good cross-section of their music. The cassette includes a Ukrainianized version of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" called "Zabobony." The cassette was recorded over two weeks in June 1995 and cost the band about $8,000 (Canadian) to record and produce. According to Borys Kowalski, of the 750 copies they produced most have been sold, requiring a second production run.

Cafe Kyiv hopes to succeed in the music industry. "We do not want to be a simple wedding and zabava band," said Mr. Lajkosz. "We want to be a good band that could hold its own on a professional and artistic level with any in North America."

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