Here is an interview with  Ukrainian band Pocket Monzzter.

We reviewed two Eps from the band:

 

Totally Wasted  2023 >> Here <<

 

 

Bad Dreams  2024 >> Here <<

                                                                                              

 

Band’s links >> >> HERE << <<

 

***

 

-How did you find this genre of music? I mean, this primitive garage with fuzz.

Elektronik tells:
In the early 2000s, I stumbled across The Stooges’ “1969” tape. It was great but more psychedelic. But when I heard The Monsters album – “Youth Against Nature” it was love at first note). Therefore, when the question arose of what the way to play, it was without a doubt.

 

– Does this music have an audience base in Ukraine? Because there are very, very few in Hungary. Psychobilly still has audience here, not a big one, but there is, but trash RnR / garage punk has almost nothing.

Maryna tells:
The Ukrainian -billy scene has been impacted by the war, with some bands disbanding or going on hiatus. However, organizers continue to hold fundraising concerts for Army Units featuring existing bands.

 

As for the garage, the situation is even worse. Those bands that existed before 2022 either disappeared or changed their sound to indie or psychedelic or post punk.

 

Metal and hardcore music are currently thriving in the underground scene, alongside street punk, post-punk, and electronic music.

– You also played in two other bands, P.M. before. Can you say something about that?

Maryna tells:
Actually, there were three bands before the “Pocket Monzzter”. Elektronik startedin 2009 withhis speedrock band “LOUD & DIRTY”. Transitioning, we together formed “Evil Bobblehead” in November 2014, refining the sound over the group’s four-year span. By the end of 2018, the band concluded with a final concert and birthed “Dementix” in March 2019, welcoming Oleh (aka Papanya) as a guitarist.

 

“Dementix” blended various influences with psychobilly, speedrock, and garage punk. Beyond the terms, we always dowhat we love!

 

As “Dementix” geared up to record thedebut album in early 2022, tragedy struck as the full-scale war has started and Oleh volunteered for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Leading to his passing in December 2022.Ultimately marking the end of „Dementix” existence.

 

– These two bands had a completely different sound than P.M. Why did you change sound and style?

Elektronik tells:
My fondness for garage music has always influenced. While the “Dementix” leaned towards -billy, I also ventured into creating songs outside the style of the main band.

 

“Pocket Monzzter”emerged in 2020 as a side project for fun, alongside our main focus on “Dementix”.And yet, the full debut of “Pocket Monzzter” as a standalone project occurred on June 5, 2021, at the “Heat The Beat” garage festival in Kyiv.

 

– What are your early influences and what are you listening to lately?

Elektronik tells:
It all started with punk rock: Exploited, Ramones, Dead Kennedys, KSU (polish punk).

Then psychobilly bands started to appear: Klingonz, Demented are Go, Calavera, Meteors, Batmobile etc.

Then everything was added like a snowball: Peter Pan Speedrock (my favorite band and for today), The Monsters, The Hives, The Sonics.

 

Now almost all the bands I listen to are garage punk (rock) from the 60s to the present day. For example, The Smoggers, The Gruesomes, Wild Evel & The Trashbones, Billy Childish and many others. All of them included in my playlist on Spotify „GaragePunk #1”.

– What are you listening to, dear ones, that is completely different from the music you play?

Maryna tells:
We have a diverse and eclectic taste in music. We enjoy projects where punk rock is combined with ethnic or country music. Such as “Gogol Bordello” or “The Goddamn Gallows”.  Also, we like fun music in style of“The Kings of Nuthin’”. We’re fans of Ukrainian rock’n’roll bands from Soviet times like “Braty Hadiukiny”, “Vopli Vidopliassova”. Good grunge can be moody too. Sometimes you want harder and faster – then thrash metal, speedrock, classic hardcore.I also like old-fashioned pop stars like Madonna, Elton John and “The Beatles”.And Elektronik likes “Bob Marley & The Wailers”.

 

– It’s very strange that we are neighbors, but apart from you, I don’t know any other Ukrainian band. I know Latvian, Estonian, Russian, Georgian bands, but not Ukrainian. Can you recommend a couple? It can be metal, punk, whatever.

It wasn’t easy to makea few recommendationsbecause there are so many bands))!Ukrainian alternative scene is broad, and there are many worthy representatives in each style. Below is an unfairly short list, but hopefully it will help to form an idea of the different trends. We are not fans of very heavy music, but it is also strongly represented in Ukraine, you can find tens of bands in each metal style.

 

Garage – “Dr Jail and Mr Hype”.
Indie, garage – “The Tea Ship”, “Rihter” (Ріхтер).

Post punk, new wave – “SadSvit”, “Farba Kingdom”, “Zagreb” (Загреб).

 

Oldschool psychobilly – “Pest Control”, “The Twilighters”.

RnR, psychobilly – “Outer Space”, “The Troubled”, “Rude Jokes”.

Rockabilly – “The WiseGuyz”.

 

Surf rock – “Waikiki Makaki”, “Amphibian Man”.

Art & Sci-Fi Music – “Kraken Landau”.

Swingcore orchestra – “The Hypnotunez”.

 

Street-punk – “Stinx”, “Cios”, “Bezlad”.

Hardcore – “Mauser”, “Death Pill”, “Vidsich” (Відсіч).

Thrash metal – “Zombie Attack”, “Cosmic Jaguar”.

 

– Do you know Hungarian bands?

Yes, several. Heard the band “The Hellfreaks”.And alsosaw live performances of “Gorilla”, “Mystery Gang”, “Shadowbirds”, “The Silvershine”, “Ati EDGE”in Kyiv on the festival “Ukrabilly Bang”.

 

– Kyiv is a huge city. What was the musical life like before the war? Underground clubs, squats? Did the tours of Western bands affect Kyiv?

Before the war, Kyiv boasted a vibrant cultural scene with events to all tastes and budgets, including a thriving underground music communityoffering weekly concerts spanning different genres.

 

“Ukrabilly” organizers held frequent parties and large festivals: “Wicked Party”, “Atomic Snow Ball”, “Blaxie Rumble”, and an international festival “Ukrabilly Bang”. Although the war has impacted the frequency of these events and the number of active bands, some festivals continue in a fundraising format.

 

Previously, Kyiv attracted internationally renowned bands and alternative stars for regular performances. Despite many Western bands expressing now support for Ukraine during tours, visits to the country have become a rarity. Noteworthy exceptions include the band “Tiger Lilies”, who performed in Lviv and Kyiv in 2023 and have upcoming concerts planned in Ukrainefor May 2024.

– You recorded your last two minialbums during the war. Maybe can you do gigs as well? Could you tell me how is your life now in Kyiv?

Despite the challenges of the war, cultural life in Ukraine has persevered. After an initial period of disruption, clubs, bars, and cultural institutions began to reopen in second half of 2022, with events even being held in underground stations.

 

While the format of performances has shifted to focus on fundraising for the war efforts, artists continue to create. Musicians perform on the front lines, boosting morale. During the blackouts in 2023 organizers made events in between power outages, used gasoline generators in emergency cases.

 

During early 2022 we didn’t have the strength and psychological resources to create. But then transitioned from stagnation to a renewed desire to make music, refusing to let the enemy win!

 

Throughout 2023, our mood changed to darker. We lost several friends who were killed as soldiers in the battles. Many people from our environment have left Ukraine forever. Many music bands broke up. Undoubtedly it left the mark, with a heavier sound and more serious themes in latest album “Bad Dreams”.

 

We performed three times in 2023 in Kyiv. And there is hope to perform here soon in mid-May as well.

 

Today, life in Kyiv is generally comfortable, with all the infrastructure in place. Albeit with restrictions and the ever-present threat of rocket attacks. It’s always up to fate.

 

– Elektronik (sorry, but I don’t know his real name) was a soldier, did he have to enlist?

No, Elektronik (real name Vadym) didn’t serve and doesn’t have military profession. Now priority is given to trained soldiers, contractors, volunteers with physical fitness, and people with specific experience in professions that the Army can directly use. For now, we’re both trying to be as useful on the home front as we can be as civilians.

 

– What is the general opinion of Hungary and Hungarians in Ukraine? I only ask because Viktor Orban and his government are very pro-Putin. I am afraid that this will poison the relationship between the two countries for a long time. Which is very sad. My sister and her husband lived and worked in Kyiv for years. My nephews went to kindergarten there, the older one even went to school there. They loved living there and had no conflicts because they were Hungarians. But the same can be said about my friends from RNR666 who traveled to Ukraine for two weeks in the mid-2000s and partied a lot there. They also had only positive experiences. Well, I’m afraid that this will change because of fucking Orban…..

Wow!It was interesting to know about your connection with Ukraine and Kyiv in particular! We’re glad about the only positive experience! Ukrainians really are friendly people:).

 

To rate the attitude of ordinary Ukrainians towards Hungarians is difficult without comprehensive surveys. However, personal observations and social media interactions suggest a neutral stance, with an understanding that relations are currently strained.

 

Good news, open-source surveys indicate a growing awareness among Hungarians regarding Russia’s unfair and terrifying actions against Ukraineand shows a decline in trust towards Orban. Importantly, Ukrainians recognize and appreciate the assistance provided by both Hungarian authorities and citizens to those displaced by the war.

 

Thanks for the answers Maryna and Elektronik!

RNR666