«I do what nobody else does…»
Boris Grebenshikov’s Interview for TV program” Evening Interview», Riga, May 2002
When it smells like people’s disaster in turbulent years,
Then in a quiet midnight hour,
Out of the forest walks an old man, and you look at see – not an old man,
but very young handsome Dubrovsky…
(Dubrovsky, Snow Lion)
- Everything that is alive will die sooner or later. Therefore you need
to keep that in mind – it does not make sense to think about it,
because it is going to happen anyway – therefore you just need to
keep that in mind... Kastaneda said, " you need to have the death
as your advisor". That means if some issue is not clear, I mean your
death? You need to see what is important and what is not. It really helps.
- Have you met your death yet?
- Well, not yet, but as far as advice is concerned, it is a very good…
friend.
- What’s the difference between death as the
advisor and archangel?
- Archangel – is the kind of a figure that is for everyone, now,
death is a very individual thing for each of us.
- Do you have a personal archangel?
- Well, everybody has one… They say every person has his own guardian
angel... they say... and it must be true.
- Do you have one?
- I guess.
- Does he help you?
- I think so.
- Do you help him?
- You got to ask him.
Oh, God, save the North Pole dwellers – those, who managed to stay alive,
When guardsmen along the bank look into crosshairs, bored.
Nobody knows, why they are here, no one remembers their faces,
But in their name women produce steel, and children kneel.
(Oh, God, save the North Pole dwellers, Archive, Volume III)
- Would you like to have a friend that would be
like you?
- Yep.
- Why?
- Why would I want one? It’s nice to have smart friends :)
- Is there anyone smarter than you?
- There are people who know more than me, however it’s hard to compare
people as far as being smart is concerned :)
- What do you love yourself for?
- I can’t love myself. You got to be separate from something in
order to love it. It’s hard to love yourself.
- Because you lack that separation thing?
- Yes. You can love something else. Because when you love, you wish the
one you love all the best. Meaning, that you take from yourself and give
it to him (her). It’s kinda hard to take from yourself in order
to give to yourself :)
- How about being separate, aloof from yourself
– is that possible?
- Well, if we started such a philosophical conversation, let’s clarify.
- - What is “I”. “I” is your perception of the
world. It’s not the body, it’s not the spirit, it’s
not the soul, because these are transient notions. But your perception
will stay. I mean, there are things that I consider beautiful, and there
are things I consider ugly… my aesthetics - it’s me. Therefore
you can’t look at yourself from any other angle. You can’t
change your aesthetical perception. Because I love what I love.
- Does perseption have any age?
- No, according to my observations. Now I like the same things I liked
when I was 10 years old. Although then I did not know it.
- You once said, that aesthetics starts playing
bigger role as the person ages, as opposed to when the person was, say,
15 or 16 years old…
- Yes, sure.
- How can we clarify that?
- Well... When you’re 15 you want a lot of things that you really
don’t want. You think that you want them. You were taught to think
that you want them. When you’re 45, you come to understanding, that
you actually don’t need any extra stuff. Therefore when you’re
15, you’re overwhelmed with desires, and when you reach 50, you
have less desires and more aesthetics.
- Do you now have a lot of extra stuff?
- Nope, not anymore.
- What do you have left?
- I’m getting rid of what is left.
- How this is going to end?
- To possess nothing.
I saw – Moses waded into Jordan river up to his chest
(No one can stop me now).
It’s time to get my black suitcase together
(No one can stop me now).
(Psalm 151, Sister Chaos)
- Do you feel hurt because of all the things that
are going on in Russia, and other places?
- Well… Moderately. It hurts if I can change something but chose
not to. If I can’t change something, mostly I just observe it. I
might not like it, but I’ll be just watching it, because I can’t
change it.
- You can’t change anything?
- Well, we surely can change something. We work in this kind of environment,
that helps people to help themselves.
- Like priests?
- Yes.
- And no difference?
- Yes, there is!
- Like what?
- Priests work with a particular god, we, on the other hand, bring back
to people that positive energy that they already have. They direct it
towards us, thinking that it is of our design, that it is about us. But
it is not about us, it is about them. And this stream goes to us, and
we return it, like a mirror. We bring God back to people, the God that
they already have.
- They just don’t know that God is within
them?
- Yes.
- Do you still think that Christianity is the same
as rock-and-roll and rock-and-roll is the same as Christianity?
- No. These are different things, but the gist is the same. In other words,
the nature of Buddha.
- How about "sin" – is rock-and-roll
“sinful"?
- "Sin" – is unnatural behaviour. Sin is the trespassing
of the border, sin is something a person does what his nature did not
mean for him to do. And... Well, rock-and-roll is just music. And the
traditional behaviour, connected with this trend is not necessary. It
is the same thing as to assume, that Church means inquisition. It happens,
but it is not necessarily always there.
We still keep our silence and we count and wait,
We sing about ourselves - what else is there to sing about?
But as if something is wrong,
As if colors are faded,
As if we miss You again...
The Silver of My Almighty...
The Silver of Almighty...
Do I know the right words to tell you?
(The Silver of My Almighty, Vavilon Library)
- Why do you need to go around the world, to India,
to Katmandu, if God is within you?
- Yes.
- Then why do you need it?
- For personal pleasure.
- What pleaseure, physical?
- Well, there are places with different energies, and there are things
you can see and feel there, and, say, cannot feel or see here. Because
there they have different culture, different place, different spirits,
different gods and... it is very interesting to talk to them.
- But you, for example, come to Katmandu with your
God, does he change in any way?
- Not really...
- No?
- You see, God cannot be yours, or, say, someone else’s. God –
is the accumulation of everything, plus something else. God, as pseudo
Dionisius Areopagit said, if I remember it right, "God begins where
our assumptions about him end". Therefore everything, that is said
about God can be considered void. It does not describe God. That’s
why it is quite hard to have your own God, and it’s harder to carry
him with you, when everything in existence is God.
Where I was born gray was the main color;
One could not tell the Sun from the Moon.
Wherever I went I went North –
Because any other direction there was not meant to be.
The First Star said to me: "You are first".
Wind taught me to walk alone.
Ever since I’m somewhat nervous -
When they tell me: "Look - hapiness",
I look there and see the prison.
It’s time to wade this river,
Its about time to wade this river,
While you’re on this side, you know what awaits for you,
Get up.
Wade this river.
(“Ford”, Sister Chaos)
- Have you ever been caught in the momentum?
- No!
- Why?
- Because I noticed that it exists and tried to do something in order
not to get caught.
- And what did you do?
- Well... Here we need to remember Carlos Castaneda again, who advises
to do any possible strange thing that you would not normally do in order
to break up that momentum. At first it is somewhat painful, but when you’ve
broken out of it, you reach some kind of a different level of perception.
- But a live concert could also create inertion,
it has an agenda, you know...
- No, not really. It only seems that a live concert is a repetition, live
concerts are never alike. It’s like tulips – on one hand all
tulips look alike, and on the other – each of them bears it’s
own individual traits.
- Would you be able to cry because of some simple
thing – would that be a flower or a movie?
- Easily,easily.
- When did you last cry?
- A couple of days ago. I don’t remember... a couple of days ago.
I guess, we watched Harry Potter while on the bus, and I had an unexpected
tear at some moment, I don’t remember which.
- And how do you feel about yourself at that moment?
Do you make fun of yourself?
- No, I enjoy the strength… of feelings! :)
- Does the ability to cry change with years?
- Yes, it is getting easier and easier to cry :) However I work on this
ability to be able to cry more, yes :)
- Do you feel responsible for the music you play?
- Yes, I feel full responsibility. And I still can't understand, how other
people sing what they sing and don't understand the harm they inflict.
"Aquarium" is very different from others in this respect, I
mean, I'm
responsible for every word.
- What if someone felt worse – is that his
fault?
- Well, as a rule, when someone feels worse, it is indeed his fault .
But this is the issue of personal relationship between a man and God.
- Are you a medium?
- No, I’m not going to be a medium here, because I have my own relationship
with God, and someone else will have some other kind of relationship.
Being a medium here is a very ungrateful business.
- Do you have a feeling, that what you do is immortal?
- No, and I think it is even harmful. I have a feeling that what we do
helps
people now, and that is enough for me.
- How do you think it helps? For example, when I
listen to your songs - and
I mostly listen to them when I'm feeling sad - I feel even more sad.
- Well, see how cool – catharsis :) It is very good for you.
- I would not call it catharsis, I call it depression
– that’s not the same.
- Depression might lead to catharsis – therefore you need to listen
more :)
- What happens to your mind when you sing?
- It is temporarily off. Mind is a useful tool, but not for everything.
It is but one of the properties of consciousness. Just one.
- And it does not matter for singing, in music?
- No. Intuition is important for singing.
- What is it?
- The same thing as mind, but without boundaries.
South has a crazy cactus,
North has tundra and taiga;
There are shamans in both places, mother,
I’m also a shaman, but I’m different…
(Customs Blues, Navigator)
- How important your past is for you, and the
fact that Aquarium is 30 years old?
- Just 5 minutes ago I thought about it, that Aquarium is 30 years old,
and Rolling Stones celebrates it’s 40th Anniversary this year, and
I suddenly understand, that these are comparable segments of time. Very
funny, very funny.
- Meaning?
- Well, I grew up listening Beatles, Rolling Stones and that comes with
it, and when they are 40, and we’re 30 – it is comparable,
it is close. It’s a strange fact :)
- Do years matter?
- It only matters if you want it to matter. Anything can matter.
- Well, what do you conclude from those 30 years?
- Well, I think that my life is very successful, meaning that I do what
I like doing, I have an opportunity to perfect myself in what I do, only
my laziness restricts me and nothing else, and what I do allowed me to
see the world in a way I could not even dream of.
...Finally, why to think about it?
There will be someone who will tell me everything.
A handful of pearls –
This is the way that I’ll keep a mystery.
I will bless you for this gift –
And in the morning not to be able to see it in your eyes
Dreams about something greater.
(Dreams about something greater, BG+DeadUshki)
- What do 70s mean to you? For example John Lennon
said that they did not give him anything of value?
- Well, first, personally for me 70-s – is a very valuable time,
because I was but a young man in 70-s, and it simply coincides with a
very interesting period of my life. Second, 70-s gave me access to a considerable
amount of music, which I did not have in 60-s, I was too young for it.
As far as world music is concerned, then 70-s were a very boring decade
on one hand, and it had a lot of interesting stuff on the other. All in
all, world music was born in 70-s, let alone punk, let alone electronic
music, let alone metal... A lot of good stuff came to life. Therefore
it was a very interesting time.
- Not because of Soviet Union, you mean just 70-s
in itself were interesting?
- No, Nothing was really going on in the Soviet Union at that time.
- Even as far as music is concerned?
- Well... it was going on in particular segments of music... for instance,
with our music :)
But rock-n-roll is dead and I’m not yet,
Rock-n-roll is dead and I’m;
Those that love us bide us farewell.
rock-n-roll is dead and I’m...
... not yet.
(Rock-n-roll is dead, Radio Africa)
Some great Japanese artist said that «by the time I was 40, I learned
to draw a leaf, by the time I was 70 I learned to draw a branch, by the
time I’m 120 I won’t know any rivals.” It’s a
very right opinion.
- Do you know anyone equal to you now?
- No.
- Oh - still?
- No.
- And there will not be any?
- No.
- Now you’re a phenomena.
- Yes :) There are more skilled people :) – but nobody else does
what I do.
No one can stop me now…
I entered the mountain and I was with the Spirit of the Mountain
(No one can stop me now)
The smell of his holster is more pleasing to him
(No one can stop me now)…
(Psalm 151, Sister Chaos)
Author of the Interview – Gints Grube
TV Program "Evening Interview"
LABVAKAR Company (Latvia)
e-mail: birojs@e-labvakar.lv
Translation into the text – Irina Voroneshkaya
English translation – Dana Davidovich at
Griffin Artworks
Email: ortosezeris@rambler.ru
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