Theatre. In the bag

Pavel Lichadeev: When I was in the second grade, my dad brought a button accordion and an accordion and asked me what I wanted to play. I chose the accordion because I liked the look better. Yes, I had little choice.

After school, I entered the Central Asian Technical and Economic College as a projectionist. Officially, the specialty was called an electronics technician, but in reality it is a projectionist. But I quickly realized that I would not become a projectionist and decided to enter the acting department. By that time, I often performed with my dad and his show group ArtBrand International. (approx. Pavel's father is an actor of the Lermontov Russian Drama Theater Igor Lichadeev). I decided that it is better to study at the acting department in Russia. The choice was between Moscow and St. Petersburg. I don’t know why, but I chose Peter and now I’m studying at the Faculty of Musical Theater and Variety Art at St. Petersburg State Academy of Theater Arts. In my diploma it will be written that I am a director, because when we entered, everyone who had acting experience was sent to directing, and those who did not - to acting, but these are all formalities, and our program was the same. The acting department is useful even for those who do not want to be an actor, it is very disciplined.

Admission to the acting department at Russian universities is a difficult thing, because it is subjective. There is no unique instruction that you will follow. It all depends on whether you like the master. For example, you can not enter, but next year come to another master and enter. Some come from the third, fourth time. But I was lucky - I got in the first time. Admission is divided into tours, something like a casting. This is a lot of psychological pressure, I would not want to experience it again. The first two rounds you read poetry, excerpts from prose and plays, show sketches, sketches, and the third round is an interview. And if you are mediocre, and in the first two rounds you can still pretend to be talented, then in the third round they will definitely figure you out. If you successfully pass all three rounds, then you will have exams in Russian language and literature (this applies only to foreign citizens, Russians take the exam). I was not prepared for these exams and pretended to be stupid. I was lucky that the exams are taken by senior students, and I entered the "Kazakh way", bribing the examiners with flowers and sweets.

There were also unusual stories of admission. For example, we have a guy at the academy who stutters a lot. But when he goes on stage, he stops stuttering. He successfully passed all three rounds without ever stuttering, and his stuttering was only discovered after enrollment. Even when he tells jokes, he does not stutter, and when everyone starts laughing, he says: “S-s-s-s-stuffy, p-p-p-t-true?”.

During my studies, my friend Yura Muzychenko and I often played in the dressing room in between performances, I played the accordion, he played the violin. Then we thought that we were missing drums and basses, Dima Vecherinin joined us on drums and Sasha Anisimov with bass balalaika. Later, Vadim Rulev came with a trombone and two Anya - Anya Smirnova and Anya Nikitina. They are responsible for percussion and shows. So, in February of this year, a group was formed - "The Hatters" ("Hatters").

The name arose like this: we walked around the city, wearing hats from the prop shop, some gopniks walked towards me and said: “Ha ha, hatters.” We did not think that in six months we would be able to achieve such success. The first concert took place in a tattoo studio, then we sang in bars and clubs, and in the summer we already performed at such major festivals as Invasion near Tver, Wild Mint in the Tula region and Stereooleto in St. Petersburg. In October, we are expecting two big solo shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg. And on November 5, our group will perform at the Kremlin Palace as an opening act for Emir Kusturica and Goran Bregovic.

Most often we are compared to Leningrad and Gogol Bordello because we use violin and trumpet. But we have our own trick - we basically do not use the guitar. It happens that we compose music on the guitar, but then we transfer it to the violin and accordion. We position our genre as Russian-Gypsy alcohardcore on soulful instruments.

We would also like to go with concerts to our native cities - to Almaty, Yaroslavl, Tynda, Gatchina, but it's expensive. My current visit to Almaty cost one hundred thousand, and there are seven of us. And I don't think it's needed here. There are plans for concerts in Europe. We have already started translating songs, and we think that our music will be of interest to European listeners, as it is exotic for them. We don't have a goal of releasing an album. For what? All our music is freely available on Vkontakte, besides, albums are not bought, and almost everyone releases singles. The same Leningrad with which we are compared. It used to be like this: they released an album by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and everyone ran and bought it and listened to it from beginning to end. Now the perception is slightly different, and we are not Red Hot Chili Peppers.

From modern Russian music, I would single out the Affinage group. They are a little depressed. (unlike us) but cool. And if we take Kazakhstan, then a friend of mine put on one of the Kazakh singers - Galymzhan Moldanazar. This is really really cool. He sings in Kazakh, but as if not. It's good that he is in Kazakhstan.

The music of Moldanazar is almost a rave, he is our Jim Morrison, you should listen to him in clubs under acid.

It's bad that the underground is not so well developed in Almaty. There is some strange music, you listen to it, and most likely you will be alone in the whole of Almaty. And in the same St. Petersburg or Moscow there would be a lot of you. And I don't think it depends on the population. When you walk around St. Petersburg, there are some kind of posters hanging everywhere, every day there are several concerts, everyone goes there, and this is not tavern music. I remember that a long time ago there was a Retrospektiva club in Almaty, and that's where it was. 15-16-year-old dudes played hard, played badly, but it was, there was some kind of party, and it's sad that it didn't result anywhere.

Photos: Azat Kasymov

And although, by definition, the domestic The Hatters are a folk, punk, rock band, the title of a song and dance ensemble is probably more suitable for it. Under their folk motives, flavored with gypsy tunes and performed accompanied by an accordion, violin, bass, balalaika, double bass, no one can resist - neither the connoisseur of "Wild Mint", nor the regular of "Invasion", nor himself.

History of creation and composition

There is little room for a creative person in a single chosen genre of art. The frontman gathered the Russians at the TV screens with a notebook and a pen to write down recipes. , delighting with sparkling humor every weekday evening on Channel One, traditionally invites you to the New Year's Eve film "Yolki" in winter. , head of a large group, in 2017 invited to the exhibition "Brandrealism Retrospective".

And the current "Hatters" at first honed their acting skills in "The Actors". Then, gathering together after performances and rehearsals, they brought instruments with them, played melodies that required further filling with images and texts. The common interests of those present helped here.

“It seemed that everyone was a fan of Balkan music, Kusturica, and trash in style. So we realized that we were going to play, but sincerely and more popularly, especially since the leading instruments - the violin and the accordion - dictate certain conditions, ”the head of the“ camp ”recalled later, a soloist to whom the clownery theater gave and acquaintance with his future wife.

In addition, the project participants, before creating their own band, had already tried to perform in musical groups, but they got tired of the genres they performed, the soul insistently asked, or rather, demanded a new one, completely unlike anything else.

The name came about by chance. Once, after the theatrical weekdays, the future pop stars went to the cinema, not wanting to take off their requisite hats. The brutal guys who came across the outfit did not appreciate it and, laughing, dubbed the strangers hatters.

However, there is also a share of sarcasm and irony in the chosen name. Bumping into comments like “Some kind of hat”, the musicians are happy to refer those who are dissatisfied to a direct translation of the word The Hatters.

The basic composition forms an octet. In addition to the already mentioned Yura and his wife Anna, Pavel and Anna Lichadeevs, Alexander Anisimov, Vadim Rulev, Dmitry Vecherinin, Altair Kozhakhmetov take part in it.

Music

Based on the Little Big Family label, created by St. Petersburg, the Hatters broke into the Web on Defender of the Fatherland Day in 2016, presenting the premiere single Russian Style to sophisticated users.

In the same summer, large-scale Russian festivals confidently began to storm. In autumn - large venues in two Russian capitals and prominent radio stations. Success was consolidated by joint performances with Tatarka and directors Emir Kusturica and Goran Bregovic. In mid-November, the video for the composition "Russian Style" saw the light, after 2 years it was recognized as the best at the Swiss film festival SIFF.

Exactly 365 days after the release of their debut track, The Hatters received the coveted record from Nashe Radio for "Hacking" their main chart. According to the participants of the project, they themselves did not expect such a powerful start, but their success did not knock them down: in the spring of 2017 they presented their first album, and after “Yes, it’s not easy with me” in “Evening Urgant”.

“When three generations of women from the same family come to your concert - grandmother, mother and daughter, this is an achievement. Mom likes my songs - this is an achievement. And Urgant was lucky. They did not have a team for the evening, but they knew about us. That's all, ”the vocalist of the group said about the incident.

The release of "Full Hat" was preceded by a very personal single for the leader of the band "Winter", dedicated to the deceased father. Already in the fall, to the delight of the fans, the discography of the artists was replenished with the second collection Forever Young, Forever Drunk.

As for the history of the creation of their own genre, here the main emphasis was placed on the heterogeneity and boringness of the melody and on the fundamental absence of a guitar. Strengthened the dissimilarity of the "Hatters" to other musical groups and the presence of namesakes-wives of vocalists.

“Really, rock and family don't contradict each other. The family does not interfere with brawling, expressing their opinions and making music. I will even say more: if we had not taken wives in The Hatters, now there would be no group. We would just get drunk, and that’s it, ”they said in an interview with Snob, half-jokingly, half-seriously.

Inspiration was drawn from the "soundtracks" to the classics of Soviet and foreign cinema. The main message, or rather the appeal of a large army of admirers is as follows:

"Don't be shy, come to us!"

Those who listen to him will be invited to an amazing journey, always a fun one. They have a tradition - to celebrate a birthday on the stage of their relatives "Litsedei", which they diligently do not violate. Access is also open to spectators.

The Hatters now

On July 20, 2018, 25 exclusively instrumental singles were combined in No Comments. Among them are those already known in an unusual sound (“Outside from the Inside”, “The Word of a Kid”, “Romance (Slow)”). The musicians provided the publication with the news about the next creation on VKontakte with a recording in their usual manner. Allegedly, everyone is allowed to use melodies without fear of consequences and blocking.

However, the guys treat other people's creativity without hesitation, but with a certain trepidation. They can re-sing, or they can release a touching version of “For That Guy” by May 9th.

In the fall, the Hatters went on a tour of Russian cities, releasing special concert production for fans. On November 9, a video for the song No Rules was released, which gained 1.5 million views in 6 days.

According to the plot, the group arrives for the birthday of a young, but very well-fed couch critic of their work, which he celebrates with his family, and they put the birthday boy in his place, destroying the apartment along the way. In the finale, a piano falls from the neighbors' dwelling into the center of the hall.

And "Evening Urgant" again did not keep itself waiting, where "the most fashionable and outrageous band" presented the composition "I did not hear" hitherto not performed anywhere.

Keep in touch with their fans through social media

Acoustic concert of THE HATTERS with the participation of the orchestra and actors of the Litsedei Theater.
THE HATTERS (Hatters) - Russian gypsy street alco-hardcore on soulful instruments celebrate their debut birthday! The concert will take place in the place where it all began... on the stage of the LICEDEI Theater.
In a two-hour program with an intermission, we will perform everything that has been written for this year. All songs will be performed with an orchestra, which will make the evening solemn and powerful. Theater actors will perform with us and it will become a legendary holiday.
There are only 404 seats in a cozy hall with soft armchairs, so hurry up to become dear guests of our FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

The team was formed at the St. Petersburg Theater "Litsedei", and rehearsals are held in the tattoo studio "backstage tattoo".
Hatters appeared in the musical life not long ago, or rather burst into it! The team gathered in the cultural capital of Russia - St. Petersburg, by the time of the incident they ended up in the same city, because each of them is from different parts of the vast country.
How are THE HATTERS different from all other bands? The team plays without a single guitar! Drums, bass balalaika, trombone, violin and accordion. Still want something else? Then THE HATTERS bring their own pinch of spices to the concept of “percussion” - this is not only a standard set (triangle, tambourine). Scotch? Kids toys? Chains? Washboard? All this sounds in the songs of THE HATTERS.
THE HATTERS concerts are unique every time. The group comes up with more and more new performances, constantly interacting with the audience, rocking everyone! The listeners of the group, who come to live performances, participate in mass dances, lead round dances, watch how T-shirts are torn, stools are beaten, birdhouses are put on and much more!
When you want madness, get high from it and laugh - these are THE HATTERS concerts! When you want to jump, swing, sing along from the first to the last note - these are THE HATTERS concerts!
Definitely, the question may arise “why is there so much trash, recklessness in this team?” - the whole answer is hidden in the fact that these are guys from Russia! Russian style is what THE HATTERS were born with, started to create, go on stage and show what they can. Behind and in the heart of the guys RUSSIAN STYLE!
The group's birthday is February 23, 2016. For a short existence in the musical field, THE HATTERS visited many major festivals in the country: Wild Mint, Invasion, Stereooleto, Dobrofest, Inspiration. And that was just the beginning! Already in September, a video for the song I'm Not Easy Buddy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQOovI4K9bg) is released, filmed on a phone that is gaining almost 2 million views. In October, the group gives a concert in Moscow - 900 people, and the first big concert in St. Petersburg, where it gathers 1800 people. On November 7, THE HATTERS take the stage with the masters of the world music scene - Emir Kusturica and Goran Bregovic, with whom the musicians performed the song "Gas-Gas" together. A little later, the video “RUSSIAN STYLE” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1phe0lvmgU0) is released, which gained a million views in the first five days. The group also gave two concerts in the capitals of Russia with the Little Big group, in addition to their songs, they performed several covers with the members of the rave group themselves.
THE HATTERS is heard on more than one radio station in the country.
You can hang a lot of clichés, find similarities between THE HATTERS and other bands in the world, but in terms of the composition of the instruments, the variety of performances, and interactions with
the audience, all the compositions listened to, and seeing THE HATTERS live, it becomes clear why THE HATTERS calls their genre “Russian gypsy alco-hardcore on soulful instruments” – this has never happened before!

There are 9 people in the group, the main composition is 6 people!
Yury Muzychenko (Gatchina) Frontman/vocalist/violinist, Actor of the Litsedei Theatre, Participation in popular Internet projects (CLIK-CLAK, Thrash Lotto, Zabitye, Commodity expert, etc.), Director of the tattoo studio.
Pavel Lichadeev (Alma-Ata) - Vocalist/accordionist, - Multi-instrumentalist, - Worked as projectionist,
Alexander Anisimov (Gatchina) - bass guitar, - Participant of popular Internet projects (downtrodden, kolschik, problem, etc.), - Master engineer of microelectronics engineering and technology,
Dmitry Vecherinin (Yaroslavl) - drums,
Anna Nikitina (Tynda) Wife of vocalist Yura - - Backing vocals / shows / sound effects / percussion, - Actress of the theater "Litsedei", - Participant in popular Internet projects (merchandiser, etc.)
Anna Smirnova (St. Petersburg) Accordionist Pavel's girlfriend - - Backing vocals / shows / sound effects / percussion, - Graduate of SPbGATI (St. Petersburg State Academy of Theater Arts),
Vadim Rulev (St. Petersburg) - Trombone, - Professional musician, works in the St. Petersburg Chapel,
Boris Morozov (St. Petersburg) - Plays the saw, - Is a professional tattoo artist, - Participated in popular Internet projects (Boris Kolshchik, Home Tattoo),
Pavel Kozlov is a cheerleader.

Yuri Muzychenko, or simply Thomas, - theater artist " mummers", the creator of the group" BKMSB", series" downtrodden, tattoo studios Backstage Tattoo and group vocalist The Hatters (« Hatters”), as well as a participant in the show HYPE MEISTERS on the MTV channel.

Biography of Yuri Muzychenko

Yura was born on July 8, 1987 in St. Petersburg. In the family, the boy was the youngest, the favorite of his parents. As he himself said Muzychenko, he got away with everything, so he was "gouging". Already in the sixth grade Yura created a rock band with friends.

Yuri Muzychenko about his first group: “We came up with a group, called it“ Phobos ”. Went with chalk on all the fences, the walls to write "Phobos". The next day they decided to call themselves "Deimos". Let's go, everywhere they wrote: "Phobos - freaks!" They started writing Deimos. We believed in all the nonsense that we do.”

After the ninth grade, the young man wanted to enter a music school. He understood that he would not be accepted into the tenth grade because of not very good academic performance. At the courses at the music school, the guy did not like the atmosphere, because the musicians turned out to be closed people. And he was completely different.

Then Yura decided to enter the theater, and my mother agreed that he was taken to the tenth grade for further admission. After school Muzychenko got into the St. Petersburg State Academy of Theater Arts at the acting department. Upon admission, a rather funny situation happened to him, which led him to " For actors", although the young man imagined himself on completely different stages and in other roles.

Yura Muzychenko about his admission: “I didn’t want to go to the Litsedei at all, because I saw myself in the Youth Theater on the Fontanka near Spivak or in the Comedy Theater. And when I came to the second round, to the audition, there was a Harley-Davidson right in the yard. I go there, and in the selection committee there is a man in a T-shirt. He, apparently, with a hangover, sleeps. And he's so cool! Well, cool guy! Nightingale is his surname, a cool man! They ask me: "Sing something." I begin to sing: "I will go out into the field at night with a horse." I close my eyes. And he, you know, opens his eyes a little, looks at me: “Wait, wait, when you play the violin, do you also close your eyes?” - "No". “Well, you don't have to. You look like an idiot." And continue to sleep. And I liked this impudence so much that I chose them. And, in the end, not in vain. They are true rock 'n' rollers."

After graduating from the academy Muzychenko hit the theater stage mummers”, where he met the future members of his group.

Yuri Muzychenko's career

Despite the hard work in the theater, Yura never forgot about music. No wonder he can play the violin, guitar, keyboards and drums.

In 2011, his group " BKMSB". The name of the group does not mean absolutely anything, the musicians chose it as a symbol of freedom, the absence of any boundaries in creativity. The music changes with the guys, so it is difficult to name any specific genres that define the band's work, but the musicians define their music as a mixture of alternative rock and pop rock.

"BKMSB" became the winner URBAN SOUND, festival SNICKERS URBANIA, held in St. Petersburg, and also participated in the festival " Peace Against Drugs», « Windows open», « Swing and many other major festivals.

In 2013, an Internet series about tattoos appeared on the network. downtrodden". The creators of the series and its "ideological brain" were Yuri Muzychenko And Alexander Anisimov (Kikir). They also assigned themselves not the last roles in the series.

Yuri on the creation of the series: “The idea is almost general ... you know, when several people come up with something all the time, then in general it’s not clear who came up with what. We tried to pump our BKMSB group in every possible way, we decided to shoot video diaries, and it seems that the third issue was with stuffing a tattoo ... Well, he kind of rolled up, views and all. Well, this is where the idea came up to experiment and film a program about tattoos, but for us and our music to be there. This is how it all happened, but it dragged on so much that they opened their own tattoo studio “Clogged”.

After shooting 11 episodes of the first season, the creators, concluding that they were on the right track, set to work on the second season. And the third season in general, it was decided to shoot in Europe.

The series was designed for a viewer interested in tattoos, for those who were interested in tattoo production, from application, sterility, safety to healing and other nuances of the process. Therefore, the authors, diligently approaching the narration of each serial episode, discovered something interesting, focusing on the history of the tattoo, style and choice of pattern.

Also in 2013, a new channel appeared on the Youtube website " clickclack”, on which comic series and programs are released. Yura Muzychenko is one of the participants in this channel, the so-called "party of video bloggers".

In 2015, Yura had to leave the theater, because the team was literally "breaking down" one of the employees. However, the career of a musician did not prevent Muzychenko from returning to the theater stage in a year and a half. Then, in 2015, a group was formed The Hatters (« Hatters»).

Yuri Muzychenko and The Hatters

The Hatters is a musical and theatrical group from St. Petersburg, which includes musicians, actors, physicists, tattoo artists, auto mechanics, clowns, photographers and cameramen. The guys defined their genre as "Russian-gypsy alcohardcore on spiritual instruments." Their work is a combination of romance, punk and folk-rock.

Yuri Muzychenko says: “We met at the Litsedei Theater, and it turned out that everyone is a fan of Balkan music, Kusturica, Bregovic and Guy Ritchie-style trash. So we understood what exactly we would play, but sincerely and more folk, especially since the leading instruments - the violin and the accordion - dictate certain conditions.

Since its launch in February 2016 Hatters are gaining popularity at a frantic pace: they became the Legendary Discovery of the Year at the festival wild mint”, were invited to all major festivals of the country, appeared on the waves of“ Our radio", as well as other radio stations of the country, received the award" Chart Dozen” in the Hacking nomination, performed on the main stage of the Invasion and were noted for their performances at the Olympic Stadium and at the opening of the St. Petersburg Arena stadium. Magazine Ъ-Lifestyle included them in the list of the most promising musicians to watch in 2017. The Hatters- "their own on the board", and each of their songs takes the soul.

The debut folk-punk album "Full Hat" was released by the band on April 21, 2017. In early December of the same year, The Hatters presented their second album, Forever Young, Forever Drunk.

The Muzychenko team performed twice on the Evening Urgant Channel One show: in April 2017 with the song “Yes, it’s not easy with me”, and in November 2018 they presented the track “I didn’t hear”.

Yuri Muzychenko in HYPE MEISTERS

In July 2017 Yura became a member of a new show on the MTV HYPE MEISTERS channel, where he and Kolya Serga find out what is cooler - TV or the Internet. Musicians travel to different festivals, complete numerous tasks to get points and become the “Hype Master”.

Personal life of Yuri Muzychenko

More on the theater stage mummers» Yura met his love Anna Nikitina which he calls Anna Sergovna. She always supports the young man in all his endeavors. Spouses Muzychenko- people are creative, therefore, according to Yuri, in an hour they can yell at each other thirty times and make peace thirty times.

Anna about marriage with Yuri: “The fact that both artists, clowns, brings us closer, we are together both at work and at home, but we don’t get tired of each other at all. It just happens that we sit at home, drink tea, and one of us suddenly starts talking about how best to do something in the performance, what kind of props to come up with. Our profession does not allow us to forget about it even at home. We are proud that we are clowns and work in such a theater.

The couple had a daughter in 2011 Lisa. Already at an early age, the girl began to show creative abilities, imitating her parents. Yura And Anya they say that in charisma and acting skills, she outdid them both.

Discography of Yuri Muzychenko

BKSMB Group

2012 - Check
2011 - The whole truth about you
2009 - For hearts ... For minds

The Hatters

Albums
2018 - "No Comments" (Instrumental)
2017 - "Forever Young, Forever Drunk"
2017 - "Full Hat"

EP
2018 - "Three inside"
2016 - "Stay True"