Talk:FSB (band)

CVs

Rumen Boyadjiev – “For me FSB is the thing I could never repeat.” Born on the 15th April 1953. Started to learn the piano and solfège at the age of four. Quite early he began to show interest in other studies like literature, physics, and electronics. He graduated the 7th High School in Sofia, where he had formed his first rock band, assuming the duties of guitarist and vocalist. In 1971 he joined the Sofia University Faculty of Journalism, but shortly realized his true vocation was music. Rumen Boyadjiev had the chance to meet Prof. Dr. Dobri Paliev, famous for his world known school of percussion instruments. In 1972 he began studying at the instrumental faculty of the State Music Academy, where professor Paliev instantly acknowledged his natural gift for music and his huge potential to become a consummate cosmopolitan musician. To him Rumen Boyadjiev owes the deep understanding of sound as a phenomenon in music and a truly unique means of expression. On the other hand, his interest in physics and acoustics provided him with vast technical knowledge and skill, which proved indispensible later on throughout his career. The music he was listening to at that time - all the progressive rock artists of the 70s - prompted him to form his own band and write his own music. His mentor and music advisor Konstantin Dragnev wholeheartedly supported the idea. The fortunate acquaintances of Rumen Boyadjiev, Konstantin Cekov and Alexander Baharov, and their shared tastes, criteria, and aspirations for something new, neither attempted nor achieved by anyone before in Bulgaria, actually brought to life the FSB trio. “With FSB I have always felt myself most obliged and most bound and at the same time – most free.” Untypically talented, unconventional and innovative, each one a bearer of bright ideas and individuality, the band members complemented each other and together they turned a new page in Bulgarian rock and pop music history. They were the pioneers of electronic music in Bulgaria and succeeded in setting up new standards for arranging and audio recording. Rumen Boyadzhiev is a genuine innovator and an undisputed authority in the field of electronic instruments and synthesizers, of electronic sound and Digital Audio Workstations. His music is inextricably linked to the beauty and richness of their unfathomable sound palette. He is the author of more than 250 songs and there are over 600 songs that he arranged for the majority of the famous Bulgarian pop singers. He has composed music for documentaries and feature films, as well as theatrical scores and music for children. Rumen Boyadzhiev is the music producer of many artists’ and bands’ albums, including Pyromania, Tumno and Roberta. In 1993 he received the National Producer of the Year Award. In 1995 Rumen Boyadzhiev set up his own recording studio, Kontrapunkti, the only Bulgarian studio at the time focusing on postproduction, hard disk recording, and digital mastering and surround techniques. Soon production label Kontrapunkti was established, specializing in promotion, management, publishing and related activities. Rumen Boyadzhiev is often asked to adjudicate at numerous national and international festivals and music competitions. He is the author of the official music tags of the Bulgarian National Radio Horizont program and the Bulgarian National Television Po sveta I u nas news program. Rumen Boyadzhiev is a member of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), one of the founders of the Association of the Recording Studios in Bulgaria (BNAPZ), the official Protools and Digidesign consultant for Bulgaria. He is also a member of the Bulgarian Film Makers Union and the Union of Bulgarian Composers. "The success of an artist and his stage longevity are directly linked to his ability to handle energy. Both his personality and his behavior on stage act as a blade of concentrated energy that is pointed at the audience. The ‘blade’ phenomenon functions only when the charge you emit is positive. And so you are recharged in return. "

Konstantin Cekov – “The most important part of my life is my music for FSB.” Born on the 24th of December 1952. Started learning the piano at the age of seven with highly respected teacher Lidia Kuteva, who considered him an indisputable and bright talent. In 1972 he graduated her piano class at the National Music School in Sofia and in 1978 he graduated The State Music Academy in the piano class of Prof. Lilly Atanasova. The training in harmony and composition with the great Bulgarian musician Stefan Trayanov played a significant role in his musical education and professional growth. Konstantin Cekov has always been a brilliant pianist. The prospects of a dazzling career as a solo pianist did not tempt him to betray his choice to be in a rock band. Three factors played a decisive role in making that choice: his friendship with Alexander Baharov and Rumen Boyadzhiev, the music of Yes, Genesis and Gino Vannelli, and the firm decision that his profession had to be his hobby, and the hobby – his profession. In 1976 the three of them formed FSB. Studio work in Balkanton was not only an opportunity to experiment with original ideas, but also a chance to establish modern trends in arranging and sound recording. Konstantin Cekov is an indispensable studio musician recognized for his perfect pitch and proverbial sight-reading ability, unwavering nervous system and astounding technical prowess – a high-flying professional. All this, coupled with delicate sensitivity and inexhaustible creative invention. He is the author of numerous arrangements of songs by Bulgarian composers, composer of many songs from the repertoire of outstanding pop singers, author of music for feature and documentary films, theatrical scores, and music for children. “I have never stopped playing” For him the 1993 – 1999 hiatus marks “the beginning of something new”. The state of mind he was in at that time is reflected in his first solo instrumental album, Verticals, released in 1996. His second album, The wings of fish (1999), proved entirely different stylistically, pointing to the author’s huge potential and inimitable talent. He performed the main vocals himself, lyrics penned by Zhivka Shopova. Quiet and reserved, Konstantin Cekov barely speaks about the past and the future of FSB, but the spark of creativity never fails to show in his eyes. “Friendship and professionalism are the two most important things. There is always nostalgia, as time has passed by, but that time has generated ideas that have been waiting to come to life. I am convinced that the future is in our hands, because we still have our old and our new audience.”

Alexander Baharov – “I did not leave FSB. I left Bulgaria.” Born in 1953. In 1972 he graduated the National Music School in Sofia and in 1978 - The State Music Academy, majoring in double bass. A virtuoso instrumentalist, together with Rumen Boyadzhiev and Konstantin Cekov formed FSB in 1976. Alexander Baharov is a composer, arranger and co-author of the FSB`s albums up to 1983. He possesses a specific timbre and performs characteristic solo vocals in some of the band’s songs. He participated in all the concert tours and gigs of FSB in Bulgaria and abroad until 1983. Since then, he has been living and working in Germany.

Ivan Lechev – “My whole life is divided into two periods - before FSB and together with FSB”. Born on the July 19, 1956. Started studying violin at the age of 12 in the class of his famous father Prof. Boyan Lechev. In 1975 he graduated the National Music School in Sofia and finished his higher studies in 1981 at The State Music Academy. Before long he had accumulated a vast repertoire of classical violin works, presented dozens of solo concerts, performed together with the Academic Symphony Orchestra, and was preparing for the prestigious international P.I.Tchaikovsky competition. Meantime he was playing the guitar, influenced by his older brother Todor’s rock band. There he met Roumen Boyadzhiev. That was all until 1978, when Alexander Baharov invited him to participate in one of FSB’s studio sessions. “Changing the genre was not a stress for me. I still think that was the only thing I ever wanted and would do it over again!” Gradually the imperative need for precision in the studio transformed the virtuoso violinist into a perfect guitar player. The everyday playing routine, the unforgiving of errors and inaccuracies recording tape, and the demanding professional environment raised his level of experience, and in 1979 Ivan Lechev became the fifth member of FSB. The band was publicly declared a quintet with their new album The Globe. Unsurprisingly, hundreds of arrangements for the repertoire of top Bulgarian pop singers followed soon. His inbred talent and professionalism led him naturally to music composition. Ivan Lechev is a composer of film and theater music. He has been nominated twice for the Askeer prize, has written music for children's television series and musical tags for bTV. He is the author of music for radio and television advertising spots. “Playing live – I can’t live without it!” The thousands of concerts with FSB had turned Ivan Lechev into a “live” addict. After the first 20 years, the band’s intensive live playing came to a halt and Lechev’s iconic guitar since became an intrinsic part of Bulgaria’s concert and club life. His guitar erupted again in the unforgettable concert tour of FSB in 2000 and their historic concert on Alexander Batenberg Square in 2007. The forthcoming release of FSB`s new album and the planned promotional concerts are a cause for joy, satisfaction and hope... “It was inevitable! I see this as a new beginning. I hope I’m not too optimistic, but the fact is we haven’t said our final word yet!”

Ivaylo Kraychovski – “I’m the only person on the planet who was lucky to make the transition from fan to member of FSB!” Born on the 4th of June 1961. Started studying violin and solfège at the age of five. 1976 found him in the ninth grade of XXI High School in Sofia where students had a bass guitar, a drum kit and a MV-3 (an amplifier from former East Germany) at their disposal to experiment with. A band comprised of rejected Music School applicants was about to be formed and Ivaylo Kraychovski was invited to play that “strange 4-string instrument, just like a big violin” because “can read music and surely can cope”. So began Ivaylo’s rock and roll period. He used to play along Grand Funk Railroad and Black Sabbath records for days on end. His music guru of the time was Mel Schacher. In 1983 he graduated the faculty of Pop and Jazz Arts at The State Music Academy in the bass guitar and double bass class of Simeon Venkov. The news that FSB were looking for a bass player to replace Alexander Baharov lead him to Balkanton studio where, among many of the competitors, he was the only one to ask for a break to tune up his instrument before playing. This decided his fate and he was accepted as a fulltime member right away. The album FSB VI (1984) and the milestone concert FSB Live at Academic Stadium, where Ivaylo Kraychovski debuted on stage as the new bass guitarist in front of 15 000 people audience, put him on the crest of the wave, allaying all doubts and outlining new prospects. “I have lived with the FSB longer than I have with my girlfriends and my wife. FSB taught me a lot more things than all my education and all my life managed to do!” Ivaylo Kraychovski became also a part of the FSB organization, a syndicate which taught him how to be creative, enterprising and energetic. The active studio work as sound engineer and record producer, his numerous trademarked recordings serving as a reference even nowadays, his work for MMD Multimedia Bolkanmusic (1993 till 1995), established him as a preferable partner for a number of albums of Bulgarian pop singers, rock groups and jazz ensembles. Ivaylo Kraychovski was the ideologue and the mastermind behind the formation of super group Stari Mutsuni with the veteran of Bulgarian rock Georgi Minchev. In 1996 he became the music director of Sofia Film Fest. He is the Deputy Chairman of the Bulgarian Association of the Performing Artists and executive member of the Board of Association of the Recording Studios in Bulgaria (BNAPZ). He is a member of the Beer Party and the director of the annual memorial concerts A Flower for Gosho and various festivals and performances. On the occasion of the release of FSB – Anthology and the subsequent concert tour Ivaylo Kraychovski said: “The Anthology and the following tour were the best things that ever happened to us. The six-year break was a destiny – we had to let things settle for a while.... And it was destiny again that made us start over again on the eve of year 2000.” Ivaylo Kraychovski took part in the augmented FSB line-up for the New Year’s Eve concert on the occasion of Bulgaria’s acceptance in the EU in 2007.

Peter Slavov – “Back then, FSB was the only possible escape to the future”. Born on the 13th August 1941. He passed away suddenly in 2008. He had been playing on stage since the age of fifteen. He went through the school of the Jazz of the Optimists and later played with various jazz ensembles. Peter Slavov was considered the youngest bright addition to this mysterious, “occult” and often banished music society in Bulgaria from the 50`s and early 60`s of the XX century. In 1965 he became the drummer of Jazz Focus 65. Together with Milcho Leviev, Simeon Shterev and Lubomir Mitsov they wrote the first page of Bulgarian jazz history. In 1967 Bulgarian jazz came into sight at the Festival in Montreux, where the incredible Bulgarian musicians received the Critics Award. Concert tours throughout Europe followed, as well as appearances at national and international jazz festivals. Peter Slavov has shared stage with Gary Burton, Lee Konitz, Steve Swallow, Dexter Gordon, Roy Haynes, Pat Metheny, Dizzy Gillespie, with some of whom he maintained contact and friendship in later years. Until 1979 he was exceedingly active in all forums and jazz events in the country. Regarding his new occupation as a rock musician he was quoted saying: 
”They were the most appropriate people in Bulgaria, with whom such an ingenious organization like FSB was worth to be created. The album The Globe associated Peter Slavov with FSB and gave leeway to his tireless, dynamic and enterprising personality. The music of FSB easily became the meaning of his life – rock as well as jazz is a way of life, a life philosophy. “This music was cosmopolitan and gained audience attention by the confidence we had, even without us being fully aware of that.” А brilliant organizer, very social and witty, and at the same time ambitious and striving for success, he had the energy to draw FSB out of the studio and contributed significantly to the affirmation of the band as one the most powerful and influential live performers in Bulgaria. He also managed the band’s international appearances and concerts with great skill. Age difference was never a detrimental factor in their friendship. “The magic is in youth, nostalgia comes with maturity.” The release of FSB – Anthology and the renewed concert activity of the band was the occasion for Peter Slavov to say: “Music is all around and inside of me entirely!” And music is all around and inside, somewhere there, where he is together with Satchmo and Ella… —Preceding unsigned comment added by Даниела кузманова (talk • contribs) 07:30, 13 November 2009 (UTC)