Klec - promo and history
Those who venture to see a Klec gig can expect a few best-known and a majority of less-known melodies from the klezmer, Gypsy and the band's own repertoires, a few lyrics in Yiddish and many in Czech presented in a non-traditional sound (such as "horns" consisting of flute and trumpet). What the listeners are not in for is die-hard folklore arrangements, seriousness associated with the interpretation of a cultural heritage, or a clear answer to whether the musicians are Jews.
The
band was founded on a Sunday afternoon in February 1997. A then folk-rocker, flute
player, guitarist
and singer Martin Smid, charmed by klezmer music, was seeking to find
use for his
creative urge and his wish to play like the Klezmatics, which he could not find with his
former band, Lunovis. He invited his brother Michal Smid and a Lunovis
bandmate,
bassist Filip Gut to cooperate.
The newly established trio had to find a replacement bassist very soon (Filip
didn't
manage rehearsals, so Ondrej "Kudyd" Tichy took the post
readily). They
played live for the first time on June 17, 1997 in the famous rock club U Rafa
at Hanspaulka,
Prague.
Autumn 1997 saw the band drafting Antonin Hlustik and Martin Kopecky whose
electric guitar and clarinet / bass guitar, respectively, enriched the band's sound
(the
two would later take turns on bass as Kudyd had left the band in the meantime because he
could not manage). Next year, a multi-instrumentalist Jakub Schmid joined Klec
wishing to, among others, practice his trumpet playing. He brought in his jazz
influences.
During 1998 and 1999, Klec gradually built its repertoire and did live gigs. The gigs
included joint events of the Stejny ksichty
(to name a few, there were several nice gigs at Na Slamniku and U Rafa in
Prague, raids to
the Broumov area and Litomerice, shows in Caslav synagogue and, later, joint shows with
the "Balkan" band Ahmed ma hlad), and several concerts played as the
only band (a few almost unplugged shows in the Nad Kralovskou Oborou pub in Prague back
when live music was still allowed there, two shows for Evangelic parishioners in church in
Louny, and a few afternoon gigs at Jazz Klub Zelezna in downtown Prague). In
mid-1999,
Klec got exposed to wider audiences - Litomericky koren, Repice u Strakonic and Mezi Ploty
Bohnice festivals.
The beginning of the magical year 2000 marked a crisis for Klec. Michal left the band
after long and painful considerations. The band lost a co-founder and also its rhythmic
motor, as we soon found out. Michal played his last show as a regular member on January 8
at Zelezna. Somehow, the band managed to fill the large gap in its sound that was left
after the departure of his accordion. Martin S. grabbed his acoustic guitar and Jakub took
to play piano, but Michal's accompaniment, solid and always reliable, was missed
strongly.
We spotted a light at the tunnel's end in the spring, though. Jana
Modrackova, the former
drummer with Zuby nehty, joined the band, increasing the overall standard of musicianship
in the band and making it sound heavier.
In the second half of 2000, the band was gelling with new bassist Jiri Vana (Martin K.
cannot manage playing with two bands) and its sound transformed from folk-rock to
no-prefixes-rock.
In the beginning of 2001, Antonin Hlustik - magician of guitar sound - anounced
his departure. To preserve its sound, we decided to record our debut CD called 15
pisni o lasce (15 songs about love).
After some other personal changes, the group has six members and is preparing for its second album.