
Zdob și Zdub return to the Eurovision stage
03 May 2011 at 17:58 CESTBackstage preparing
The band were slightly delayed before starting their first rehearsal today. But they were in good spirits saying "We're very fine. Everything is very well organised and good here."
Zdob și Zdub are renowned for their energetic live shows, and therefore they take the rehearsal easy."We have nothing to learn, we just have to sing the song and check the show, the light, how to stand on the stage. We only have to learn how to be punctual and organised. Everything is step by step here, nobody's in a rush. We are more laid back and spontaneous usually," they say.
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They promise a performance that will make their fans satisfied.
"We will be ourselves and do our best and do the best we can. Spontaneous, crazy, funny, ironic. All the stereotypes..."
The group hope to better their 2005 result in Europe's Favourite TV Show saying "We believe and hope that we will be better. We are lucky. For us this is an unusual contest, and our show is probably out of the ordinary here. We destroy the stereotypes. There will hopefully be many smiles in the audience when they see our image and costumes. The smile is the first impression."
Tall hats, a fairy and a unicycle!
Zdob și Zdub do not disappoint with their stage performance. The lead singer drummer and trumpet player are all wearing tall black cone shaped hats. On stage there are also two guitar players, and a girl dressed in white as a fairy riding a unicycle around the stage. She is wearing a tall white cone shaped hat and interacts with the lead singer from the first chorus onwards.
The backdrop LED screens feature red and black dolls with tall pointed black hats. At the end of the performance the lead singer embraces the fairy and puts a monocle on his eye giving a suggestive look to the camera.
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Where is Boonika the grandma?
Upon arriving at the press conference, the moderator asked a few questions that Zdob și Zdub fans had submitted through their website.
The first question was to ask where is the drumming grandma from 2005 Boonika? Lead singer Roman explained her absence.
"Boonika the grandma is with us always, she will be watching us from home. The street where she lives is Moldova now is called Eurovision Street. It didn't have a name beforehand but they changed that after the result in 2005."
The group were asked if performing in the Eurovision Song Contest was different to their regular run of the mill gigs. They answered "We play big festivals usually, but here we destroy the stereotypes of the Eurovision Song Contest as we play ethno punk music. We want to bring happiness for everybody."
The story behind the hats
Lead singer Roman tells us a little more about the stage show, and in particular the hats that the group are wearing. He explains "The hats are a Moldovan tradition, they are called Kushma's. They are like a kind of antennae, which bring cosmic power. All good people wear these type of hats in Moldova. It's a symbol from our sunny small country of Moldova." Roman didnt want to reveal how the group managed to keep them constantly upright however, citing it as a secret.
With regards to the Idea of staging, the group told the press "It's an interesting story about when the moment came for the stage idea. We were actually in a cafeteria thinking about the show. We were looking at some of our album covers, and the cover of one CD, there is a guy with the kushma hat riding a unicycle."
A story of good and bad
The group explained that the idea was to find something to display their positive energy, Roman said "I'm like an actor, on the stage I have to be the glamorous bad guy. It's a contrast between a bad guy and a good girl that conquered his heart in the end."
Tatiana, the fairy on the unicycle is a professional circus artist, she said "We use the unicycle to make it look like I'm flying. It goes well with the lyrics. It's easier to slip away with the unicycle than run off the stage!."
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About Zdob și Zdub
Zdob si Zdub performed in more than 20 European countries, from small clubs to big festivals. Over the years, Zdob si Zdub opened for renowned bands like: Red Hot Chili Peppers, Emir Kusturica & No Smoking Orchestra, Korn, Biohazard, Rollins Band, Rage Against The Machine, Soulfly, The Garbage, Fun Lovin' Criminals and many others.
The music’s personality is also transmitted through the videos that accompany 17 songs. The band’s music was appreciated in various contests and by various TV channels (among them, MTV Europe), magazines, radio stations. In order to bring additional authenticity to its sound, Zdob si Zdub recorded songs, but also played live, with traditional singers as Vasile Dinu (MC Vasile, from Romania), Osoianu Sisters (Moldova), Trio Erdenko (Russia) and others.
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