Welcome to Shoom 2 - It's Fun to Be Ukrainian! We hope you enjoy this collection of songs, many of which are considered Ukrainian classics by Canadian and American dance bands. We've recorded them to teach our young people the beauty of these melodies and we hope the album brings countless hours of listening pleasure to all. 1. It's Fun To Be Ukrainian 2. Hey Zabava 3. Vyshnevomoo Sadochkoo 4. Ah Kalyna 5. Soloveeyou 6. Moyemoo Sadoo 7. Hliboka Kirnitsya 8. Hutulka Ksenia 9. Kolomeyka 10.Tisha Navkroohy 11.Fly Kozak Shoom is: Terry (Taras) Kraynyk - accordion, keyboards, bass guitar, back-up vocals Nathan Mandziuk - guitar, fiddle, base guitar, back-up vocals Terry McGurk - drums, percussion, back-up vocals Greg (Hrytz) Udod - keyboards, lead and back-up vocals Thanks to: Our wives and families for all the love and support shown to us during this project, and our musical passion in general; to Ray, Sasha and Michelle for their invaluable contribution towards this album; Ron Cahute and Bob King for their kind permission to have their classic songs re-recorded; Dave Roman for all the assistance, encouragement, sharing of wisdom (and musical arrangements), quick fingers, good coffee and the accordion for Luke!; To all our fans who kept asking "When's the second album coming out?!" (this album certainly would not have happened without you!); to Bohdana Bashuk (C.K.J.S. Radio 810) for all the airplay!; to Lesia Slobodianyk for language editing assistance; to the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko and Carpathia Credit Union of Winnipeg for their generous support of this project. Thank's to All! Shoom - The Making of a Ukrainian-Canadian Band How does one go about putting together a Ukrainian band in Canada in present times? What actually constitutes the term "Ukrainian band"? What circumstances have to be at play in order to bring together necessary components needed for a successful Ukrainian musical group? Is this type of music significant or important to the Ukrainian community? What does performing in a band which plays Ukrainian music mean to its members? These are questions that I will attempt to answer through a study of the band Shoom of which I am a member. Shoom is a musical group which performs at various functions in and around the Winnipeg, Canada area, primarily. Shoom plays a variety of music which includes 50's and 60's rock 'n roll, classic rock, country, old time music, as well as Ukrainian music (both zabava style and Western Canadian Ukrainian style). It is primarily for our Ukrainian zabava style music that we have become most well known. The group members will be introduced shortly.. Shoom has been performing together since 1997. The four primary members of this band began to rehearse together in October 1994, and performed as a band in public for the first time in August 1995 as the band Over The Edge. This is a name which the band continues to use on many occasions where Ukrainian music is not performed. In early 1997, I approached my fellow band mates with the idea of recording an album of Ukrainian music which I felt I needed to get out of my head and heart or I would "explode musically". The other members agreed, and off to work the band started on this new project entitled "Shoom". But what kind of music was going to be recorded on this album? What influences had come to impact upon the group musically? To fully understand the history of Shoom, several elements will have to be explored. These include a brief look at the development of the Ukrainian-Canadian "zabava" genre of music from its inception to the present day, an individual history of each member with a specific interest in each members' musical history, as well as a look at the group's activities since it's introduction onto the Ukrainian music scene. Included are first hand interviews with Mr. Dave Roman, founding member of the D-Drifters 5; Ms. Bohdana Bashuk, host of the Ukrainian radio program on CKJS Radio 810, Winnipeg; and Mr. Oles Cap, founding member of the Samosvit Ukrainian Band of Montreal. Through this exploration we should come to understand the origins and influences which have made up the musical group known as Shoom. Ukrainian Zabava Music The definition of Ukrainian zabava style music is music which is played at functions predominantly attended by people of Ukrainian background, mostly (but not always) sung in Ukrainian, mostly set to Ukrainian melodies (but may encompass many various musical styles). It is music which is generated with the intent that people will be dancing to this music various styles of dance including: polkas, waltzes, tangos, rumbas, and rock. This music is intended to be fun when listened to, but may also carry various significant messages with the lyrics of it's songs. Bands which play and/or produce Ukrainian zabava music usually employ the use of the following instruments: accordion (usually electric), electric guitar, electric bass-guitar, keyboards, fiddle, cymbaly (dulcimer), and drums. They also often employ the use of a host of various other instruments (albeit on a smaller scale). Singing is an important component of zabava style music. The language most used is Ukrainian, but many songs have been either written in, or translated into, the English language. The use of vocal harmonies is an important component to this style of music. A Brief Look at the Development of Ukrainian Zabava Music Dr. Brian Cherewick, in his doctoral study Polkas on the Prairies: Ukrainian Music and the Construction of Identity explains in detail the development of the early forms of Ukrainian dance music. His study illustrates the integral role music has played in various aspects of Ukrainian culture, and in particular during wedding traditions where groups of musicians would play, in various combinations, music which was know as troisti muzyka. This would most often be something like a pair of fiddles and a cymbaly player, or various other combinations. This style of music came to Canada upon the arrival of the first wave of Ukrainian immigration, and continued on with the second wave as well. As time went on the wedding traditions, along with many other aspects of Ukrainian traditions, began to change. Weddings in Canada, for example, became larger in scale and, in regards to the music, a greater emphasis was placed on the actual wedding dance. Musicians no longer remained present for three continual days, as they had in the past. With the appearance of community halls in many locations across the prairies, and with the influences of other Canadian musical genres, Ukrainian dance music began to change. The expanding size of community halls, coupled with ever advancing technology, introduced amplifiers to the Ukrainian music scene. Over a relatively short span of time, the use of electronics, especially the electronic accordion, seemed to transform, for many, the sound of the Ukrainian music which was being played. One of the very earliest groups playing Ukrainian music to pioneer a new electronic sound in North America was a group of then very young musicians based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, known as the D-Drifters 5. This band was started in 1959 by the Romanyshyn brothers, Dave and Tony, of Fraserwood, Manitoba. Dave recalls their first exposure to live bands being none other than the likes of Tommy Buick, Jim Gregorash, and The Fraser River Valley Boys who used to play dances in Fraserwood on a regular basis. These, along with the 78rpm recordings of Petro Humeniuk were Dave's early and very significant influences. The timing was just right for Dave to become at that time an early pioneer in the use of electronic accordions. He also became a very proficient player having studied accordion from Winnipeg legend Ted Komar. Tony played the electric guitar (an instrument which was just being introduced to the Ukrainian music scene). In 1964 they, along with the other members of the band met up with a singing duo known as Mickey and Bunny. This coincided with the era known as the "British Invasion". As a direct result of Mickey's influence, encouragement, vision, and knowledge of Ukrainian Language, the band forged a new direction in Ukrainian music, one which had never been explored up until this time, namely Ukrainian Rock and Roll. According to Canada's National Ukrainian Festival Program from 2002, the D-Drifters are said to be known by the Canadian Encyclopaedia of Music as the "creators of Ukrainian Rock and Roll". The teaming up of the D-Drifters with Mickey and Bunny presented the D- Drifters with an opportunity to go on a national tour across Canada. The D-Drifters, although touted as the warm up act, and the back-up band for Mickey and Bunny, had created a completely unique persona all to themselves. Their success lay in their ability to translate into Ukrainian and execute convincingly, the chart toping hits of the Beatles, as well as other well-known rock and roll groups of the time. Hence, the D-Drifters became known to many as the Ukrainian Beatles. The D-Drifters already had produced fine Ukrainian albums by this time with and without singing, which gave them a credibility in the eyes of the Ukrainian community. They are credited by Dr. Cherwick as modernising the sound of traditional Ukrainian melodies. Their fourth album sales are estimated to be over 100,000 copies - a mark of success for any modern band. Out west Dave recalls Mickey and Bunny being enormously popular while "the people weren't perhaps totally ready for our modern stuff". In Winnipeg however, as a young girl at the time, Bohdana Bashuk reflects: "…it was very big to listen to the Beatles done in Ukrainian. I was proud to have music to call my own. Because it was Ukrainian, it was even better!" When their cross Canada tour brought them to Montreal in the winter of 1965 the Ukrainian community there (mostly from the third wave of immigration) reportedly fell in love with the concept brought forward by the band. Dave recalls vividly the young people, especially the girls, screaming and carrying on as if they really were The Beatles. Oles Cap, a young Ukrainian student in Montreal at the time, and later a founding member of the Ukrainian band Samotsvit, reflects that: "Their concert was held at the UNO Fairmont, a hall the Ukrainians would rent where a lot of Ukrainian concerts were held…my parents dragged me to this thing, it seemed all the Ukrainians were going to see Mickey and Bunny 'cause they were like Sonny and Cher. We were dragged along because they thought it would be a good influence. The D-Drifters started the show and it was Sonny and Cher quality. With Mickey and Bunny it was country and it didn't really go, but it did more with the older folks. But here came the D-Drifters. When they played the Beatles that stunned everyone. Nobody thought they would do something like that. These guys from the west coming - you're expecting rinky-dink music and here they come out with that. I think they had to play something current for Ukrainian people. The easiest was to take English pop music and put it into Ukrainian. Man, that changed everything." Dave Roman (as he has been known since the Romanyshyn boys shortened their names on their first recording) describes that tour through eastern Canada as "simply amazing - something that was on a scale that hadn't been seen nor has been seen since". Dr. Orest Cap, older brother of Oles, who also witnessed the 1965 Montreal performance and the reaction of the crowd, surprised me with his vivid reflections of that concert which illustrate to me the impact the D-Drifters must have had at the time: "What the D-Drifters did was to introduce a modern sound to Ukrainian music. Their music was on the edge. It changed the face of Ukrainian music ... I still remember them singing 'Holky ee Shpilky' (Needles and Pins). " - Dr. Orest Cap The Montreal Ukrainian band known as Rushnychok has also long been referred to by many as "The Beatles of Ukrainian Music". This band however started in December 1969, well after the tour which brought the D-Drifters to Montreal. According to Oles Cap, a personal friend of Andrij Harasymowych, lead singer of Rushnychok, it was directly as a result of the D-Drifters/Mickey and Bunny tour that the group Rushnychok received their inspiration to form a band. This was later independently confirmed by the drummer Stephan Andrusiak in 1995's Dauphin Festival when he met up with and spoke to Dave Roman personally. Once Rushnychok released their first album, Ukrainian music again changed and would never be the same. Rushnychok took what they had seen in the D-Drifters performance and added to that the more refined and sophisticated Ukrainian elements dominant in Montreal at the time. They selected a Ukrainian name which was not a common occurrence at the time. The name and song Rushnychok immediately identified them as Ukrainian and therefore provided for their listeners a strong connection with Ukraine. They also decided to wear Ukrainian embroidered shirts and Ukrainian pants, boots, and sashes. According to Oles: "Taras Hukalo, a guy in the Ukrainian community at the time, and a friend of theirs kept telling them to do something different, that they were to set an example, to set the tone for the rest of the Ukrainian bands, he suggested wearing full Ukrainian costumes. That's when overnight they became big - especially playing for Senator Yuzyk. They were reluctant at first - they were embarrassed - it was seen as better to be in tuxedos." Rushnychok also then decided to tie a rushnyk (embroidered Ukrainian towel) to their microphone stands. This powerful Ukrainian symbol along with the costuming came at a time when Ukrainians were entering a new age in the Canadian experience. By the early 1970's many Ukrainians began to truly celebrate their heritage rather than shying away from it as had been the case with preceeding generations. For these reasons, plus the selection and execution of their songs, Rushnychok was widely accepted by the Ukrainian community in Canada and throughout the United States as well. Perhaps due to the impact they had on other Ukrainian bands that were to follow, they deservedly received the nickname "The Ukrainian Beatles", albeit for a different reason than the D-Drifters. Their presentation and ideas were copied by many groups who to followed afterwards. Individual Musical Histories of Shoom members The individual musical histories of Shoom members is varied and yet interwoven in many cases. Hrytz Udod Rushnychok was the very first Ukrainian musical group to impact upon me as a young boy in Saskatoon. I remember listening to Rushnychok albums countless hours at home, at get-togethers, and particularly while travelling in the car. Its safe to say my father loved the music this band produced. They were all from families of third wave immigrants whose Ukrainian was similar to that of my father's. They sang patriotic songs in new ways that greatly impressed many people of my parent's generation, and younger people alike. Having come from what I consider a musical family, I recall that it was very rare that one would not hear music being played in our home or during car trips, long or short. Also, growing up in the home of a Ukrainian Orthodox priest it was easy to be inundated with the Ukrainian culture. My father, having come to Canada following World War II, was one of the third wave of immigration. He was one of these people who literally knew Taras Shevchenko's Kobzar by heart. He was very politically aware of Ukraine's situation, and when he received his calling to serve The Lord, he also dedicated himself to serving the Ukrainian community. My mother was born in Cando, Saskatchewan. Her father had come over in 1913 and lived without his wife and son for nine years until circumstances would allow my Baba and Uncle to join him. My mother would always say Dido and Baba were from old Kozak families from the Chernihiv area. She would also point out which songs they would sing at home or at get-togethers. My mother was taught to play various instruments by a kind and talented pioneer priest, Father Wasyl Kudryk. She would eventually become a musician in the Cando area playing for all sorts of occasions. She said she was "raking in the cash" making four dollars per dance in the 1940's. Her idol was Don Messer. She loved Ukrainian music and eventually learned to play not only the fiddle, but the accordion, guitar, piano, mandolin, and banjo as well. When she married my father, she took these talents into parish life and was a strong compliment to my father's work. Knowing what our grandparents lived through by immigrating to Canada, learning of the misery of life in Ukraine for our family there, plus coming from the home that we did developed in both my brother Taras Hryhorovych and myself a strong Ukrainian consciousness. He is today a priest in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and I am a teacher in the Ukrainian Bilingual Program, and active in the church as well. We were raised to defend our faith and our culture which are so much interwoven. My other early musical influences included the Bandurist Chorus of Detroit, Michigan, as well as the Kuban Kozaks of Paris, France. I very much liked the power in the performances of the Bandurist Chorus, and emotion they would evoke in me as I listened. The impression made by the Kuban Kozaks upon me has never left me. Here were "the total package" entertainers who could dance incredibly, sing beautifully, and entertain in a way that I had never imagined. Following their Saskatoon concert in 1972, I would go on to sing the songs from their album at festivals in Saskatoon for years afterwards. I also immediately began guitar lessons. I feel I was very fortunate to have come from a family which would be considered "very Ukrainian" in the way that I understood and spoke Ukrainian and had no difficulty singing in the language. Somewhere during my early youth it would appear I fell deeply and forever in love with Ukrainian music. I often say: "It is not just something I do - it is who I am". By the age of thirteen I was asked by a young band in Saskatoon called The Far Horizons if I would consider being their lead singer. In exchange, the accordion player would teach me how to play the bass guitar. A year later, in 1978, our band would take to the stage at Saskatoon's Vesna Festival as the youngest band to ever perform there. We played to an audience of approximately 1500 people for three nights in a row. An incredible experience for all of us. At the time we emulated as much as possible Rushnychok, who were our "idols", and who had performed there only the year before on the very same stage! In 1978 a band called Dumka, from Edmonton, was the featured band. They also made an impact upon our Far Horizons band, albeit to a lesser degree. The following spring a band by the name of Samotsvit from Montreal came to Saskatoon as the featured band for Vesna Festival. They made a huge impression upon me. These were young men 21 - 24 years old who not only sang and played instruments, but danced incredibly before and during their performance. Little was I to know that 11 years later I would end up playing in a band with Oles Cap, one of the young men, and founding member, of Samotsvit! In 1979 I joined forces with a couple of childhood friends to form the short-lived band Surma. We played for one year, but then fate moved my family to Winnipeg in August of 1980. I terribly missed playing in a band as well as my friends in Saskatoon and therefore decided, upon grade 12 graduation, to move back to Saskatoon. I played with the same fellows who had now joined up with a young man, Myroslaw Kowal (also from Montreal), to form the band MRIA. This band would later go on to record three albums of Ukrainian music. Other groups which had influenced me were Kobza, Smerichka, and Vatra from Ukraine, Vesely Chasy, Iskra, and Promin from The United States, as well as Burya from Toronto and the others mentioned in this study. University brought me back to Winnipeg a year later where I was to "hang up my guitar" for the next 7 years. During this time, however, I took a very active part in the rich choral life Winnipeg had (and continues) to offer. I was a member of the Olexander Koshetz Choir, the Illarion Youth Choir, The Hoosli Male Chorus, Holy Trinity Cathedral Choir, and the Unknown Male Chorus. This would later provide much inspiration for the selection of materials for Shoom recordings. In early 1990 Oles Cap, having moved to Winnipeg in 1983, was looking for a bass player/vocalist to join his band Lviv. When Oles called to see if I would like to come and audition, I jumped at the chance. After all, here was one of my other musical "idols" asking me to try out for his band! This combination also included Nestor Budyk, an accomplished accordionist, drummer Chris Quinn, the first non-Ukrainian member of a band that I had played with (perhaps a sign of changing times), and a multi instrumentalist and recent immigrant from Ukraine, Peter Yuraschuk. Lviv was in existence for approximately four years and received much work in the Ukrainian community. However, due to the busyness of individuals' lives at the time this band disbanded by 1992 - 93. Another factor which may have contributed to the demise of this group was its inability to play several styles of music (something that was often needed by the early 1990's in the Winnipeg music scene). As Lviv was leaving the music scene, another short lived band made its way onto the stage. This was a band called "The Borsch Brothers". The members and combination of members continually changed in this band, of which I was, from time to time, a participant. The band played the prestigious Vesna festival in Saskatoon with a line up which included Merited Artist of Ukraine, Olexander Harkavy, and Saxophone sensation Sasha Bouchouk. The Borsch Brothers also headlined Vegreville's Pysanka Festival in July of 1995, and Edmonton's Shumkafest in November of the same year. The band's roster for the latter two venues once again included Oles Cap. You will note that the activities of the Borsch Brothers overlap with the emergence of Over The Edge (1994-95). It was time for me to make a choice as to whom to play with. When I sensed the commitment put forth by the members of Over The Edge, I decided to dedicate my time to the efforts of this new band. I auditioned in October 1994 in the home of Terry Kraynyk. Nathan Mandziuk, Terry Kraynyk, and the original drummer, Dave Mandziuk, decided to allow me into the band. We practised hard for nine months until our first booking in August of 1995. This combination played six venues together and recorded a demo tape in November of that same year. Dave then left the band and Terry McGurk took over the drumming. We had work lined up and Terry fit into the band very well. This then became the foundation of Over The Edge and later Shoom. Terry Kraynyk Terry was born into the family of Fred and Florence Kraynyk. Fred's parents had moved to Canada in 1914. They settled in the Vita, Manitoba by an area called Chipywnyk's Church. This was just down the road from Peter Picklyk's place. Because Terry's grandfather was a musician, this seems to have influenced his father and brothers who all became musicians and Terry's two aunts married musicians as well. Terry recalls family gatherings in which music was always a central element. Terry's first exposure to Ukrainian music was that of Peter Picklyk, Tommy Buick, and generally what is referred to as "western Canadian Ukrainian music". Terry's father would often play with his brother-in-law's band at Mateychuk's barn, a location in the Stuartburn area renown for its old time dances. Fred encouraged Terry to pursue the accordion as this was becoming a very popular instrument at the time (1970's). Between the ages of seven and sixteen Terry studied under the classically trained German musician, Carl Muller. Terry then began to perform at family gatherings and by the age of thirteen started to play in an old-time band called the Melody Mates. Ukrainian dancing has always played a large role in Terry's life. He started at the age of four and has been involved right through to the present time. Terry recalls that through the experiences with Troyanda he would have the opportunity of watching and listening to Ted Komar: "I would sit and be in awe". He is past artistic director of the Troyanda Folk Ensemble of Selkirk, Manitoba. He is also past performing member of both the Troyanda and Rusalka Folk Ensembles. His father, being a school teacher, also taught Terry and his siblings the Ukrainian language throughout Terry's formative years. Fred Kraynyk had purchased D-Drifters albums which Terry remembers being played a lot during his youth. Again through the school of dance Terry met Tom Koroluk, another of Winnipeg's great accordionists. Tom admits to being heavily influenced in his style by Dave Roman for whom he had worked for in Dave's Maddock Recording Studio. Tom in turn introduced Terry to Nathan Mandziuk in 1987. The two have been close friends ever since. In October 1994, the two friends, along with Nathan's brother Dave, decided to form their own band - Over The Edge. Nathan Mandziuk Nathan also comes from a musical family. His Baba and Dido Mandziuk came over to Canada in 1929 and settled in the Rosa, Manitoba area on a homestead. On his mother's side his Baba Ambrosichuk was born in Canada but Dido was born in Ukraine. Nathan grew up speaking Ukrainian to his grandparents. Nathan's father Bill remembers, as a youth, hearing his father play the fiddle. Bill later played for many years in a band called The Wild Cats. Nathan and his brother Dave grew up listening to all sorts of music but especially lots of Ukrainian music. Nathan received his first guitar from his father at the age of five. At eight years old, Nathan started Ukrainian dancing in Sarto, Manitoba. That year Nathan started also taking accordion lessons from Winnipeg accordionist Len Hanchuk. It was around this time that Nathan recalls hearing the D-Drifters recordings. From these albums and eight track tapes Nathan says he started "really getting the itch to play". By age eleven Nathan, Dave, and their two first cousins Jim and Shaun Cahute (related to the famous Ron Cahute) started the band Low Profile. Nathan recalls their first gig being out in Witmore, Manitoba when he was thirteen and a half years old. They had to play about 40 - 45% Ukrainian music at that time. Among the many functions at which the band performed the most prestigious would have been Saskatoon's Vesna Festival in 1984. By 1985, however, the members parted ways. While spending weekends in Rosa, Nathan would often hear a band that played out there on occasion called The Cossacks. This band was headed by Tom Koroluk. Nathan befriended Tom and soon Nathan was part of the band's line-up as a guitarist. During this time Nathan also did some freelance work with the Hoosli Male Chorus as a bass guitarist. The Cossacks broke up in 1988 and Nathan landed in a band called Yours Truly playing with his future (though no one knew it at the time) father-in-law, Ralph Smolinski. From 1990 to 1994 Nathan again performed with Tom Koroluk in a new band, at that time, called After Midnight. Although Nathan knew practically every song recorded by his idol band The D-Drifters, he never heard them live until they performed at his wedding in 1992. Nathan and his wife Donna recall that as being an absolute thrill for them, but especially for Nathan. By 1994 Nathan was looking for a new challenge musically. Nathan continued to study guitar, taking lessons from a local teacher, Dennis Hammerstead. Interestingly, Nathan has at times felt societal pressure to conceal his Ukrainian musician identity. At school very few knew that Nathan played in a band. Terry McGurk Terry, born in Winnipeg in 1947, has had a very interesting musical history. His father came from Scotland, and his mother was born in Manitoba. His father played the trumpet in The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders Armed Forces Band. He passed away when Terry was only fourteen years old. Terry had started, however, playing the drums by the age of nine. Between the ages of eleven and seventeen Terry was playing in the Sprague - Piney area. He recalls playing Mateychuk's barn in 1964 for old-time barn dances. With his first band called Torquay, he remembers having to play Ukrainian melodies at these dances: "It was just expected - you had to play it or your were dead". Terry studied drumming from "one of the best drummers in Winnipeg", Del Wagner. Del Wagner performed at that time with the house band at Club Morocco. This band included the guitarist Dennis Hammerstead and horn player Harold Habichuk. Terry also studied drums from Billy Graham for two years. Billy went on to be the drummer for Sammy Davis' Canadian tour in 1968-69. In 1968, Terry played four times with Neil Young who at that time was still relatively unknown. Terry recalls thinking that "this guy was not going to make it - he just wasn't very good. He sure couldn't sing". Terry was surprised by Young's later success. Terry also filled in four or five times with famous Winnipeger, Chad Allan. Terry performed mostly rock music, at that time, with his band Wishbone. They were the house band on the River Rouge for four years, six months a year, seven days a week. By 1976-77, they had played all the top bars in Winnipeg and were in a well established venue rotation. An installation technician by trade, Terry worked for Manitoba Telephone Systems for his entire working career, the last ten as manager of his department. This required Terry to take some time off from playing. In 1986 he again formed a band called Glyder. The bass guitarist of this band was Steve Gembarski who also played in a band called Beginnings. John Lewisky played in Beginnings and through John, Terry met Tom Koroluk. When Glyder dissolved, Tom asked Terry to join After Midnight in 1994 (when Nathan and his brother departed to form Over The Edge). When Dave Mandziuk left, Over The Edge needed a drummer. After Midnight was dissolving right at that time and Tom highly recommended Terry to our band. He brought with him a wealth of knowledge concerning rock and roll music, a great voice, and a stabilising personality to the band. An accomplished drummer, he quickly picked up on the zabava style of music which was new to him at the time. His is the member of Shoom who is by far the most frequently complimented on his playing. Ray Bach Ray Bach is the saxophone/clarinet player who frequently accompanies Shoom and performed on the group's second recording. Ray's parents speak Ukrainian and Ray comments that his paternal grandparent's were "very Ukrainian". Ray's family name until 1970 was Bachynski. Coming from a musical family where Ray, his two brothers, and their father performed as a group, Ray's dad thought The Bach Four was a much catchier name than the Bachynski Four. Ray was taught clarinet by Harold Habichuk and was performing with his family by the age of eleven. Ray reflects that he has always played Ukrainian music but that he was unaware of the ethnicity of the music he was playing until he was older. Over the next five years The Bach Four performed from Chicago to Prince Albert, and many places in between. Ray went on to play in the band Beginnings for about four or five years. John Lewisky, the accordionist of this band, eventually introduced Ray to Tom Koroluk. Ray later played with a well known weekend band called Justice for ten years and during this time began to perform in Ukrainian dance recital orchestras under the direction of Tom. He has done so now for the past fifteen years. You will also see his name in the credits for albums with Luba Bilash and the Maryna Duet of Winnipeg. When Shoom began to perform the music on its recording, Ray became a needed component. Again, through Tom Koroluk, the band was introduced to Ray in 1998. Other members of the "Shoom Family" People who have contributed to the success of our recordings, and our band in general, along with our families, are referred to affectionately by band members as "being part of the Shoom Family". These include: Sashko Boychouk performing saxophone and sopilka on Shoom's two recordings, trumpet player Jeff Johnson on Shoom I, trumpet player Frank Burke on Shoom II, Michelle Kowalchuk as guest vocalist on Shoom II, as well as a host of great singers mostly from The Hoosli Male Chorus providing some back-up vocals on Shoom I. Bohdana Bashuk has also been a very big supporter of Shoom and has given much air time for our music over the past six years. These people, along with many others, in various ways, have helped Shoom become the band it is today. Collective group history With the appearance of the recording Shoom in August of 1997, the band Over The Edge adopted this name as its Ukrainian performing name. Since that time Shoom has performed twice at C.N.U. Festival in Dauphin, in 1998 and 2001, Saskatoon's Vesna Festival, San Diego's Ukrainian Festival, several times in Minneapolis, as well as many other venues in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Many of the band's venues are in Winnipeg. In August 2001, Shoom released its second recording, "Shoom II - It's Fun To Be Ukrainian!". Most significantly, the band has been asked several times to play in the eastern United States. To date, the band has performed in New Jersey on two separate occasions, in November of 2001, and in February, 2003. The significance of these venues has been the completion of a cycle started by the D-Drifters tour in 1965. Due to the D-Drifter's influence, Ukrainian bands in Montreal began to appear. As a result of these bands and their recordings coming out to Western Canada, their music influenced ours. Because of the unique influences which have brought about the Shoom sound, Ukrainian music from Western Canada is being sought after in "the east". To our knowledge no Ukrainian band from Western Canada has ever travelled to the east since the time of the D-Drifters in the mid 1960's. This seems to complete a unique cycle in the life of Ukrainian zabava music and perhaps points to the fact that this style of music is becoming somewhat more homogeneous. What is the Shoom sound? I believe the Shoom sound is a hybrid of The D-Drifters, Rushnychok, Samotsvit, and Burya all mixed together with a "punchy edge" to round things off. We have been repeatedly told that our music is very lively and very danceable. A large emphasis is placed on clearly understood and grammatical Ukrainian language in all Ukrainian vocal work. A fostering of pride in who we are as Ukrainians is also an important theme in our recordings incorporating with it the glorious and proud elements of Ukrainian Kozakdom. Yet another major factor for the development of our sound has been the fact that we have recorded at Dave Roman's Maddock Studio with Dave acting as co-producer and recording engineer. He, of course, has an incredible ear for Ukrainian music and has significantly influenced our sound. Key elements for success There are considerable changes to the repertoire of venues from gigs in Winnipeg, to those in rural areas, to those in the eastern United States. Here the band relies on its versatility to play various styles of music. For example; when playing in Tuelon Manitoba, Nathan's ability to play the fiddle is absolutely crucial to the band's success. In Winnipeg and in other large urban areas the role of the fiddle is often greatly diminished and the saxophone/clarinet playing is featured prominently. Due to the experience brought forth by its members, Shoom also has been, for the most part, successful in its ability to perform the right kind of music for the venues it plays. The band's large selection of song's allows it to respond according to the reaction of it's audience. We have seen that in this type of work, song selection plays a very significant role in the success of any given venue. Another important factor for the success of any band is its management. Although large issues are dealt with on a group level, the daily operation of the band is left to Terry Kraynyk. Terry has the large responsibility of taking all the bookings, negotiating all terms with customers, arranging all details (including travel and accommodations for out of town venues), and informing group members of gig details. Terry admits that, for the most part, he loves what he does (and it shows in his dealings with clients). The selection of Ukrainian material for our recordings is mostly my responsibility. When it comes to arrangement of these various songs, however, it becomes a group effort. Nathan has a very highly developed ability to dissect songs and produce just the right sound, chord, or solo needed to make the song sound the way we would like it to sound on our recording. As mentioned earlier, Terry McGurk provides a solid foundation with his drumming and with his personality. What has playing in Shoom meant to its members? When asked this question Terry Kraynyk responded: "I didn't really know the difference in styles from east to west. I've learned that Ukrainian people, for the most part, are the same in Minneapolis, New York, Saskatchewan, San Diego, as they are in Swan River and in Winnipeg." Nathan: "It's opened talents up a lot. It's nice to be referred to as 'one of the best Ukrainian guitarists in North America', I realise its not embarrassing to speak Ukrainian, my son is in the Ukrainian Bilingual Program, my wife is in Koshetz now. I now believe Shoom will dominate the world in music!" Terry McGurk: "It has exposed me to a new type of music I never heard before. I've learned about a culture I never knew much about." Ray: "Playing in Shoom has exposed me to the real Ukrainian culture instead of just playing notes. I appreciate the culture now - it's important for me to have my kids involved. I now realise what I missed as a kid." For myself, playing in Shoom has meant a dream come true in many ways. I am able to perform the music I love. This includes not only Ukrainian music, but rock and roll which I grew up with as well. I feel that to allow me to sing in Ukrainian is to allow me to breathe. It really seems to be a necessary part of who I am. To be privileged to perform at the level we do at the venues we play is part of the dream. The other part is recording this sound, this unique era in Ukrainian musical history for all generations of Ukrainians, young and old alike, as well as those yet to come. I truly feel blessed. Conclusion By the virtue of the fact that our band is busy playing various venues suggests that Ukrainian zabava music definitely plays a role in the life of Ukrainian Canadians. The fact that our music is sold across the country and listened to by countless people provides us an opportunity to share our expressions of the Ukrainian song in a uniquely Ukrainian-Canadian way. After all, who else can tell what Ukrainian-Canadian people may want to hear but for another group of Ukrainian-Canadians? Yes, we Canadians of Ukrainian decent have developed our own unique style of music. I believe that being for the most part culturally separated from Ukraine until quite recently, has made Ukrainian music in Canada somewhat akin to that of space travel; in some ways our music has been light years ahead of that in Ukraine, and in other ways perhaps stuck in a time warp. I believe that as ties continue to strengthen between Ukraine and Canada we will see more and more interchange between influences in Ukrainian music from one country to another and vice versa. The late conductor of The Olexander Koshetz Choir, Walter Klymkiw once said: " all the young people want to do today is Ukrainian dance…dance, dance, dance. What about singing? You know Koshetz said that 'not just once, but many times, the Ukrainian song has saved the Ukrainian nation'." (Koshetz Choir rehearsal 1984) I do not believe that a polka band will "save the Ukrainian nation", but I do believe that it can have a significant impact on the people who hear it's music. Music is a very powerful tool. I also believe that Ukrainian Canadian bands can play an important role in shaping a future sense of pride in one's heritage and a sense of who they are among younger generations of Ukrainian Canadians as well as for the youth of Ukraine as well. It's not just about notes. Long live the Ukrainian Song!