INTERVIEW: Band leader offers insight on Zabava (03/24/02)

INTERVIEW: Band leader offers insight on Zabava

The Actions Foundation is a private, non-profit foundation established by sisters Teresa and Lily Zariczny of Bayonne, N.J. Its purpose is to identify benevolent organizations and support their philanthropic efforts through various fund-raising activities.

The foundation's first benefit event is dubbed "Kozaks with a Cause," a dance and party featuring a live recording by the band Zabava. Special guests include popular entertainer and musician Ron Cahute and the Syzokryli Ukrainian Folk Dance Ensemble. The event will be held at the Ramada Inn in East Hanover, N.J., on April 13; Proceeds from the event and partial proceeds of the CD sales will benefit the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund (CCRF).

In order to acquaint The Weekly's readers with the music of Zabava, the Zariczny sisters conducted the following interview with the band's leader, Mike Poulton.

Q: How long has the Zabava band been together, and what sparked your interest in leading a Ukrainian band?

A: Zabava, as Zabava, has been around for 10 years. The inception of Zabava came shortly after the members of a cabaret group, which I was in charge of the music for, called the Black Sea Kozaks went their separate ways after quite a long run. After this, wanting to continue on with the endeavors of Ukrainian music, seeing tremendous opportunity to do something great in the Ukrainian culture, while having a lot fun traveling around the world doing it, I started the group called Zabava with a number of other musicians. We're still at it today.

Q: How did you come up with the name Zabava?

A: It was kind of a natural fit for what we do. The name in itself, "party," is exactly what we are all about. We like to do it, we like to attend them and we like to be a part of them. And it's the essence of what describes the people in the band today.

Q: How did you generate your first interest in Ukrainian music?

A: I think it was kind of a natural inspiring aspect to my life when I started Ukrainian dancing at age 6 at the Ukrainian National Federation hall in Sudbury [Ontario]. I just knew that it was part of my soul. It's not just an interest. It's part of you.

Q: Have you had any formal music or theory training at all?

A: Oh, absolutely. I started taking accordion lessons when I was 7 years old. I then graduated to the drums when I lost my brains at 13. My parents were glad when I found them again and went back to the accordion.

Can you tell us a little bit about the band members?

We are a band of six presently, including me. Andrew Schaak plays chromatic accordion, which is a button accordion. He is, in my opinion, one of, if not the most talented accordionist that one will ever find in Canada, certainly, if not in all of North America. He has also grown up in the culture and has studied accordion classically and possesses a high degree of training in classical accordion. I have seen him grow into one of the most talented musicians I have ever had the pleasure of playing with.

Q: How about some of the other band members?

A: Then, there's John Shelegey. I believe he's been with the band playing with me the longest. John is, by trade, a chemical engineer, but while attending university he thought he'd be bored and did a double major in studio piano as well. He plays piano and keyboard with the band.

Q: You have some female violinists, as well as back-up vocalists.

A: Yes, I have Cristina Masotti. She has been classically trained. She has spent many years with the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra and continues to play with the North Bay Symphony Orchestra. She has also spent five or six years playing in the musical scene in Toronto and is now back in Sudbury. I had to snatch her up because she's so well-trained classically that it's such a good fit. She also sings. Cristina has a tremendous voice. She has a voice that makes her a most suited female vocalist for this type of music. She's a pleasure to play music with.

Then the next person is Jeff Fuller. He has played in the rock and roll scene in Sudbury in many different bands. He has been playing with these bands since his early teens. He is one of Sudbury's best drummers. He is sought after by many other bands, but he chooses Zabava as his primary focus. He was introduced to this type of music about five or six years ago and brings a different flavor of drumming in a different style which is defining - it's the icing on the cake. His subtlety is unmatched.

Matt Foy is my guitar player. He joined the band about three years ago. What's interesting about Matt is that he has the lightest touch for this sort of music. It drives the music forward. It's unbelievable. I never really knew what the advantage to having a guitar player was until I found Matt. Matt has spent most of his musical career studying ska music and has toured with many ska bands. He has been recorded many times on different projects in that style of music. It's that style of music that he brings forth. The style is very similar. It has to be very light. That's why he's the best.

Q: Please describe ska music.

A: It's like reggae. It's always very light with nice offbeat embellishments. It's a style all to its own that lends itself so well to what we do.

Q: Has your music been particularly influenced by any other band or music?

A: Oh, absolutely. There have certainly been many influences. I started playing the drums at what would be the Polish hall in Sudbury with my uncle, who plays accordion as well. I started playing drums with him when I was about 14. This experience encouraged me to continue further with accordion. As far as other influences, I would definitely say that Ron Cahute has been one. It's always an extreme pleasure for one to respect someone's talent and someone's music that much and in later years end up working with them on different projects. It's a pleasure. I have tremendous respect for his achievements.

Q: What type of gigs do you normally play?

A: Well, I would say that it would be a cross-section of all. We do many festivals. Just last year, for example, we did the largest Ukrainian festival in Canada in Dauphin, Manitoba. We did the Sunflower Festival in Detroit last year. We do a large festival called the Carousel of Nations in Windsor, Ontario, to name a few. But on the other hand, we do weddings and zabavas from Sudbury to Toronto, Chicago, Detroit and all points in between. We've also toured Australia and Europe with the Dnipro choir and Veselka dancing group from Sudbury. We get around!

Q: Who was your childhood hero? Your boyhood hero?

A: I would have to say my father. Definitely. My father and I were in business together for quite some time. He has tremendous savvy for what he does. We owned a supermarket together and employed 180 people in the business. It's a large multi-department supermarket that he continues to operate. He's always had tremendous savvy for what he's done. He's never one to sweat the small stuff and let other people get him down because he's his own man. I've always looked up to that and I think that that's very important in life.

I think that whatever one does in business or musically you know when you start that people will have their opinions. It is the people that you find that are envious of what you've created that are the ones to criticize. The other people are the ones who encourage you and understand that we are trying to do something for the culture while making certain people are pleased with what we do. That's motivating.

I've run into both types of people. I don't sweat the small stuff.

Q: So, what is your audience typically like?

A: I think that it encompasses all age groups. The elder generation absolutely loves what we do because we take those old songs and give them a little bit of spice but don't mess with them that much. They love that because the traditional songs are recognizable to them. It's nostalgic. Bringing this sort of music, which is already dynamic, forward to young people has allowed us to play, yes, at the Ukrainian festivals, but also to other mainstream festivals like the Northern Lights Festival in Sudbury.

It is not culturally based at all and we fit right in and attracted huge audiences for this sort of music. We're not playing anything differently and we're not playing anything with a different edge to it. We're playing the same music for non-Ukrainians as we play for Ukrainian people. We played in the top rock and roll clubs in the city of Sudbury with great success. Bringing Ukrainian culture not only to Ukrainian people, but to the mainstream, is also very important because it gives them a little bit of a flavor of what our culture is all about. It's dynamic! Younger people love what we do.

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Zabava's live recording dance and party will take place at the Ramada Inn in East Hanover, N.J., at 9 p.m. on April 13. For ticket reservations ($25 reserved, $30 at the door) or inquiries please call Teresa or Lily Zariczny at the Actions Foundation, (201) 339-4224, or e-mail [email protected].

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