Country cousins
American-style pickin' and grinnin' has found a receptive
audience in the Czech Republic
By Darrell Jónsson
For The Prague Post
November 29th, 2006
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Jimmy
Bozeman and his Lazy Pigs have become a Prague institution. |
The Czech Republic boasts the odd credential of launching the first dedicated
country-and-western radio station in Europe, Prague's own Country Radio 89.5
FM. Since 1991, more than a few visitors have been puzzled but pleased to twirl
the dial and hear C&W music being taken to with such enthusiasm by a
variety of Czech recording artists.
Radio is just the tip of the iceberg, with Czech magazines like Folk
& Country and scattered summer festivals across the region boasting a
country-and-western-esque image. The Czech identification with C&W may be
strong, but those who grew up on a diet of Hank Williams or Buck Owens usually
find Czech C&W a slightly different rodeo. As Jakub Racek, a master guitar
picker with the bands Lazy Pigs and Monogram says, "We have our Czech
version of country music, which tends to be more old-timey and is influenced by
[Czech] campfire music."
That campfire sound is known as tramping music, which has roots in the 1920s
and '30s and flourished under communism. "People were seeking something
different to relate to from what we had coming from Russia and the Eastern
countries," Racek says. "Being from the U.S., [country music] was
considered something of a forbidden fruit. People could also connect with it
because of Western movies. It's a music that gives you freedom."
American gumbo
"You never know where you are until you leave it" is how Jimmy
Bozeman recounts his odd musical journey from the epicenter of Cajun and
country-and-western music to over 15 years of steady country-music gigs in the
Czech Republic.
Bozeman grew up in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Despite a childhood spent in
America's Southern musical heartland, in a town with two Cajun stations, four
C&W stations and one Top-40 station, Bozeman's first musical love was the
rock 'n' roll music of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Kinks. But, even
though he was spending his spare teenage cash on British Invasion LPs, Bozeman
clearly soaked up the gumbo of American musical culture.
Bozeman spent his early days in Prague busking on Charles Bridge. Since
then, he's been on an American South musical spree that has been welcomed by
American expats and Czech country fans alike. Of all the different varieties of
American country sounds, he prefers the looser style of hillbilly, which he
says "is played by people who make tons of mistakes, and it's just part of
the sound."
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Jimmy
Bozeman's Lazy Pigs Every
Tuesday night at 7:30 at Red, Hot and Blues(Jakubská 12, Prague 1-Old Town) |
Playing live with his group the Lazy Pigs — and on their past two
independently released CDs, Pigs in the Parlor and Bohemian Wetbacks
— Bozeman delivers a spontaneous hillbilly thrill. Every Tuesday night, Bozeman
and his crew attract both local fans and tourists to his regular gigs at Red,
Hot and Blues in Old Town, where a constant flow of guest players includes some
of the Czech Republic's most respected country and bluegrass recording artists.
These players include members from a community of Czech bluegrass bands such
as P.R.S.T., Monogram and Relief. Sitting in last week were two members of
P.R.S.T.: Svatka Štěpánková, lending her full-bodied upright bass lines and
tight vocal harmonies, and Pepa Malina, whose expert fiddle chops echoed
Appalachian nights. Like many of the local musicians Bozeman works with, both
Štěpánková and Malina are internationally known as examples of the Czech
Republic's capacity for producing expert interpretations of bluegrass, folk and
jazz.
Another example of this level of musicianship is Racek, who plays with
Monogram and who spared no tricks that night in making his Fender Telecaster
swerve a dreamy hillbilly country twang. With Bozeman at the wheel on guitar
and vocals, if you closed your eyes, you might think you were sitting on the
Louisiana-Texas border rather than in the center of Prague.
Southern hospitality
The reason why the Czech Republic produces so many accomplished country and
bluegrass musicians remains a mystery even to the players. According to
Bozeman, the reason is about as clear "as why Czechs have so many great
hockey players."
There's clearly no shortage. On any given Tuesday, Bozeman says he is never
sure who exactly will show up at the Red, Hot and Blues sessions. Yet, every
week, his floating Lazy Pigs ensemble never fails to hit a hillbilly sweet spot
that includes bits of what Bozeman describes as "western swing, blues and Gypsy
swing, but an overall vibe that is always country."
In Prague and throughout the Czech Republic this winter, there will be no
shortage of the unique warmth bluegrass and country music can deliver. The next
big musical event is a "Bluegrass Advent" concert Saturday, Dec. 2,
in Kralupy nad Vltavou, about a half-hour's drive north of Prague. Relief will
headline an eight-band lineup.
There are also country bands playing regularly at the Country Music Saloon
in Vinohrady (Korunní 25). And keep in mind the Lazy Pigs' regular gigs at Red,
Hot and Blues, which will remain a place of Southern music hospitality every
Tuesday night for as long as Bozeman can break a string.
Darrell Jónsson