Yes, unexpected, exciting things are bound to happen here. Here are my answers to the questions Cory asked in the interview yesterday. Once again, thanks for the interest!
Looking at the blog now, it seems that it is on a good way to become a zine!
1. What is the best band in Serbia?
To be honest, there is quite a lot to be heard in Serbia, from post-rock and indie to hardcore, crust and metal. There is a lot of held back potential here, so these sounds stay inside the country, since a lot of bands don't have the funds or time or whatever to tour and spread their music around. Some of my personal favorites are "Dazd", "Reflections of Internal Rain", "Ground Zero", "Went", "36 Daggers", "Lets Grow", "Unison"... You can find all of these on myspace.
2. Is there a common thing politically or otherwise that binds the punk/hc scene?
In my opinion, despite the number of bands and projects here, there isn't a scene per se. There is no collective, no movements that support such a thing nor are there movements to support. A lot of poseurism plagues these regions. Lots of talk about friendship and unity, but none to be found, so you basically end up with bands doing things alone or without a defined message and initiative to do something more other than record some shit and do a few shows. Here it is more just for fun I guess, rather than doing something useful and productive along the way. Quite sad in my opinion.
3. Do you have a lot of diy labels/zines/show spaces?
As you might conclude from the above question, no. The lack of a "scene" and a movement, carries with itself a lack of everything else. I had plans a while ago to start organizing shows here,
but it is hard to find a cheap space, since there are no diy venues and it is even more hard when you are doing it alone. There is a group of people starting some gigs in Novi Sad, which is the second biggest city here, so maybe they will have luck in the future. Also there are some labels and zines here that I knew of, but it was all way to small and way under the potential they could reach if they were more supported. Serbia needs more interest, inspiration and motivation when it comes to diy ethics concerning music. Luka and myself have plans about starting a label, so we will see how that goes.
4. How is the country as a whole?
It has it's ups and downs. Generally, it is great here, but a lot of internal and external strife devastated the country in the past. Safe to say that we are years behind the rest of Europe. Those are subjects of politics, so I'd really skip that part, since it is rather frustrating and pointless. Aside of that historical/political aspect, it is ok. A lot of tourists who come through Serbia are quite surprised and fall in love with everything here.
5. How is the economy versus the rest of Eastern Europe/Europe in general?
Versus the rest of the world - falling behind pretty much.
Versus Eastern Europe - hard question, since the countries here are entwined with an equal dose of war-filled history, so it is all balanced in a weird way. Serbia and Croatia are probably the most "advanced" in the region.
6. Do people speak english there much?
Yes, here english is a mandatory subject in schools and faculties and it is almost a must when you apply for a job.
7. Do touring bands come through a lot?
Depends. As I said above, the lack of diy venues really makes it a hard task to host a show. Generally there are a lot of gigs going on, but from my personal perspective I'm not really satisfied. Only a handful of bands that I love had a show here. Croatia and Romania have a great support for booking diy shows, that is where all the good gigs are happening and a lot of times you can see a band come to Croatia, but not coming here, despite Serbia being the country next door.
