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The Lazy Bitches
The festival's headline band, The Lazy Bitches, is a blend of youthful exuberance and musical experience.
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Punk's Not Dead
Seven up-and-coming bands bring an old-style sound to a mini festival at Ikra on Wednesday.
By Neil Davidson
Published: March 28, 2008
Anyone who has ever questioned the adage that "Punk's not dead" should be left in no doubt that it is still alive and kicking after the mini festival "Back to the CBGB" at Ikra on Wednesday. The concert, named in homage to the legendary New York punk venue, features seven bands inspired by the anti-mainstream rock of the 1970s.
Headline act, The Lazy Bitches, which combines youthful exuberance with no small measure of experience, faithfully adheres to the loud, simple, two-minute guitar songs that characterize the punk genre.
The group, consisting of Natalya Ivashkevich on vocals and guitar, Sergei Nefedov on drums, Andrei Melikov on bass, and Dmitry Spirin on guitar, started out in 2006 when teenagers Ivashkevich and Nefedov started writing songs in English, inspired by the three-chord power of acts such as The Ramones.
"I listened to punk all through my childhood," said Ivashkevich in an interview this week. "My mother was a punk, and there was no question for me what kind of music to play. Pop and R&B just don't do anything for me."
The pieces finally fell into place when their boisterous shows and no frills, lo-fi sound grabbed the attention of veteran musician Spirin, who originally made a name for himself as the frontman of Russian punk legends "Terekany" in the 1990s and 2000s.
"I saw them playing a concert when they were just a duo," Spirin said. "I just thought, 'This is the real stuff.'" Impressed by their enthusiasm to be on stage and perform, he asked to join. "They had another show the next day, so I had one night to learn 15 songs!"
The Lazy Bitches released its debut album "Stupid and Happy" last year -- a title that the group said summed its attitude to performance. "It's just fun," said Spirin. "We don't want to express happiness or stupidity in an idiotic sense. It's not sad or angry. The themes may be serious, but you do it in a fun way and it rubs off on the audience."
"There are a lot of singers who cry, and there are a lot of Russian dinosaurs with a lot of philosophy in their songs, but it's too complicated," Nefedov said. "It's much better to spread something positive, because life sometimes serves up some unpleasant surprises, and we'd prefer to see some smiling faces when we're on stage."
Punk may have come back into fashion in recent years with the popularity of American acts such as Green Day and The Offspring, but, Nefedov said, it should not be interpreted as a nostalgic retro novelty: It has never really been away.
"Punk's generally underground," Spirin said. "If you do it just because it's fashionable, it won't last. But if it's in your blood, that's not a problem." It's a question of authenticity, he said. "You have to keep it real. When you can put up with having no money and being surrounded by cigarette smoke and broken equipment every night, then it's cool."
"Of course, it's possible that there's some interest in this kind of music now because it's retro and we're on a wave, but fashion will pass, and The Lazy Bitches will still be there."
"Back to the CBGB" is on Wed. at 7 p.m. at Ikra, located at 8A Ulitsa Kazakova, Metro Kurskaya. Tel. 778-56-51.
Copyright © 2008 The Moscow Times. All rights reserved.
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May 8 - 15, 2008 
