Last week, we asked Mark Marchyk a series of questions about the Lemon Bucket Orkestra's Canadian tour. In this part of his interview, he discussed the personal influences upon his music.
NP: How did your Maidan experience affect your music?
MM: It has, for sure. I know a lot of musicians say that music is separate from conflict and I just don’t believe that. I believe almost all of the best music out there emerges out of conflict. It could be personal conflict, emotional conflict or even political conflict or personal loss (losing a lover, child, land, nation, dignity), whatever it is, even the most emotional love songs have a little bit of loss in them. I’m a person who has dedicated his adult life to Ukrainian and eastern European culture and exploring what the possibilities of that are as a Ukrainian-Canadian both in Canada and as a touring musician. To be in a place where everyone was putting down everything they had, to stand up against a situation of complete, all-encompassing corruption that affected their lives and their families…and to say ‘we’re not going to take it anymore’ and to see the reaction to try to keep those people subjugated and to know that this is something I’ve been dedicated my life to: the expression of all of that through song and music – it’s very difficult for me to say that situation didn’t affect how I look at music.
The two things are intertwined and frankly, it would be difficult for me to continue to play this music or to explore its possibilities without being in touch with what is happening there now, as we speak. If I wasn’t, I would consider myself a hypocrite…I’ve touched that and I’ve seen it and it’s something that’s really difficult to explain.
You can say that music is the most important thing and that music binds us – and it does and I do believe that. But when you put down an instrument because people’s lives are at stake and people are flat out dying, music takes on a different level of importance. Sometimes it loses a little bit of importance and it does become secondary.
All I can say is that when I was at the Maidan from late January to February 26, I played music from the beginning of February when things were sort of under control and it was like a village that ran smoothly. There was a time that I would come at night and play at Ukrainskyj Dim or Profspilok (Trade Unions Building) to bring a little bit of energy for the people working there but as soon as things got heated up, I didn’t touch any instrument.
Because there was other stuff to be doing, which in my case was reporting on what was going on or helping in any way like cleaning up when the whole city was burned. Shoveling bags of debris or carrying loads of bricks and helping to rebuild the street. Helping to carry medical supplies when Profspilok was on fire to try to get in there and take out as much as we could before the thing burned down.
NP: Will we hear that influence in the upcoming Lemon Bucket Orkestra album?
MM: I don’t know. I don’t think it’s possible to play without that influence. Some people say that since I’ve been back I’ve played and sang differently and it’s still the same songs and some of the songs are different – I’ve learned some new ones. My interest has always been in preserving traditional music and what those possibilities are and I’m still going to do that but my understanding of the place it comes from and the context it’s in now is vastly altered.
It can no longer be some fun songs that you sing around the camp fire and everyone dances…because they mean so much more now, so much more is at stake. And maybe I’m being melodramatic but that’s just my perspective. There was a time, in the last few years where my goal was to facilitate celebration. And that’s still one of my goals but I find that I have a lot less patience for what I consider meaningless or pointless or frivolous – and it’s completely subjective.
When I know how much is at stake and how much changes all the time and to be in a position to explore that culture here, I’m going to think long and hard on what I’m expressing, how I’m expressing it and express it pointedly, quickly, concisely and passionately.
The LBO will be in Sherbrooke, QC (Aug. 14-16), Montreal, QC (Aug. 25), Midland, ON (Aug. 28), Toronto at the Ashkenaz Festival (Aug. 30-31), Guelph, ON (Sept. 6) and Orillia, ON (Sept. 7). Please visit www.lemonbucketorkestra.com for more information.
Share on Social Media
