VIA Talas
Encyclopedia
VIA Talas were a former Yugoslav New Wave
band notable as one of the participants of the Artistička radna akcija
project. The band name featured the prefix VIA added to the former Yugoslav 1960s rock bands, which stands for vokalno-instrumentalni ansambl (vocal-instrumental ensemble).
(vocals, bass, guitar, synthesizer, percussion), Mira Mijatović (the daughter of the Yugoslav
politician Cvijetin Mijatović
, vocals), Dušan Gerzić "Gera" (saxophone, drums) and Miško Petrović "Plavi" (bass, guitar, backing vocals). The band participated the Artistička radna akcija
(Artistic Work Action
) various artists compilation, featuring the second generation of Belgrade
New Wave and punk rock
bands, with two songs, "Hawai (najljepši kraj)" ("Hawai
(The Most Beautiful Place)") and "Lilihip (My Boy Lollipop)", the later being a cover version of a Millie Small song "My Boy Lollipop
". The band also performed as an opening act for Idoli at their first concert.
By the time the band had released their debut album Perfektan dan za banana ribe
(A perfect day for bananafish), in 1983, under the name Talas, which got the title by the J. D. Salinger
's short-story A Perfect Day for Bananafish
, Pečar and Mijatović were the only band members. The album featured eight songs, and the album's opening track "Sama" ("Alone") became a nationwide hit and appeared on the Svetislav "Bata" Prelić's Šećerna vodica movie soundtrack. The album, recorded at the Belgrade MS studio, was produced by Pečar and Boban Petrović and released through Sarajevo Disk in 3000 copies only. As guests on the album appeared Milan "Mića" Bubalo (drum machine), Ivan Vdović "Vd"
(drums), Milan Mladenović
(guitar) and Vuk Vujačić (saxophone).
The band's song "Ti" appeared on the Ventilator 202 - Demo top 10 compilation., but, soon after, the band ceased to exist.
.
Gerzić worked as a designer and graphic artist and collaborated with Yugoslav New Wave bands like Haustor
, Električni orgazam
, Idoli, D' Boys
and Ekatarina Velika
. In 1986, he finished the Applied Arts studies in Belgrade
and held numerous exhibitions in SFR Yugoslavia and abroad. He worked in Paris
, New York
, Toronto
, and, in 1997, he returned to Belgrade
where he died the following year.
Bojan Pečar
joined Katarina II, which, after the release of their self titled album
, was renamed to Ekatarina Velika
, with whom he released four more studio and one live album. In early 1990 he left the band and moved to London
and played in the band called Mission. He also wrote poetry and was a painter. On October 16, 1998, Pečar died of a heart attack in London
.
The only surviving member of the band is Petrović. He joined D' Boys
as guitarist and bass guitarist, until 1986, when he joined Piloti
. In 1990 he joined Ekatarina Velika
and released the song "Zvezde" on the compilation S' one strane duge. He also started playing accordion and worked on several movie soundtracks and solo projects, and, in 2003, he formed the Miško Plavi Band with musicians from Serbia
, India
, United Kingdom
and Israel
. He also participated in the Kao da je bilo nekad... Posvećeno Milanu Mladenoviću tribute to Milan Mladenović
and, with Miško Plavi Band, released two studio albums and a live album. He is the member of the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique
and Association of Composers of Serbia and the owner of two golden and one platinum record.
In 2005, "Ti" was reissued on a PGP-RTS
compilation Specijal 2: Dan zaljubljenih
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band notable as one of the participants of the Artistička radna akcija
Artisticka radna akcija
Artistička radna akcija is a new wave and punk rock compilation album released in late 1981 by Jugoton in SFR Yugoslavia...
project. The band name featured the prefix VIA added to the former Yugoslav 1960s rock bands, which stands for vokalno-instrumentalni ansambl (vocal-instrumental ensemble).
History
The band was formed in the early 1980s by former BG 5 member Bojan PečarBojan Pecar
Bojan Pečar was a Yugoslav and Serbian musician, best known as bass player of the cult Yugoslav rock band Ekatarina Velika. Previously he was a member of the New Wave group Via Talas, who were featured on the Yugoslav New Wave compilation album Artistička radna akcija...
(vocals, bass, guitar, synthesizer, percussion), Mira Mijatović (the daughter of the Yugoslav
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
politician Cvijetin Mijatović
Cvijetin Mijatovic
Cvijetin Mijatović was a Yugoslav communist politician who served as Chairman of the Collective Presidency of Yugoslavia from 1980 until 1981.In 1933, he became a member of KPJ...
, vocals), Dušan Gerzić "Gera" (saxophone, drums) and Miško Petrović "Plavi" (bass, guitar, backing vocals). The band participated the Artistička radna akcija
Artisticka radna akcija
Artistička radna akcija is a new wave and punk rock compilation album released in late 1981 by Jugoton in SFR Yugoslavia...
(Artistic Work Action
Youth work actions
Youth work actions were organized voluntary labor activities of young people in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The actions were used to build public infrastructure such as roads, railways, and public buildings, as well as industrial infrastructure...
) various artists compilation, featuring the second generation of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
New Wave and punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
bands, with two songs, "Hawai (najljepši kraj)" ("Hawai
Hawai
Hawai can mean:*Hawai, Tottori, town in Tottori Prefecture, Japan*Hawai, India, the administrative headquarters of Anjaw District, in Arunachal Pradesh, India*Hawai, New Zealand in New Zealand...
(The Most Beautiful Place)") and "Lilihip (My Boy Lollipop)", the later being a cover version of a Millie Small song "My Boy Lollipop
My Boy Lollipop
"My Boy Lollipop" is a song written in the mid-1950s by Robert Spencer of the doo-wop group The Cadillacs, and usually credited to Spencer, Morris Levy, and Johnny Roberts. It was first recorded in New York in 1956 by Barbie Gaye...
". The band also performed as an opening act for Idoli at their first concert.
By the time the band had released their debut album Perfektan dan za banana ribe
Perfektan dan za banana ribe
- The band :* Bojan Pečar * Mira Mijatović - Additional musicians :* Dušan Gerzić * Milan Bubalo * Ivan Vdović Vd * Milan Mladenović...
(A perfect day for bananafish), in 1983, under the name Talas, which got the title by the J. D. Salinger
J. D. Salinger
Jerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980....
's short-story A Perfect Day for Bananafish
A Perfect Day for Bananafish
"A Perfect Day for Bananafish" is a short story by J. D. Salinger, originally published in the January 31, 1948 issue of The New Yorker. It was anthologized in 1949's 55 Short Stories from the New Yorker as well as in Salinger's 1953 collection, Nine Stories...
, Pečar and Mijatović were the only band members. The album featured eight songs, and the album's opening track "Sama" ("Alone") became a nationwide hit and appeared on the Svetislav "Bata" Prelić's Šećerna vodica movie soundtrack. The album, recorded at the Belgrade MS studio, was produced by Pečar and Boban Petrović and released through Sarajevo Disk in 3000 copies only. As guests on the album appeared Milan "Mića" Bubalo (drum machine), Ivan Vdović "Vd"
Ivan Vdovic
Ivan "Ivica" Vdović also known as VD was Yugoslavian musician, drummer of Yugoslav rock bands such as Suncokret, Šarlo Akrobata and Katarina II....
(drums), Milan Mladenović
Milan Mladenovic
Milan Mladenović was a Yugoslav and Serbian musician best known as the frontman of Serbian art rock band Ekatarina Velika.-Early life:...
(guitar) and Vuk Vujačić (saxophone).
The band's song "Ti" appeared on the Ventilator 202 - Demo top 10 compilation., but, soon after, the band ceased to exist.
Post-breakup
Mira Mijatović died of a drug overdoseDrug overdose
The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...
.
Gerzić worked as a designer and graphic artist and collaborated with Yugoslav New Wave bands like Haustor
Haustor
Haustor was a rock band from Zagreb, SR Croatia, a member of the Novi val movement, and an important act of the former Yugoslav Rock scene.- Biography :...
, Električni orgazam
Električni Orgazam
Električni Orgazam is a Serbian rock band from Belgrade. Originally starting as a combination of New Wave, punk rock and post-punk, the band later slowly changed their style, becoming a mainstream rock act.- New Wave years :...
, Idoli, D' Boys
D' Boys
-1982 - 1985:The band was formed in 1982, consisting of two musicians: Peđa D'Boy and Miško Mihajlovski, who reportedly "played the drum machine" and percussion...
and Ekatarina Velika
Ekatarina Velika
Ekatarina Velika , sometimes referred to as EKV for short, was a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock group from Belgrade, being one of the most successful and influential music acts coming out of former Yugoslavia....
. In 1986, he finished the Applied Arts studies in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
and held numerous exhibitions in SFR Yugoslavia and abroad. He worked in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, and, in 1997, he returned to Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
where he died the following year.
Bojan Pečar
Bojan Pecar
Bojan Pečar was a Yugoslav and Serbian musician, best known as bass player of the cult Yugoslav rock band Ekatarina Velika. Previously he was a member of the New Wave group Via Talas, who were featured on the Yugoslav New Wave compilation album Artistička radna akcija...
joined Katarina II, which, after the release of their self titled album
Katarina II (album)
Katarina II is the first studio album by the Serbian rock band Ekatarina Velika, released in 1984. The band was called Katarina II at the time of its release, but changed the name to Ekatarina Velika, and has continued to work under that name till the end...
, was renamed to Ekatarina Velika
Ekatarina Velika
Ekatarina Velika , sometimes referred to as EKV for short, was a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock group from Belgrade, being one of the most successful and influential music acts coming out of former Yugoslavia....
, with whom he released four more studio and one live album. In early 1990 he left the band and moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and played in the band called Mission. He also wrote poetry and was a painter. On October 16, 1998, Pečar died of a heart attack in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
The only surviving member of the band is Petrović. He joined D' Boys
D' Boys
-1982 - 1985:The band was formed in 1982, consisting of two musicians: Peđa D'Boy and Miško Mihajlovski, who reportedly "played the drum machine" and percussion...
as guitarist and bass guitarist, until 1986, when he joined Piloti
Piloti
Pilotis, or piers, are supports such as columns, pillars, or stilts that lift a building above ground or water. They are traditionally found in stilt and pole dwellings such as fishermen's huts in Asia and Scandinavia using wood and in elevated houses such as Old Queenslanders in Australia's...
. In 1990 he joined Ekatarina Velika
Ekatarina Velika
Ekatarina Velika , sometimes referred to as EKV for short, was a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock group from Belgrade, being one of the most successful and influential music acts coming out of former Yugoslavia....
and released the song "Zvezde" on the compilation S' one strane duge. He also started playing accordion and worked on several movie soundtracks and solo projects, and, in 2003, he formed the Miško Plavi Band with musicians from Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. He also participated in the Kao da je bilo nekad... Posvećeno Milanu Mladenoviću tribute to Milan Mladenović
Milan Mladenovic
Milan Mladenović was a Yugoslav and Serbian musician best known as the frontman of Serbian art rock band Ekatarina Velika.-Early life:...
and, with Miško Plavi Band, released two studio albums and a live album. He is the member of the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique
Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique
Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique is a French professional association collecting payments of artists’ rights and distributing the rights to the original songwriters, composers and music publishers.-History:...
and Association of Composers of Serbia and the owner of two golden and one platinum record.
In 2005, "Ti" was reissued on a PGP-RTS
PGP-RTS
PGP-RTS is a major record label based in Belgrade, Serbia. It is a successor of PGP-RTB which was established in 1958 in Belgrade, then capital of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
compilation Specijal 2: Dan zaljubljenih
Studio albums
| Title | Released |
|---|---|
| Perfektan dan za banana ribe - The band :* Bojan Pečar * Mira Mijatović - Additional musicians :* Dušan Gerzić * Milan Bubalo * Ivan Vdović Vd * Milan Mladenović... |
|
Other appearances
| Title | Album | Released |
|---|---|---|
| "Lilihip (My Boy Lollipop)" |
Artisticka radna akcija Artistička radna akcija is a new wave and punk rock compilation album released in late 1981 by Jugoton in SFR Yugoslavia... |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
External links
- VIA Talas at MyspaceMyspaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- VIA Talas at FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- VIA Talas at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- VIA Talas at YoutubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- VIA Talas at Last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
- VIA Talas at B92.fm