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An interview with Bojan and Štras, originally published on the BTC City website on 13.10.2021. This is part of our series about Bojan and Štras, to promote the upcoming charity concert they will perform at together.

Bojan Cvjetićanin and Gregor Strasbergar: "Next concert will be the same - but even better this time!"

Before their second joint concert in the 1on1 cycle on October 15th, we talked to the frontmen of the bands Joker Out and MRFY - new stars on the Slovenian music scene.

Bojan and Gregor represent the younger, very unrestrained musical generation that is difficult to "put into boxes" based on their music genre. And despite being friends, they don't usually perform together. But that changed when they met on the SiTi Theatre stage in a 1on1 "musical dialogue". Their concert in September was sold out. But they already have another 1on1 concert coming up on October 15th, so we caught up with them before their new performance and asked them about their impressions from this one, as well as other performances they're still planning.

You will repeat the concert, which was pretty successful, on October 15th. How does what you're doing here differ from what you usually do and why is it easier - or harder?

Bojan: Me and Gregor are good friends, but we've never been in this role of a joint performance before, except for New Year's. So this dynamic that happened in SiTi Theatre was something new for both of us. I have to admit that we had our reservations at the beginning, because we're different and have different music, as well as different audiences. But those reservations vanished quickly.

Bojan and Gregor are good friends, but a joint stage performance was something completely new for them.

Does that mean that we can already feel some special chemistry in the air, are you making special connections, will you leave your bands and become a duo?

Gregor: Oh, no. There are very few new bands on the scene who are really doing and creating something, but most of us who are here get on well and are friends. There's a sort of healthy rivalry between us, we encourage each other to do well; but the frontmen of two bands making a good story together doesn't mean anything other than something new being made. Of course we're staying in our own bands.

Was there no bad blood in your bands because you two were the only ones performing, and they were more in the background?

Gregor: Actually they all came to listen to our concert. And our drummer said to me that he thought it would be "much worse"… (laughter)

Bojan: That's also what their drummer said to me… (laughter)

How did you get through this whole difficult period in the past year and a half?* I heard that you worked on gaining fitness by hiking up Šmarna gora (Mount Saint Mary)?**

Bojan: Me and Štras became quite the sportsmen, we really hiked up Šmarna gora a lot.

Gregor: Yes, we became real Šmarna gora mountain goats.

Bojan: And we had all sorts of similar traumas, seeing as we work with the same producer. We were all in the process of making our own albums, which with our producer is very specific and torturous. So we consoled each other a little and helped each other through this period.

Gregor: Yes, we had similar pains. But otherwise, the bands that did better in this Covid period were the ones where all the members are friends, have fun together, and are creative and mischievous. In truth, even this period could be used for creativity and progress.

Recently, they've often hiked up Šmarna gora together and became, as they said, true Šmarna gora mountain goats.

How much did the fact that you didn't have an audience to test your products and get feedback about the songs you'd made influence your creativity?

Bojan: We were lucky to have social media, so we could still stay in touch with them and see that people miss us.

Gregor: Yes, that's a good question, because when you're focusing on your songs, you can really check out the response at the same time on stage. And now that wasn't an option, so it was definitely a little different. On the other hand, maybe that's even better, because you are able to take more time for individual songs.

Who are your role models, who did you listen to? Bojan, we know Siddharta was close to your heart, and Mladenović with Ekatarina Velika wasn't; but what do you two really enjoy listening to, which great renditions make your hearts beat? For Bojan, is it Bob Dylan? (T/N: see the end of the post for some links and explanations about the musicians mentioned in these paragraphs)

Bojan: Not at all, I prefer The Beatles and ABBA, and I also really like some domestic Serbian "turbofolk" music. There are many different things that make my heart beat.

Gregor: Yes, I like the "turbofolk" scene sometimes as well. But in general, I'm a fan of quality music. And if something is good, I don't pay attention to its genre at all. (laughter)

And which of the local bands do you like best? Magnifico?

Gregor: Yes, Magnifico is dope too, but my mentor was Tomislav Jovanović - Tokac from the band Dan D. When I was little, we were constantly blasting Dan D in Novo mesto, and then I was fortunate enough to meet him, and he helped me.

Bojan: As far as Slovenian music goes, I grew up more on Siddharta, Big Foot Mama, rapper Trkaj, and I liked Murat & Jose as well.

Bojan grew up on Siddharta, Big Foot Mama, rapper Trkaj, he also likes Murat & Jose.

Who writes your lyrics?

Bojan: Štras writes mine.

Gregor: And my mum writes mine. (laughter) Well, in truth, of course I write for my band and Bojan writes for his.

Do you help each other with it? Do other band members also help with criticism and suggestions?

Bojan: Absolutely. The boys are always very happy when they can contribute something, and they always find something I couldn't have found on my own. Which is very good.

Is their criticism sometimes brutal?

Gregor: Our bandmates are our biggest critics. And they don't allow any bullshit at all. And sometimes I think I've written something great, and then they tell me that it sucks, and then I spend two months wondering whether it's true or not, but usually they're right. But if they like a song right away, we know that it's really good. And they will never say that something is bad if it actually isn't.

Bojan: What Štras said is actually the worst thing that can happen to you. The moment you start thinking that something has to be changed, you already know that you haven't nailed it. After that, the doubts just grow stronger and you can already feel that this isn't it. Band members and parents - those are the worst critics. For me, my parents are even more brutal than my band. They don't even try to sugarcoat their criticism. I sing the song to them as well, of course.

Gregor says that their biggest critics are their bandmates, who don't allow any bullshit.

And the audience? How would you rate their reactions to your latest performance in SiTi Theatre?

Gregor: Bojan drew in the teenage girls, and my friends and family came to listen to me.

Bojan: No, no, no. He's kidding. I think we covered and sorted the audience nicely, there was a wide spectrum of different ages, and it was really very relaxed, youthful and playful. Others who had already been to these "One on one" performances in SiTi Theatre said so as well. The way we were on stage reflected off the stage as well.

Love is a constant, inexhaustible topic that you sing about. But are you also interested in other topics, maybe some more current, socially relevant ones? But we probably won't find you in the crowd on the streets where you might be arrested, like some protestors?***

Bojan: They might arrest us on the street, but not for the same thing. (laughter)

Are you not bothered at all by the way the world is?

Gregor: I'm constantly bothered and irritated by the world. But we're oriented a little differently. I'm kind of a passive activist. I'm not going to tell anyone what to do, not even in my lyrics. I hide it inside some sort of a rebus, inside metaphors that even I find hard to understand. But most of all I don't want to nag anyone about what's right and what's not.

Bojan: MRFY recently put out an album called 'Prjatučki' ('Little Friends'), and the first song on it is 'Kdo bo rešil svet?' ('Who Will Save the World?'), which talks about love and opening up to each other. It alerts us to what's currently lacking in our society. Some sort of common love for things that connect us. That's our line of thought. I don't see myself in the role of someone who would write a song called 'Rage Against the Machines'.

Gregor: We prefer to take a step back. We've never labelled ourselves politically. We try to create a world that exists alongside our world, in which love and friendship are respected emotions. Our message is this: when you're tired of fighting, come take shelter with us and we'll caress you a little, and then you can go back and keep fighting.

They think that what's missing in society is a common love for things that connect us.

What motivates you when you're writing songs? Probably events and musings in your own lives?

Bojan: Right now, I've been writing songs that are either love songs or are rooted in introspection and finding yourself. That's really also what I experience everyday, and I examine myself in different situations. And that ends up being the impetus that drives me to write something. Nowadays, there's a lot of fighting and viciousness around us, and if we can create a world that's some kind of shelter for us and others to hide in, we might've done more than if we had become part of this army of vicious soldiers.

Apart from collaborating on the stage and hiking up Šmarna gora, what else do you do as friends?

Bojan: A lot of things. For example, we worked out together.

Gregor: Twice. (laughter)

Bojan: Yes, twice… (laughter)

Bojan: But honestly, I would say that we mostly spend time in Gregor's backyard, drinking coffee and talking.

Gregor: Only a few people can fully understand this role we've picked. Those of us who do similar things can help each other a lot. Sometimes it's enough to open up to someone about your problems and know that they understand you.

Bojan: We vent a lot. But at the end we usually realise that our problems are really quite "sweet". At first we think that they're the worst in the world, but they're always solvable.

Gregor: And Bojan usually has different problems than me. I find his problems negligible - and the other way around.

They mostly spend time in Gregor's backyard, drinking coffee and talking.

Can you be a little more specific? Is it about songs or something else?

Bojan: Well, sometimes we have a nice evening that turns into a merry party, and then we usually have differing views of each other's merriness. When I explain what a nice time I had, Štras usually tells me: "Dude, you weren't like that at all. You were totally irritating." Meanwhile I had a great time...

Gregor: Well, I don't find Bojan fun at all. And if he drinks too much, he becomes annoying. But it's hard to remember specific stories. Really hard…

Bojan: Well, we like to talk about girls…

So that's the problem - you spend a lot of time on girls, but you don't want to talk about it in public… But does that mean that your fans still have a chance?

Gregor: Always.

What about your concert on October 15th? Will it be different in any way from your last one in SiTi Theatre?

Bojan: No, it will be the same - but even better this time!

*The interview was published in October 2021, so the question is referring to Covid lockdowns.

**Šmarna gora (Mount Saint Mary), with elevation of 676 m, is a hill on the outskirts of Ljubljana that's very popular with Ljubljana residents.

***In 2020 and 2021, there were a lot of protests against the then-ruling Slovenian government.

And here's a little bit about the musicians mentioned in this interview, in the order that they were mentioned. Links go to one of their songs on YouTube:

Siddharta, formed in 1995, is perhaps the most popular and successful Slovenian rock band, and one of the bands Joker Out always emphasise as their inspiration.

Ekatarina Velika was a Serbian rock band, active from 1981 to 1994, and very popular in former Yugoslavia. Milan Mladenović was its frontman who died in 1994.

"Turbofolk" is a musical genre that originated in Serbia. It blends Serbian folk music with other genres such as pop, rock, electronic music, etc. Here is an example of turbofolk music.

Magnifico is a Slovenian musician, active since the early 90s, whose music is inspired by the ex-Yugoslavian schlager music scene. Several of his songs have reached cult status in Slovenia.

Dan D is another popular Slovenian rock band from Novo mesto, which is where Štras is from. They've been active since 1996.

Big Foot Mama is another popular Slovenian rock band originating from the 90s, the one Kris's dad Miha Guštin - Gušti played the guitar in.

Rok Terkaj - Trkaj is a Slovenian rapper, active since the early 00s.

Murat & Jose is a Slovenian rap/hip-hop duo, also active since the early 00s.

Translation cr: Joker Out Subs

#bojan cvjetićanin #bojan cvjeticanin #gregor strasbergar - štras #joker out #MRFY

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