The rock show God Rock that Sofia audiences are going to watch tonight was conceived a few years ago but has not stopped evolving ever since. The project features famous professional musicians and popular comedian Filip Avramov who sings, dances and plays the guitar and harmonica. This way he recounts the story of the so-called “forbidden music” which used to be so appealing to the rebels of the 1960s and 1970s. Back at that time the communist regime in Bulgaria was trying to protect young people from the “rotten western influence”, and this kind of music labeled by it “devilish” took center stage. The show presents songs of Joe Cocker, James Brown, White Snake, AC/DC and many other rock and blues idols. Its director is Petar Kalchev.

“God Rock as a title emerged three years ago”, Filip Avramov recalls. “The text of the show is by Daniel Rashev. I liked it and decided to add the music I love. This is how the God Rock show emerged. It recounts of God who loves music and plays it while dining. Three years ago the band was lined up with Ventsislav Velev (guitar), Krasimir Spiridonov (piano) and myself. The band's name is Dzhindzhifil (Ginger). I thought of the name as a joke, but it remained. In fact, the sense of humor is vital for the band and the show. We have recently attracted percussionist Kalin Veliov, and on 20 September at City Mark Art Center a bass player will join us too. We perform many great hits and combine them in a curious way. From now on it will become even more interesting: we plan to include original music too. Improvisation is also part of the show. We have given about 40 concerts in theaters, at festivals and private parties. We recently appeared at a rock gathering and the audience loved us.”

„True, improvisation in the show is at a high level”, Kalin Veliov agrees. “The music themes are not simple imitations but rather presented through the prism of our experience as musicians. In fact the pieces are with new arrangements. As well as challenging, the job is my cup of tea. Filip is not unlike a monster on stage. We should all the time be ready for changes in both text and music. I think that the beat of percussions was missing, so we now complement each other. Also, we travel a lot with the show, and this is a blessing. The key asset of the show God Rock is that the lead actor plays music, while musicians step into his territory. This new atmosphere is both rewarding and challenging.”

English Daniela Konstantinova