Song: "Foggy weather"
Lyrics and music: Billy Novak
Billy’s Band is a blues, swing, jazz and rock band from St Petersburg founded in 2001 by Billy Novak and Andrei Reznikov. Committed to their ideals, the musicians perform gloomy pieces telling stories of people living on the fringe, of booze and of fatal love. They describe their style as romantic alco-jazz. As Billy Novak puts it, the “alco-” prefix stands for the high degree of relaxation in the narration of Russian-language swing, which helps reach inebriation without doping and is an alternative to alcohol abuse.
In 2001, the band toured Germany, giving a series of concerts and expanded the range of its venues from clubs to theatres. Numerous concerts turned the band into a trio and, in 2003, Billy’s Band went on a new tour of Germany. That same year, the band took part in the Nashestvie rock festival and toured Latvia, Estonia, Finland and German.
Billy’s Band, which emerged as a musical joke with no future plans calling itself a "Dixieland funeral with an infinite happy ending" became arguably the most exciting discovery of St. Pete’s club life of 2003. The musicians gave a second (Russian) life to the lifestyles created by Jack Kerouac and Tom Waits, crossbred with strictly local life experiences, stories and urban legends, catapulted them to iconic status in both Russian capital cities and later in Europe. The musicians, aged between 25 and 40, have been playing
together for more than five years now. Billy’s Band has performed abundantly at the most significant St Petersburg and Moscow clubs and theatres during the past year. One specific of the band is that its frontman, Billy Novak, is the vocalist and cello player at the same time.
Billy’s Band is one of Russia’s few popular DIY bands. The musicians independently make albums, design covers, distributes and advertises its work, organises concerts and tours, and has not signed with any major label or producer.
Song's lyrics:
Foggy weather, a brass-monkey day,
But the place is swarming with people – feiertag
A razor blade and cassettes, a trophy cigarette case,
A service cap and an electric samovar.
A coffee set and a rusty spinning rod, a Lenin bust,
A pot and a secondhand soldier’s shirt,
A cracked Chinese thermos, shoulder straps and glasses,
A drill, lapel pins and forks, and there’s a woman knitting socks.
“Medals, ten apiece! Orders, twenty-five!
It gets dark too soon these days…”
“Buy this one for luck, son! Or take it for free
A trinket might come in handy some day.”
She’s walking up, wiggling. She is so young.
“Patties, hot coffee, tea and water!”
A princess wearing a quilted jacket, a warm cheek,
A November snowdrop, a Cinderella…
“Medals, ten apiece! Orders, twenty-five!
It gets dark too soon these days…”
“Buy this one for luck, son! Or take it for free
A trinket might come in handy some day.”
“Medals, ten apiece! Orders, twenty-five!
It gets dark too soon these days…”
“Buy this one for luck, son! Or take it for free
A trinket might come in handy some day.”
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