Gogol Bordello Biography

Starting members meet at a Russian wedding in Vermont, 1998.

FIRST SHOW -- No official first show... from party to party, gallery to gallery, GB is a growing snow-ball orchestra of immigrants jamming in A-minor...

Banned from CB/GB, Mercury Lounge, Fez and Bowery Ballroom immediately after first performances for being too over the mothefucking top...

Instead joins forces with Performance Art Space PIZDETZ on Lower East Side (Ridge St.) and continues to perform Fuck-the-Format style.

Records first album 'Voi-la Intruder' with great help from and produced by Jim Sclavunos of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and Grinderman (ex-Sonic Youth, the Cramps, and much more). Maximum respect!

Receives award from Colbert Foundation and NY Downtown Arts Project for Pioneering Efforts and Artistic Excellence. Uses all the money for strictly immoral purposes.

Receives other gifts and offerings from the natives, such as feature article in NY Times "Gypsy Punk International", with coined-by-Hutz term to describe it...

Works on 2 theatre plays with Yara Arts Group, including actors of legendary avant-guard theatre "Gardzienice" and Siberian-Mongolian throat singers Urag-Sha in La Mama Theatre, Lower East Side, Manhattan.

Changes residence from Art Space PIZDETZ to a newly opened Bulgarian bar, Mehanata... soon to become "The CBGB of Gypsy Punk"! Hutz's weekly dj party 'DRINK LOCALLY! FUCK GLOBALLY!' at MEHANATA goes through the roof. People flying in from Tokyo!!! The purists get upset!

Gogol Bordello releases the 2nd Album 'Multi Kontra Culti vs Irony' (self-produced) and gets a solid rep as a completely unmarketable band (see #24).

In 2001, Hutz and Oren Kaplan develop an electronic sister project JUF (JEWISHE UKRAINISHE FROINDSCHAFT), introducing new genre of transglobal underground with radical juxtaposition of styles: Balkan Brass grooves, dub, flamenco, reaggaton, punk - you get the idea... electronic version of Gypsy boogie-down, custom made for the Bulgarian Bar parties... JUF record finally released in 2004 on Stinky Records.

Premiers its program 'Occurrence on the Border' at Whitney Museum Biennial 2002, and turns into unstoppable gallery-wrecker touring other galleries of the world.

Represents simultaneously NY and Ukraine at Venice Bienalle, Manifesta 5, 2002.

Premiers its 2nd program 'Think Locally, Fuck Globally' at Tate Modern Gallery in London, 2002 (amongst others).

Plays a legendary show in Central Park summer stage with Manu Chao and Radio Bemba Sound System and starts touring Europe and US like fucking crazy. Starts the fires in all the backyards from Moscow to Vancouver with tours such as:

FUCK THE SOUNDCHECK 2002
GYPSYFICATION OF AMERICANIZATION 2002
ALCOHOLYMPICS 2003,
TZIGANIZATZIA BALKANIZATOROV 2003
EAST INFECTION 2004
TOTAL PIZDETZ 2005
HOW DO WE MARKET SERGEY? TOUR 2006
EAST INVASION 2006
KNOW YOUR GYPSY RIGHTS 2006
ILLUMINATION 2007
FORCES OF VICTORY 2008

to mention just a few, and simultaneously releasing its own tourly newspaper 'GOGOL LIEBESACHTUNG'.

Joins forces with the Agency Group after a breakthrough show at 2003 Roskilde festival in Denmark.

First concert in HUTZ's native Kiev, received by Ukrainian press as "UKRAINIAN NIGHTMARE ACCOMPLISHES AMERICAN DREAM." Thank you!

Gogol Bordello, along with Fanfare Ciocarlia, Taraf de Haidouks and other most progressive Gypsy bands of Europe, get exploited by Shantel for corrupted yuppie-catored Bukovina project, but cleverly breaks the ties...

Continues collaborations with roots artists such as Manhattan Samba, Yuri Yunakov, Ivo Papasov, Piroshka Rac, Sasha Kolpakov Trio, Asian Dub Foundation, Kultur Shock, Rootsman, La Phaze, and other prolific unorthodox artists of Gypsy ethnicity and other diasporic communities.

Joins forces with SideOneDummy Records, The BEST INDIE LABEL IN US!!! Respect!!!

HUTZ as Alex appears in the LIEV SCHREIBER'S adaptation of 'EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED'. GB, of course, also appears in the film and is featured on the soundtrack.

'THE PIED PIPER OF HUTZOVINA', documentary directed by Pavla Fleischer, follows HUTZ on the trip through Gypsy camps of his native Ukraine, Hungary and Siberia...

RECORDS 'GYPSY PUNKS' WITH STEVE ALBINI, respect! BBC with much enthusiasm gets behind the singles NOT A CRIME, START WEARING PURPLE, 60 REVOLUTIONS and expends GB audience tremendously.

GB Does series of mind-bending tv appearances on the likes of Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, Henry Rollins, Jools Holland shows and embarks on the WARPED TOUR. Starting to see record labels and press use embarrassing title "Gypsy punk" as a term for the GB inspired movement... GB makes a stronger point as an ACTIVIST on ROMANY RIGHTS FRONT, playing benefit concerts for various ROMANY RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS - ROMANY JAG (Ukraine), VOICE OF ROMA (KOSOVO-USA).

RECORDS 'SUPER TARANTA!' WITH VICTOR VAN VUGT, respect!

AMONG HIGHLIGHTS ARE TOURS AND NUMEROUS SHOWS with PRIMUS, MANU CHAO, LA PHAZE, DUB TRIO, KOLPAKOV TRIO, SKINDRED.

In 2007, receives BBC WORLD MUSIC AWARD 2007.

Performs GB stomper 'Lela Pala Tute' at Wembley Stadium LIVE EARTH concert with Madonna in combination with 'La Isla Bonita'. Madonna sings in Romanes! HUTZ is also starring in Madonna's directorial debut 'FILTH AND WISDOM' as AK, leader of GB. GB appears as GB and of course is heavily featured on the soundtrack.

GB PERFORMS IN KREMLIN (can you fucking believe that?!), MOSCOW.

CONTINUES to walk the path of a GYPSY PUNK ROCK REVOLUTIONARY, living it up and ain't giving a fuck, working on new album, live DVD, documentary, feature GB films.. as well as the storming of the Everest with an after-party on Jamalugma...

HÜTZ launches a new electronico-primitivo (romantico-paranormale) project MITITIKA (UKRAINE-ROMANIA!), premieres in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 2008.

GB embarks on the FORCES of VICTORY tour 2008, and ROCKS everybody's ass playing at:

ROSKILDE, DENMARK
COACHELLA, US
BONNAROO, US
ROCCO DEL SCHLACKO, GERMANY
GLASTONBURY UK
BESTIVAL, UK
SZIGET, HUNGARY
HEDERLEZI, USA
NY GYPSY FESTIVAL US
GET LOADED IN THE PARK, UK
ALIVE, PORTUGAL
HIGHFIELD, GERMANY
LOWLANDS, NETHERLANDS
SONORAMA, SPAIN
EXIT, SERBIA
FUJI ROCK, JAPAN
TWO DAYS A WEEK, AUSTRIA

and many many more to come!

Preparing to launch our own festival 'GYPSY PUNK GENERATION' with a family of like-minded groundbreaking musicians and artists...