Black Coffee (group)

Background

In 1979, Dmitry Varshavsky entered the Gnesins State School of Music . In the same year he wrote the song "Country" to the poems of Andrei Voznesensky . From the moment this song was written, the history of the band ^{[1] was} officially counted. The first professional recording of Black Coffee, the song Bird Flight, the music for which Varshavsky wrote to the words of the first bassist of the Cheka Pavel Ryzhenkov, was recorded in the recording studio of the WFG Melody sound engineer Yuri Bogdanov in 1981. In 1982, while studying in Gnesinka, Warsaw met with bass guitarist Fyodor Vasilyev , a younger student. The third participant is drummer Andrei Shatunovsky .

Early years

On Easter night of 1984 in the Moscow club Iskra the trio gives the first solo concert. Warsaw graduates from the Music School. Gnesin in the class of electric guitar and receives a diploma of a professional musician, giving the opportunity to conduct official concert activities. Autumn 1984 - the first tour (in Kazakhstan ). In 1985, "Black Coffee" begins to work from the Aktobe Philharmonic , but without Shatunovsky. In his place, Warsaw invites drummer Maxim Udalov , and for greater entertainment and a brighter presentation of material - the second guitarist Sergei Mavrin . The second tour of the group in Kazakhstan lasts more than half a year, more than 360 concerts have been played. The Ministry of Culture of the USSR includes a group in the “ black list ”, bringing together many “unreliable” figures of the rock underground .

Peak of popularity (1986–1992)

In 1986, Warsawski again attracted the former drummer Shatunovsky to the group and wants to invite Vasilyev, but he was not in Moscow at that time. So bassist Igor Kupriyanov appeared in the group. Igor was quite famous on the Moscow rock scene. Before joining Black Coffee, he managed to play in many other teams. The group gets a job in the Mari Philharmonic . Shatunovsky has problems with applying for a job. Philanharmonic Manager Hovhannes Melik-Pashayev proposes to introduce into the program "Black Coffee" professional accompanist musicians - Sergey Chernyakov and Sergey Kudishin, already working at this philharmonic society. New musicians are learning the program over the course of the week, and Black Coffee gets a tour license. This document gave the right to official tour activities in the USSR .

The group goes on a tour of the country, concerts are sold out. At the same time there is a recording of the phonograms for the new album at the recording studio “Melody”. In 1987, Warsaw / Kupriyanov / Kudishin / Chernyakov was composed first of the Black Coffee minion, consisting of four tracks, and later the album “Cross the Threshold”, released on Melodies in 1987 ^[2] , which was sold in 1 971 960 copies and became a cult for metalworkers of the time. On December 13, the group performs at the Rock Panorama '87 festival at the Small Sports Arena in Luzhniki . Practically the whole of 1987, the group spent on continuous trips, which only raised its popularity even more. Shortly before this, “Black Coffee” left Kudishin, who tried to bring his project “Rocker” forward, later renamed to “Kara”. Kudishin's place in the group is occupied by guitarist Igor Andreev. The Spanish company Zafiro licenses "Melodies" produces a disc "Rock in the USSR", which includes songs of the groups " Autograph ", " Cruise ", "Black Coffee" and " August ". On May 3, 1988, Black Coffee, along with the stars of world rock music, participates in the San Isidro 1988 festival, which took place on May 6-15 in Madrid , and Kudishin ^[3] was already returned. On May 29, 1988, Black Coffee, along with the groups of Igor Granov , The Time Machine , The Secret , Nautilus Pompilius and DDT , performs in Luzhniki as part of a charity concert by Soviet rock musicians; during which a video for the song “Vladimirskaya Rus” was mounted ^[4] . The first video clip of the group [1] was also shot on the same composition, written on verses by Alexander Shaganov . Filming took place in the former royal residence Kolomenskoye . When editing the clip, frames with Sergey Kudishin’s participation were practically not used, his silhouette appears only in one of the episodes. In the summer of 1988, the band goes on a long tour in Ukraine and Moldova. During the tour, in August 1988, in Kiev, keyboardist Boris Dolgikh and drummer Andrey Pertsev joined the group, who was invited from the computer group (who played for the warm-up in the same program), instead of Chernyakov who left during the tour. Soon, the group for health reasons finally left, and Sergei Kudishin.

In June 1988, the group left Hovhannes Melik-Pashayev . After leaving for “Black Coffee” hard times came - the band could not record a new album for a long time. Back in early 1988, Warsawski tried to record a new album in the old line-up, but the recording failed, because of the strained relations between the musicians, and the project was “frozen”. In the new lineup, "Black Coffee" began to finalize the album "Free-Will". Work on it was completed in December 1988, within one week, at Vitaly Bogdanov’s studio Orion. All guitar parts were played by Dmitry Varshavsky, without the participation of Igor Andreev. By the end of 1988, Andreev left the band and guitarist Oleg Avakov came to replace him. This is followed by a series of tours and concerts in support of the new album, "Black Coffee" participates in the first festival of the USSR Monsters rock series, which takes place on August 31 - September 3, 1989 at the Metallurg stadium in Cherepovets , it was there that the decision was made to go Pertsev, drummer, into a new export project of Biz Enterprise, a Red Sky group.

The official presentation of the album took place on January 17 and 18, 1990 at the Krylya Sovetov stadium in the capital, the same year the album itself was released. At the same time, there was a conflict in the group between Warsaw and bassist Igor Kupriyanov, who had been playing Black Coffee since 1986. During the final edition of the album before publication, Warsawski removed from the album the song “Old Park” specially recorded for this release by Igor Kupryanov, which was the reason for the scandal and break and so strained relations between musicians. In January 1990, Boris Dolgikh left the band, and at the end of August 1990, Kupriyanov and the rest of the band - guitarist Oleg Avakov, drummer Viktor Kalashnikov, keyboard player Igor Sbetov - left Black Coffee and switched to Kupriyanov’s project called “Caffeine”, Warsaw retained its former name - "Black Coffee".

Warsaw collects a new composition. Guitarist Dmitry Gorbatikov comes to the group, Fedor Vasilyev and Andrey Shatunovsky return. Together with them, Warsaw writes the songs “What's the Answer?” And “Golden Lady”. Sound engineer on the recording is Valery Gaina. The video “Golden Lady” is filmed in New York , after which Black Coffee is sent on a tour of the cities of Sweden . October 24, 1990 the band gives a concert in the prestigious New York rock club Marquee ^[5] . In March 1991, the new English-language album “Golden Lady” is ready. By 1991, the group is leaving Shatunovsky and Gorbatikov. The drummer Andrei Pertsev returns, and the place of the guitarist is taken by Konstantin Veretennikov. In the summer, they are shooting another video clip - “Shaking Baby”, and in the fall - a “Black Coffee” tour of the cities of Denmark . At the beginning of 1992, the album “ Lady Autumn ” was composed of the phonograms recorded in 1987–1992, but it will be published on CDs only in 1996.

Warsaw in the USA (1992–1998)

In 1992, Warsaw traveled to the United States. December 31, 1994 on New Year's Eve Black Coffee gives its first concert in the United States , in Beverly Hills . Thanks to the efforts of manager Rafael Delhi, the tour begins, which, passing from the east from New Jersey to the west of the United States, ends with a series of concerts in rock clubs in Los Angeles in March and April 1995. In 1996, in Los Angeles, at the USMP studio, the album “Drunk Moon” was recorded, in which Valery Gain (guitar; ex: Cruise, Gain A), Boris Dolgikh (keyboards), Alexander Bach (drums), Alexander Krivtsov (bass guitar; ex: "Earthlings", "Union", "Red Sky"), Michael McLinden (bass guitar), Johnny Blaise (guitar). Co-producer is Matvey Anichkin. In 1997-1998, Warsaw created a Black Coffee studio in Los Angeles, where, in addition to American rock bands, Russian stars work: Sergei Sarychev , Matvey Anichkin , Alexander Marshal .

Return to Russia (1999 — our day)

In 1999, Warsaw returns to Russia. On March 6, the “Black Coffee” concert “Again in Moscow” is held at the Meridian Center of Culture. In 2000, Black Coffee was nominated at the awards ceremony for the Highest Achievements in the Field of Rock Music and won the first prize in the Return of the Year nomination. The Mystery of Sound company publishes on CD-ROM recordings from 1984-1986. The disc gets the name "Light Metal". The concert presentation takes place on July 13 at the Moscow Rock Club. In 2001, the Mystery of Sound company released the Golden Lady album on CD. The album includes the video "Shaking Baby". In the autumn, a live audio album “They are demons” is presented at the Moscow concert. In 2002, Moroz Records signed a contract to release a new rock band album. The studio is recording new songs and completing work on the soundtracks recorded in 1996 in Los Angeles. In the summer of new album "White Wind" goes on sale. CD Land releases the album “Come and take it all” on CD, compiled by Dmitry Varshavsky from the material recorded in 1984. In 2003, for the first time on CDs, Moroz Records released all the albums of Black Coffee. In 2004 in the studios of Lenkom the album “They are demons” was recorded. The disc features 10 new songs and a video of “Little Chickens”. On October 8, Dmitry Varshavsky at KFOR MAI presents a new CD of Black Coffee. According to the results of sales, the album falls into the top five. In October 2005, at the Lenkom studios, Dmitry Varshavsky began recording a new album. In December, the studio work is completed, the album is named " Alexandria ". In the spring of 2006, Dmitry Dobrynin’s program on Radio Russia held the premiere of songs from the Alexandria album, which was released in February 2007. In 2009-2010 the mini-album “A trip to hell” was recorded, the songs “Half-Blood”, “Drunk Doctor” and the rewritten 1979 song “The Country” were included. The album was uploaded to the network, and the CD was issued in limited edition on preliminary orders in 2014. Concert tours "Black Coffee" pass through the cities of Russia, Ukraine and Israel. The group records in the studios songs that make up the new studio album. Entries immediately laid out on the Internet. In 2015, Black Coffee gave sold-out concerts in Moscow (B1, Yotaspace) and St. Petersburg (GlavKlub, Aurora). At the autumn concerts the presentation of the album "Autumn Rush" took place, the concert tour continued through the cities of Russia. For the song "Wolfhound" from the album "Autumn Rush" shot video ^[6] .

Already in 1984, Dmitry Varshavsky began inviting session musicians to record albums, concerts and tours, by the end of the 1980s, this practice became permanent, and Black Coffee finally turned into a Warsaw solo project. In total, at least forty performers from various groups collaborated with Black Coffee at different times.

Concert Performances 1984-1991

Live performances from 1999 to the present

1999

• Dmitry Varshavsky - vocals
• Konstantin Veretennikov - guitar
• Fedor Vasilyev - bass guitar
• Anatoly Abramov - drums

2009 (concert "30 years of Light Metal", a few songs)

• Dmitry Varshavsky - vocals, guitar
• Pavel Ryzhenkov - bass guitar
• Igor Titov - drums

2009-2010

• Dmitry Varshavsky - vocals, guitar
• Nikolay Kuzmenko - bass guitar
• Andrei Prefix - drums

2010

• Dmitry Varshavsky - vocals, guitar
• Vyacheslav Yadrikov - bass guitar
• Andrei Prefix - drums

2010-2013

• Dmitry Varshavsky - vocals, guitar
• Nikolay Kuzmenko - bass guitar
• Andrei Prefix - drums

2013-2014

• Dmitry Varshavsky - vocals, guitar
• Lev Gorbachev - bass guitar
• Andrei Prefix - drums

2014

• Dmitry Varshavsky - vocals, guitar
• Alexey Fetisov - bass guitar
• Andrei Prefix - drums

2014-2015

• Dmitry Varshavsky - vocals, guitar
• Lev Gorbachev - bass guitar
• Andrei Prefix - drums

2015-2016

• Dmitry Varshavsky - vocals, guitar
• Evgenia Varshavskaya - bass guitar
• Andrei Prefix - drums

2016 (1 or 2 concerts)

• Dmitry Varshavsky - vocals, guitar
• Nikolay Kuzmenko - bass guitar
• Andrei Prefix - drums

2016-2019

• Dmitry Varshavsky - vocals, guitar
• Evgenia Varshavskaya - bass guitar
• Andrei Prefix - drums

2019-present

• Dmitry Varshavsky - vocals, guitar
• Evgenia Varshavskaya - bass guitar
• Nikita Pavlov - drums

Guitarists

• Konstantin Veretennikov (1998-2000) - “ Rock Atelier ”, “Red Panther”
• Sergey Dorovskoy (2000–2001) - Exarch

Bass players

• Fedor Vasilyev (1982–1985, 1990–1992, 1998–2000) - “Cruise” , “Gain”, “White Eagle” , “ Night Snipers ”
• Yury Moschenyov (1984) - “Pontius Pilate”
• Nikolai Kuzmenko (2000–2002, 2008–2013, 2016) - “Exarch”, “ Arida Vortex ”, “ EST ”, “ Mistletoe ”
• Yuri Makhin (2002–2005)
• Ivan Mikhailov (2006–2008) - “Epitaph”
• Lev Gorbachev (2013—2015)

Drummers

• Anatoly Abramov (1998–2000, 2002–2007) - “ Araks ”, “ Rock Atelier ”, “ SV ”
• Sergey Efimov (2000) - “Cruise”
• Sergey Pochitalov (2000–2002) - Exarch
• Dmitry Zavidov (2007–2008) - EST , Mavrin
• Alexander Karpukhin (2008) - " Mavrin ", " Master "
• Svyatoslav Chernukha (2008–2009)

Keyboards

• Pavel Smeyan (1998–2004) † - “ Rock Atelier ”, “ SV ”

Composition by year

• Рецензия на альбом «Леди осень» в журнале Rock City № 13, 1997 год  
• Интервью журналу Dark City № 1, 2000 год, стр. 23
• Рецензия на альбом «Белый ветер» в журнале Dark City № 10, 2002 год  
• Рецензия на альбом «Александрия» в журнале Rockcor № 68, 2007 год  
• Alekseev A.S. Кто есть кто в российской рок-музыке . — М. : АСТ : Астрель : Харвест, 2009. — С. 521—523. - ISBN 978-5-17-048654-0 (AST). — ISBN 978-5-271-24160-4 (Астрель). — ISBN 978-985-16-7343-4 (Харвест).

• Чёрный кофе на Encyclopaedia Metallum
• «Русский рок. Малая энциклопедия». М., «ЛЕАН», 2001