Another Friday, another in the regular series of guest reviews. Today's song is chosen and reviewed by Barry Phillips from Hooligan Crooners (and previously Demob). Regular visitors will have seen Hooligan Crooners feature on here a few times but for those that are new to them I'd recommend checking them out : https://hooligancrooners.bandcamp.com/.
Thanks to Barry for the lengthy review, it's always good when someone gives plenty of info to accompany the song. The photo, above, features Barry and Pogonbgd together.
Pogonbgd (Belgrade, Serbia)
Late October, I was in Belgrade (on a shoestring budget) doing some research for the book I am working on - “In Search Of Tito’s Punks” – trying to trace how Demob’s “No Room For You” became (more than) a cult classic in ex-Yugoslavia and is better known there than in the UK or US (taxi drivers in ex Yugo know it!). I’d previously made contact with Pogonbgd a 4-piece streetpunk/melodic HC outfit from Belgrade after stumbling across them on the Internet and being mightily impressed. Then I discovered that, they too, have recorded a cracking version of the song - or “To Nije Mjesto Za Nas” as it’s known in ex Yugo.
Pogonbgd is a play on words; on the one hand it means “Pogo New Belgrade” (New Belgrade is the sprawling residential and business “new” city built on the opposite side of the Sava River from Old Belgrade) and on the other Pogon means “machine or engine” - so it means (approximately) “Belgrade Machine/Belgrade Engine”…neat eh?
The band was formed in February of 2004 and consists of
Đinko (Marko Građin) - Guitar/Backing Vox
Dimke (Dimitrije Bolta) - Bass Guitar/Backing Vox
Dovla (Vladimir Bejin) - Drums
Sale (Saša Otašević) - Guitar/Vox
Along with their old friends and punk-rock accomplices Trnje (“The Thorns” is, I think, the closest translation) we met in an “old-school” Belgrade bar, made our introductions, and talked about football – the band are a potentially incendiary mix of Partisan and Red Star fans. Then we jumped into cars for the mazy journey through Belgrade (via a stop to collect beers and wines) to the destination. And what a destination! On the basement floor of a multi-story building is the studio that Sale and the band have built. Overcoming setbacks like the devastation caused during the flooding of Belgrade in 2014, they have created a first-rate studio, complete with a bar in the mixing-room. It’s much more than a studio, it’s a place for them, their friends and other bands to hang out and record, rehearse, collaborate. And, of course, there is a picture of Del Boy and Rodney from Only Fools And Horses…as there seems to be everywhere in ex-Yugoslavia.
After much conversation and more drink, Pogonbgd played a mini-set of 5-6 songs (including “To Nije Mjesto Za Nas” – thanks lads) which featured some songs from their belting 2017 album “Pogonophobia”. To say they are streetpunk/melodic HC may give a sense of their sound but it doesn’t quite do them justice since they are not bound by such conventions. One-listen to their recently released YouTube live video of “U Redu” (which I think means “OK”), where they are joined onstage by legendary Serbian blues guitarist Dragoljub Crncevic, will give you an idea of what can happen when you are this good...imagine Motorhead with Brian Setzer guesting.
For now, check out “Vagoni” (“Wagons” ?) from “Pogonophobia” (the full album is also on YouTube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_PI8a7sWSM
Find them on Facebook too
https://www.facebook.com/POGONBGD/
And, if you’re ever in Belgrade, be sure to look them up.
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