“We Always Give Our All”
Let’s start with the band’s peculiar name. Where did that idea come from?
In my opinion, every music group should have an interesting, good name, and as soon as the band’s line-up seemed complete, we started thinking about what to call this newly formed band. There were several concepts until our drummer suggested Dzieci PRL-u. I don’t remember us being particularly enthusiastic about it at the time, but the name stuck and we’ve been playing as Dzieci PRL-u since the end of 2009. After all these years, I think the name has stuck nicely, and besides, it reflects the nature of our music well. This is also related to the fact that I grew up in Poland in the 80s, and the music from that era can be heard in our work.
You have been active on the Polish music scene for 15 years. For a rock band, that is a long time.
I think so too. Although the line-up has changed several times, but that’s how it is in music bands, especially rock bands. As far as I can tell, a dozen or so people have passed through our band. Each musician brought something of their own to the band, but for various reasons we had to part ways, often completely unmusical. We’ve been playing in the current line-up for a few years now, apart from one important change that took place recently. Our long-time guitarist Paweł Klassek was replaced by Maciej Majchrowski. We’ve only played a few rehearsals, but Maciek is a breath of fresh air in the band and I’m very happy that we’re playing together. A great guitarist who has great technique, cool sounds and musical sense. I believe that thanks to him we’ll reach an even higher level as a band. The line-up is completed by: drummer Paweł “Mieczu” Bernasiuk”, who has been with us for 4 years, has played the second guitar since the very beginning of the band, Piotrek Klassek, and as you know, I play bass and sing.
The bassist is not always the vocalist and leader of the band at the same time.
It may not be common, but bass players have always been a problem. When I came to the States in 2003, in the first band I played in, Paradigm, we couldn’t find a bass player for a long time. Willy-nilly, I finally picked up the bass guitar and that’s how it stuck.
How would you describe your band’s style? Have you always focused on a specific rock message?
Yes, but our playing has evolved over the years and is constantly changing. We came from punk rock, but the older we are, the clearer and even a little calmer our music is, but we still try to maintain this strong guitar character. We always have two well-distorted guitars and to remind us of our roots, we often reach for old, strong punk numbers during concerts.
The spirit of the 80s is quite strong in your playing.
I won’t hide the fact that, as the band’s name suggests, Polish music from the 80s was a huge inspiration for me. The rest of the guys are a bit younger, but I remember perfectly well the times when songs from the radio were copied onto cassettes and how important the next albums of your favorite artists were, which you would sometimes eagerly wait for months. You couldn’t always buy them in a store, so you would borrow them from friends, and sometimes you would listen to cassettes together on benches under blocks of flats. I look back on the work of bands from those years with sentiment, and I often analyze those old, iconic compositions, so it’s no wonder that you can hear it in our playing. The atmosphere of the 80s and 90s is present in it, especially since those were the best years in the history of Polish rock music.
Could you name the artists who had the greatest influence on your musical development?
I wouldn’t like to mention everyone by name here, because I’ve listened to a lot of bands, and not just Polish ones. However, I’ve always paid attention to artists who can write cool lyrics. Because with music in a band, it’s usually the result of the work of several people. Of course, someone comes up with the initial chords or melodies, but during the work on the piece, everyone more or less adds something from themselves. It’s the same with us. I’ve always been most impressed by the creators of interesting and expressive lyrics, such as Krzysztof Grabaż Grabowski from Pidżama Porno, Muniek Staszczyk from T.Love, or Kazik Staszewski from Kult. For me, these are artists from whom you can definitely learn a lot, in terms of compositions, lyrics and the whole performance.
Are you responsible for the lyrics in the band?
Mostly yes. A few were composed by Piotr “Młody” Klassek, and a few texts are also from our friends. When I write, I try to find my own way in what I want to convey, although I am somewhat inspired by the artists I mentioned earlier. I try to include some message in the texts. I also want them to be interesting. Sometimes they are simple, sometimes complicated, but most of them are very personal and it is always me.
How many albums have you released so far?
I wish I could say two, but we’ve only officially released the album “Rymowanki”. However, we already have 80 percent of the material for the second album ready, what’s more, the songs are actually recorded, but they’re still waiting for editing and final polish. I hope the album will be released soon, but as you know, it’s not an easy process and sometimes it takes longer than previously planned.
Music videos were also made for several songs from your first album.
Official music videos were created for exactly five compositions: Dzieci PRL-u, Pankowa Rymowanka, Nadsąd Czas, Krzyk, Miłość po ludzku, Manipulacja. All of them can be viewed on our official YouTube channel.
During your concerts, in addition to your own compositions, you also perform a number of covers.
Yes. However, the choice of songs depends primarily on the audience we are playing for, as well as the number of bands at the concerts. For example, if it is a festival where many bands are playing, we mainly perform our own songs and maybe one or two covers, but if we play alone, there are definitely more of these covers, to fill a longer program. Most often, these are songs by bands such as Pidżama Porno, Kult, Strachy na Lachy, and at the end we often reach for absolute punk classics, i.e. songs by KSU, Celi nr 3 or Uliczny Opryszka.
There have been quite a few of these concerts over the 15 years of the band’s existence.
It’s true. I think we’ve played well over a hundred concerts. Currently we play almost 10 a year, which is quite a good result for a Polish band. We usually perform for Polonia, which is quite natural, because all of our original work is in Polish.
Which of these concerts do you particularly remember?
I think the most important and unforgettable one was the one on the occasion of the release of our album Rymowanki in 2017. People only came then to see us and the results of our work. The concert took place in the Paper Box club in Flushing and about 300 people showed up, which gave us great joy and satisfaction. We also like and have fond memories of all the concerts in the Melrose Ballroom, where we performed as support for bands such as: Kult, T.Love, Lady Pank, Bednarek, Dżem, Hey, Daab and Myslovitz.
You are the only band that performed during last year’s PSC Rock Festival, and now you will appear on stage at the Center during this year’s edition of the event.
Yes, and we are very happy about this fact. Thank you for another invitation, which we treat as an expression of appreciation for our work and creativity. We will certainly not disappoint all those who come to listen to us. I am also very curious about the other performers. I know that young, promising artists will perform, so I am glad that we will meet new, cool people with passion.
What can Festival attendees expect from your concert?
We always give it our all and this time we won’t give up either. The hall in the Center is demanding for musicians, so we have to be fully focused before the performance. This will also be our second concert with the new guitarist Maciek, so you will definitely be able to see us in a different version than during last year’s Festival. It will be a big change, because our new guitarist plays completely differently than the previous one. And even the arrangements will be slightly different. But don’t worry. Despite the new opening, it will still be the old and good Dzieci PRLu. I cordially invite everyone to the Center this evening.
Thank you for the interview and good luck at the Festival.
