The members of the group “Very Cool People” have started a mysterious kebab business. A website, napkins, shirts, advertisements have been created, but no one has tasted the kebab. Trumpeter Oskars Ozoliņš told the LTV program “Kultūrdeva” that they were inspired by a “Youtube” channel, where the marketing master created an artificial restaurant and made it popular on the travel platform “Trip Advisor”.
Henrieta Verhoustinska: On March 31, at the online concert at VEF Culture Palace, there will be a program called…
Elvijs Grafcovs: “50 Years of Influence + 30 Years of Cool Equals 13 Years of Music Hooliganism”. At the moment, it turns out to be 14 “years”, but we recorded it in 2020.
The longest name was also for fish in the name of vimbas.
Elvijs Grafcovs: “Heya Some Kind Of Fish! We Don’t Know The Name Of This Fish In English, But In Latvian It Is Vimbas”. Our instrumental albums have longer titles.
Can you briefly articulate what a “fan” is? That’s the direction of the music you’re performing, but what is it?
Elvijs Grafcovs: We are under some genre right now because we have to be under it.
Because somehow you have to be nominated for the “Golden Microphone” award!
Elvijs Grafcovs: Yes. We are now nominated for an album that was with hip-hop artists and Kristīne Prauliņš.
But in the “Jazz or Fank Music Album” category.
Elvijs Grafcovs: Yes, and the funk was left for us… I no longer know in which category this album goes. There is jazz with classical music, choral music, klezmer, Balkan music…
How did the eight of you meet and create this group? Do you remember what happened 14 years ago?
Elvijs Grafcovs: We were in threesome, then in fourth, then suddenly in fifth.
You are now in the “eighth”.
Elvijs Grafcovs: 2013, 14. per year…
Oskars Ozolins: I joined, I was the second blower, and we grew up to four blowers.
Elvijs Grafcovs: As one artist from the big land says, “Call one blower, they all pull.”
You are also overgrown with a “very cool society”, a society with various singers, such as hip-hopers and Kristīne Prauliņa, with whom you have been nominated for the “Golden Microphone” award, ansis, Edavārds, Evilena Protektore…
Elvijs Grafcovs: Now we are working with a new singer Paul Saiy. We are currently performing with this program, but from time to time she will appear with us in this program as well. By the way, Aija Andrejeva, but also with us.
Oskars Ozolins: Yes, until recently.
There are rumors that, despite the constant fun, you are still demanding in your attempts against the invited singers. Probably because you are also a music teacher, Elvij.
Elvijs Grafcovs: Yes, we have several music educators and one deputy director in the group.
Oskars Ozolins: Therefore, discipline is created automatically. Many resisted, but it is good that there is strong support! When Dad says it has to be done, it has to be done.
How about rehearsals with rigor? Are there any criteria you never break?
Elvijs Grafcovs: You have to play the song that you want to play in that rehearsal.
Visas notice?
Elvijs Grafcovs: This is debatable. If Oscar is tired, we can’t force him to play high notes. We do music in rehearsals, but we are quite a fun bunch with people. Everyone is professional, everyone does something, makes music, but at the same time we are also friends. Even outside of rehearsals, we meet from time to time for team building events.
You have released a new single, which we have been hearing about for a long time, called “Oscar”. Oscar is in the Latvian Radio Big Band and “Favorable Type”, he is also the owner of the kebab empire, and a special clip and song is dedicated to him.
Elvijs Grafcovs: It started with the fact that Oscar is very busy, because he has to be in three live shows at the same time, and he somehow wins. It was usually the case that the soundcheck before the concert, he was always late in the sound tests. If even he arrived an hour earlier, he had strayed somewhere to look at the best food recipes … Usually it was like we had to try, then I figured out a reef to call him. And then we all shout into the mic, “Oscar!” That’s how it all started. In the end, a song called the Oscar was put together. At one festival before that song, I came up with the story that Oscar is a kebab business tycoon, and that’s why he’s holding back. And Oscar took everything from there.
Oskars Ozolins: Next we covered it with marketing tricks.
You have a website Oskarskebab.lv, shirts, napkins!
Oskars Ozolins: We have many things in reality now. Napkins, advertising…
This is one of the most grandiose mystifications of recent time in Latvian show business. No one has tasted or eaten this kebab, but who knows!
Oskars Ozolins: I was inspired that in 2017 there was a Youtube channel where a marketing master made an artificial restaurant, and he made the restaurant so popular on the internet that he remained no. 1. “Trip advisor”, which is followed by many tourists. Only after a while it turned out that the restaurant did not exist at all. He invited real chefs, actors who played customers…
Elvijs Grafcovs: Bought in the supermarket the cheapest meat and assembled…
Oskars Ozolins: And often used a dishwashing tablet because it looks very good, poured a sauce and took “Instagram” pictures. People get caught up in visual things.
Elvijs Grafcovs:
People have commented to us that they like the song, but the kebab is connected, except that it sponsored the clip …
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