Igor, do you know who’s called a boomer?
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A friend explained it to me on the way here. Yes, I’m one of them, I’m at the club. Following my father’s example, I became a parent relatively early, at the age of twenty-six. Boomer neboomer, today I am 43 years old, son 15, daughter 14. We go snowboarding together, cross-country skiing. We even share music, so I know rappers Dorian, Gray or Yzomandias, my daughter loves Japanese anime culture and metal. We have common worlds, which is very rare.
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Why did you want to have a family so soon?
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I did career things relatively early. I have been on television since the age of ten, on the Golden Gate show. I was the last child to audition there, so I haven’t stopped since then – television, radio, theater, dubbing, I basically fed my brothers. For many bands, the O2 arena is a milestone, we played there when my mom was 50 years old. And everyone can calculate that if I have a child at the age of 30, he will be ten at the age of forty. I was a bit of a calculator, but it worked out. Children love each other and thank God they are healthy.
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How did you handle the image as a young man in the band No Name?
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We had a few attempts, we have a stylist who comes from time to time – we have photos in jackets and other costumes, but I think that the autonomy of each person should prevail over the image. We are colorful but compact.
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Who cares about image? Music is more important, the world is colorful and differences make it nicer. To run in clothes splashed with color, we would have to be Coldplay, who have been on tour for two years. We play Cheb today, Bratislava tomorrow, then Prague, it’s a different model. Be clean and fragrant, don’t stink your colleagues, but if you have a hat and I have a scarf, it doesn’t matter.
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You are famous for communicating with the audience. Has it always been that way?
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Every leader must be a little exotic, psycho, entertainer. And you can’t always go for sure. Having a few stories that work is both experience and preparation. But there is no one who is perfect without preparing for it. If anyone thinks he’ll come on stage and God will address him, let him think so, maybe one day he’ll come out.
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We want to know where we play, information about that city and place. And if we use this information in the performance, people like it. When you use it, you give people importance or you bow to them, it works and next time they may invite us again. I admit it’s pragmatic, but people want to have fun.
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No Name
The band has been active on the Czech and Slovak scene for more than twenty years. It was founded by Viliam Gutray and three Timk brothers – Igor, Roman and Ivan.
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During its twenty years of existence, the band has basically achieved everything that can be achieved in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and it still has the energy to give away.
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How do you explain that you are more popular in the Czech Republic than in Slovakia?
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What is popularity? We do not have less popularity at home, last week we received the Award for Extraordinary Contribution to the Košice Region. People believe myths and spread them. Some colleagues from Slovakia would like to move us to Cheb so that we never play in Bratislava again. Now there will be a festival in Bratislava, where we play together with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Dua Lipa.
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A country that is twice as big as Slovakia has fallen in love with us, in real terms it is three and a half times bigger in business, we have agreed events for 2023, and logically there are fewer of them in Slovakia. Once the Czechs fall in love with you, they won’t let you go, we can’t keep free dates for home concerts. Every Slovak band would like that.
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We are satisfied, paradoxically the less we are at home, the rarer we are. When we played at the O2 arena in 2006, we received an SMS from a radio station in Bratislava that our music is already for the Czech ear. That radio never played us again.
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Did you deal with things like a submarine or friction in a band?
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We were raised in one household as four brothers. Whenever we had an argument or a fight, my father told us to say it and reconcile, or to kill us. We had no choice but to learn that reconciliation must come to sleep after the quarrel, otherwise that sleep will be toxic.
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We have a lot of activities and we are rare, which eliminates potential conflicts. In addition, we are accommodating and have mechanisms in place that prevent possible conflicts of opinion. Father taught us that the art of living is foresighted. And it is said that they argue unsuccessful or successful who do not know what to do. And the families helped us a lot – when you come home and there is a woman, child or mother-in-law, Igor Timko stays at the door and retreats back to normal life.
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Do you take it as an advantage that you basically operate as a family business that you entertain people with?
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Yes, but it has its laws. Usually it starts with having a professional relationship with someone and then becoming friends. In our country it was the other way around. Nobody asked if we wanted to be in the band, we had to professionalize. Plus, we don’t play any ego games. We had a harder trip, but everything works and we have no problem sitting at the beer with the boys from the band and our entire team.
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How do your parents perceive your success?
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The father played for twenty years at weddings and parties, he was out of 14 children. The mother is one of five children and worked in education. Dad started making music to make money. They targeted us at music schools, from 1992 to 1996 we only played at weddings and parties.
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Today we are friends with Janda, Koller and Habera, but at that time we only played their songs. The best school. Our drummer played at the age of twelve, today a social worker would come to us. That’s how it started. And in 1996, with our own work, we won the Košice Golden Treasure competition and advanced to the Bratislava Lyre. For the first four years, No Name was in a serious deficit, his parents took out a loan so that they could buy Ivan new drums – at that time for 100 thousand Slovak crowns, the interest rate was 16 percent, basically usury.
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Our drummer played at the age of twelve, today a social worker would come to us. That’s how it started.
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What role does money play in your value chain?
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They are important for sure, but in the sense you can have for them. But if you have money as a goal, it’s very little. When I want to make money and go see somewhere, I can imagine that I need a car, a diesel. We get offers for weddings and birthdays, they usually offer us a lot of money, but we don’t do it. Money is fine, but it’s like everything – everything in moderation.
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Did you ever make a mistake and No Name performed at an event that wasn’t exactly what you expected?
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There were political pressures in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, they wanted us. But we cannot take it, because from our own position we can do much more than if we were in a political party. And if we get an offer from politicians, we will say a million euros per capita – there is no such money in politics, and that is why we are asking ourselves so much that they cannot give us such an amount. What to go to politics for? In our six-member band, everyone also chooses someone else.
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We went through a number of shows and shows, but if we get an offer for a TV show or competition today, we don’t need it. If the concert calendar is empty, you have to change your strategy. But if it’s full, then what? It suits us that we live in Košice, you will hide there beautifully, it is a beautiful city, the way to you is psychohygiene.
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Is there anything you would still like to achieve with the band, fulfill a wish?
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I understand the question, but that’s not how we look at it. Today it is a little different. We are not the youngest band and it is important to stay pragmatic and strategic. We are architects of our own success and we transfer that architecture to others. We use texts to spread the philosophy No Name: Calm, we are here for a while, hold on, make love. I think it’s a miracle.
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Do you have any solo ambitions?
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I have no ambition. Actually, it’s the other way around, because I’m persuading guys from the band who sing well to sing one of the other singles. Today I can imagine the headline “No Name changed after 25 years of singer”. And I hope it’s Zoli or one of the brothers. My goal is to present the band as a multi-pillar. No Name is not Igor Timko, No Name is six boys from Košice.
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What did No Name last invest in? What was Igor dressed for in art school? What about social networks? And how did the band work with the cosmetic brand?
Find out in the podcast at the beginning of the article.
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The Boomer Talk podcast
Moderator Miloš Pokorný introduces himself in a new podcast called Boomer Talk, which he will present at Podcasty.cz published twice a month.
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The term boomer serves as an offensive satire of bitter, old Internet users who need to criticize younger users for their age and interests.
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The principle of the Boomer Talk podcast is about comparing things new and old, and Miloš Pokorný interviewes interesting guests from various professions on this topic.
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