Russian punk rock lover hosts festival in Vancouver
Tim Bogdachev first heard punk rock on a boombox in Siberia in the mid-1990s and, from that moment on, he was hooked.
"I had no idea what it was," Bogdachev said. "But I really liked the energy, the melody and the speed."
The punk rock lover, who goes by the nickname "Russian Tim," hosts the Rocket from Russia music show on UBC's radio station, CiTR.
This weekend, he's throwing a two-day festival of local punk rock and bringing his own twist on the punk music scene.
The Rocket From Russia festival will include original songs as well as punk rock versions of Russian songs, Bogdachev told CBC The Early Edition guest host Stephen Quinn.
"I took some Russian songs and made punk versions of them," he said. "But since there will be normal people, Canadians, in the audience they won't know the original so it's going to sound like Russian punk rock."
Every summer, Bogdachev organizes a Rocket From Russia anniversary show but this year, for the first time, the music will be spread across two days to include more artists.
The line-up for this year's festival is all local punk rock talent and includes bands like Isotopes, Punk Rock Baseball Club, Aanthems and AntEater.
'We have a great scene'
Bogdachev said he was impressed with the music scene in Vancouver when he first moved here from Siberia in 2006, but didn't understand why the bands didn't play together more often.
"They were playing for 20 friends in one club, another group of bands would play for another group of friends," he said. "Nobody really brought them together."
His band, Russian Tim and Pavel Bures, will be the only Russian language one at the festival. The focus is on local talent and punk rock, he said, rather than any one specific language or nationality.
"I'm a big supporter of local music, I think we have a great scene," he said.
The Rocket to Russia festival takes place July 21 and 22 at the Media Club in Vancouver.
To hear the interview with Tim Bogdachev, click on the audio link below:
With files from The Early Edition.
