A WEEKEND IN SERBIA - Gregg Wright

I first heard of the In Wires Blues & Rock Festival from my good friend Vasja Ivanovski, promoter of the Blues & Soul Festival in Skopje, Macedonia. “There’s a guy who’d like to put you on at his festival in Serbia.” “Cool!” I thought. “ . . . Serbia eh? Never been there before. Yeah Man, let’s do it!”

“What the Hell have I just gotten myself into?” raced through my mind for a second. But curiosity and always being up for a challenge got the better of me. Being the son of a career military man, I’d always been encouraged to keep abreast of world events and I was fully aware of the religious and ethnic strife that had taken place in the ‘90’s in this region. Serbia is part of the former Yugoslavia. I don’t know why, but fear has
never been a big part of my makeup, so I couldn’t wait to go!

I began email correspondence with a fellow named Milos Milojevic. He was the In Wires Festival’s Executive Producer. Milos informed me that the American Embassy in Belgrade was a co-sponsor of the festival and that I’d be the headliner. The festival was to take place in the city of Uzice, May 26-27, 2011.
I flew from L.A. to London Heathrow (my least favorite airport in the world!) on the 20th to play a show in Belgium on the 21st. Since Europe is a full day ahead of Los Angeles, I basically did the Belgium gig with no sleep. Welcome to musician life!

A few days rest in England and a radio interview on the “King Bizkit’s Speakeasy” program, www.icrfm.co.uk and it was back to “Horrible Heathrow” for our flight to Belgrade. It’s exciting to have a look behind the former “Iron Curtain.” I’ve played several countries that were part of the former Soviet Bloc and it’s a real privilege to see and experience it firsthand. Two things are clear to me no matter where I go; the world is full of wonderful, amazingly interesting people, and progress always wins!

Progress is a life force that no amount of political suppression, propaganda or even brutality can stop. Like running water, it finds a way. I find it extremely ironic that while the former Eastern Bloc countries are emerging from those dark times by re-building their societies and infrastructures at an incredible pace, there are regressive forces here in the United States doing their very best to move our country backward into the Dark Ages! I put it down to the insanity and fear of a few people in positions of influence who hate progress. Regardless, sooner than later, progress will take hold and we’ll regain our national footing, regressives be damned! We will rebuild our society and infrastructure for the 21st century. Guarantee!

It’s a four hour drive from Belgrade when we arrive in Uzice. We check into a Bed & Breakfast high in the hills. After many emails, it’s great to finally meet Milos Milojevic in person. We’re all excited about the festival and of course I cannot wait to get out & see some of Serbia and meet the people. Mr. Schmidt, owner of the Mojo Club and one of the festival’s sponsors, is our guide. After a quick breakfast, we go for a look around town. I guess you don’t get a lot of 6’3” Black guys in Cowboy hats ‘round these parts judging from some of the looks we’re getting. But they are looks of curiosity, not animosity. I just wave and smile. Folks just smile & wave back. Funny . . .
The festival site is along the banks of the River Đetinja at the water plant situated at the bottom of the Užice Old Town. It was the first electrical plant made according to Nikola Tesla’s principles of an alternating current in Serbia, just one year after the first of its kind was built on the river Niagara in America. This is one beautiful spot! The folks from the American Embassy arrive along with the Serbian press. While the stage crew sets up we do a round of interviews and photos. As the sun goes down, it’s nearing show time and the festival is beginning to fill with people. What will they make of me and my music?
I know it’s going to be a great night because as soon as we get onstage, the crowd rushes to the front. It had been raining before we came on, but no one seems to care. We hit and I can feel the rush of excitement from the crowd. They are into it! Fortunately for me, I’m on and playing some of my better guitar. This is not always the case. I suppose I’ve reached a certain level of consistency after all these years, but sometimes you hit on a higher level than normal. You seem to play outside of yourself to the point of where it’s like someone or something is playing you! This is what I’m always shooting for. The set goes off without a hitch . . . no broken strings, no technical malfunctions. The crowd goes absolutely nuts and we do four encores. As we leave the stage, the crowd pushes through the barrier and I am almost crushed to death by a 300 person group hug. It’s cool though, I’m very happy that they dug us that much and felt the music so strongly.
At the risk of sounding arrogant, I firmly believe after much experience and observation, that musicians do more for foreign policy, communication and bringing people together than politicians. True musicians are communicators that often transcend language and cultural barriers. I often hear from the locals that the Beatles and Rock& Roll is what really brought down the Iron Curtain. Of this, I am certain! I had never set foot in Serbia in my life, but the people there made me feel very welcome. I sensed they appreciated someone coming from as far as Los Angeles, CA, to play their town. What they couldn’t know is how much I appreciated them. We all had a great time drinking in what a 50 year long Cold War could never do. Getting together and celebrating life through music!
Written by Gregg Wright
© 2011 Left Hook Music