Music
About the Ukrainian Village Band
The Ukrainian Village Band formed in 2007 as a group of musicians from the same village who by chance discovered each other living in Minneapolis, MN!
What a joy it was for each of us to have found other musicians from the village of Mozhlyvivka (Possibilityville) in the historical-ethnographic region of Chudovshchyna (Wonderland) of Ukraine!
Chudovshchyna and Mozhlyvivka:
Chudovshchyna (Wonderland) is not a particularly well known region. It is a small, isolated part of Ukraine that is difficult to reach, even in this modern age. There are no trains or flights into the area, and our hometown of Mozhlyvivka (Possibilityville) is serviced by one bus per day via a semi-paved road. Most people still get around by foot or fira (horse and wagon).
Mozhlyvivka is thought to be the first settlement in Chudovhshchyna, and is perhaps the oldest settlement in Ukraine. Mozhlyvivka is located at the geographic center of Europe and of the world; there is a monument marking the precise, central location.
Chudovshchyna truly is an ethnographic wonderland in which each of the various dialects and folk cultures of Ukraine is represented; the people of this region still wear traditional dress and speak in their historical dialects.
How our region and ridne selo (home village) came to be this way is difficult to explain--it would take many hours for either Vasyl or Marija Selchuk, our mentors in local history and ethnography, to explain it all.
You could ask one of our band members for a short, hour-long summary of our history and culture, however, it is customary to present a 750ml bottle of horilka (either vodka, slivovitsa, or palinka) when asking for information about our home village or region!
Nu serjozno. . . But seriously. . .
We are a group of performers that have come together to play Ukrainian music on acoustic instruments in (what one might call) a mixed village-authentic and Cafe Europa style. Three of us are Ukrainian-Americans from the Minneapolis-St Paul area. One of us is Ukrainian from Bila Tserkva (near Kyiv). The rest of us are Americans of various backgrounds. . . And we all are smitten by Ukrainian music, and Ukrainian pyvo (beer), salo (smoked/salted pork fat), and horilka (vodka, slivovitsa, or palinka).
We've been given the nickname Seljuky, a modern Ukrainian term which translates as the Hicks or Rednecks. It is derived from the word for "villager"-- i.e., селянин / seljanyn.
As is the case everywhere, contemporary Ukrainian culture is marked by a mixed attitude toward the countryside and those who dwell in it. The countryside towns and villages are the source of much of the folk culture that is the foundation of both traditional and modern Ukrainian culture, but it is also a source of frustration: The Ukrainian countryside is greatly impoverished and isolated from the rest of the world, and the people of the countyside lack adequate access to education, jobs, infrastructure, medicine, etc.
One of our bandmates lived in the Ukrainian countryside for a year, and several of us have relatives in the villages of Ukraine that we visit. . .
We mean to celebrate the village by accepting Seljuky as our nickname!
The Seljuky currently are:
- Stefan Iwaskewycz: Drum Kit, Bubon (Tambourine), Baraban (Drum with cymbal on top)
- Oleksiy Khrystych: Bajan, Vocals
- Sydney Lefevre: Violin
- John Luciw: Mandolin
- Natalie Nowytski: Stand-up Bass, Vocals
- Jim Parker: Kontra (three-stringed viola used as a rhythm instrument)
- Kim Salisbury: Violin
- Jenny Schultz: Tsymbaly (Hammer Dulcimer)