War in Szeparé

Dear readers, I would like to apologize for not posting these past weeks (or rather months); it turned out that I am diabetic; I had to lie in hospital for a few weeks. Bound to bed, hooked on infusion, surrounded by nurses, cut off from the internet I was unable to tell you about my third adventure. There is no need to worry, now that I’m free (and now that time urges my), it is time to make up for those missing posts. On the first week of March, I visited the club, Szeparé, and listened to the concert of the band: Háború.

I would lie if I were to tell that the place is easy to find. Of course, it can be easily approached by public transportation: whatever route you take, you just have to go as far as Nyugati Station. Although my information was correct, there was not adequate information on where to go from there next. As it turned out, the place is located in the vicinity of Nyugati, you have to go past the ice skating rink there, and at the end of the road you can finally find the stairs leading down to the club.

Club Separé itself was a very nice place, much nicer than the previously visited Underworld and Traffik, it was living up to the European standards. After checking in the slop-room, walking right will lead you into the bar area. Prices were pretty high: 2dl of coke costs 350 HUF, a total rip-off if you ask me, so going for the only other non alcoholic drink: the alcohol free beer is a much better choice, 5dl being worth 450 HUF. The dance hall opens right from this area, where around 80 people can stand conveniently in front of the stage, enjoying the concerts.

Mentioning the concert, it is time to move on to describe the event. Háború (means war in Hungarian) is an independent band, unsigned to any label, who nevertheless released 2 CDs on their own. The band has been around for a long time now, and it seems to be well received and prolific despite of the fact that they went on a longer hiatus and that disbanding: they held a farewell concert in 1999 only to have a strong comeback in 2003. I hope they will be work together for a long time, as contemporary music needs to have quality rock n’ roll bands like Háború among its ranks, not just commercial ones. Sample of the band’s songs can be listened to on their myspace profile.

I visited the club with my friend, Bonifác, whose dad just happens to be the drummer of Háború. Thanks to his intersession I was able to talk with Hirlemann Bertalan, and Mohai Tamás and ask some questions about the band and their future:

László: Would you tell me some basic information about the band: when it was formed, and what the current line-up is?
Háború: In 1997 was the first time that we got together to work, which resulted in a long lasting friendship and musical relationship. Although we had our hardships and collating with the others was also a problem, but there was no change in line-up. I play on the drum and keyboard, Mohai Tamás is the lead guitarist, and Szappanos György is our bassist.
L: Could you list some bands or artists who influenced your musical style?
H: All of us are professional musicians, been in constant contact with music, all of us like different things, and we have brought and put these in our work. We influence ourselves.
L: What is the greatest strength of the band? The lyrics with the deep content or the unique musical style are what make your music that great?
H: I would say it’s both. This kind of rock that we play is hard to find nowadays, not to mention the different world views we have and what we meld in our lyrics, we created something powerful.
L: Younger generation does not even appear to be aware of the existence of Háború, besides Bonifác and me, there were not many from our generation. What do you hold responsible for this? Is it younger society’s fault; they cannot understand and appreciate what you are trying to say?
H: Personally, I hold media responsible for this situation. Rock music does not receive as much public attention as it needs; TV and radio should broadcast more of the genre. Not just our band, but basically every rock band is fighting this futile war against commercial TVs to have more appearance. We always have been an underground band because of this, and I don’t think things will change. The small fandom we have, their number is around a few hundred at most; we try our hardest to preserve them, but with the media behaving this way it is impossible for us to win over the younger generation.
L: Could you tell me a few words about your albums?
H: Our first album, Dr. Csónakos, came out in 1998, and the second one was released in 2003 under the name Harmadik Világ. We are currently working on our third album, we already have some of the songs ready, but there is still new material we have to work on. There is no release date for this new album.
L: Besides the new album, what other things can Háború fans look out for?
H: Negotiations are still going on about it, but if everything goes well, we will be frequently performing in Rocktogon from October. A monthly concert would do a lot of good for the band; we ought to play more frequently together. So watch out for our concerts from fall 2011.

Szeparé a little bit expensive it may have been, because of the concert it was totally worth visiting. The only reason that the memories about this visit are bittersweet is that I landed in hospital 2 days later, and I have fallen behind with writing the blog. I advise everyone to visit Szeparé at least once, and listening to Háború songs is also encouraged.