Chaif (Chaif) is a popular Soviet and Russian rock band founded in Yekaterinburg in the mid-1980s. The idea of its creation belongs to Vladimir Shakhrin, Vladimir Begunov and Oleg Reshetnikov.
History of creation
Officially the birthday of the collective is September 29, 1985. It was then that the first concert (under the signboard "Chaif") took place on the stage of the Sverdlovsk DK. In reality, the history of the band began two years earlier, when Vadim Kukushkin and Oleg Reshetnikov, who dreamed of playing in the genre of rock, met with Vladimir Shakhrin and offered him to unite. He agreed. A little later Vladimir Begunov, whom Shakhrin knew from school and played in the band "Blurred", joined the musicians.
The guys agreed on a place for rehearsals with the local DK and began to disappear there all night long. When the first songs were recorded, there was a question about the name of the band. The musicians had been looking over the options for a long time, but the decision, as usual, came suddenly. During rehearsals the guys often drank tea, using a coffee grinder "Vivacity" to brew it. The guys didn't have coffee, and they couldn't afford to throw away the miracle device. The resulting drink gave a feeling of incredible high, that's why they called it "chayf". That's how they named the band. At first the word was written Chai-F", but in time the hyphen was removed.
The band became a legend of Russian rock
In 1984, the musicians recorded an album, combining 10 compositions. It became a good test of the pen, but it was not included in the official discography of "Chaifa".
At the same time the band consisting of Shakhrin, Begunov and Reshetnikov (Kukushkin was drafted into the army at that time) started to perform in front of the public. A recording of such a concert fell into the hands of journalist Andrei Matveev, a passionate fan of rock 'n' roll. He liked the guys' performance very much. Matveev even compared the lead singer of the band with Bob Dylan.
In 1985, the first "real" album of the group "Life in Pink Smoke" was released. One of its parts was recorded before the final composition of Chaif was formed. Shakhrin and Begunov worked on the second part together with Sergei Denisov, another ex-member of the band Blur. In the same year the musicians performed for the first time in the city's DK under a new name, giving an official start to their creative activity. At the same time they joined the Sverdlovsk Rock Club.
The way to fame was not easy. Ideological zealots immediately put the barely announced band on the list of forbidden musical groups. It was difficult to work in such conditions. In addition, the band's composition underwent repeated changes. At different times among the members of "Chaif" could be seen:
- Alexei Gustov;
- Anton Nifantiev and his wife Alina (who performed for a short time);
- Vladimir Nazimov;
- Igor Zlobin;
- Pavel Ustyugov;
- Valery Severin;
- Vladimir Privalov;
- Vyacheslav Dvinin.
The "golden" four (Shakhrin - Begunov - Severin - Dvinin) finally got together only in 1996. Since then the band's line-up has not changed. Vladimir Shakhrin remained the permanent leader of the band.
By that time the band had collected a lot of songs that became a worthy contribution to the national rock music. But the musicians were not going to stop at what they had achieved. The collective released new compositions, albums and clips, actively toured all over the country, became the winner of popular festivals.
The popularity of musicians was growing. In 2000, 20 thousand fans came to listen to "Chaif" and congratulate the beloved band on its 15th anniversary in SC "Olympiysky". Public attention is always pleasant. For Shakhrin and his team it became an additional incentive for further creation of new songs with wonderful lyrics.
Musicians have time not only to write and perform their compositions, but also to star in movies. The most vivid projects that are remembered by the audience are the films "Election Day" and "Radio Day".
Today, the recognized legend of Russian rock continues to give a high to his fans, performing in different cities of Russia and countries of the post-Soviet space. Despite the far from young age, the musicians are full of plans and are not going to retire. Details of their creative biography you can find in the catalog of artists on the website kontramarka.de.
Discography
"Life in Pink Smoke" (1985) - in two parts
"Saturday Night in Sverdlovsk" (1986)
"Dulia with poppy" (1987)
"Dermontin" (1987)
"Not Trouble" (1990)
"The Fourth Chair" (1991)
"Let's Go Back" (1992)
"Children of the Mountains" (1993)
"Let it be as you want it to be" (1995)
"The Real World" (1996)
"Shekogali" (1999)
"Sympathies" (2000)
"Time is of the essence" (2001)
"48" (2003)
"Of Myself" (2006)
"Friend/Foe" (2009)
"Movies, Wine and Dominoes" (2013)
"String Theory" (2017)
