Volodymyr YAKYMETS: “There will be no Ukraine like it used to be”

The Shevchenko Prize winners have sang in Kremenchuk, Melitopol, Nikopol, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Zaporizhia, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Sumy, Kryvy Rih, and Dnipropetrovsk. It will be recalled that the male vocal band has been actively touring the country after a less than five-month-long break. And the band always gathers full-houses.

“The integrity of Ukraine is now felt better than several months ago,” says the art director of Pikkardiiska Tertsia Volodymyr YAKYMETS, “For a long time we haven’t heard any talks about Banderite west, friendly Russia, however there probably are such talks somewhere. Everywhere we have full-houses. Actually, we had been ready to see half of the halls full or even less, because dollar has jumped, pensions and salaries are not increased, many people financially help the army and the wounded servicemen, are involved in volunteer’s activity. Therefore we were pleasantly impressed by the number of people who came to the concerts. And in Dnipropetrovsk we gave an extra concert. The tour lasted for 12 days. And before that we sang in Odesa and Kharkiv. After the Kharkiv concert a young man from Kharkiv ultras came up to us. It turned out that he was the one who sent a note to us on the stage: ‘Sorry, Lviv, for not supporting you in time’ and the request to sing ‘A Duck Swims On’ and ‘Ukraine Is Not Yet Dead.’ We had also an interesting incident in Melitopol, when a woman who got to know our creative work 1.5 years ago after hearing ‘A Duck Swims On’ came up to us. She says she saw absolute positive in the eyes of the audience, and that there are different people in the audience. If this positive is caused by Ukrainian folklore or other Ukrainian-language songs, our tour was not in vain.”

Did you sing “A Duck Swims On” everywhere?

“Yes. We didn’t announce ‘A Duck Swims On’ during the previous tour: we sang it and people rose to their feet. This time the people in the audience rose to their feet as well, but before the performance we said that the line between people has been erased, that several months ago nobody could even imagine that, for example, in Lviv there would be fans of two football teams, Karpaty Lviv and Shakhtar Donetsk, and people would be supporting Shakhtar not worse than in the Donbas Arena. We also said that before going to vote in the election, one should listen to ‘A Duck Swims On’ at home, in calmness, and think well. After all, the fact that many people have voted for Samopomich in Ukraine indicates that people have united and that there will be no Ukraine like it used to be. I don’t know what kind of country it will be in five or seven years, but it is a fact that it will be different.”

What program did you perform?

“We took as the basis the one we used during the previous tour. After all, every artist includes the most popular works in his performances. At every concert we sang Morozov’s ‘Ask’ with Korotych’s lyrics. In my opinion, this is a very important song, especially now when people still cannot make up their minds concerning their position. On the whole, some people in the east are somewhat confused: their ideals have been ruined, they are on the crossroads: it is like the person was blind for his whole like, finally underwent a surgery, and the bandage has just been removed. This song in fact gives impetus to contemplation, ‘What will go next?’ because we don’t become any younger, and people will recall us by our deeds. We sang ‘A Duck Swims On’ and will continue to sing it, because people, unfortunately, have a short memory. And in the end of the program we performed the most popular, and, most importantly, optimistic songs. Popular – for the audience to sing with us. Optimistic – for the people to leave the concert hall in a positive mood. For example, ‘I asked.’”

Did you have an opportunity to rest after the concerts, stay among people?

“No, because we were moving from one place to another: we gave 12 concerts during 12 days. The shortest journey was 77 kilometers long, the longest – 300. But we had time to talk after the concerts. I recall a very pleasant moment. After the concert in Dnipropetrovsk (five months ago) a woman approached us, her husband was supposed to come, but he fell ill and was about to undergo a surgery. The woman asked to tell the words of support to her husband on the phone. We said everything and sang ‘Mnohaia lita!’ (We Wish You Many Years of Life). And now after the concert in Dnipropetrovsk that woman came together with her husband who has recovered. An interesting story happened in Kryvy Rih. In May the man who attended the equipment at the concert, next day after our performance received a call-up paper and went to the ATO zone. Symbolically, this time when we were performing in Kryvy Rih again, he came back from ATO and again tuned the sound at our concert.”

What can you say about the results of the elections? Are you disappointed?

“No. For me they were more or less predicted: the fact that the parliament, after the events when the people rose to defend itself, must be pro-Ukrainian. The most important thing is that the MPs must make conclusions: they shouldn’t take bribes, because all secret things become known. New faces will come, even if not so many of them. Like they say in Galicia, ‘we were cursed and postponed, and we overslept.’ We have so much a work to do that we don’t have any time to delay things, like creation of coalition and appointment of the prime minister. We have elected, they must appoint everyone – and go to work. Thank God the country has not defaulted. Now we must develop.”

After the tour, are you going to take a rest?

“We won’t take rest. On November 28 we have a solo concert in Kyiv. Now we are having rehearsals. There will be tours to Uman and Cherkasy. Further – to Vienna and Munich, Kyiv, Bila Tserkva, and Vinnytsia. We must work, because more audience than before is going to concerts.”

Why?

“This is a phenomenon I cannot explain. During any events, joyful or tragic, when people gather in the hall together, very different people unite. Secondly, when artistes on the stage work sincerely, giving part of not only their creative work, but their souls, anyone will go for simple and open attitude. When the performers are sincere, people will attend their concerts. Vakarchuk and Ruslana gather full houses everywhere: in the east, in the west, in the north, and in the south. I will repeat myself: for 12 days we have been touring the country. The firm that organized the tours is from Luhansk, tour manager is from Donetsk, the driver is from Odesa, Tertsia is from Lviv, Ternopil and Zakarpattia regions. We have never had any conflicts or arguments. We have talked about different things, but have always come to joint opinion.”

Have you performed before the wounded servicemen during the tour?

“We are always ready to help. When we received such proposals, we changed our plans, found time and possibility for such important things.

“We have performed in the hospitals of Kharkiv and Odesa. I want to use the opportunity and tell with the help of the newspaper Den that we bow low before the people who defend the Ukrainian land.

“At first we didn’t know how to behave with the wounded servicemen. We didn’t know what their reaction would be. We decided that we wouldn’t sing sad songs, because they have enough negative things without that. We tried to boost their mood. They thanked us after the concert, ‘Your music brings us consolation, allows us to distract from the problems with health, as well as from news which you watch and recall your friends who have stayed there.’ Such words are much more meaningful than the flowers the audience brings to the concert.”

Did you have a lump in the throat when you were singing?

“Yes, I had. Not so much in the assembly hall of the hospital, where the wounded who can move come. Of course, some of them use crutches, others use a stick, some of the wounded were brought on a wheelchair. But when in Odesa the head of the hospital led us to the ward to a very young bedridden boy with plenty of catheters and droppers, and he, by the way, graduated from our Lviv Academy of Land Forces, I had a lump in my throat. Yes, doctors and nurses take care of him and do this professionally. But when we asked what he will do when he recovers, we heard, ‘I will go back to defend my homeland.’”