The Bambir on Tour

Rock is hardly the most popular of musical genres in Armenia, but there is some talent. With the demise of Manic Depressive Psychosis (MDP), Gyumri rockers The Bambir are perhaps the country’s most popular rock band. They are also undoubtedly the most electric to experience performing live, even if they rarely get to play outside of Yerevan.

That is until now and a nationwide tour that kicked off on 7 May and which will last until 5 June. If you’re in Armenia, it’s recommended to check them out, but for those of you who are unfamiliar with the band, here’s an article I wrote in November 2005.

YEREVAN, Armenia – It’s well past midnight when Narek Barseghyan and Arman Kocharyan, lead guitarist and bassist with the Armenian rock band Bambir, return home. For once, they’ve decided to call it an early night, providing me with the opportunity to interview them over a bottle of vodka diluted down with orange juice.

Narek says he feels like drinking screwdrivers tonight rather than the more customary vodka drunk straight.

At the very least, it means that it will take a lot longer before speech becomes slurred, and the whole point of the interview is lost. An early Bob Dylan recording is playing in the background as we start to speak about the band in an old apartment building now overshadowed by half a dozen high-rises being built on Yerevan ’s prestigious northern avenue.

The two musicians have come a long was since leaving their native Gyumri in 2000. They’ve always been dynamic performers on stage, of course, but in recent years the band has matured musically. Now performing on an almost weekly basis at Yerevan ’s Stop Club, Bambir are attracting a sizeable and almost fanatical following in the still largely underground rock scene.

Four years ago, short haired and clean cut, the band resembled the stereotype of how most mothers hope their sons will turn out. Nowadays, hair is longer, and Bambir look and live like a rock band. Across the table, Narek lights a cigarette before pouring another cocktail. I’m here to find out more about the band’s history, and to discover what their future holds in store.

I can only hope that it all makes sense in the morning.

The full article is here.