• Do you want to improve your sight-reading AND improve your ability to play tunes by ear?
• Want to express yourself with improvisation in 4/4 as well as more complex meters such as 7/8, 11/8, 15/8?
• Do you want to polish your technique of major and minor scales as well as learn modes like hijaz and nikriz?
• Do you want to gig in DC and up and down the East Coast?
• Are you interested in music from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey i.e., the Balkans?
• Do you enjoy having a fan base of both young and old fans that love the music as much as they love to dance?

If so, then come audition for the Balkanics for ONE HELL OF A GOOD TIME!!
The Balkanics, Washington's only electrified Balkan band is looking a lead instrument or two to replace a couple of departing members. The instrumentation that we use is typical for most "wedding bands" popular today throughout the Balkans. The clarinet, the saxophone, the keyboard and the bass/rhythm guitar - all modern electric instruments of the West - give this music of odd modes a very peculiar sound. It is truly appealing to younger crowds because it's loud, exciting and very driving, even somewhat hypnotic. And because we play generally traditional tunes, we can characterize the product as "old music for the new generations." Should you be a musician who is intrigued by the unique and challenging aspects of Balkan music, namely complex meters, scales from Asia Minor, and ornament-laden improvisations, then you could be the right fit for our band.

What we expect from you: A professional and courteous attitude, an open mind and an eagerness to learn are more important than a long CV. You must be proficient at your instrument and though being able to read charts will be very useful to you for learning our repertoire, it is not a requirement should you have the ability to learn and memorize by ear quickly. We do strive to be liberated from charts while on stage whenever possible so that we can visually interact with our audiences. Sometimes our lead players are called to the middle of the dance circle to play.

More about the music: In the Balkans (Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey) a band of our configuration is called a "wedding band" and plays a more up-beat style of music that often bridges folk and contemporary musical styles. Naturally, purists and traditionalists sometimes shun this fusion of genres and instrumentation but it certainly has a lot to offer if you ask the youth attending our gigs. The tunes we play come from the indigenous ethnic and Romany (Gypsy) groups from this part of the world. Search the net for clips of Esma Redzepova, Saban Bajramovic, Ivo Papasov, Husnu Senlendrici, and Yuri Yunakov to hear our inspirations.

More about us: The Balkanics was founded late in 2004 and has since become popular amongst ethnic as well as mainstream audiences in the D.C. area and the East Coast. Currently we are the only band of its kind in the Washington, D.C. area. At our gigs, we love to see young folk as well as friends and extended families who represent the previous generation of folkies in this neck of the woods.

We are the children of the folk dance community around the Washington, D.C. area and are naturally interested in doing something completely different from what our parents did. Our band is one of friends; we do this to be together as much as to play together. We all lead rather normal lives with SOs, careers and various other commitments. The music, the camaraderie and the sheer enjoyment of playing Balkan music for crowds of dancers in clubs, at festivals and as part of other cultural events drives us to continue this band. We probably play an average of 2 gigs per month and we try to rehearse weekly to bi-weekly. Rehearsals take place in a band member's home in Wheaton, MD, usually on Sunday afternoons and run typically 2 hours. If the weather, moods and schedules permit, grilled foods, drinks and laughter often follow on the deck out back.

Well, if you've read this far, at least something has piqued your interest. Drop us a note and we can arrange a time for you to check out a rehearsal and schedule an audition.