Karina Yunusova and Lux Leopard

I saw the Russian rock band Lux Leopard at Sochi's Bar London on January 7.  Music producer Pavel Lesnevsky was in the audience and told me that his team was filming a band that night and I should watch.  I was already on my way out before the band started playing that night.  But, I was caught by surprise by the English language lyrics when they started performing (see the video filmed that night of Try To Be King).  I stopped to watch because of the singer's energetic and arresting performance and because the musicianship of the band stood in contrast to the Russian cover bands that constitute much of the live music in this region. There was a real guitar player here, a real singer and bass player and the best "Keith Moon-style drummer" in south Russia.

I could not quite pin down what it was about the vocalist that caught my attention, there was something of Shirley Manson's formidable stage presence.  But her charisma is all her own and she has considerable vocal range, too.

Last night, I happened to be in the studio working with the editor on a video featuring me and about central Sochi, when Lux Leopard singer Karina Yunusova and guitarist Yevgeniy Kuznetsov arrived to add tracks to a previously recorded song. The impromptu meeting gave me a chance to ask about their history, music and plans for the future.  

Lux Leopard formed about four years ago, after Karina moved from Novy Urengoy, east of the Urals, to Sochi in search of a warmer climate.  She had been a competitive gymnast and competed in the Russian Championship for a spot on Russia's Olympic team   Later she studied English and Spanish at the university level in Moscow. After considering her options, Karina decided rather than returning to Moscow to work as a tour guide, she would try out Russia's Black Sea Boomtown. Sochi.

Soon after Karina arrived, she was introduced by mutual friends to Yevgeniy, bass player Aslan Gedkafov and drummer David Oganyan, who had been playing together, but needed a singer.  Yevgeniy told me it was a quick decision by all to join forces after they heard Karina sing and she heard them play.  Lux Leopard performs English language songs of their own composition.  Yevgeniy writes the music and Karina the lyrics. She told me that she likes writing in English because she feels it is the best language for their brand of driving and seminal rock 'n roll. I asked her if there had been any performers in the English-speaking world who she had been motivated by.  She told me that when she was a teenager, she heard Garbage singer Shirley Manson and that it had an immediate impact upon her.  Yevgeniy said that Black Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach has been a notable influence on his playing.  He also listed trip hop bands Portishead and Morcheeba as groups that informed his ideas of music.

Lux Leopard is gaining a significant regional following.  I asked them why they had not relocated to Moscow, which is the center for music in Russia.  They told me that the crowded and competitive bar scene made it difficult to get gigs that paid for the additional costs.  Anyway, Lux Leopard is developing an international following and since Sochi now has an international airport, they can reach the large European market just as quickly from here.  Since the group now has a sufficient catalog of original songs, they are ready to start playing to international audiences.

As for future plans, Lux Leopard has set their sites on a recording contract and international success.  At least for now, they are a welcome part of Sochi's growing music scene.

Office Space- January 2012

Office prices in Sochi and Adler seem to be holding steady, with a few premium listings commanding higher prices.  Most offices in Adler run in the 500-800 rubles per square meter ($1.50 -$2.50 square foot), although a two-story office in central Adler with 1,800 square meters (about 19,400 square feet) is listed at 1,500 rubles per square meter (about $4.50 per square foot).  Sochi prices in the center start at about 800 rubles per square meter ($2.50 per square foot), with several offices on the centrally-located, but traffic-prone, Vinogradnaya Ulitsa.  Ulitsa Roz (very center of Sochi) has an office listed at 1,125 rubles per square meter for 40 square meters (about $3.40 per square foot for about 430 square feet).  One larger office on Voikova Ulitsa is listed at 202,000 rubles for 135 square meters.  That is a price of about $6,500 per month for a total of 1,452 square feet or about $4.50 per square foot.  A 250 square meter office with parking and ideally located near the Sochi City Administration, Melodiya Shopping Center and seaport, is renting at 3,000 rubles per square meter.  That is a total price of about $24,000 per month for 2,700 square feet, which correlates to a per square foot price of $9.00.  This is high for Sochi, but the location, parking availability and size of the space are unusual.  

Google's Sochi Problem

Google has a problem in Sochi.  Actually, Google has several problems.  Sochisider Pavel Lesnevsky pointed this out to me.  He asked if I would write about it and try to get some attention brought on the problem, so that Google would make the changes necessary to fix it.

A use of Google's search engine at google.ru using the following words: ночная жизнь сочи - which means Sochi nightlife in Cyrillic (Russian characters)- will see these search results:

Notice that the first page is dominated by domains devoted to websites about Miami, Florida.  The same thing happens when a user searches культурная жизнь Сочи- cultural life Sochi.  The search results point the user towards sites about Miami.

Also, a user who uses Google's online translator and types in сочи , which is the spelling for Sochi, will get the result: Miami.

Everyone in Russia understands that Miami is a popular and fun place.  Many Russians have visited or would like to visit.  However, this mistake is not good for anyone.  Users do not find the information they need, it damages local businesses in Sochi and hurts Google's image.

Can we get some help here?  This is surprising that no one has taken care of this problem.  I think Sergei Brin is from Moscow....

Sochisiders

It is not often that a city gets a chance to pick the name that the English-speaking world uses to reference its residents.  In most cases it happened a long time ago:  Londoners, Parisians, Muscovites, Los Angelenos, Glaswegians have been identified in those ways for a very long time.  Liverpudlians, for residents of Liverpool, is a colorful example  and there are other names that have an interesting historical connection.  For instance, people from the state of Ohio are called Buckeyes, those from Indiana are Hoosiers and if you are from North Carolina, you are a Tar Heel.  It is clear that there are a lot of names for people from different cities, states, regions and countries.  What is not clear is what people from Sochi should be called in English.  The three most obvious choices are Sochiites, Sochians or Sochiers.  The problem is that none of these sound good in English. Sochi ends in a hard e sound, which is fairly unusual for cities in the English-speaking world.  One notable exception is Sydney, Australia.  That problem is solved in Sydney by use of the term Sydneysider to describe its residents. Those from Sydney were originally called this in the 19th Century because they were from the Sydney side (as opposed to the Yarra side) of the colony of New South Wales.

I write about Sochi and it is uncomfortable to use Sochiite, Sochian or Sochier.  So, when I write, I usually refer to people here as "residents of Sochi" or "those living in Sochi".  However, an Olympic city, a city of mountains and beaches and parks and Formula 1 and World Cup matches, a city that is the largest construction site in the world deserves to have a suitable and comfortable appellation for its residents.   A few weeks ago, I was thinking about people living here and without awareness began to think of them as Sochisiders.  As I thought about it, I realized this was a really good solution.

I have asked really a lot of native English speakers what they think of this solution and the answer has been unanimously favorable.  So, I have begun to use the term Sochisiders.  It sounds pleasant.  It makes literal sense.  If you are from Sochi, you are on the Sochi side (i.e. of the mountains or of the sea) and there is an association with another beautiful Olympic city, Sydney.  Are we merely copying Sydney here?  No, there are other examples (such as Merseysiders) and anyway there is not copyright on the term - sider.

So, Sochisiders, watch as the term catches on!

January 19, Epiphany in Sochi

Last night in Sochi, the beaches were full of bathers at midnight, despite the cold and damp evening.  The occasion was the celebration of Epiphany, which is celebrated in the Orthodox Christian Church as the day that Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River and one of only two times when all three Persons of the Holy Trinity manifested themselves to humanity.  In colder areas of Russia, those observing will cut a hole in the ice (often in the shape of a cross) and immerse themselves in the water, sometimes 3 times.  In Sochi, thousands of people come to the beaches and plunged into the Black Sea at midnight.  Last night, I was there for a brief and chilly swim.  The water temperature was about +8 to 10 Celsius ( 46- 50 Fahrenheit).