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Начало › Burgas citizens › Plamen Stavrev
Hi, my name is Plamen Stavrev. Some of my friends call me Plamen, some call me Stavrev and throughout my long and not in the least quiet life I’ve been called many other names, which I intend to spare for the sake of brevity and good manners. I would rather leave to you, my new acquaintances from the web-space to decide how to call me and I can assure you that I would reply with the same sense of humor and broadness of mind. I would only add that due to that same long and not in the least quiet life my vocabulary harbours terms and expressions that could make even a lady of the most ancient profession blush.
My basic occupation is music which means that I earn a living by playing the guitar and singing songs. A great portion of that repertoire is popular tunes from the second half of the twentieth century plus blues and jazz standards. I also play original material. Some of it is entirely my own but a great deal of it was written with the help and indispensable participation of my numerous friends.
My life story in short: I was born in Bourgas, Bulgaria and my early years were dedicated to all the hectic activities which a boy growing two hundred metres from the seashore would be engaged in – swimming, fishing, diving, boat-sailing, etc. I also started to play violin at the age of five but for the next eight years I failed to acquire the necessary perseverance and will which this exceptional instrument requires. In the end I gave it up to the disappointment of my parents and tutors only to discover three years later that the only way I could get the attention of the girls was to sing and play the guitar – that was the way to do it in the early seventies. Once a musician, always a musician – I’ve been doing it ever since. After graduating the local high school and fulfilling my obligatory military service – two years active duty, I went to Sofia University and studied English language and literature for the following five years while doing all kinds of odd jobs to support my already existing family. I came back to my hometown only to discover that nobody paid English teachers anymore and in order to keep on supporting my growing household I had to get the guitar out of the closet. I admit that it was definitely a more demanding and a lot more fulfilling occupation. For the next fifteen years I tried to combine both professions – going abroad as a traveling musician and teaching English or translating books when staying home only to hastily grab the first opportunity to hit the road again when money ran out. The outcome was predictable – a divorce and lots of experience, whatever that is supposed to mean.
I’ve always been interested in music - classical, modern, electronic, acoustic, instrumental or vocal. My interest made me start educating myself in the great art of recording, producing and even amplifying music. But my main interest is the instrument called guitar in all it’s varieties, shapes and playing styles.
Since 1994 I have acted as one of the main organizers and participants in a Blues Festival in my home town Bourgas. I still consider it an honor to be a part of it. Luckily it started to breed and there is a similar event in Russe – a town with spectacular music tradition. (http://www.bluezzfest.org/ )
My music liabilities have undergone a lot of changes through the years. From the rock-n-roll of the fifties and sixties, through early traditional blues of the pre-war era to the hard and progressive rock scene of the 70 and 80 as well as ethno and jazz. Still, I consider myself to belong to that portion of songwriters and entertainers who prefer to rely mostly upon their instrument, voice and influence qualities of their lyrics and melodies.
The album below is a selection of my own and other peoples songs in my own language recorded at my friend Rumen Spassov’s studio. I intend in the next six months to record a selection of my favorite songs from all-over the world.
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