The Karamazoff Bike
On 16 February 2001, an astonishing thing happened - we actually got a mail from someone whose either was not entirely interested in self-promotion, or - just as good - was extremely polite. They even had two names.
Hi Coronets!
We`re a Russian band named Karamazoff Bike. We`ve downloaded your ¥`For Henz. Great song. Wish we`d hear the whole album but unfortunatelly web sites dont send CDs to Russia `cause our banks suck and credit cards dont work in the net. Check our music on http://karamazoffbike.iuma.com
Best of luck
Max aka Markus
Karamazoff Bike
I checked them out, and found out some things about them, but how should I reply? Surely I should call him Max?
Hi Markus!
How are things in Vladivostok? Things are good here in London.
Many thanks for your kind comments - you don't need to buy a cd as you can download everything from our mp3.com site - this also has our latest demo including a new version of Yen for Hens and some new songs. You can get there from our website - http://www.thecoro.net/ and clicking on 'listen to the coronets'. I hope you enjoy it.
I am literally AS I WRITE listening to the Karamazoff bike, and I really like it - my favourite one is Rome-Paris so far.
Sorry to hear about your banks - take care, and KEEP PEDALLING THE KARAMAZOFF BIKE (is this what your name means?) Best wishes
Phil
phil@thecoro.net
http://www.thecoro.net
And they replied bless them:
Hi Phil!
Thank you for the reply. It`s great to get in contact with you. Of course I`ll try to download as many Coronets songs as I can following to the links you gave me.
It was a long and very cold winter here (not typical for these places). But now it`s getting a lot warmer and we start to feel the first breathes of the spring. Glad you liked our songs. Thanks for kind words about them.
Yeah you`re right the "bike" in our name means bycicle not motorbike. Wish you luck with The Coronets. Say hi to the other guys in the band.
Keep in touch
Best wishes
Max aka Markus
Karamazoff Bike
Now I don't know much about Vladivostok, but I think he might be lying about the typicality of the winter. Apart from that, what a nice fella eh? In fact, since this email, I have had a number of email chats with this man, and he is indeed extremely nice. These people truly are GREAT MATES OF THE CORONETS.
Read Russian? Check out the real homepage of the karamazoff bike. Alternatively, you can read things in English and download their tunes here - they are a mixture of ska and indie.
Another option is to check out Max's solo career, the delightfully named Markus and the age of steamboats. This has a mixture of russian and english, so make sure you check out the sounds link - a lot of this is very good I think, in fact I prefer it to the Karamazoff bike. Particularly good ones are shapka (hat) and small bull-a-boom.
Catch you soon
p 21/02/01, updated