Līvi - Biography
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Biography
The birth of Lîvi is usually associated with year 1976, although a band with this name existed for a short time before that. The only common thing is that both bands were founded by Juris Pavîtols - a well known guitarist in the 1970s. Lîvi were founded in the summer of 1976, when two people first met - Pavîtols and Çriks Íiìelis, a young guitarist from the city of Saldus. Although their characters varied a lot, they had one common thing on their minds, that is, to form the basis of a new genre, which they referred to as "Latvian rock".
Íiìelis (vocals, guitar), Pavîtols (vocals, guitar), his wife Ingrîda (vocals), drummer Andris Krûmiòð and "the dinosaur of rock" Jânis Grodums (bass) formed a band, taking the name of Pavîtols's first band. Lîvi were actually a Latvian tribe living in the vicinity of Liepâja and making their living by pirating and fighting with foreign oppressors. The first years of the band's existence were spent in small-time gigs. Lîvi mostly played sad songs written by Pavîtols and sung by his wife, but sometimes the band surprised its listeners with some faster, more harder songs, composed by Íiìelis.
Lîvi have had a troubled history, beginning in 1978 when Çriks Íiìelis left the band, stating that his and Pavîtols's artistic differences were impossible to overcome. He then formed his own band, Corpus and tried to distance himself from his former musical partners. Meanwhile Lîvi hired guitarist Modris Ðterns.
In 1980, Çriks Íiìelis came back together with three new members - the 17-year old singer Rodrigo Fomins, drummer Vilnis Krieviòð (Krûmiòð had left the band a bit earlier) and band's life-long sound engineer Juris Jakovïevs. Ðterns, on the other hand, felt oppressed and had left the band some months earlier. That didn't slow the band down, though, and Íiìelis immediately started writing new songs, so Lîvi suddenly became popular, appearing in many music festivals and slowly starting to record their first album - the self-titled Lîvi, which was released in 1983.
Latvia at that time was a part of the Soviet Union, and Latvian rock bands were oppressed by the Communist party. The Red Regime saw a potential enemy in the rebellious Latvian hard rockers and in 1981 used its power to ban Lîvi from playing any concerts. At that time many fans considered this to be the end of Lîvi, but to everyone's surprise Íiìelis and Co. emerged in 1982 with a new hit single "Zîlîte".
Ðterns came back to the band, but founder Juris Pavîtols still couldn't settle his differences with Íiìelis and left the band forever. So did his wife, who just didn't fit in the band's new hard-hitting style, though songs recorded with her were used in Lîvi second album Aprîïa Pilieni. For a short period the band was joined by keyboard player Tâlis Pusbarnieks. Together they successfully record another album - Iedomu Pilsēta and became the most popular band of that time.
Pusbarnieks, Fomins, Ðterns and Kreiviòð left the band in 1984, because of wanting to start their own musical projects. Íiìelis was forced to save the band by hiring vocalist Aivars Brîze, keyboardist Guntars Mucenieks and drummer Valdis Ðtarks. With new members and Lîvi all-timer Grodums by his side, Íiìelis was confident of his chances to remain on top. He started work on new songs and prepared for another tour the following year.
1985 turned out to be a difficult period for Lîvi, the first of many. After a concert, Íiìelis was involved in a car accident and died.
Íiìelis protégé Ainars Virga took on the role of being the band's new leader. Virga was a fan of bands like Black Sabbath, Scorpions, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, so, when joining the band in 1986, he had already visualized a new path for the band - a harder, guitar-solo oriented and rebellious. His first song was "Dzimtâ Valoda", an emotional ballad, and an appraisal of Latvian language and culture.
In 1987 Ðtarks was replaced by Ainars's younger brother Dainis and in 1989 Tomass Kleins joined the band as a regular guitar player. Thus, when the Soviet Union broke up, Lîvi had recorded a dozen of hits and formed their longest-standing lineup, consisting of Aivars Brîze (vocals), Ainars Virga (guitars), Tomass Kleins (guitars), Jânis Grodums (bass) and Dainis Virga (drums).
In 1994 Lîvi released the studio album Karogi, their first recording since the death of Çriks Íiìelis in 1985. The album sold double platinum. The release of Karogi was immediately followed by a tour across Northern Europe and Latvia.
In December 1994 Lîvi recorded an album in just one night. Spoku Koks was recorded, cut, mixed and delivered to stores in just one night.
Two years later Lîvi released K.M.K.V.P.. Singles included "Meitene", "Bize" and a jazz version of Lîvi's old hit "Dzelsgriezçjs". In 1997 Lîvi recorded their best-selling album Bailes Par Ziņģēm; an album dedicated to the memory of Çriks Íiìelis. The album was successful and remained in fans memories for "Piedod Man" - a hard-rockers confession written by bassist Jânis Grodums.
Shortly after the release of Bailes Par Ziņģēm long-time vocalist and "the voice of Latvian rock" - Aivars Brîze left the group. Two years later Lîvi recorded their 7th album Viva. For two years band played without their leader and struggled in the artistic department, by not writing a single song.
In 2000 Virga came back and Lîvi recorded an homage to the old millennium - an album entitled 2001. Virga added some punk-rock tunes to their compositions. In 2003, while driving back from a gig, the car driven by Ainars was involved in a car accident.Ainars and Jânis survived, but drummer Dainis and sound-engineer Juris Jakovïevs died from their wounds.
Ainars Virga was accused of being responsible for the accident Lîvi recorded a new album, called Pāri Visam; a recording dedicated to all) rock musicians, who have died in accidents. Krieviòð and Mucenieks returned to the band.
When Ainars Virga was found not guilty of his charges, Lîvi were approached by an interesting offer to do a concert accompanied by a symphonic orchestra. Originally an idea by band's deceased drummer Dainis, the arrangements of songs was done by Ainars and conductor Jçkabs Ozoliòð. The result - a grandiose concert for fans, that was later released on a DVD.
(Source: Official website, 29.5.2014)
Íiìelis (vocals, guitar), Pavîtols (vocals, guitar), his wife Ingrîda (vocals), drummer Andris Krûmiòð and "the dinosaur of rock" Jânis Grodums (bass) formed a band, taking the name of Pavîtols's first band. Lîvi were actually a Latvian tribe living in the vicinity of Liepâja and making their living by pirating and fighting with foreign oppressors. The first years of the band's existence were spent in small-time gigs. Lîvi mostly played sad songs written by Pavîtols and sung by his wife, but sometimes the band surprised its listeners with some faster, more harder songs, composed by Íiìelis.
Lîvi have had a troubled history, beginning in 1978 when Çriks Íiìelis left the band, stating that his and Pavîtols's artistic differences were impossible to overcome. He then formed his own band, Corpus and tried to distance himself from his former musical partners. Meanwhile Lîvi hired guitarist Modris Ðterns.
In 1980, Çriks Íiìelis came back together with three new members - the 17-year old singer Rodrigo Fomins, drummer Vilnis Krieviòð (Krûmiòð had left the band a bit earlier) and band's life-long sound engineer Juris Jakovïevs. Ðterns, on the other hand, felt oppressed and had left the band some months earlier. That didn't slow the band down, though, and Íiìelis immediately started writing new songs, so Lîvi suddenly became popular, appearing in many music festivals and slowly starting to record their first album - the self-titled Lîvi, which was released in 1983.
Latvia at that time was a part of the Soviet Union, and Latvian rock bands were oppressed by the Communist party. The Red Regime saw a potential enemy in the rebellious Latvian hard rockers and in 1981 used its power to ban Lîvi from playing any concerts. At that time many fans considered this to be the end of Lîvi, but to everyone's surprise Íiìelis and Co. emerged in 1982 with a new hit single "Zîlîte".
Ðterns came back to the band, but founder Juris Pavîtols still couldn't settle his differences with Íiìelis and left the band forever. So did his wife, who just didn't fit in the band's new hard-hitting style, though songs recorded with her were used in Lîvi second album Aprîïa Pilieni. For a short period the band was joined by keyboard player Tâlis Pusbarnieks. Together they successfully record another album - Iedomu Pilsēta and became the most popular band of that time.
Pusbarnieks, Fomins, Ðterns and Kreiviòð left the band in 1984, because of wanting to start their own musical projects. Íiìelis was forced to save the band by hiring vocalist Aivars Brîze, keyboardist Guntars Mucenieks and drummer Valdis Ðtarks. With new members and Lîvi all-timer Grodums by his side, Íiìelis was confident of his chances to remain on top. He started work on new songs and prepared for another tour the following year.
1985 turned out to be a difficult period for Lîvi, the first of many. After a concert, Íiìelis was involved in a car accident and died.
Íiìelis protégé Ainars Virga took on the role of being the band's new leader. Virga was a fan of bands like Black Sabbath, Scorpions, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, so, when joining the band in 1986, he had already visualized a new path for the band - a harder, guitar-solo oriented and rebellious. His first song was "Dzimtâ Valoda", an emotional ballad, and an appraisal of Latvian language and culture.
In 1987 Ðtarks was replaced by Ainars's younger brother Dainis and in 1989 Tomass Kleins joined the band as a regular guitar player. Thus, when the Soviet Union broke up, Lîvi had recorded a dozen of hits and formed their longest-standing lineup, consisting of Aivars Brîze (vocals), Ainars Virga (guitars), Tomass Kleins (guitars), Jânis Grodums (bass) and Dainis Virga (drums).
In 1994 Lîvi released the studio album Karogi, their first recording since the death of Çriks Íiìelis in 1985. The album sold double platinum. The release of Karogi was immediately followed by a tour across Northern Europe and Latvia.
In December 1994 Lîvi recorded an album in just one night. Spoku Koks was recorded, cut, mixed and delivered to stores in just one night.
Two years later Lîvi released K.M.K.V.P.. Singles included "Meitene", "Bize" and a jazz version of Lîvi's old hit "Dzelsgriezçjs". In 1997 Lîvi recorded their best-selling album Bailes Par Ziņģēm; an album dedicated to the memory of Çriks Íiìelis. The album was successful and remained in fans memories for "Piedod Man" - a hard-rockers confession written by bassist Jânis Grodums.
Shortly after the release of Bailes Par Ziņģēm long-time vocalist and "the voice of Latvian rock" - Aivars Brîze left the group. Two years later Lîvi recorded their 7th album Viva. For two years band played without their leader and struggled in the artistic department, by not writing a single song.
In 2000 Virga came back and Lîvi recorded an homage to the old millennium - an album entitled 2001. Virga added some punk-rock tunes to their compositions. In 2003, while driving back from a gig, the car driven by Ainars was involved in a car accident.Ainars and Jânis survived, but drummer Dainis and sound-engineer Juris Jakovïevs died from their wounds.
Ainars Virga was accused of being responsible for the accident Lîvi recorded a new album, called Pāri Visam; a recording dedicated to all) rock musicians, who have died in accidents. Krieviòð and Mucenieks returned to the band.
When Ainars Virga was found not guilty of his charges, Lîvi were approached by an interesting offer to do a concert accompanied by a symphonic orchestra. Originally an idea by band's deceased drummer Dainis, the arrangements of songs was done by Ainars and conductor Jçkabs Ozoliòð. The result - a grandiose concert for fans, that was later released on a DVD.
(Source: Official website, 29.5.2014)