Līvi

Infobox musical artist
Name = Līvi


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Background = group_or_band
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Origin = Latvia
Genre = Hard rock
Years_active = 1976–present
Label = Melodija
Mikrofona ieraksti
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Current_members = Mārtiņš Bērtulis
Jānis Grodums
Guntars Mucenieks
Vilnis Krieviņš
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Līvi is a Latvian hard rock band, that was influential in forming the Latvian rock music culture. Their signatures are poetic lyrics and guitar solos.

The band debuted in 1976, when it was founded in Liepāja by Ēriks Ķiģelis and Juris Pavītols. They started out as a pop-rock band and played in various gigs around Latvia, whilst trying to find their own specific style. Thus the period of 1977-1985 was largely a chaotic time in the group’s music – it varied from pretty pop to heavy rock. But one thing never changed – their anti-soviet propaganda, their patriotism and their monumentalism.Fact|date=May 2008

After the death of Līvi leader Ēriks Ķiģelis in 1986, Ainars Virga joined the band, thus starting a new era – the era of anthemic ballads, hard hitting heavy rock tunes and rebellious philosophy.Fact|date=May 2008 Virga composed some of the best-known Latvian hard rock songs.Fact|date=May 2008 Līvi have recorded a total of 9 albums.

The band’s songs include "Dzimtā valoda", "Dzelsgriezējs", "Meitene zeltene", "Saldus saule", "Piedod man", "Zīlīte", "Tikai tev un man" and "Pāri visam".

History

The Early Days (Ķiģelis era)

The birth of Līvi is usually associated with year 1976, although a band with this name existed for a short time before that.Fact|date=May 2008 The only common thing is that both bands were founded by Juris Pavītols – a well known guitarist in the 1970s.Fact|date=May 2008 Līvi were founded in the summer of 1976, when two people first met – Pavītols and Ēriks Ķiģelis, a young guitarist from the city of Saldus.Fact|date=May 2008 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". Fact|date=May 2008

Ķiģelis (vocals, guitar), Pavītols (vocals, guitar), his wife Ingrīda (vocals), drummer Andris Krūmiņš and "the dinosaur of rock" Jānis Grodums (bass) formed a band, taking the name of Pavītols’s first band. "Līvi" were actually a Latvian tribe living in the vicinity of Liepāja and making their living by pirating and fighting with foreign oppressors.Fact|date=May 2008 The first years of the band's existence were spent in small-time gigs. Līvi mostly played sad songs written by Pavītols and sung by his wife, but sometimes the band surprised its listeners with some faster, more harder songs, composed by Ķiģelis.

Līvi have had a troubled history, beginning in 1978 when Ēriks Ķiģelis left the band, stating that his and Pavītols’s artistic differences were impossible to overcome.Fact|date=May 2008 He then formed his own band, Corpus and tried to distance himself from his former musical partners.Fact|date=May 2008 Meanwhile Līvi hired guitarist Modris Šterns.

In 1980, Ēriks Ķiģelis came back together with three new members – the 17-year old singer Rodrigo Fomins, drummer Vilnis Krieviņš (Krūmiņš had left the band a bit earlier) and band’s life-long sound engineer Juris Jakovļevs. Šterns, on the other hand, felt oppressed and had left the band some months earlier.Fact|date=May 2008 That didn’t slow the band down, though, and Ķiģelis immediately started writing new songs, so Līvi suddenly became popular, appearing in many music festivals and slowly starting to record their first album – the self-titled "Līvi", which was released in 1983.Fact|date=May 2008

Latvia at that time was a part of the Soviet Union, and Latvian rock bands were oppressed by the Communist party.Fact|date=May 2008 The Red Regime saw a potential enemy in the rebellious Latvian hard rockers and in 1981 used its power to ban Līvi from playing any concerts.Fact|date=May 2008 At that time many fans considered this to be the end of Līvi, but to everyone’s surprise Ķiģelis and Co. emerged in 1982 with a new hit single "Zīlīte".Fact|date=May 2008

Šterns came back to the band, but founder Juris Pavītols still couldn’t settle his differences with Ķiģelis and left the band forever.Fact|date=May 2008 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 Līvi second album "Aprīļa pilieni" (April’s Raindrops).Fact|date=May 2008 For a short period the band was joined by keyboard player Tālis Pusbarnieks.Fact|date=May 2008 Together they successfully record another album – "Iedomu pilsēta" (Phantasm City) and became the most popular band of that time.Fact|date=May 2008

Pusbarnieks, Fomins, Šterns and Kreiviņš left the band in 1984, because of wanting to start their own musical projects.Fact|date=May 2008 Ķiģelis was forced to save the band by hiring vocalist Aivars Brīze (later to become known as “the voice of Latvian rock”),Fact|date=May 2008 keyboardist Guntars Mucenieks and drummer Valdis Štarks. With new members and Līvi all-timer Grodums by his side, Ķiģelis 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 Līvi, the first of many. After a concert, Ķiģelis was involved in a car accident and died.Fact|date=May 2008

Resurrection (Virga takes on Līvi)

Ķiģelis 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.Fact|date=May 2008 His first song was "Dzimtā valoda", an emotional ballad, and an appraisal of Latvian language and culture.

In 1987 Štarks 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, Līvi had recorded a dozen of hits and formed their longest-standing lineup, consisting of Aivars Brīze (vocals), Ainars Virga (guitars), Tomass Kleins (guitars), Jānis Grodums (bass) and Dainis Virga (drums).

In 1994 Līvi released the studio album "Karogi" ("Flags"), their first recording since the death of Ēriks Ķiģelis 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 Līvi recorded an album in just one night. "Spoku Koks" ("The Ghost Tree") was recorded, cut, mixed and delivered to stores in just one night.Fact|date=May 2008

Two years later Līvi released "K.M.K.V.P" or "Kas Mums Var Ko Padarīt" ("Who Can Do Anything Against Us?"). Singles included "Meitene", "Bize" and a jazz version of Līvi's old hit "Dzelsgriezējs". In 1997 Līvi recorded their best-selling album "Bailes par ziņģēm" (Fear about Songs); an album dedicated to the memory of Ēriks Ķiģelis.Fact|date=May 2008 The album was successful and remained in fans memories for “Piedod man” – a hard-rockers confession written by bassist Jānis Grodums.

Shortly after the release of "Bailes par ziņģēm" long-time vocalist and “the voice of Latvian rock”Fact|date=May 2008 – Aivars Brīze left the group.Fact|date=May 2008 Two years later Līvi 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 Līvi 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.Fact|date=May 2008 Ainars and Jānis survived, but drummer Dainis and sound-engineer Juris Jakovļevs died from their wounds.Fact|date=May 2008

Ainars Virga was accused of being responsible for the accident.Fact|date=May 2008 Līvi recorded a new album, called "Pāri visam" (Over everything); a recording dedicated to all rock musicians, who have died in accidents.Fact|date=May 2008 Krieviņš and Mucenieks returned to the band.

When Ainars Virga was found not guilty of his charges, Līvi 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 Jēkabs Ozoliņš. The result – a grandiose concert for fans, that was later released on a DVD.Fact|date=May 2008

Members

*Mārtiņš Bērtulis: guitar, vocals
*Jānis Grodums: bass guitar, vocals
*Guntars Mucenieks: keyboards
*Vilnis Krieviņš: drums

Former members

*Ēriks Ķiģelis: guitar, vocals
*Dainis Virga (deceased): drums
*Aivars Brīze: vocals
*Tomass Kleins: guitar
*Māris Zīlmanis: drums
*Juris Pavītols: guitar, vocals
*Ingrīda Pavītola: vocals
*Rodrigo Fomins: vocals
*Valdis Štarks: drums
*Valdis Skujiņš: guitar
*Andris Krūmiņš: drums
*Tālis Pusbarnieks: keyboards
*Ainars Virga: guitar, vocals
*Edijs Šnipke: guitar

Discography

*Aprīļa pilieni, EP (1985)
*Iedomu pilsēta (1986)
*Līvi aka Kurzemei - saules ceļš (1988)
*Karogi (1994)
*Spoku koks (1994)
*K.M.K.V.P (1996)
*Bailes par ziņģēm (1997)
*Viva (1998)
*2001 (2000)
*Līvi Zelts 1 (2002)
*Pāri visam (2004)
*Līvi 1995-2005 (2005)

Videography

* (2005)

External links

* [http://www.livi.lv/ Official site]