Siekiera

Siekiera was one of the most influential and popular punk rock bands in Poland. With fast, aggressive music and lyrics filled with obscenities, the band was a sensation in the 1984 Jarocin Festival. After changes in the lineup, the band switched to new wave and dissolved in 1988.Infobox musical artist
Name = Siekiera


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Origin = Puławy, Poland
Genre = Hardcore punk
Punk
New Wave
Post-punk
Years_active = 1984–1988
Label = Tonpress, Manufaktura Legenda
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Current_members = Tomasz Adamski, a.k.a. Dzwon (guitar, Bandleader, author of all lyrics and music)
Tomasz Budzyński, a.k.a. Budzy (vocals)
Dariusz Malinowski, a.k.a. Malina (bass)

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Career

Siekiera formed in 1982 or 1983 in Puławy, Poland, under the name of "Trafo". The line-up then was Tomasz Adamski - guitar, Tomasz Budzyński - vocals, Jerzy Janaczek - bass, and Irek "Borys" Czerniak - drums. They started by playing cover songs of UK Subs and The Exploited. In the autumn of 1983 they changed they name to Siekiera (Polish for "Axe"). There is a legend that the name came from a guy who heard their music and compared it to the axe. The original line-up was Tomasz Adamski(a.k.a. Dzwon) - guitar, leader, the author of all lyrics and music, Tomasz Budzyński (a.k.a. Budzy) - vocals, Dariusz Malinowski (a.k.a. Malina) - bass, and Krzysztof Grela (a.k.a. Koben) - drums. For a while some guy called Piotr Szewczyk played guitar, but they fired him because of his blues influences.

In 1984 they played their first official show in a place called "Remont" in Warsaw. They also performed at the Jarocin Festival, and they were well-received by the audience. In October 1984, after a huge show with TZN Xenna and Youth Brigade, Budzynski left the band (he wanted to have some influence on the band's music and lyrics, but Adamski wasn't happy about that). With that line-up they played only 6 shows. After that Budzynski formed a band called Armia (with Robert Brylewski).

Tomasz Adamski reformed Siekiera with two new members: Zbigniew Musinski - drums and Pawel Mlynarczyk - keyboards. Dariusz Malinowski took the vocal duties (besides playing bass). In February 1985 they recorded eight new tracks, some of them were played on the radio. In May and June they recorded some songs for an EP and the Jak Punk to Punk compilation LP. In 1985 they played again at the Jarocin festival, but the orthodox punk public didn't like their new wave image and music.

In 1986 Siekiera released their only LP, Nowa Aleksandria - an excellent album, influenced mainly by Killing Joke, one of the greatest Polish albums of all time. In 1987, a new guitarist, Wieslaw Borysewicz, was recruited, and Tomasz Adamski concentrated on singing. In 1987 they also played a mini-tour with Variete a Polish new wave band. Finally, in 1988 they broke up. They were expected to reform in 1989 with an almost original line up (with Stopa who used to play in Moskwa and Armia as the drummer), but somehow it didn't work out.

After Siekiera

Tomasz Adamski's interests shifted towards classical music, particularly J.S. Bach. A published poet, he lives in Puławy. Tomasz Budzyński is still Armia's vocalist, he's also involved in a Roman Catholic project called 2Tm2,3. He recently started performing solo, and his music and lyrics have nothing in common with punk now. Dariusz Malinowski has got a new band called Tra-band. Zbigniew Musinski is now in Germany. Krzysztof Grela was eventually killed in a pub in Puławy in January 1992.

Discography

* Demo bootleg (1984)
* "Fala / Idzie wojna" LP składanka "Fala" (Tonpress 1985)
* Jest bezpiecznie / Misiowie puszyści (Tonpress 1986)
* Nowa Aleksandria (Tonpress 1986)
* "Ja stoję, ja tańczę, ja walczę / Ludzie wschodu" LP "Jak punk to punk" (Tonpress 1987)
* "Na Wszystkich Frontach Świata" CD (Manufaktura Legenda 2008) (slightly remastered recordings from the punk period)
* "1984" LP (Manufaktura Legenda 2008) extra records from punk period-one of last trial with Tomasz Budzynski and Krzysztof Grala in squad. Limited edition.

External links

* [http://www.siekiera.serpent.pl band's homepage]
* [http://homepages.nyu.edu/~cch223/poland/siekiera_main.html informational page about the band with pictures]