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Belgrade, May 21st 1999
Under unity slogan this nation
is devided more and more
Interview with Jovan Matic, frontman of Del Arno Band
Every Friday at 16.00 Del Arno Band play for free in Club of Students of Technical Sciences, whether there is or not electricity. We talked with Jovan Matic, founder and leader of this most popular reggae band in Serbia, on May 21st.
FreeSerbia: What is the idea of your concerts?
Jovan Matic: Since I can't do anything else, I decided to give people something what can separate them for few hours from all this shit. Concert is for free respecting the fact that nothing works anymore, that almost everything was stopped. Few people get salaries and it would be really shameless to harry money for tickets from people who makes our audience and come here to relax. During this situation entrance is for free. Unfortunately, drink can't be for free, but entrance can. And it will be as long as this war lasts. After that we will see. When things start going ordinarily, we will put price for ticket, that's not the problem. I think that this is normal. That is the minimum musicians can do. I understand that musicians are in desperate situation since they can do nothing. But I would really felt shameless if I would collect money from people who probably scoop last reserves right now to drive off this situation. Though I don't have any suspicions, considering the atmosphere, if I would put the hat in the middle or at the entrance and said: "Put how much you think the band deserved", that there would be money. But we developed sort of relation of trust with our audience for last 13 years and we don't want to make that sort of things. This is one family gathering. We are here every week to rest for a little our heads, to forget everything that is around.
FreeSerbia: Last week you were performing Bob Marley's "Exodus". Were you thinking about someone when you were doing that song?
Jovan Matic: We always think about someone. As a matter of fact, we always think about one thing. In this band we always dream the same dream and it is that in this country, man could be allowed to do his job and to live of it. That is extremely simple dream. In those circumstances I doubt that anybody of us would be interested who is in any armchair. And I believe that soon we would forget names of these people. My scope is most important to me and that is: I play, you have money to pay the ticket. I earn and you spend great time and go on to do your exams. And I go to buy my bread and my cigarettes with that money. That is the essence. That is the dream that we are dreaming permanently, and we don't want to pass it up. I think it is possible in this country. We can live fine in it. There is someone who say that we live fine, but I can't see that. I am sorry that I seem as a traitor at this moment or if I deprave defensive might of my country. Fuck it, I don't live of my job, and I have an impression that I am doing it well. And something is really wrong, because I am not only one who lives badly of his job. So even I started to scratch my head, although I am rather silly man. If I were clever I would probably play dance music. But, it must be that we all are stupid, when we are persistently bestirring to do our job, and nothing happens.
FreeSerbia: How do you see that CNN give reports of refugees, and then picture of Republic Square concert in Belgrade and then say: "While Albanian refugees are experiencing whatever Serbs are enjoying"?
Jovan Matic: We are dealing here with double situation. First situation is the one that comes from outside to us. One thing is perfectly clear to me. There aren't only innocent and there aren't only guilty. It is clear to me that those ones there, whom this military intervention against Yugoslavia costs roughly one billion a day, undoubtedly must justify so big costs and so big fooling around. The only way to do that is to create monsters of us. We are vandals, killers, cleansers and I don't know what else. It is quite normal to me that they have to do that. Radio Television of Serbia didn't devise manipulation of crowd. That is a patent they imported from countries that strike this country right now. And they are doing it quite simply. That is clear Orwel situation. Today we don't have some sanguinary South America type dictatorships. These are refined media dictatorships which shape people heads in the way that people bawl over 100, 200, 300 thousands of Albanians, but they won't start crying for 100 million Africans passing away of hunger and AIDS. They won't cry for 20 million Kurds. But if you randomly steer their attention on five barefoot Albanians that will be horrible.
On the other side we have one inside problem. And that is the problem that we are not aware what has been done in our name and has it been done. And of course we have that constant problem. We have promises that finish on void promises. Somehow, fucking enemy shows neatly to obstruct all these "efficient people" to make our lives better. I am sick of dividing on traitors and patriots. I love this country more than all of them together. I passed this country along and across and was mixing with people who literally won't buy cigarettes tomorrow, but they will come on our concert. I played in every possible hole. We are away from glamour. We introduced the country from another point of view, where people in this kind of holes and worse gather expecting little hope from each other to bide those better days. People let's stop lying. If you can't it's not a shame. I am furious. I am sick of all promises about happiness that will never come.
FreeSerbia: At the beginning you were playing at Republic Square. What do you think about those concerts?
Jovan Matic: Generally, I think that our country is so small that it is simply unbelievable how big powers allied to teach us a lesson. The reaction idea you shoot we sing is mostly OK. I couldn't do anything about what happened later. Does anyone ask me? I had similar dilemmas even before. Why you musicians don't show dick to the authorities? Cool it man. Are you aware in which circumstances we work? We are the smallest screw in this society. Before me intellectual must rise his voice, then professor, then fucking doctor. And all those fucking people who still somehow get wages. For 13 years our colleagues and we didn't receive money from sold albums. We never received a penny for playing our music on radio or TV. Why would we be the strongest and the bravest now? They called us. They said it's OK to raise morale of the people. OK. What we never do is to play under party flags. We play when they call us. We see 5-6 thousand kids who don't have anything else to do. They are standing there. It's OK to play them. Now, that is distorted for sure. When wise guys regain that sort of things. That is the reason why we did this thing, which is less fancy, less exposed, but it is more useful for all of us. At the beginning we were alone and now I see that others are joining in. But they take money for tickets. I wouldn't comment that. It is a matter of someone's conscience is that right or wrong.
FreeSerbia: What about this incident with Seselj's Radicals who showed with party flags on your concerts? You stopped that concert?
Jovan Matic: I am Christian. It offends me when someone comes and wags with his programmes on Eastern. Although, it must be made clear that it is not credit just of the band. Nothing of that type could happen here if you don't have acceptance from the organiser. Really our politics is not to play under slogans. I can't believe that our brothers and sisters can't see that under the slogan of unity this nation is divided and bleeding more and more. And there is no better example from this gentleman who can't find common language with his own best man. There were some other portraits and if they weren't moved away we wouldn't go on with gig for sure no matter what organisers would say. I don't have some violent attitude that it should be eliminated. Those people see some profit in that. I don't see it. I see just blood. It is known who introduced that: first he puts you a label and then you defend yourself whole life. Those things are result of very bad views on life. None is guilty for things his parents have done. We respond for our own deeds. And we deal with people who can muster you that your grand grandfather had crooked dick and then to spit you for whole life. That is not orthodox, Christian and human.
FreeSerbia: What to do next?
Jovan Matic: After all this it is music again. What else? After all this generally must come reconstruction. Moral values must be put on legs. This nation lost its identity and must find itself again. It's not all in the money, it's not all in the gold, and it's not all in double crossing someone to grab what he has. There is something in organising everyone has how much he needs. Although this sounds goofy. I don't think that all of us will have how much he needs and no one to work nothing. We have to rebuild us starting with head and moral and then to see what to do with political parties, systems.
Gigantic job follows. We have to look ourselves in the mirror and to realise why some things didn't succeeded and then it will be much easier to start all over again. And we will have to do that. Not because the country is ruined with these attacks but because that even it wasn't ruined we would have to start all over again. This leads us nowhere.
FreeSerbia: Will third world ever rise?
Jovan Matic: hird world raised long ago but it can't make any change if it use weapons that are well known already. You can't make any changes by doing same things that have been done before. Meaning that you he and I take bats and slay some other three man like that is solution. And three new ones will come and do the same thing. Transition must come by amplitude. We must stop believing in violent changes with known methods. This world is so tired of known things. This attack on our country indicated death of parliamentary democracy. What parliament was consulted if Yugoslavia should be attacked? No one was consulted. The decision was made in small ring of three-four most powerful people in the world. Parliamentary democracy good bye. Over. Model which third world could offer must be a new one to those left, right, central, progressive, reactionary. Something new but recumbent on something old like don't steel, don't kill. But something with faith in man, in possibility that man could be man. Because man just can't let himself to become a man, to stop being one violent animal which only looks how to trample first beside him and to grab. I pray for this change.
Dragan Maravic
Boris Milicevic
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