We were intially going to quote Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, who died a long time ago, for this space. But, we quickly foun out that though the composer of "Peter and the Wolf" was born in Ukraine, he is actually Russian! But, we may quote him later on, as Russia is, along with Ukraine, one of two former Soviet states in the Euro 2012 soccer chammpionships, which start on June 8th.
This month, we are quoting 8 of the 16 countries in the cup, and today, we start with co-host Ukraine (the other co-host is Poland).
As it turns out, Gogol Bordello's lead singer Eugene Hutz, 39, was born in Ukraine. The gypsy punk band will be performing in Aspen, Colo., on June 9th, and in Istanbul, Turkey, one of our favorite cities, on June 30th.
Hutz was influenced by the likes of Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen---yes, we were shocked by that too!
Here is the quote from Hutz, who is of Roma/gypsy heritage:
"Everywhere, there was Ukrainian Gyspsy folk music. That's how it is there; you cannot escape it. But I found that I liked it."
http://www.gogolbordello.com
