Top Soviet Rock Group Readies for S.D. Debut

SAN DIEGO —  Don’t expect to hear “Living in the U.S.A.” or “Back in the U.S.S.R.” during the U.S. debut of the Soviet Union’s top rock band, Vladimir Kuzmin and Dinamik, whose six-night stand at the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art’s Sherwood Auditorium begins Thursday.

Unlike the handful of other Soviet rock acts that have passed through San Diego in the past couple of years, Kuzmin and Dinamik have yet to be Westernized. They sing in Russian, not English, and they play only originals, not covers of American and British pop hits.

“Lots of the bands don’t have their own music because they try to sound like Western groups, and that’s because all of the idols come from America,” said Elena Brimakova, Kuzmin’s manager and interpreter. “I think to some extent it’s the same thing with Vladimir, but he has his own music, his own words, his own vision.”

Kuzmin is being hyped as the Soviet Union’s answer to Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen. And popularity-wise, that might be true: Kuzmin’s last three albums have each sold more than a million copies in the Soviet Union, and in a January, 1989, readers poll by the Moscow youth newspaper, Moscovskey Komsomopets, he was voted the country’s top singer, songwriter, guitarist and poet.

Musically, however, Kuzmin has nothing in common with either Joel or Springsteen. His vocals are expressive but not strained; his melodies are catchy but not predictable. His guitar work is dazzling and his lyrics, well, they’re all in Russian--so in the absence of a translation, the jury is still out.

“His songs are always like small novels,” Brimakova said. “Usually, they’re about love, and this love is mostly unhappy. He sings about the condition of a person--the feelings, the thoughts, of a person--in love.”

Promoter Scott Pedersen discovered Vladimir Kuzmin and Dinamik while on a scouting trip to the Soviet Union last April. Of the 40 rock bands he heard live, Pedersen said, Kuzmin and his group impressed him the most.

“When I went to the Soviet Union, I wasn’t expecting to find something totally unique, something that would blow me away,” Pedersen said. “But, when I saw Vladimir Kuzmin and Dinamik, they did just that.

“I couldn’t believe this music was happening in the Soviet Union; it was just so good.”

Pedersen immediately made plans to bring Kuzmin and his group to San Diego for a series of concerts during the Soviet arts festival. Pedersen temporarily was stymied by Mayor Maureen O’Connor and festival organizers, who tried to prevent commercial promoters from booking Soviet acts during the festival, but Pedersen, aided by financial backer and fellow promoter Don Hughes, was able to defeat the blockade.

Brimakova recalls Kuzmin’s initial reaction to the attempted ban was one of puzzlement.

“Naturally, it was very surprising that there would be no spot for a rock band in the festival,” Brimakova said. “It’s a cultural event between two countries, and it seemed very strange that your mayor would want to exclude us.”

But Brimakova is glad it all worked out.

“When we first heard the news, we decided not to give up,” Brimakova said. “We continued our rehearsals because we fully trusted Scott Pedersen and Don Hughes and believed everything would come out fine--and it did.

“I think it’s the most exciting thing. For a long time, we had live performances of Western groups in the Soviet Union, and since perestroika there have been lots more, promoting understanding of your people through music. I hope Soviet groups will be equally interesting to Americans.”

Five of the six concerts will benefit local arts and social service agencies. All performances are at 8 p.m. and tickets are $25 and $30.