Flying Balalaika Brothers

I was reading through one of my old journals and I was noticing a pattern. There’s been a pattern for quite sometime as to the decisions. Seems its been the same for many years. There’s one thing I didn’t notice until last Saturday. June 21, was the Summer Solstice and I went over to ZACH to photograph and listen to Flying Balalaika Brothers. I had actually forgotten what day it was. There were many musicians playing around Austin, but I didn’t get a chance to catch any of the other acts.

 (Sergey playing the small balalaika.)

After I had gotten home I realized, I’m always meeting musicians on the Summer Solstice. A few years ago I had gone to Audubon Park in New Orleans and a group of people showed up and invited me to be a part of their celebration. Luckily I had my camera and I proceeded to take some candid shots.

 (Dustin Russel taking it all in.)

Flying Balalaika Brothers which is named after one of the instruments is an eclectic band of sorts. They bill themselves as gypsies with the sounds of their motherland Russia, some jazz influence, little red grass (their version of blues) and some hip hop beats. Music just has a way of bringing people together and making us feel good. There’s even some humor in their songs.

 (Aaryn Russel, it shows that he enjoys what he does.)

Flying Balalaika Brothers consist of Zhenya Rock on the guitar and accordion, Sergey Vashehenke on the small balalaika, Dustin Russel on the drums and Aaryn Russel on Konta bass and the large balalaika.

(Aaryn Russel on the large Balalaika)

Check out their face book page or send them an email to find out where they’ll be playing next info@russiafbb.com.

 (Dustin Russel on drums)

I really enjoyed photographing them. It’s still a challenge as I don’t want to block the view of the patrons. I try to find the best spot and work with what I have using the natural light.

 (Zhenya Rock playing guitar in Zach's Z Lounge.)

Thanks for stopping by; keep an open mind and do come back again to see where the journey leads.

Check out my other blogs for more insight.
http://dlonzo-OpenYourMind.blogspot.com
http://filmlover4pg.blogspot.com
http://artbyDlonzo.blogspot.com