Bring Slovenian fans to Montenegro

The cult Slovenian rock band Lačni Franz will complete the New Year's rock celebration, which will take place on the Square of Arms in Kotor, and the frontman of this band, the charismatic Zoran Predin, could serve as inspiration for everyone to enter 2020 smiling and full of energy, determined to fulfill all your desires and ambitions. The unstoppable Predin constantly shows us that obstacles do not exist, at least not for him. In his sixties, he seems to be more active than ever, at the beginning of the year he released the album "Zoran pjeva Arsena" on which he covered the songs of his great friend, the deceased legend of Yugoslav music Arsen Dedić, as well as a collection of short stories, the title of which well describes his attitude towards life. Head through the wall". With the rejuvenated Lačni Franz, he performed throughout the region and marked the 40th year of the band's work with the single "Lud ko pushka", and he talked about all this for "Vijesti" and announced his plans for 2020.

What kind of vibe and expectations are you coming to Kotor with, and what would you tell the audience to expect from you, what will the repertoire be like, will you be playing something new?

To begin with, I have to praise the city of Kotor, which supports urban rock music and organizes a New Year's rock party, unlike almost all other cities in the region. In Slovenia, there is great interest in those two concerts, so I would accordingly invite the Tourism Organization of Montenegro and Montenegro Airlines to organize a visit of Slovenian fans of Bajaga, Hladni piva, Partibrejkers and Lačnoj Franz in Kotor on December 31 and January 1. We, as Lačni Franz, are truly happy to have joined such a good band company, so these days we are specially preparing for that performance. We will present ourselves with an iron repertoire with a few surprises, in terms of better communication. We will adapt the repertoire to the widest audience.

How much do you like holiday concerts in general and how are they different for you from others? Do you prefer outdoor concerts, in squares and festivals, or smaller, club, more intimate performances?

Well, in general, I like both. It depends on the concert program. I prefer to perform acoustic concerts for seated audiences in concert halls and theaters, and on summer stages if there are not too many mosquitoes. On the other hand, an electric rocker concert can be performed outdoors without any problems with a good sound system.

How does it feel to celebrate the 40th anniversary, not many bands can boast that number? Are you satisfied with the position Lačni Franz occupies in the history of rock music from the ex-Yu area, what are you most proud of?

Sometimes it's good to look at your past and learn something from it. But I'm more interested in the future. In his two phases, in the first fifteen years until the mid-nineties, with his first line-up and nine albums, Lačni Franz firmly positioned himself as part of the Yugoslav New Wave. And later in 2014, with a junior line-up and two albums, the electric release "Svako dobro" and the acoustic "Acoustic kiss", he confirmed and upgraded his status among the young audience as well. Today, our concerts are filled with young people of all ages.

What is the disappearing society of which you are a member, as you say in the song "Lud ko puska"?

The change of generation always and forever carries with it some attributes of the outgoing generation. In our case, the sense of humor suffered, and especially the attributes of the French Revolution: freedom, equality and fraternity.

When you summarize the year at the end, are you satisfied with how it went, do you have any New Year's wishes?

I have had a very successful year. With my jubilee concert program, I filled halls all over the former country, my second book of short stories "Head Through the Wall" has been translated into Croatian, and the Serbian edition of the publishing house Vulkan is currently being prepared. Director Slobodan Maksimović started filming a film about me and my career with the working title "Praslovan".

Are you working on a new release with Lačni Franz, what is the next thing we can expect from you?

Yes, a new release, a live double album with the title "Tu smo - vaschi smo!", we recorded it on November 29 in Maribor and included all our most important songs, the same ones that we will play on December 31 in Kotor.

With Aresno's songs, he turned skepticism into delight

Where does this need of yours come from to always go "head through the wall" and test your limits, are you proving yourself or yourself to others? And do you get tired of such an approach?

It's not really a need, it's accepting a challenge without calculation. However, I can boast that I realized most of my projects better than my own expectations. I can highlight my vision of Roma ethno music and collaboration with the Šukar group on the Mentol bonbon project from 1996, vocal gypsy swing with the Mar Django Quartet and Boško Petrović on the album "Ljubavnik iz ormara" from 1998, the album "Traces in memory 1 + 2" with Matija To Dedić, the great success of my versions of Arsen's songs in gypsy swing arrangements on the best-selling album of 2019 "Zoran pjeva Arsena".

What was it like working on the album "Zoran pjeva Arsena", what emotions did the process arouse in you and how difficult was it to choose the songs?

I have to admit that my idea to rearrange Arsen's songs in gypsy swing was met with great skepticism. However, when I managed to transfer it from my head with the help of violinist Bruno Urlić to the virtuoso fingers of one of the world's best gypsy swing guitarists, Damir Kukuruzović, skepticism turned into general delight. I hope that in the new year we will have the opportunity to present the album in Montenegro as well.