Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Hello!
Shokran is a four man band:
Dmitry Demyanenko (guitar, composer)
Andrew Ivashchenko (vocals)
Valere Youshkevich (bass)
Mike Isaev (drums)
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Shokran? How long has the band been around?
Each of us literally prepared himself for this project and gained experience kind of beforehand. Andrew used to be a singer and composer for Synopsis band; Mike played in the band Jackals and his solo project Transiver (and he does so nowadays as well); Valere was a bassist for The Hysteria. Dmitry's style has evolved a lot, music became his world from early on and when it finally felt like the right time, he started Shokran. The band’s been around for 4 years now.
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
After the first EP had been composed, Dmitry began thinking of a name for the band and, as the music carries some sort of oriental flavor, a decision was made to look in that direction. One day, he just opened an Arabic dictionary and the word "shokran" was bold and eyecatching on that page. It was impossible to miss and seemed to sound just right! The word stands for "Thank you" in Arabic and so the band’s been named Shokran ever since cause we're really thankful to all the people supporting our music!
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
All the instrumental work is up to Dmitry's composing talent. We had a brainstorm while thinking of the concept of the new album and it resulted in taking the story about “Plagues of Egypt” and creating 10 stories linked to each other. The lyrics were written by our friend Victor Brazhnikov.
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
Dmitry's love of harmonic minor scales began when he studied piano at music school. Time passed and his passion for playing the guitar was getting irresistible. Dream Theater happened to be Dmitry's first encounter with progressive music and he was deeply inspired by them as well as by the "dark" Jeff Loomis's style. These two and surely many other prominent musicians helped create his rather unique composing style.
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
Well I can't really say there was a certain band. Having been touched by music since the childhood, you don't need any extra inspiration to start making your own. Everybody in our band feels like that, guess that's why we're together.
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc …
Drinking vodka and riding a monocycle with a bear (joke). Yeah, we do some head/hands/legs flexing, some warmups etc., which helps prevent any sort of muscle damage.
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
People's recognition is the biggest highlight which is appreciated so much! Means all the world to us!
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Hmm, Would be nice to tour with Dream Theater, Myrath, Reflections. For real we don't care about names, it always comes down to having a great time touring with good people and good musicians.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Choose what you love, Do what you love, don't give up and you'll succeed. Go through your doors to your goals. And support Shokran for sure! =)