FRAGMENT - INTERNATIONAL BLUEGRASSERS
 by Rob Shotwell

Fragment is a bluegrass band formed in 1983 by banjo player Svata Kotas, dobro player Henrich Novak and some other pickers  in Bratislava, Slovak Republic. The band released the first of seven CD's in  1994, and the recognition on their home turf gained them their first opportunity to play the IBMA Showcase in Owensboro, Kentucky in 1995.

Fragment has garnered several showcase successes at the IBMA World of Bluegrass in  the past few years, and they have even performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, a career highlight. Jana Dolakova handles the electric bass and lead vocals; Henrich Novak is a founding member and plays resophonic guitar; Milan  Marek plays mandolin and sings lead and harmony; Richard Cifersky now provides the 5-string work, and Tomas Jurena flatpicks a clean, crisp guitar. They released their seventh CD, "Meant To Be", in June 2003.

Fragment is a  hard-working bluegrass band on both sides of the Atlantic pond, and the group is achieving a good measure of success in traditional American bluegrass music wherever they play. In late October a couple of weeks after IBMA in  Louisville, lead singer and bassist Jana Dolakova was kind enough to talk with me in a long-distance phone interview. After IBMA, she was spending a few days in Massachusetts and preparing to fly home to Bratislava, Slovakia the  following day. We made contact by email to answer a few more questions after they got home. - RS

 Jana, talk a little about your motivation and desire to play bluegrass in the first place; how did this music get in your heart?
Well, I can speak for myself and maybe a little for the guys. Basically, this music is popular  in our countries, the Czech and Slovak Republics. We have many bands and several festivals. Everyone listened to a band called Greenhorns; this was a band that started playing western music with Czech words, so people started to  listen to this kind of music. It was kind of different, but it was western music. You know, during the Communist era, we didn't have information and we couldn't buy bluegrass instruments or recordings, so it was a completely  different situation than nowadays. So we listened to the band, everybody enjoyed them a lot. When I first heard bluegrass it was that band with Czech words, so I realized it was American music and I started to search for more  material and original recordings. I already knew some people who had those recordings and I borrowed them or I recorded tapes. I was just interested and I started to sing in English. Then what we would do is think that bluegrass  music was connected with the English language, which is why we sing in the English language.

Are there similarities or big differences between bluegrass and traditional Czech/Slovakian music?
Well, there is  mostly a difference in rhythm and instruments. In our traditional folk music, you will find fiddles or violins, but no guitars, no banjos, no mandolins. Czech and Sloavak folk music has upright bass, but the rhythm and everything  is different. The topics of our traditional folk music are the same; the people sing about love, work and everyday life and have that in common (with bluegrass).

What can you tell me of the other band members?
 Henrich Novak began playing more than 20 years ago on the banjo. He realized he wanted to do something else so he switched to dobro. He played with many bluegrass bands in our country; the most important one to him was the band  Bluegrass Album. Then he played several years with an Austrian band called Nugget. Austria is very close to the Slovak Republic and our city, Bratislava, where we are from is on the border

Milan Marek is known as the best  cook in the band; he is from Prague, Czech Republic and he started to play as a teenager. We met him in a band called Vabank Unit, one of the best bluegrass bands on the Czech scene. They are more of a typical Czech band because  they write and sing in Czech words. He joined our band in January 2001, and we were very glad because he is one of the lead singers for our band.

Tomas Jurena is one of the most talented guitar players or musicians I have  met on the Czech bluegrass scene. He started to play bluegrass music in a band with his family, which is a very unusual thing for our country, because we don't have many bluegrass family bands. He was very lucky to perform in his  bluegrass family band; his father plays banjo and his mother plays bass, so he started to play at the age of 13 when he learned to play guitar. Their band was named Bluegrass Comeback and they are really a nice bunch of people.  They play traditional bluegrass music and they sing in English, too. He is a student, and it can be very tough for him to travel because he has to catch up in school and missed classes. We stayed until October (on this tour) and he  graduated from high school last May

Richard Cifersky is our newest member; he joined us last year in November and he is 25 years old. He has been playing banjo since he was a teenager. He is the President of the Slovak  Bluegrass Music Association (SkBMA) and has been interested in bluegrass music for many years. He really did a good job with the Association; we are small country and it's very difficult to found an association for this specific  type of music. The Association used to have around 100 members, which is not too many, but it is good for such a small country. He does it himself and he organizes two bluegrass concerts each year, in April and November. He is one  of the guys who are really very creative; he's not just a musician, he can organize a lot of things. And he's one of the drivers for our band as well! Henri and Richard, they both drive and Richard is the bookkeeper.

 And what about you?
When I started to sing bluegrass I listened a lot to Emmylou Harris and Lynn Morris. Later I learned about Alison Krauss. She is my hero number one. I like the way she hits the notes, her voice is so  clear and perfect. She's not just a great singer; she's a wonderful musician and producer as well. And I have to confess, I miss Claire Lynch at the scene these days. (Jana Dolakova joined Fragment in 1993 and is the first and only  female singer in the band's nearly 30-year history.)

Several members of the band are award winners for their respective talents; how does it feel to be recognized as among the best in your peer group?
It's very  nice; they do this every year, at least in the Czech Republic because it's a bigger country. They have the awards as part of a festival called Banjo Jamboree held on the second weekend in July in the Czech Republic. It's kind of  big to be there and play with the other musicians like a regular festival.

(Jana is the Slovak Bluegrass Music Association Vocalist of the Year for 1999 and 2000, and the Bluegrass Association of Czech Republic Vocalist of  the Year for 1997, 1998, and 2000. Henrich Novak won the John E. Dopyera Award for Dobro Player of the Year in 1991 and 1994, was the Best Dobro Player at the European Bluegrass Band Championship held in Vienna, Austria in 1998,  and was the Slovak Bluegrass Music Association Dobro Player of the Year in 1999 and 2000. Richard Cifersky was the best Slovak Bluegrass Music Association Banjo Player of the Year in 1999 and 2000.)

Bluegrass music is very popular in the Czech and Slovak Republics; how is this music generally received in other parts of Europe?
It's probably more involved in the Czech Republic than in Slovakia. They don't have many bands in  Austria or Germany. We now have a World of Bluegrass in Holland; it's a festival held on the third week in May, if I'm correct. Even though we've never been there, we have heard a lot about it, and actually they were awarded by the  IBMA in the category as the Event of the Year. It's really getting bigger every year. Bluegrass music is popular in Holland, and somewhat in Germany and Austria.

What's it like being on the road in America?
The  guys are all good to travel with because that's really an important thing to find: good musicians who are good people and willing to travel, who are good personalities. It's not easy to spend three or four months in a very limited  space like a van or motel rooms. In 2001 and 2002, we had the same green-colored van. This year we had another one because the green one loaned to us by our Colorado friends was too old. We put so many miles on it, about 22,000  going through 23 states during our 2002 tour that our friends had to retire it.

This was our seventh trip to the United States, and was our third summer tour. Our tour started on June 26 and went through October 4, a total  of 101 days. We played 57 shows in 16 states. It's completely different than Europe, because we never spent such a long time on tour in Europe; it's really something special for us. We had to learn a lot of things, how to find  places and how to get around. Now we are real experienced and we really enjoy it everywhere, and everything is much easier here.

The band seems to like visiting our National Parks when you are on tour here in the States .
Yeah, because we have some days off, usually, and we like to go sightseeing, and you have such beautiful places here, we feel very lucky.

Have you had any bad experiences you would feel comfortable sharing?
I don't remember any, we have never experienced something really bad, just flat tires maybe, that's it.

How about some of your best experiences?
The American audience is the best experience for us. Really,  I'm serious about it because we never experience such a good audience in Europe or in our countries, it's completely different. Your people can appreciate the musicianship; whatever we do, they just appreciate what we do for them.  They know we had to travel long distances and lots of hours to rehearse and I think they know that really, it's harder for us to learn how to play and sing bluegrass music. They really appreciate it, and we have a nice time  everywhere.

You recorded two of Becky Buller's songs on your most recent CD, "Meant To Be". How did you hook up with Becky Buller and come to record her songs?
We met Becky Buller two years ago here in the  states, and we learned she was a great singer, fiddle player and songwriter. Last year at IBMA she gave us demo recording with four songs, so I'm really happy about it. We decided to play two of the songs she offered actually she  is a great songwriter and everybody loves her songs. Her songs are recorded by many of the best, like Doyle Lawson and Rhonda Vincent. I think she's really a good songwriter, and as far as I know she's written about 200 songs  maybe.

Are If You Break My Heart and I Think I'll Leave the first Becky Buller songs you 've performed?
Yes, If You Break My Heart is a new song; nobody recorded it before us. We're really happy that she offered the songs to us.

Who are some of your bluegrass heroes, and some of the bluegrass artists you favor the most?
We are fans of Alison Krauss and Union Station; that's a band which influenced us, and they are probably the best. You know, everybody has heroes; I know Henrich loves Jerry Douglas and Rob Ickes. Milan ... You know, it's very  hard to speak for them; we listen to everybody, it's a good thing; we try to tell what key a song is in. You have so many good players that it's very hard to mention the favorites.

Henrich Novak writes, "There are so many  great musicians that I really like, it is hard to pick up just few of them, but if I should do so and if it should be a Dobro player, then I like Rob Ickes for his modest and honest approach to the music and I admire Jerry Douglas  for being so versatile and innovative."

Richard Cifersky writes, "At the beginning I was influenced most of all by Earl Scruggs, J.D. Crowe and Bela Fleck. Currently I have two big heroes; Tom Adams - I like his combinations  of rolls, and Jim Mills for his timing and drive."

Tomas Jurena writes, "Doc Watson - I always liked his melodic style and his unique rhythm. Tony Rice for his tone, rhythm, and arrangements, and Pat Flynn because he is  completely different with his excellent ideas and breaks. I like rock music too, so my other heroes are Chet Atkins, Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton. I like his feeling."

Milan Marek writes, "The first mandolin players I've  heard from the recordings were Bobby Osborne and Doyle Lawson. Later I got to Bill Monroe's recordings. My other heroes are John Reischman because of his tone, also Sam Bush and David Grisman. I like Adam Steffey and his perfect  rhythm."

I know you just finished touring the US, what are the plans for future tours in the United States?
We are planning a spring tour in 2004, we plan to stay three weeks here in April and then we plan to come  back for a summer tour starting the first week in July. I hope we'll get to Colorado again because we love it there and we met really a lot of friendly people there, and made a lot of friends. We are looking forward to seeing them  again; I hope we will get there next year. But we like it everywhere, and we don't care where we play. We have a new agency with a number of contacts, so maybe we will get farther West, I hope. We will play in San Diego, California  in August 2004. We are looking forward to see you there.

Do you have any plans for recording in the near future?
 We will prepare a new album in winter, which will be out next summer. We will do it again (produce and release the CD) by ourselves.

Could you describe the bluegrass community in Czech/Slovakia and Europe, and compare it  to the United States? Are there many festivals, organized jams, concerts?
The Czech Republic (with 10.5 millions inhabitants) and Slovakia (with 5.5 millions inhabitants) are much smaller countries than USA, so it's very  hard to compare. But we have some bluegrass festivals as well, and they are held mostly in summer. In Czech Republic they have a summer bluegrass workshop which is held every year in August. Bluegrass can be heard in clubs in some  towns all around our countries. The concerts and jams are usually organized by local musicians or bands. Bluegrass is also a part of bigger festivals with several stages, where you can hear country, folk or folk-rock bands as well.  These festivals are bigger, sometimes with a really good crowd, 5 or 6 thousands of people. I'm very happy that the European World Of Bluegrass from Netherlands was awarded the IBMA Event of the Year. We have heard a lot about it  and I hope Fragment will get there in 2004. It's probably the biggest bluegrass event in Europe.

Tell us a little about the Slovak Bluegrass Music Association?
The Slovak Bluegrass Music Association (SkBMA) was  founded on 25 October 1999. The goal is to support bluegrass music, organize workshops and to help beginning musicians. Two years ago, SkBMA released a compilation of the Slovak bluegrass bands, an album called "Over In The  Gloryland". The nice event was the Award Show as well.

You have met and played with Vince Gill and Alison Krauss, and you've played the Grand Ol' Opry and the Station Inn, and many festivals. Are there any stories  you can tell us about these experiences?
Singing and playing with Vince and meeting Alison was one of the biggest experiences in our musical career. We are always very impressed how humble and respectful these top musicians  are, both of them are very friendly people.

I remember one funny story from International Bluegrass Festival in Guthrie, Oklahoma last year. We played late at night and the stage lights attracted the insects. While we were  playing, a cricket jumped into my shirt and sat there until the end of the song. I was pretty nervous, because I'm scared of insects. When I finally got rid of him (the audience was laughing constantly) we started to play another  song and a big green cicada landed on my breast. I was so scared I stopped playing, but since I was afraid to touch it (we don't have cicadas in Slovakia) I didn't know what to do. Henrich is an entomologist and he likes beetles,  so he helped me to get rid of it. The fans started to call me 'Cricket' after the show.

Richard, what do you like most about playing music with Milan?
I like Milan's sense of humor and his approach to living.

Jana, what do you like most about playing music with Richard?
Richard is the newest band member, but I met him a few years ago as one of the founding members of SkBMA (he serves as the president). He is very good and  dedicated musicians and his personality fits to the band. He's so much fun to travel with and he is a good driver!

Henrich, what do you like most about playing music with Jana?
 I like her dedication for the band and for the music that we play and besides she has unique and beautiful voice.

Tomas, what do you like most about playing music with Henrich?
Henrich is very creative and  experienced musician. I've found in him a good companion for playing instrumentals which I've never had a chance to play with anybody else. He helped me a lot, gave me advice regarding playing. I can discuss many musical problems  with him, too. And I feel very comfortable with him because he likes red wine, just like me!

Milan, what do you like most about playing music with Tomas?
Playing with Tomas is absolutely wonderful. He is a great  musician and his playing is very tasteful, he has a plenty of great musical ideas. He practices a lot and I like him because he's smart and he's a good guy.

Fragment continues to increase their audience share, earn respect  within the American bluegrass community, and develop a reputation for a popular style of hard driving bluegrass. Their website is www.fragmentband.com and they are represented by Hope River Entertainment at www.hoperiverentertainment.com.