Transsylvania Phoenix

Transsylvania Phoenix, or, more commonly, just Phoenix, is one of the most prominent Romanian rock bands of the latest decades, and also the first one to inspire their music from ancient Romanian folk themes.

Phoenix was started off in the cosmopolitan town of Timişoara, in 1962, by a group of schoolboys: Nicu Covaci[?], Moni Bordeianu[?], Bela Kamocsa[?], Pilu Ştefanovici, Doru Creşneac, under the name of Sfinţii (The Saints). In their first years they performed in school contests and at local clubs, playing mainly Western hits, from The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, etc., and they quickly became very popular amongst the young people. In 1965 they were determined by the Communist authorities to change their name, because The Saints was considered too "mystical"; and so they took the name Phoenix.

After a series of prizes won at national students' contests, in 1968 they recorded their first EP, Vremuri (Old Times), containing two original songs, Vremuri and Canarul (The Canary). A second EP would follow one year later, named Floarea stâncilor (The Flower of the Rocks), with four original pieces. These discs closely followed the then-popular beat style.

In 1970, Moni Bordeianu emigrated to the US, and, for a brief period of time the band suspended its activity. Phoenix was born again the same year, with Covaci, Josef Kappl[?], Mircea Baniciu[?], Günther Reininger[?], Costin Petrescu[?] (replaced in 1974 by Ovidiu Lipan[?], nicknamed "Ţăndărică") and Valeriu Sepi[?]. But the Communist officials were not very comfortable with the Western-style music that they were singing, and kept creating them problems. So Phoenix abandoned the beat and instead turned to archaic Romanian music as their source of inspiration. The first outcome would be the 1972 LP Cei ce ne-au dat nume (Those Who Gave Us Our Names) - the first LP to be recorded in Romania by a Romanian band. Two years later, Mugur de fluier (Flute Bud) followed. Both albums underwent severe censorship.

In 1975 they recorded Cantafabule, a poem dedicated to mythical creatures: Unicorn, Scarab, Dragon, Mermaid, and, of course, the Phoenix bird itself. By this time, the popularity of Phoenix had grown huge; people loved their songs not only for what they were, but also because they contained thinly-veiled allusions to the Communist regime. The band members, especially Nicu Covaci, found themselves increasingly harassed by the Securitate[?]. Covaci fled the country in 1976, but returned one year later, only to flee again a few months later, this time with all the band members (except Baniciu).

Discography:

In Romania:

• Vremuri (Old Times), 1968, EP
• Floarea stâncilor/Totuşi ca voi sînt (The Flower of the Rocks/Yet I'm Just Like You), 1969, EP
• Cei ce ne-au dat nume (Those Who Gave Us Our Names), 1972, LP (re-edited on CD in 1999)
• Meşterul Manole, 1973, EP
• Mugur de fluier (Flute Bud), 1974, LP (re-edited on CD in 1999)
• Cantafabule (Cantafables), 1975, LP

In Germany (under the name Transsylvania Phoenix):

• Transsylvania, 1981, LP
• Ballade For You/The Lark, 1987, single
• Tuareg/Mr. G's Promises, 1988, single

In Romania:

• Ciocîrlia/Perestroika (The Lark/Perestroika), 1990, single
• SymPhoenix/Timişoara, 1992, CD/MC/LP
• Evergreens, 1993, CD/MC
• Cantafabule - Bestiar, 1996, CD
• Aniversare 35 (35th Anniversary), 1997, CD/MC
• Vremuri, anii '60 (Old Times, The 60s), 1998, CD/MC
• Ora-Hora, 1999, Maxi-CD
• În umbra marelui urs (In the Shadow of the Big Bear), 2000, CD/MC

Members:

• Nicolae (Nicu) Covaci[?] - lead guitar, vocals
• Manfred (Mani) Neumann[?] - violin, flute
• Mircea Baniciu[?] - vocals
• Ovidiu Lipan (Ţăndărică)[?] - drums

Some of the former members:

• Florin (Moni) Bordeianu[?] (1962-1970) - vocals
• Kamocsa Béla[?] (1962-1970) - drums, bass guitar
• Josef (Joschi) Kappl[?] (1971-1999) - bass guitar, vocals
• Günther Reininger[?] (1966-1974) - piano, keyboards
• Costin Petrescu[?] (1972-1974) - drums
• Valeriu Sepi[?] (1971-1973) - percussion
• Erlend Krauser[?] (1976-1978) - violin, guitar
• Volker Vaessen[?] (1992-2000) - bass guitar

External links

• Phoenix's official website (http://www.transsylvania-phoenix.com)
• The Romanian Phoenix fan site (http://www.phoenix-fanclub.ro)