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1997. In a town called Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine three young men create a band «My Friend Truck and Me», willing to play on a local rock festival KARYER and then go home. However, the show of this not-known-to-anyone-before band has so much of a success that Rostislav Chaban (bass, vocals), Anton Antonov (vocals), and Vladimir Busel (drums) decide to continue playing and writing new songs together. The band starts cooperating with Elena Belentyeva, who starts producing “truck-friends”, and then the band has even a bigger success on a rock festival in Zaporizhzha. |1998. Due to unusual team and powerful drive the legend of the band spreads all over. “Truck-friends” have several successful concerts in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzha, Sevastopol, Simferopol, and Kyiv. Concerts are accompanied by adventures, publications in press, TV-sketches, thankful audience, and different offers – amount to successful summer shows on festivals MORORROCK (Sevastopol), SEISHN STAREYSHIN (Dnipropetrovsk), and in a powerful set on “the project of the summer” KAZANTIP festival. |In autumn, musicians participate in the TV show RESHETO by Vladimir Bakun on one of Kyiv channels. One-hour show of the band is still broadcasted on the television pretty often|In December MFTaI records a demo-single out of three songs and one bonus-track. This record was so to speak, not energetic enough; however, it was very useful for studio work experience.|1999. The band records its first video clip for the song KOLESA (Wheels). This clip is broadcasted on several Ukrainian channels and in autumn it is broadcasted on MTV-Russia. Out of the concerts, the most memorable events are rock festivals in Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk, and a great concert in the CHERNY SLON (Black Elephant) club in Kishineu, Moldova.|2000. The year is launched by concerts in Dnipropetrovsk, Simferopol, and Zaporizhzha. In a February, the band appears in Moscow for the first time to participate in a ROCK DERZHAVA festival – this was followed by live broadcasting in Dmitry Dibrov program called ANTROPOLOGIYA. Concert sound director Eduard Gorshkov starts working with the band. |Truck-team has numerous concerts in different clubs of Moscow and St. Petersburg – this amounts to recording the first album in a DOBROLET studio at St. Petersburg. Sound director Andrey Alyarinski. In autumn the band plays on Moscow festivals on Pushkinskaya square: TRAMPLIN and ZA MIR NA KAVKAZE.|2001. The second clip for the song Urok (Lesson) appears on TV screens. “Truck-friends” play with a band DEADUSHKI in Finland on TUSSOVKA festival – in Helsinki and Lahti. |In spring the first truck-CD is released on the Moscow label MISTERIYA ZVUKA (Sound Mystery).|Apart from numerous club concerts musicians participate in festivals of St. Petersburg: SKIF, ZA CHISTOE BALTIJSKOE MORE, and OKNA OTKROY! And a festival in Donetsk called ROCK TOCHKA.|In November on Dobrolet studio the band records the second album and plays on the studio’s birthday in a legendary DK Lensoveta.|2002. The year is launched by concerts in Kyiv, Moscow, Volgograd, and St. Petersburg, and also by a full tour in Finnish towns Lahti, Yoensu, Kokkola, and Tampere. The new video clip for the song OTTO SANDER, produced by a Ukrainian clip director Victor Pridubalov, is released for free TV surfing.|In summertime, MFFaI participate in great rock festival EXTREMISM in Kyiv, TV show ZA STEKLOM, on a club scene of a great Finnish festival ILLOSARIROCK in Yoensu and the largest Russian open-air NASHESTVIE.|In autumn, after desperate attempts to find a decent producing label, “truck-friends” release an album called VOLANCHIK by themselves. The album is really welcomed in press and is being immediately sold out at concerts; via internet, and several musical distribution nets. For an independent release, it is more than just a success.|Truck-team releases the songs from this album on concerts in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Donetsk, Simferopol, Yaroslavl, Tumen, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Samara, Helsinki, and Dniprodzerzhinsk.|Also in autumn, having no broadcasting on radio, Truck-team played in one hour program called VOZDUH on NASHE Radio station. A concert clip for the song Motogonki (Motor-races) appears on Ukrainian TV channels.|On ENTER TV channel in Kyiv a video concert called “Your Friend Truck and You” is broadcasted.|In the end of the year 2002, regardless of having practically no contact with show business circles, some publications call the VOLANCHIK album one of “the albums of the year”, and musicians of MFTaI get into symbolic best five/ten, which amusels the band greatly.|2003. My Friend Truck and I launch the New Year of 2003 by a concert in their motherland on a bombastic Russian-French-Ukrainian festival 25 HOURS NON-STOP in «Kitayski Letchik». |Later on the band participates in festivals NASH FORMAT (Ufa), TUSSOVKA-FESTIVAL (Helsinki), and OTKRYTAYA REKA (Samara); and plays concerts in clubs of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, and Yaroslavl.|After that the band takes a long time-out. In summer the band says farewell to the drummer Vladimir Busel.|The name is shortened to «My Friend Truck and …»|In autumn a new drummer Vladimir Nestrizhenko joins the band. He played earlier n Kharkiv teams RED POPPIES, TRAMVAYNYE SNY, BARSUCHIJ ZHYR and several bands in St. Petersburg.|Currently, the band is busy practicing together with a new “truck-friend,” playing the songs from all the truck-periods, in order to please the audience and themselves with positive bass-drum vibrations!|2004 The year gets off to a bouncing start with an extensive series of lively gigs. Despite Nestrizhenko’s inopportune illness none of the scheduled events are cancelled, with Sergey “Yegor” Yegorov of Marksheider Kunst filling in for the ailing drummer. Following a scattering of shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg, …AMFT go on to headline the alternative stage at the Ekaterinburg Stariy Noviy rock festival as well as put in an appearance on the Tviy Format live show on the Ukrainian M1 channel. Next comes yet another string of zesty turns in Kyiv, Donetsk Moscow, St Petersburg and Pskov, paving the way for a foray into such previously uncharted lands as western Ukraine and Belorus with a stint at the Ternopil Reivakh event and a joint gig in Minsk with a singular band of self-styled “contemporary shamans” called Drum Ecstasy.|Come spring, the band welcome a new drummer, Yury Zhigarev, into their fold. The newcomer gets down to work with some gusto and is shortly put to the test at the Enter channel anniversary concert in Kiev in the early summer. |The summer peaks with a mini-tour titled Resisting the Summertime where the Trucks stir up the languor of the dog days with full-house shows in Moscow, St Petersburg, Kyiv and Donetsk. Shortly afterwards, the band appear on a live show on the St Petersburg STO Channel, where they spend some quality time performing and interacting with the audience and the two scintillating hosts Alexander Lushin and Alexander Bargman. What follows is a rather odd experience at the Crimean Reivakh spin-off giving way to shows in Lithuania, at the Vilnius GREEN squat and at the Rudstock fest. The summer draws to a close where it started off—in Kiev, that is. First, the Trucks get together with the Kiev act Quadragesima for a tremendously inspired joint gig, and later on toward the end of August, they show up as special guests at the Podikh fest. |The fall season sees a number of rocking shows in Moscow, St. Petersburg Pskov and Kharkov along with two Vdokh festivals, boasting a stellar line-up including, among others, Billy’s Band W. K.?, 5’nizza, 4’33, Pelageya, Liuk, Nino Katamadze and Insight. Throughout October and November, the band remain holed up in St Petersburg, purportedly getting up to some new tricks, with a veil of secrecy hanging over the fruits of their clandestine endeavors.|December is marked by yet another experimental venture as the Trucks collaborate on a song titled Zhivopis with the Moscows band Dety Picasso.|The year comes to an end with an informal acoustic (!) gig in Dniepropetrovsk.|2005 In January, …AMFT and Dety Picasso release the above-mentioned song Zhivopis as a split single titled Takaya Vot Zhivopis, with two other songs—one from each band—complementing the collaborative effort. The release is introduced to the public at concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Meanwhile, the acoustic vibe persists with the band taking part in kvartirnicks (informal unplugged shows held for the initiated at private apartments—a throw-back from the Soviet era) in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Apart from that, the Trucks make a video for the song Ganda directed by Alexander Rozanov in St. Petersburg. |At the end of March, AMFT surprise their unsuspecting fans with a special-edition pilot release of their brand new album Yestchio Malenkiy (Still Little). The promotional tour for the Lil’ One spans Moscow, St. Petersburg, Pskov, Novosibirsk, Kyiv and Donetsk. The band make themselves heard on numerous radio shows as well as perform live on the TVCI (Moscow) and STO (St.P.) TV channels. The official release of the new album takes place in May on the Russian label Muzyka Vdokh (preceded by a re-release of the previous album Volanchik (Shuttlecock) in March).|In the summer, …AMFT deliver truckloads of ear candy at a number of festivals, such as Pustiye Kholmy(near Tarusa), Derzhava Moloda (Zaporozhiye), Nashestvie-130 (Kazakhstan), Krylya (Moscow), Stariy Noviy Rock Pod Volnoy (Zarechniy, Ural) and Nashestviye (Emmaus, near Tver) |The fall brings another joint venture, this time with the Moscow “Krishna-core” band Nebo Zdes, with shows in Moscow and Kyiv. Next, the Trucks appear with a special set at the theater festival Novaya Drama, after which they come home to Dniepropetrovsk to rule the roost by headlining the Dnieprock fest (their first home show in 5 years!). Shortly afterwards, the band pop up on the children’s program Kalya-Malya on the Moscow TVCI channel along with doing warmup for the cult hardcore ska band Spitfire at the Closing Week at the St. Petersburg Moloko club. To top off the fall season, the Trucks go the rounds of Moscow, Kaliningrad, Kyiv, Kharkov and St. Petersburg. |Right before the new year takes over, …AMFT seal the successes of the outgoing year by turning in a terrific show together with the curious Moscow band Moyi Rakety Vverkh.| |
