Singing for their supper

The city’s leading rock bands will team together to help the homeless charity Nochlezhka this Thursday.

By Sergey Chernov

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: September 5, 2012 (Issue # 1725)

ASYA DOLGAYA Zorge (above), will join Boris Grebenshchikov, Yury Shevchuk and Markscheider Kunst at NochlezhkaFest.

Yury Shevchuk, Boris Grebenshchikov, Zorge and Markscheider Kunst will perform at a charity concert this week to help the local homeless to survive St. Petersburg’s notoriously harsh cold season.

But despite the gravity of the issue, Zorge frontman Yevgeny Fyodorov said the concert would be pure rock and roll fun.

“We — everybody who is participating — will play our usual sets, cheerful and upbeat songs,” Fyodorov said.

“Homeless people have not necessarily found themselves on the streets as a result of bad habits. I know that many homeless people were the victims of imperfect legislation and, above all, real estate fraud. They are not guilty of anything, and they are nice people.

“The guys who are organizing this event [Nochlezhka] are enthusiasts, real idealists, who are doing hard work that is not immediately noticeable but is extremely important because 681 homeless men and women froze to death in St. Petersburg during the past year, according to official estimates. That’s a huge number, and if this year we are able to at least reduce it, if not prevent it from happening at all, that would be great.”

With his former band Tequilajazzz, Fyodorov performed at charity events such as Rock Against Poverty, whose aim was to draw attention to the issues of poverty and homelessness. This time, he said, the event has a concrete goal — to raise money for the Nochlezhka shelter ahead of winter.

“It’s one of those cases when society organizes itself horizontally, without any involvement from the state,” Fyodorov said.

“Artists go on stage, people who have bought tickets come to the venue, and we give them a 100-percent guarantee that this money will go where it is most needed. The ticket cost is affordable for a city resident, but when many of them are sold, the resulting sum can be used to do a good deed.”

Entrance tickets cost 700 rubles ($22) — the amount needed to cover a three-day stay for one person in the shelter — while a place with a seat costs 1,800 rubles ($56) and 2,000 rubles ($62), which cover stays of seven and eight days, respectively.

Fyodorov said that the bands would not receive payment for their performances, while Glavlub offered its stage and venue to the organizers for free.

All proceeds from the concert, called NochlezhkaFest, will go to the shelter run by Nochlezhka (Night Shelter), a local charity for the homeless. Located at 112B Borovaya Ulitsa in the city center, it is the city’s largest and can provide accommodation for 54 people simultaneously.

Fyodorov said he was not an activist, but had never refused when Nochlezhka asked his band for their support. “I feel very close to them emotionally, socially and by any other parameter,” he said.

Zorge was formed by Fyodorov with Germany-born drummer Marc-Oliver Lauber after Tequilajazzz was disbanded in September 2010.

In addition to Zorge, Akvarium’s Boris Grebenshchikov and DDT’s Yury Shevchuk will take part in the concert, as well as Markscheider Kunst, who have a song about a homeless old woman, called “Tanets” (Dance).

According to Nochlezhka, apart from providing shelter and food, the charity also helps the homeless gain access to the services of social workers, lawyers and psychologists. The foundation also runs a number of services such as the Night Bus mobile help point, heated tents in winter, and programs for alcohol and drug rehabilitation.

During the 22 years since the charity was founded in 1990, hundreds of Nochlezhka volunteers and partners have helped to save thousands of homeless people’s lives.

NochlezhkaFest — featuring Yury Shevchuk, Boris Grebenshchikov, Zorge and Markscheider Kunst — will take place at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 6 at Glavclub, located at 2 Kremenchugskaya Ulitsa. M. Ploshchad Vosstaniya. Tel. 905 7555.