"Too early, too fast" A rock n roll artistic biography by Anna Achimowicz
So imagine when with enough of your guitar hereos in the world You happen to find another one. Season was about to start in Breclau, December 2016, in my new city base, i was going out one evening of end of August, beginning of September. I was meeting my friend Roberto, photographer that previously shot me in some performances, don't remember where we met exactly. We had coffee and conceptually talked about doing a photo shoot from the project I was doing in Italy, similar fashion styling and in an outdoor location resembling a XVI century Italian castle.
We went for a walk around the city to determine which buildings a bright enough to be used for shooting dance. We had a couple of locations in mind and were walking thru the main city square. I see a small format guitar, a Hofner Mini and a tall beige dressed musician playing guitar and singing. Of course it catches my attention and we stay for awhile to listen. He played covers of classic rock songs, with a very nice hight tone almost dance to voice. We stayed to listen, but also decided to film some documentaries. I enjoyed the hits he was playing very much and spontaneously thought I would dance to it. I never crashed a performers play time like that.
In New York many artists connect forces like that, especially musicians and body performers, dancers improvise together without a plan in the same moment. I did the same on one song.
We high fived afterwards, knowing we both did a great job him playing and singing and me dancing. There also happened to be a guy professionally filming him playing, it was a perfect coordination moment to get also footage from that performance. It was one of these perfect evenings and moments.
Last summer evening, warm outside, crowds walking around, the night could be long ahead. I separated with my friends after that, Simon the guitar player invited to a place where there was supposed to be a music jam session where all kinds of musicians come in and play. What amazing young talent played there. Amazing. The vocalists, the drummers and base players. Everyone were fantastic. My thought was, why aren't these young talents out there in the charts, on the radio getting famous and promoted. They're here. Local, tiny stage and cute clubs in Wroclaw, Poland they play great, have a lot of energy and great potential to be really out there. The evening got quite late and I was sitting in the garden outside the club, when a supposed legend with a guitar on his back walks in and joins, sitting across the table from me, it was Viktor.
An absolute genius and legend of the guitar, violinist from age 2. So they spoke of him on the streets.
The rest is history, we weren't formally introduced, there were a lot of people, mostly drunk, coming from other jams and street shows. We were also sitting across a big table and mostly among other guys. There was something weird and vampiric but intriguing about him. I couldn't quite make direct contact with him, weirdly enough. He knew everything about guitars and equipment, manufactured and customised guitars for clients, friends. He was very tired and drunk already that evening, his telecaster Squire was being passed around the guys and everyone played something. Suddenly I am surrounded with this crazy musician environment where everyone is good, has a different style, something to offer and show off.
I asked if I could try his guitar, and played a bit of power cords that I know from Alice Cooper, Viktor was watching and said to a sitting across musician, that a woman playing guitar can come very handy and worthy. That felt already like an attractive thing to say. We all left around 4 am to check out a further location cause the club where we were was closing up. They were talking about Viktor like a last cowboy standing, a guy from back in the era. He came off that way too. Heavy stance, Stanton hat, cowboy boots, rigid look in the eye, always a cig in his mouth.
The other night I was in the same club with friends, the music wasn't so fabulous that as we all decided to go home a little bit early. We exchanged numbers with Viktor so at some point around midnight he started pursuing me coming over to the place he was jamming. We talked and exchanged time for the next two hours, I passed out sometime around 2 am. I did want to come but at the same time I didn't feel confident to be going out alone to places I don't know with strangers too. Something restrained me from it.
He called me the next day around late morning to personally invite me to his birthday.
I didn't plan to travel that weekend I gladly accepted. The next days he called me around noon to invite for coffee, that was on his day of the birthday party but I had things to sort out. Wasn't sure about moving and meeting him before a trip. I was still hesitant and didn't go, but later that night the rain came pouring down hard it was even harder to decide wheather I would be going or not. Some force kept preventing me from meeting him until I gave in.
I know that usually when I don't feel like attending something and leaving home If I'm actually there the real magic happens cause something is calling me. I was planning on staying an hour just to symbolically drink to the hosts birthday and leave. I couldn't have been more wrong.
It didn't Take long before the toasts finished and the host plugged in and started to play his guitar. Iv'e seen and heard a number of musicians and great guitar players by now.
There is only a certain amounts of tricks one can have Up His sleave. Viktor was just the opposite, I have never seen or heard anything like it. With a guitar and producing sounds he turned into a filter of 1969 songs till now. His playing style was very unique, so mature and varied. I was watching his fingers trying to follow what he was doing and how, it was very rock n roll. The chords might have not been completely clean but rhythmically and his style of string attack was amazing. The intensive rhythm and amount of music layers with some extra body expression it showed that he breathed and lived music. It was incredible how many songs, riffs, and tracks he knew by heart. He also played better than the original versions, some of them much more vivid and vibrant. I was watching his fingers and he was doing with the guitar and body. A walking music box.
It seemed familiar. Joe Perry. He was as freaking good as Joe, or very close to him. The guy I initially took on guitar for. Never have I seen something love that, the music was piercing form the body and instruments' body thru to the outside world. It couldn't stay in kept and held it had to get out there, in the most crazy way possible.
I told him, I don't understand half of what you're doing on guitar and I like it. I don't know what it is yet but I want to do something with you, I said to him leaning over outside the club alley.