It's already been 5 years since "the proud King of Jesters … went into the quiet rustles of our dreams" - Mikhail Gorshenev, and at the same time the whole era of Russian punk rock, which lasted 25 years, ended. It’s a pity that we won’t hear any more scary tales… But in the 25 years of the existence of The King and the Jester, there have been quite a few of them.
Some were just creepy, some took a lot from… the lyrics, although the lyrics are special, no less scary. Contributed to the manifestation of the lyrical figurative sphere in the music of "Kisha" and the presence of such a musical instrument as a violin. For 6 years, the violin part was performed by Maria Vladimirovna Nefedova, "violinist Masha".
King and Jester
The group "Korol i Shut" and the jester appeared back in 1988. Initially, it was called "Office", it consisted of 3 classmates: Mikhail Gorshenev -"Pot", Alexander Shchigolev - "Lieutenant" and Alexander Balunov - "Balu". Musical compositions were composed in the style of "punk rock". A significant event was the arrival of the "Prince" group - Andrei Knyazev, who began to write music for mini-stories with a variety of content.
In 1990, the band acquired its famous name, gradually other musicians began to join. The first studio recordings also appeared. The band's first unofficial album "Be like a traveler at home" was recorded in 1994 in a limited edition and was considered a rarity.
In 1996, a television program was filmed about the group, which allowed the group to shoot 4 low-budget clips. Now the special effects make you smile, but for the work of 20 years ago, it's very good.
After the first numbered album "Stone on the Head" appeared. In 1998, 2 violinists joined the group: Maria Bessonova and Maria Nefedova to record the "Acoustic Album".
As a result, Maria Vladimirovna Nefedova stayed in the group for a long time - until 2004. The group's popularity grew. Sometimes the composition changed a little. The most significant change was the departure of "Prince" in 2011. He was not only the vocalist of the group, but also an artist - he created drawings for albums.
In the last years of creativity - 2012-2013, the leader of the group, Mikhail Gorshenev, is working on a musical, or "zong opera" (as they will determinegenre author) "TODD", which tells about the revenge of the barber Sweeney Todd. Presented as two studio albums, the musical is the band's biggest horror tale yet. Unfortunately, the group did not have time to shoot a high-quality video version of the "zong-opera". On July 19, 2013, Mikhail Gorshenev, the lead actor - Sweeney Todd, the leader of the King and the Jester group, died. Together with the death of "Pot", the activities of the group also ceased.
Creative biography of Maria Vladimirovna Nefedova before "The King and the Jester"
Maria Vladimirovna Nefedova started her musical career in the "Tanks" group in 1997-1999. Participated in the recording of the first album of the group "Rowan Tower" - "March of Freaks". Also in 1998 - early 1999 she performed with the group "Pilot", participated in the recording of the album "The Tale of the Jumper and the Glider", reading the text from the author in the company of Yuri Shevchuk.
Violinist Masha as part of "The King and the Jester"
"The King and the Fool" appeared in the life of Mary by chance. She and Maria Bessonova were noticed and invited to record the "Acoustic Album". Since then, Masha Nefedova has been the royal violin of Jesters. It was participation in the KiSh group that made her famous. The group "Cockroaches" even dedicated a song to her called "Masha - violinist from" King and Shut "".
With the participation of Maria, 7 albums were recorded:
- "Acoustic album".
- "The men ate the meat".
- "Heroes andVillains".
- "Like an old fairy tale".
- "Sorry no gun".
- "Dead Anarchist".
- "Concert at the Olympic".
Maria not only performed the violin part in the group's compositions. She also acted as a backing vocalist in a number of compositions, for example, in the song "Kuzma and the Barin".
After leaving the group
In 2004, Maria Vladimirovna Nefedova decided to leave the group in order to move to her husband in the USA. In the group, her place was taken by Dmitry Rishko, aka "Casper". But Maria's connection with the group remained. When in 2006-2008 "Kish" came to America, she performed with the group. True, after Maria gave birth to a son in 2008, the performances had to be stopped.
After the death of Mikhail Gorshenev in 2013, Maria Vladimirovna Nefedova took part in the farewell tour "KiSha", after which she performed in other memorial concerts.
About herself, Maria writes: "Lazy, wretch, I swear, I prefer eggplant to meat." The characterization is interesting, somewhat self-critical, but honest. Perhaps a musician with a different character could never have shown himself so brightly in the activities of the "Korol i Shut" group.
