Selfbrush

by ASTHA SHARMA

FROM ISSUE # 170 (February 2010) | IN THIS ISSUE
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"In our own private fish tank" - those were the first words I heard as I entered the warm, homely club in Rome on a cold night in January. They perfectly described the atmosphere: the right number of people, the right music, everyone just swimming in the simple folk chords of the one-man band from Prague - Selfbrush.

There were people sitting on the floor, on chairs, against the wall, people standing and swaying to the music. Vaclav (Vac) Havelka was on the stage that was not too high a platform, giving the audience a sense of intimacy with the artist. He was playing his guitar, accompanied by his soothing voice which had a touch of an outlandish accent, giving his performance an exotic air. One could really sense the sincerity in his music, not only through his voice, but also through this almost palpable current emanating from his body.

The show ended, and he casually stepped off stage into the audience. And soon we were having a fantastic conversation with him, about his music, his inspiration, and his career.

He had been making music for longer than ten years, and being strictly DIY, had taught himself absolutely everything. It was a tough beginning though, "At first it was terrible," he says in between laughs, "It's hard when you're teaching yourself," he continues, with a hint of self-satisfaction. He has come a long way and as of now has three albums released, the most recent one called Three Names.

Selfbrush has been a one-man band for quite some time, but along with his solo career, Vac has become part of another band - Please the Trees. When asked how this formation came about, he said that when he saw the instrumental band play, "It seemed so natural: they were missing a singer, I was missing a band. It made sense to try something new." They soon played together and the outcome was amazing.

Listening to Selfbrush's music, one can sense that it is fantastic in its simplicity, but if in need of more upbeat, more intricate tunes with Vac's comforting voice, Please the Trees is the band to listen to.

All his lyrics are very diverse, and when asked what inspires him to write, he vaguely replied, "Inspiration is everywhere. I'm always writing." He is reluctant to write about relationships, with the mainstream overuse of the theme, but sometimes it just cannot be helped. This led us to whether he was here alone or with someone, to which he pointed over to a woman by the door, "I'm here with my girlfriend," he replied with a smile.

This was Vac's first time in Rome, and it was all thanks to Mattia Coletti, whom he had toured with in the Czech Republic and who had promised to take him to Italy. Rome is not his only stop however, he is also playing in some cities in northern Italy.

We eventually got carried away and were not talking about music anymore. Our conversation came to an end as Mattia Coletti was setting up, we took a quick picture, bought a few CDs and got ready for Mattia's performance.

Vac's music is available on myspace (www.myspace.com/selfbrush), or at www.selfbrush.com, and his band is at www.myspace.com/pleasethetrees. Definitely worth a listen!