The musician managed to combine two opposite worlds: crazy rock and roll and cozy family. Eugene jokingly calls his wife the wife of a Decembrist - and he doesn’t exaggerate so much

At the end of the year, the Bravo group released the long-awaited album Fashion. The disc cover is made in the style of the 60s, which at one time glorified the legendary band: black and white color, Audrey Hepburn on the iconic Italian Vespa motor scooter as an unattainable style icon. “I love the 50s and 60s and everything connected with them ... - Evgeny Khavtan comments on an event that fans, and the musicians themselves, have been waiting for for almost ten years. - I just love this aesthetic, and there's no getting away from it. Why dont know.

This is a classic that will never go out of style, it will always come back.” The permanent leader of Bravo himself seems to be out of time: young, fit, he looks much younger than his years, and yet this year Evgeny turned 50 years old. For many, an anniversary is an opportunity to remind yourself, to appear on TV, or even to get a title. Havtan cannot stand such hype around his person, reasonably declaring that he does not need all this at all. “Maybe I'm so lucky: I have everything, and the presence of loved ones is for me main gift". Who are these people who surround and inspire the musician for many years?

Shearling coats as a sacrifice to music

• Eugene, relatives just to please you, for example, with a gift?

The most stupid things are just anniversary presents that you will never use anyway. What I want is to buy a motor scooter and ride it around my village. I think I will do it in the near future or I will really hint to relatives and friends so that they all chip in for some holiday. True, they might buy the wrong model, but I want a Lambretta.

• This is clear. Now let's rewind and try to figure out why music has become your life's work.

My grandfather was very musical. Mom sings well, dad understood classical music and in general he had excellent taste, which could not but be displayed on me, because records sounded all the time in the house.

And then at that time - the mid-60s - it was customary to gather in large companies of relatives, friends and play music. There was a piano in our apartment in Sokolniki (then it was a mandatory attribute in almost every family, then they didn’t know how to get rid of the instrument), and my aunt, my father’s sister, played it beautifully.

Therefore, I always looked forward to her arrival. Especially after going to music school. I had speakers that my father made. He was well versed in technology - he repaired radios, televisions, made amplifiers. So, in these speakers, I included my first electric guitar, which my parents bought me, and we “jammed” with my aunt.

• What did grandfather do?

He was a wonderful tailor. All trousers and suits were sewn and hemmed for me exclusively by him. From him, another gene was passed on to me - a love for good stylish clothes. After all, the first British dandies in London in the 60s, for example, were the children of tailors who could sew good suits according to Italian patterns. At the same time, my grandfather played the violin well as a hobby.

• Why did you choose guitar?

It was a fashionable instrument that remains to this day. The violin fell off when I saw how some of my friends were suffering. And I really liked the guitar. And I went to a music school, and at a rather late age. He was one of the oldest students, because he was already in the seventh grade. But I really wanted to - it was a conscious desire.

I went, passed my exams, and graduated, despite the fact that a couple of times I even intended to quit. Everyone rode motorcycles, fired from wind guns, and I worked with notes and a guitar ... For me it was a heroic deed, because I don’t like to force myself. But I liked it there, plus I had a wonderful music teacher Svetlana Anatolyevna Svetlichnaya - very beautiful girl. A bunch of guys stood under her windows while we were studying, seeing her off after school. Maybe that's why I didn't quit music. Learned the cherished chords "At home rising sun"Literally in a month.

• By the way, since we are talking about the weaker sex. Did you get married early?

Yes, in '83, as a freshman. By the way, one curious story is connected with the wedding, which is worth mentioning. First good electric guitar I got it right after we got married. We bought it with the money that our relatives gave us. I really needed her, and Marina and I made this decision. But on the condition that I study well at the institute ... From where I was safely expelled after a couple of months.

• For what?

For the fact that we gave underground concerts. And to recover, I needed practice and a letter of recommendation. Therefore, father-in-law - Boris Grigorievich - got me a job at a construction site. But it seems that fate was against me becoming an engineer. And I myself imagined such a future with horror. And after at the construction site, where I was responsible for safety, the change house burned down, in which the sheepskin coats of Vneshposyltorg were stored, I was fired. They could even put them in jail, because there these sheepskin coats were for some colossal amount. Then I worked for some time in the design bureau, where my father-in-law again took me, hoping that at least something would work out of me. At that time, I did not represent anything - just a student who does not even receive a scholarship and lives with his mother-in-law with his father-in-law. The only thing that really interested me then was music.

• sawed?

No, nobody drank. I have wonderful relatives! If all father-in-law and mother-in-law were like mine, then families would break up much less in the first three years life together. In all this time, no one has ever reproached me.

• Did Marina share your all-consuming passion for music?

She didn't bother me, and that was the most important thing. Like any woman, Marina wanted to have a family, so that I could represent something. But what is a career as a musician, especially in the 70s and 80s? Drunkenness and promiscuity - such a cliché existed. And although this did not apply to me in any way, my relatives still thought that this was the fate that awaited me. viewed with great suspicion. It would be strange to dream of a professional career - who would take us! And in principle, I was not eager to join the Philharmonic. I didn't think at all that I wanted to be a musician. I just wanted to play the guitar. And what to live on - I had no idea. For me, this issue was unresolved. I thought that somehow it would resolve itself.

WIFE OF A DECEMBER

• Was Marina flattered that her husband was a rock star?

I wasn't a rock star then. But I was under investigation - they almost put me in jail. It's the same story that got me kicked out of the institute. Our drummer Pasha Kuzin made tickets to the recreation center where we rehearsed. We gave some to friends, someone started selling them. We were arrested, they began to find out who made the tickets. And this private enterprise - from three to five years. First, I talked with the OBKhSS investigator, and then in the next office I was interrogated by a representative of the Lubyanka. We were dealt with by the same investigator who handled the case of Alexei Romanov from the Resurrection group. Lesha was already in prison, and the same fate shone on us, since we figured in the organization of that concert ... Fortunately, it worked out. Therefore, perhaps it flattered her, but it was not pleasant.

• At least it didn't scare her away...

Yes, she is a typical Decembrist wife, and we have been together for twenty-seven years. If not for her, then, probably, many things in life would have happened differently and my career would have turned out differently. Thanks to Marina, she always understood: I love music, and this cannot be changed - I will do it anyway. I am, in principle, very stubborn and stubborn, and if I want something, I will definitely achieve it. By any means. She was not scared away by the fact that then there were no earnings. They began much later - in the 86th year. As soon as I finally graduated from the institute and received a diploma, the next day I went on tour. It was then that he began to earn, and more than my parents. And Marina quit and did not work anymore.

• Rock 'n' roll lifestyle hasn't affected you much? Is the slogan Sex, drugs, rock-n-roll not your motto?

Somehow, yes, basically it all passed me by. I tried both cigarettes and alcohol in the seventh grade. Because I had very progressive friends. I didn't like either, but it was fashionable. When we went on our first tour, we drank and smoked weed, which was the custom in the 80s. But it didn't inspire or impress me in any way. Not mine. And of course, there were always a bunch of girls around us in all cities. But I got fed up with all this in the first three or four years and began to think about what to do next when all this whirlwind was over. We collected huge stadiums, gave three or four concerts in each city. It was wild check for strength. I came home, changed things and two days later I was leaving somewhere again. Marina sometimes went with me. But she quickly got tired of it.

I came home, changed things, and two days later I went somewhere again

• That is, she was calm, they say, let her husband go, does he still have one music in his head?

No, of course! What woman can be calm in such a situation? Nonsense! She was not calm, and we had different stories over the years family life. Anything happened...

If you want to go on tour without your wife, find a good divorce lawyer! Here's my advice to aspiring stars.

• And who is the first to smooth out conflicts?

Every year there are less and less conflicts in our family. I do not know what it is connected with. BUT recent years Fifteen we don't have them. Especially because of some nonsense.

• So you are a happy person?

I don't like to say it out loud, but I guess it's true.

• Is it true that at the beginning of your relationship you had to fight for her?

I didn’t have to fight - I didn’t have time, rather, I just got it. From his college friend Sergei, who cleaned my face. Marina was his girlfriend, and became my wife. And I understand him well, I would do the same myself.

By the way, he is now working as a technician in our group. Life is a very unpredictable thing. With which of the people you will part and where you will meet later - you will not read in any novel. Here and here - after some time we crossed paths again, and I offered him to work for us. He is a very skilled and professional worker, the closest person to me at the concert, because he is in charge of the guitars.

• So he didn't hold a grudge against you?

I don’t know, maybe someday he will rebuild the guitar on purpose - he will take revenge. But so far there are no symptoms. (Laughs.)

• In addition to fights, did you have to perform other feats for the sake of love?

The greatest feat and the most extreme act is marriage. When you jump off a cliff into the water, you roughly estimate the chances of crashing or surviving. At least you know all the risks. And when you get married, you have no idea what awaits you in a year. Lottery! And this is cooler than any extreme, because this is your future life.

STRICT CRITIC

• Do you listen to your wife's opinion?

Yes, she is one of the few whose opinion is important to me. This applies to everything, including music, because she is constantly nearby and hears all the songs. We rehearse in the garage in my country house where I set up a studio. So everything is heard. And Marina is the only person who can openly tell me that she does not like some composition. In principle, it sometimes offends me, but I reconciled. Plus, due to the fact that she has been with me for a long time, listening to a lot of music, my wife has learned to understand it well. In general, she acquired the profession of a sound engineer over the years of family life.

• So, what if she doesn't like the song?

Well... I'm terribly worried, but I put it on the album anyway, because it's already done. I think it's normal: well, who else will tell you? Either you read it on the Internet, where you do not see the face of the interlocutor and cannot reach him with your fist, or you will learn from loved one. (Laughs.) Because I won’t hold a grudge against her if she says bad things.

Word by word

1. “I have over 25 guitars at home. But the most dear and beloved for me is the first classical guitar bought by parents. I learned to play on it ... "
2. “I like to dress well. But now the group is often accused of looking too right. Now the musician must come out in a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers.
3. "A woman in a group is the same as a woman on a ship"
4. “The artistic councils remained. It's just that now they're called a format that averages everything."

• You got married as a student, but you have a late child ...

Relatively yes. Everything has its time. The fact is that from the 86th to the 90s it was simply impossible to find me at home. It was a total tour. And touring in those years was a terrible discomfort. By the way, I liked it madly, but it took a lot of time and nerve cells.

TO THE CONCERT FOR SANDWICHES

• What is your daughter doing? Did she follow in your footsteps?

Polina is a first-year student at VGIK, the Faculty of Film Studies, and will be a journalist and film critic. She played the guitar for a long time and made good progress. She has very good musical abilities, but she said: "This is not mine, I'm not interested." And then suddenly declared that she likes the movie. She is well versed in it, she has reviewed a lot. From what Polina brought to watch when she was preparing for the entrance exams (about 100 films), I also saw a lot. I mean, it was very helpful for me.

• Do you want her to live and work at home in Russia?

With my heart I want her to live here, but with my mind I understand that maybe it's better there. However, some time ago we sent her to London, where she studied at language courses. But she didn't like it there. She has friends here. This is her opinion and I respect it. The same goes for choosing a university. And I will not force my child somewhere in Switzerland or England.

• Does Polina go to your concerts?

Often enough. Somehow they were on the "Invasion" and almost drowned in the mud. When she was in school, she liked to drag half a class with her. To sit in my dressing room with the whole crowd and crack fruits with sandwiches.

• Have you moved out of town because you can rehearse there?

Yes, this is the main reason. We could not finish the record for a long time, as we wandered around different bases. Traveling around Moscow for rehearsals took a lot of time, and I understood that in this way we would hardly do anything. And only moving out of town gave me the opportunity to concentrate and start doing something. But there is also a second reason. I am a native Muscovite, but I am tired of this city. This is no longer the Moscow that I love. This is a completely different city for me. This crazy building that killed Moscow, stupid interchanges, traffic lights and so on ...

• How well do you feel as a villager?

Fine! I really like. True, I do not like to dig in the ground, although we have a garden and even something grows there. Some beautiful flowers - but this is Marina's merit. I am an observer: I like to go out on the porch and look, but nothing more. And then outside the city you can ride a bike. I have always dreamed about it, but in Moscow it is unrealistic: a bunch of cars that can jump out of nowhere in the next moment. I get terribly tired from driving, roads, and the bike is a great means of relaxation. Sometimes we ride together with my daughter.

The daughter was engaged in a guitar and shared successes. And then she said: not interested

• Can you hammer a nail yourself?

Can. And turn on the light bulb too. But to rearrange the toilet, like our drummer, still no. (Laughs.) Pasha Kuzin has golden hands. When he declared: “I rearranged the toilet in my house by twenty centimeters,” the whole group looked at him with wild envy and hatred, because no one could repeat this. As a rule, musicians are careless in terms of housework. I am one of them. It’s just that everyone should mind their own business, maybe then we less problems will be in the country.

UNFORGETTABLE SOLOISTS

Havtan and the drummer of "Postscriptum" Pavel Kuzin decided to create their own team. It included saxophonist Alexander Stepanenko, bassist Andrey Konusov and vocalist Yvonne Anders (Zhanna Aguzarova). The girlfriend of the latter, by the way, came up with the name for the group - "Bravo". Remembering those times, Eugene admits that it was not easy with the outrageous and unpredictable Zhanna, but they were best years team. “She and I found compromises through deceit and forgery,” he admits, laughing.

Valery Syutkin spent five years at Bravo, from 1990 to 1995. It was here that his own, original style was formed, in which he successfully works solo to this day.

FACTS ABOUT YEVGENY KHAVTAN

What glory could one dream of if the music we played was, as it seemed to us, no one needed? We did not expect that in the future we would play concerts and sell records

• Born in Moscow on October 16, 1961;
• Entered the Moscow Institute of Railway Engineers;
• In 1983 he got into Garik Sukachev's group "Postscriptum", after its collapse Havtan created "Bravo";
• Wife Marina (by profession an engineer-economist), daughter Polina.

Played in the group "Rare Bird". Favorite personalities - Yuri Gagarin, Marilyn Monroe, Salvador Dali, Charlie Chaplin, James Dean, Chuck Berry, Andy Warhol, Malcolm Maclaurin, Leonard Cohen. Favorite movies - "Amphibian Man", ... Read all

Evgeny Khavtan was born on October 16, 1961 in Moscow. He studied at the Institute of Railway Engineers.
Played in the group "Rare Bird". Favorite personalities - Yuri Gagarin, Marilyn Monroe, Salvador Dali, Charlie Chaplin, James Dean, Chuck Berry, Andy Warhol, Malcolm Maclaurin, Leonard Cohen. Favorite films are "Amphibian Man", "Beware of the Car", "Hunger", "Once Upon a Time in America". Favorite writers - Sergey Dovlatov, Vasily Shukshin, Oscar Wilde. Mom loves cherry compote. Hobbies - collecting guitars, virtual project "Mickey Mouse and Stilettos", making tequila from "cacti".
The Bravo group appeared in September 1983 from fragments of less famous bands RARE BIRD, where Yevgeny Khavtan (guitar, vocals) started a year earlier, and POSTSCRIPTUM, in which Andrei Konusov (bass), Alexander Stepanenko (saxophone, keyboards) and Pavel Kuzin (drums) played. The group acquired its name and original composition after Garik Sukachev, who had assembled his “BRIGAD C”, left POSTSCRIPTUM, and Zhanna Aguzarova, who arrived in Moscow from Siberia, took his place.
A successful combination of a nostalgic image (images of dudes of the early 60s and plots related to this topic will remain in the repertoire of BRAVO) and dynamic bright melodies of Havtan, in which stylized rock and roll and twists coexisted with modern new wave and reggae , made the group the stars of the Moscow scene, and the mini-album recorded in the fall of 1983 was sold throughout the country.
After the album "Hits about Love" the group had a big break. And just recently they started to prepare for the release of a new album.

Stilyaga from Moscow

Bravo leader Evgeniy KHAVTAN: "The way I got along with Aguzarova is the topic of my dissertation"

The Bravo group was wildly popular in our large, then common country, and, as a result, terribly annoyed the top.

The Bravo group was wildly popular in our large, then common country, and, as a result, terribly annoyed the top. Together with "Aria", "Kino", "Aquarium" and "Nautiluses" "Bravo" was on the black list of objectionable. True, despite problems with the law and disruptions of concerts, the musicians still kept afloat, writing such optimistic songs as "Orange Tie" or "White Day". Bravo turns 21 this year. The age is quite mature. During this time, its composition, in which the unknown Valery Syutkin and Zhanna Aguzarova once started, changed several times - only Evgeny Khavtan remained the undisputed leader.

"I HAD TO CONQUER THE HEART OF THE WIFE, FOR WHICH I RECEIVED A WELL IN THE MOUTH FROM HER PREVIOUS GUY"

- Eugene, it is known that you have an impressive collection of guitars at home. How much is thatm total?

More than 25. But the most dear and beloved for me is my first classical guitar, bought by my parents. I learned to play on it ... Now my daughter is studying.

- And the most expensive one?

They are priceless. (smiling). There are not very expensive guitars, but some are associated with them. interesting stories. For example, I bought one of the guitars (1964) in Hamburg during the Bravo cruise in Europe. This port city was the last on our route. All the money set aside for the purchase of the instrument, I have already spent a long time. And so, walking around the night Hamburg, in one of the windows I saw a guitar of stunning beauty. Quite by chance, Russian boys-students who worked part-time in this city turned out to be nearby. They, having recognized me, lent the required amount. Two months later we met in Moscow, and I returned the debt to them. Later, this guitar was stolen from me, but by a happy coincidence, it returned to me again ... There are, of course, quite expensive copies, five thousand dollars each. Madness! I know that some artists like to spend money on diamonds, stones. It doesn't interest me.

- But your wife is probably interested in ...

Well, I, of course, give her jewelry.

- Curious, where do you keep your guitar collection? Is there a separate room for her?

Oh, where I have to ... I can't stand it when they rummage through my things, shift something, touch guitars, suits or a computer. I am a terribly disorganized lax person. I have a terrible mess! I can't find anything forever. I have about 50 pairs of shoes and I don't even know where they are.

- Are you looking for things alone?

No, my wife helps me, and my daughter sometimes tells me. Life, home comfort lies entirely on the wife. It is very important for me to feel comfortable at home, as I spend 80 percent of my time on tour.

- You've been married for over 20 years...

Largely because my wife has nothing to do with music industry. She is an engineer-economist by education.

- How did she win your musical heart?

I myself had to win her heart, for which I got a good punch in the face a couple of times from her previous boyfriend ... I always liked stylish, spectacular women. And if they are smart at the same time, it’s generally wonderful. The mind is a very important and, by the way, rare component today.

- Well, you are also a "dude from Moscow." Always dressed in style. What style do you prefer in everyday life?

T-shirt and jeans. And on the stage - the English fashion of the mid-60s. Yes, I like to dress well.

- In order to please yourself or women first of all?

To be like the musicians I liked. We thought that if a group looks good, then it means it's cool. And if it's bad - fig. I still pay attention to how musicians look when they go on stage. You can tell a lot about a person by the way they dress.

- I remember you said that imitating is bad...

So we imitate the best traditions English fashion! I often go to London, where I always go to the shops of new fashion designers. Still unknown, but interesting, avant-garde. They know me there and they are very glad to see me, because I always replenish their budget. They are happy to give me discounts.

At one time, this very English fashion (you performed in tuxedos) gave you considerable problems. The Soviet government even accused you of fascism.

Yes, it was. But now we are accused of looking too right! Now the musician should come out in a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers. We used to get in trouble even with the police. All this only further rallied the group. Due to the difficulties that we have, we can correctly assess the success. Many years later, I look at him philosophically.

And then we didn’t think at all, but just played. Some unknown force helped us. At 20, we became superstars in a country where nothing was allowed. Despite the fact that today rock stars, as a rule, become people after 25. And we were completely green ... It's great when you are young and collect stadiums! A very poignant feeling.

"I HARDLY PRESENT MYSELF AN ENGINEER, BUT I AM PROUD THAT I GOT A COURT ON HIGHER EDUCATION"

- You are an engineer of railway transport by profession, you studied at the institute for 10 years. Did your participation in an objectionable group play a role here, or did you just not want to study?

All again because of the problems associated with Petrovka, 38, with government bodies. I was repeatedly expelled, I was restored ... Such a long, motor-driven story! But in the end, I graduated from the institute. And I am proud that I have a crust of higher education.

- Have you ever worked in your specialty?

Slightly worked, but the experience was negative. I didn't like it! It's hard to imagine myself as an engineer. The profession is good, very relevant, in demand, but ... Music has taken its toll.

- Why then did they act as an engineer, and not at a music school?

I followed my brother. He said: "Let's go together so that it won't be boring." I did not study very well, I just liked the student environment, the atmosphere, the music. I've talked to the masses interesting people. Despite all the prohibitions and persecution, I still have very warm memories of the past. Still, it was a good time for us, it had its own charm. We, reckless and headless, were lucky.

- Now there is no pressure from the authorities, play whatever you want, sing about whatever you want ...

However, the situation is about the same. The artistic councils remained. It's just that now they are called a format that cuts off all the most interesting and shows the average. It is extremely rare to see something worthwhile on TV or listen to something worthwhile on the radio. So the situation has not changed much. It has always been not the most suitable for creative people, real musicians. But in any case, the talent will break through.

- "Bravo" is quite difficult to characterize, but, in my opinion, it's more of a rock band...

Maybe...

- Rock music is often characterized by melancholy, depression. In your opinion, is this part of the image or a state of mind?

There are artists that I believe. They really have everything. Shevchuk, Zemfira, Ilya Lagutenko, Slava Butusov. From yours, Ukrainian, "Okean Elzy" and "VV". From pop music - Lenya Agutin. They are primarily related to music. We have rebels, poets, artists, but there are very few musicians among them.

- Some time ago you compared the Russian rock scene to a dark night. Is the darkness slowly dissipating now?

No, it's about the same. Zemfira, "Mumiy Troll"... And who else? The rest are similar in some way.

"I ALWAYS LOVE TO EXPERIMENT, AND SYUTKIN WANTED A QUIET ENSEMBLE"

- Valery Syutkin said that you cannot be reproached for craving for hype, but your paths parted with him, because they saw the musical future in different ways. How did you see?

Together we recorded three very successful albums, gave a lot of concerts. I wanted to change the style of the band a little, I always liked to experiment. I like the drive in music, the feeling of rock and roll! And Valera wanted a jazzy, calm ensemble... Now I feel absolutely comfortable.

- When you started, did you dream of fame or did you want to play for yourself?

I did not think about fame then. What glory could one dream of if the music we played was, as it seemed to us, no one needed? We did not expect that in the future we would play concerts and sell records. They made music exclusively for themselves. So, by the way, something happened.

- You can’t be blamed for the hype, but Zhanna Aguzarova ... How did you get along with her?

Oh, it's hard, but it's terribly interesting. Zhanna is a master of the outrageous genre. And in real life it's about the same. (smiling). Together we complemented each other. This is probably the most interesting period"Bravo".

So what was hard about?

You see, a woman in a group is the same as a woman on a ship. Jeanne could not be convinced of anything, there were a lot of conflicts between us. Nevertheless, we still found compromises. By deceit and forgery. (Laughs). How I managed to get along with Zhanna is the topic of my dissertation.

- Did you part amicably?

We had some kind of showdown ... But without scandals. Zhanna already knew that she would leave, and simply put us before the fact. We finished the concerts, and everyone went their own way.

- Now do not communicate?

A year ago we played big concert"20 years". Both Zhanna and Valera were there. In general, a lot of artists performed at it: Zemfira, Ilya Lagutenko, "Bi-2" ... We celebrated the anniversary of the group perfectly!

- Don't you think that Aguzarov's craving for outrageousness is largely caused by her purely female problems?

It's hard for me to judge, I'm not a big expert here. I think this question is better to ask Jeanne.

- You, I see, do not succumb to provocations!

Quite right. We have seen all kinds of provocations, and we have developed immunity to them.

“Now it's called rock, it used to be called boogie-woogie, blues, rhythm and blues... The names may change, but music that inspires the mind and heart, and even your stamping your foot to the beat, it's all there. Call it rock, call it jazz, call it whatever you want. If she makes you move, or you just get high, she is with you - forever.

In 1961, in Moscow, at the XXII Congress of the CPSU, it was adopted " moral code builder of communism", the Vostok-1 ship with Yuri Gagarin on board launched at Baikonur, the ascent began in Liverpool The Beatles, but went to jail for "transporting an underage girl across state lines for immoral purposes." So I was born at the right and right time.

This happened on October 16 in the maternity hospital of the Moscow region Kaloshino (Golyanovo) in the family of a teacher in English and engineer. The first musical memories (I was 3-4 years old) are associated with a sound-reproducing system, on which one could listen to the radio and gramophone records, and which was turned on during the process of my feeding. And if the record was over, I would start yelling wildly "do not spin, do not spin!" The plate was quickly changed, and I continued to eat. Until the age of 5, I ate only in this way. Accordingly, then my first acquaintance with the world of music took place.

In the distant 60s, unlike today, during birthdays and anniversaries, it was not customary to get drunk in the first half hour. People knew how to “relax properly”, in our house there was a piano, on which someone was sure to play. Friends and relatives who came to our house sang and had fun. Sometimes holidays were celebrated in a cafe or restaurant, where a "live" ensemble of musicians (two guitars, an organ and drums) was always present. I went to these banquets with special joy, just to listen to these groups. And even despite the fact that at the end of the holiday one of the musicians was sure to get drunk, these people seemed like aliens to me.

In 1966, our house in Kaloshino was resettled, and we moved to another district of Moscow, to Kuzminki, where we received new apartment. After a while I went to high school room 623. It was not the best day of my life, because one of my classmates ate my porridge, which I put on the windowsill to cool. This guy later became mine best friend and teammate in the school group. At school, my successes were very modest, since I liked only a few subjects: history, literature and music (yes, there used to be such a subject in schools!) The leisure time of children born in the early 60s in the USSR was not very diverse . These were bicycles, motorcycles, football, self-made wind rifles and lead smelting in a garage dump.

Somewhere in the seventh grade, I got pretty fed up with it, and I began to think about changing priorities in my life. My father was a radio amateur, so at home there was a Vega vinyl player, a Nota-M reel-to-reel tape recorder, and my father made the speakers and amplifier himself. All this sounded pretty decent, and the collection of vinyl records and tape reels was constantly replenished. Everything was there from organ music Bach to popular at that time groups - such as "Pesnyary", "Ariel", "Merry Fellows" and even "Beatles". There were more and more records, and not without pleasure I began to listen to everything and choose from all this the music that I like. And two of my aunts played an important fate in my musical development. One - on the father's side - played the piano well, and when she came to us, I always asked her to play something, and later I began to play music with her. Another - from my mother's side - gave me a "Shikhovskaya" for one of my birthdays seven-string guitar, on which I began to try to learn to play on my own. The guy with the guitar was a real hero in the yard then, and I decided to learn these “cherished three chords”. True, many years after the concert of the Animals group, their guitarist Hilton Valentine was very offended by me for the phrase about "the very three chords of the song "House Of The Rising Sun"". "There were five of them!" he was outraged...

At some point, I realized that self-education was not enough for me, and in the seventh grade I went myself and entered a music school in the classical class six-string guitar. The street immediately ceased to exist for me, and musical education very useful later. After a year of classes, I already played well both classical and many other things. In the eighth grade, I moved to another school and there I met a guy whom many teachers considered "not quite mentally healthy." He was withdrawn and taciturn, and his folder for notebooks and textbooks was filled with hitherto unfamiliar English names. One day he invited me to his house to play something. The recording turned out to be a group concert " deep purple" "Made in Japan". On the recording, very poor quality, the roar of the audience drowned out the group itself, and the energy of the group beat over the edge. The concert I listened to made a completely indelible impression on me. It was a completely different planet that had nothing to do with what "I've seen it on TV and heard it on the radio before. I returned home a different person. Within a month or two, I devoured almost all the rock records that I could get from my friends and acquaintances. I decided by all means to learn how to play the guitar as Ritchie Blackmore and create his own band.The tape recorder "Nota-M" allowed you to listen to guitar solos at a slow speed, and I immediately rushed to shoot them.

The first group in which I began to play was created in a pioneer camp from my peers. Girls played the organ and bass guitar. Since it was not very interesting for them, the group broke up after two or three rehearsals, and I asked for it in the ensemble that played at our pioneer camp at dances and consisted of students music schools, as a bassist (they already had a guitarist). In addition to musical practice, I learned from these guys everything that a beginner musician should know and be able to do - that is, everything that my parents constantly warned me against. The word musician was then considered a synonym for the words "drunkard", "debaucher" and so on. It was also believed that musicians never have stability in life, no money, and, accordingly, they cannot have a normal family. And naturally, my parents were very distrustful of this new hobby of mine. However, I persuaded my parents to buy me my first electric guitar. And I still remember this moment in my life. It was in the winter, in the evening, after work, my father and I went to the "German" goods store "Leipzig", which was then located at the end of Leninsky Prospekt. Normal guitars, of course, were in short supply, so I had to buy what was on display - a semi-acoustic GDR electric guitar "Musima". The guitar cost 200 rubles, and it was the entire monthly salary of the father. I am very grateful to him for this. By the end of school, we organized a group of three people, which included two of my school friends. We managed to perform only at the graduation party, persuading the musicians playing on it to let us play a couple of songs. One of them was "Sunny Island" "Time Machine". Until now, I don’t really understand the phrase of one of the musicians who let us perform: “Aren’t you cool to take on such complex compositions?”

In 1979, I entered the Moscow Institute of Railway Engineers (MIIT). At that time, it was a place where all the coolest “farmers” of the city of Moscow gathered during a long break between classes. And, accordingly, among other things, it was possible to buy or exchange any record that was the most fashionable at that time. My musical tastes immediately changed. Among the mass of music that passed through me at that moment in time, I chose Madness, Stray Cats and Police - bands that I still adore and which later greatly influenced the sound and appearance group "Bravo". Sometimes during the night I listened to 10-15 records, as they had to be returned the next day. At the institute, for a short time, I managed to play with different groups. The first group performing author's material, in which I was a guitarist, was "Rare Bird". Its leader was the son of the well-known in the USSR composer Pavel Aedonitsky Alexei. The bass guitar in it was played by my institute friend Sergey Galanin, whom we met in the "industrial" practice. I didn't like the music we played, but I really enjoyed just being in a band. Until now, the record we made then is circulating on the Internet. Once, after refusing to buy a "signature instrument" (before that, I played a homemade electric guitar), I was politely asked to leave this band. I bought my second, "proprietary" Japanese electric guitar Aria Pro-2 CS 250 when the band "Bravo" appeared. Almost all the money that my wife and I were given for the wedding was spent on it in exchange for my oath promise to graduate from the institute. And a few months later I was expelled precisely because I played this guitar at “forbidden” concerts. Deciding to console me, my college friend said that a certain group based in Beskudnikovo called "Postscriptum" was looking for a guitarist. I asked him to take their records to listen to. The music they played was old school hard rock, but very well played.

I especially liked the drummer Pavel Kuzin. Years later, it turned out that they took me to the group only because of the "cool amplifier and gadgets" that I brought to the audition ... Garik Sukachev was the soloist of this group. We played his songs plus some Smokie stuff, Creedence Clearwater Revival stuff and a lot of other stuff. Performances were held at graduation parties of schools and at the holidays of the Mosenergotekhprom enterprise, in whose House of Culture we were based. In 1982" new wave"and punk rock declared themselves in full height, and at some point it seemed completely absurd to me to perform everything that we played. As a result, I brought my own bass player into the band, and we tried unsuccessfully to change the sound of the whole team. A little later, we broke up with Garik. The band was left without a frontman, and I immediately rushed to find him. As it turned out later - not him, but her ... My friends - the art group "Amanitas", with whom I talked about writing lyrics for my musical sketches, said that they have an amazing singing girl who is looking for a group. Actually, they gave my phone number to Yvonne Anders (who later turned out to be Zhanna Aguzarova). This meeting greatly changed my subsequent life.

In a few weeks I composed the music for our first magnetic album, and it was these songs that became the golden classics of the 80s, and the Bravo group became the "bomb" of the Moscow underground scene. My father, having visited one of our first concerts, was very surprised by what he saw and shook my hand. Then there was a lot of things that should happen at " this group"- the departure of soloists, the change of musicians, successful and unsuccessful albums - you can read about it. Now it doesn't matter to me anymore.

Most importantly, in spite of everything, today the band continues to actively perform and record. And the most interesting thing is that many of our fans today were not yet born when Bravo first hit the stage in the winter of 1983. Which, of course, inspires great optimism!

Our album "Fashion", released in 2011, became the "album of the year" according to "Our Radio" and received quite good criticism. Over the past few years, as a musician, in addition to "Bravo", I have become interested in collaborations with those who play in other styles. For example, with the punk band "Cockroaches" or the surf team "Tom and Phantoms". Also, I'm recording my solo album, some of the compositions of which can be found on this site. And, of course, I'm still waiting for a band to hook me up to the point where I want to help them record and produce their first album. Let them blow up today's music scene just like we did years ago!

Leader of the Bravo group.

Evgeny Khavtan was born on October 16, 1961 in Moscow. Falling under the influence of fashion trends, in school years learned to play the guitar, in clothes adhered to the look of "dudes". After school, he studied at the Moscow Institute of Railway Engineers. Eugene's idols were such celebrities as Yuri Gagarin, Marilyn Monroe, Salvador Dali, Charlie Chaplin, James Dean, Chuck Berry.

He was a member of the Rare Bird group. And since 1983, the guitarist of the Postscriptum group, led by Garik Sukachev. After the collapse of both groups, Yevgeny Khavtan assembled his own group "Bravo", which, according to official data, has existed since September 1983.

In their work, the group embodied the style of the 1960s, maintaining the image of dudes. The group gave the first concerts illegally, for which the authorities opened a criminal case, and Evgeny was expelled from the institute. The first album, released in the late autumn of the same 1983, made a splash and impressed the Russian listener quite a lot. The biography of the Bravo group includes various soloists who changed very often.

The first soloist of the group Zhanna Aguzarova, performing under the pseudonym Yvonne Anders, received great fame. Because of this, Havtan had to perform some songs himself. Aguzarova left the group in 1988.

After a long search in 1990, "Bravo" finally found a permanent vocalist - it was Valery Syutkin, who previously played in the "Telephone", "Architects" and "Feng-o-man" groups. Initially, there was disagreement in the group about his hairstyle. Syutkin had an impressive head of hair that did not fit into the image of dudes. After a long debate, Valery nevertheless agreed to adjust his hairstyle and adjusted it to rock and roll standards.

In July 2018, he created the Los Havtanos project, in which he participates together with the Moscow singer Yana Blinder and professional Cuban musicians. Eugene performs author's music in the Latin style.

Yevgeny Khavtan has a whole collection of guitars and amplifiers, numbering about 100 units, mostly "vintage", old instruments. Havtan prefers vintage electric guitars and amplifiers; his constant companions are the Fender Deluxe reverb and the Jazzmaster guitar.

He is fond of rockabilly, blues, jazz, indie styles. This is heard in his parts. Collects vinyl records. Loves modern indie music. Not indifferent to the surf style, from time to time he plays with young surf bands.

Creativity Evgeny Khavtan

Studio albums

1983 - Bravo (first magnetic album)
1985 - Bravo (second magnetic album)
1987 - Ensemble Bravo
1987 - BRAVO
1989 - We will say to each other "Bravo!" (magnet album, vocals - Evgeny Osin)
1990 - Stilyagi from Moscow
1993 - Moscow beat
1994 - Road to the clouds
1996 - At the crossroads of spring
1998 - Hits about love
2001 - Eugenics
2011 - Fashion
2015 - Forever

Singles

1989 - "Group Bravo"
1994 - Road to the Clouds
1995 - "The Wind Knows"
1997 - "Serenade 2000"
2001 - "Love does not burn"

Live albums

1994 - Live in Moscow
1998 - Live Collection
2014 - 30 years. Concert at Stadium Live
2015 - New Year acoustic concert