Off the Record

Those who think there's no place for the accordion or the fiddle in punk music have never heard of Gogol Bordello.

The New York-based band is a pioneer of the hybrid musical genre "gypsy punk," combining elements of traditional Romani and Eastern European music with punk rock. Fronted by Ukrainian-born singer Eugene Hütz - whose moustache, bandanas, and neon slacks could rival the whole of the 1980s - Gogol Bordello is something of an anomaly in modern music; while it is not altogether uncommon for a band to blend foreign or traditional music with punk, the product that results from such innovations is rarely as bizarre as what Gogol Bordello has achieved.

Known for their charisma and enthusiastic live shows, Gogol Bordello has risen to prominence in the alternative music scene since their inception a decade ago. Expanding from clubs in the Lower East Side of New York City to becoming regulars on the summer festival circuit (the band has been billed on festivals as big as Lollapalooza and Warped, and everything in between), the gypsy rockers are gaining recognition through, if nothing else, the sheer number of shows they play. A series of stints the band has played on late night talk shows has only solidified these numbers.

The band's name is derived from Nikolai Gogol, a Ukrainian-born Russian novelist and humorist; according to Hütz, Gogol was responsible for bringing Ukrainian culture into Russia, an ethic that Hütz plans on emulating with Eastern European music, by bringing the Ukrainian traditions to American audiences. Of the nine band members who currently constitute Gogol Bordello, eight of them are United States immigrants, hailing from not only Eastern Europe, but from the world over. Though the band's music is anchored in punk and seasoned with the Romani tradition, the number of cultures that lend a hand in the writing process is astounding. With so many different influences layering on top of one another, it might be easy to produce something muddled and messy, but Gogol Bordello never seems to lose direction.

Music, as with all art, is curious; there are no strict guidelines that differentiate the "good" from the "bad." For Gogol Bordello, no set of rules is set in stone. The band has embraced the experimental and the innovative in a way that never seems forced; beyond all else, the gypsy punks are enjoying themselves. After 10 years, four albums, and too many shows to count, Gogol has no intention of stopping - no path is off limits and no horizon is too far.