US-China Foreign Language, November 2015, Vol. 13, No. 11, 761-771
\ndoi:10.17265\/1539-8080\/2015.11.001<\/p>\n
Gergana Angelova Rayzhekova<\/strong><\/p>\n Sofia University \u201cSt. Kliment Ohridski\u201d, Sofia, Bulgaria Keywords: Bulgarian alternative music, club suggestion, neo-tribes, identity emigration, cover value<\/p>\n Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n The Bulgarian music scene is one still carrying the trauma and consequences of the communist regime Bands: Break on Through to the Alternative Side<\/strong><\/p>\n The 1980s saw many changes in the social paradigm in Bulgaria and other neighboring countries as the Manifestly fills their discourse with abundance of empty unintelligible noise and jargon, especially in moral matters, If we further push the limits in Locke\u2019s theory about the untranslatability between words and ideas where Despite the whole information there is now, a big cultural gap because of the Wall, the communist wall, exists. The If we consider Von Oech\u2019s evolution of explorer, artist, judge, and warrior all four stages in the alternative Clubs: Clubs Are Strange<\/strong><\/p>\n With the fall of the communist regime the first clubs in Bulgaria appeared. They opened in the beginning of Before this message can have an \u201ceffect\u201d (however defined), satisfy a \u201cneed\u201d or be put to a \u201cuse\u201d, it must first be Here we can add another important circumstance that serves to seriously encapsulate the scene in an English value cover. This push away factor is the spread of the pop folk music or the so-called \u201cchalga\u201d in the beginning It is extremely important to know that they are in fact controllable, although they are part of paraconsciousness. If In tribute nights sub threshold signals are again connected to the peripheral perceptions as far as singing, Conclusion on the Dancefloor<\/strong><\/p>\n For 26 years now the Bulgarian music scene has been struggling with its past, reconciling old models of References<\/strong><\/p>\n Appadurai, A. (1990). Disjuncture and difference in the global culture economy. Theory, Culture & Society, 7(2-3). \u0418\u0437\u0442\u043e\u0447\u043d\u0438\u043a: http:\/\/www.davidpublisher.org\/Public\/uploads\/Contribute\/5656b1e48ff40.pdf<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" US-China Foreign Language, November 2015, Vol. 13, No. 11, 761-771 doi:10.17265\/1539-8080\/2015.11.001 Linguistic and Semiotic Features of Music Clubs and Band Names in Bulgaria After 1989 Gergana [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":571,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,4,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-7","category-4","category-6"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rayzhekova.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rayzhekova.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rayzhekova.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rayzhekova.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rayzhekova.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=239"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.rayzhekova.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":748,"href":"http:\/\/www.rayzhekova.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239\/revisions\/748"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rayzhekova.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.rayzhekova.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rayzhekova.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.rayzhekova.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe current club situation in Bulgaria is one that started unfolding in the late 1980s with the gradual fall of
\ncommunism and the emergence of many alternatives to the official mainstream bands. What followed after the
\nabrupt end of the regime was an emigration wave of musicians followed by the opening of various clubs and bars
\nand the first steps of music business together with the launching of many independent music projects. What the
\narticle examines is the way English language has invaded this particular sphere of entertainment influencing band
\nnames, bar names, and lyrics. The article is examining the reasons that lie behind this peculiar and persistent
\nBulgarian identity crisis, the accompanying identity emigration, English language saturation, and how these factors
\ncame to shape the current Bulgarian alternative music scene. A semantic and linguistic analysis of the names of the
\nmost popular clubs and bands will be provided and a few conclusions as to the reasons behind this overall trend will
\nbe offered supported by findings from the science of suggestology, sociology, and anthropology. The methods used
\nare inclusive observation, anthropological interviews, rich ethnographic materials, and other methods.<\/p>\n
\nduring which there was a prohibition towards most of the Western rock music accompanied by the impregnation
\nof an overall disrespect towards English language. However, limited resources and scarcity can provoke
\ncreativity (Walker, 2006) and thus as a result in the late 1980s an alternative to the official Bulgarian mainstream
\nrock music appeared heralding the upcoming changes in the political system. This alternative music became the
\nspokesman of the upcoming changes in society and exploded in the appearance of more than 200 bands in various
\nstyles, which passionately composed and played around the country soon to be swept away by the first emigration
\nwave after the changes. Twenty-six years later, the once forbidden dream of the West with its endless
\nopportunities still shines in the back of the mind of many thus creating an obsession to escape from the Bulgarian
\nreality of the current post-totalitarian chaos. In this way together with the physical emigration, a certain type of
\nescapism came into being mainly through the usage of English language which has unfortunately turned the
\nalternative music scene in Bulgaria into a mimesis, an imitation of the rock scene abroad. Currently the
\nalternative scene is trickling away into three exit-escapes. The first one is the emigration of many musicians from
\nBulgaria using tours, projects, foreign management, production, etc. The second path is the virtual emigration
\nthrough the power of imagination, i.e., bands imagining themselves in a different context by actively
\nparticipating in tribute nights, cover nights, Seattle nights, where the ultimate product is a crude imitation of
\ncertain rock idols and where improvisation and creativity are not tolerated at all. The third exit is a Bulgarian
\nidentity emigration that is done with the choice of English language when naming bands, clubs, and bars. In the
\nband context, this goes even further by using English language, which is not understood by the majority of
\nBulgarians, as a choice of songwriting language, which can be interpreted as another way of emigrating from the
\naudience itself.
\nThe article focuses on the third exit way and dwells upon the linguistic and semantic features of clubs, bars,
\nand bands in Bulgaria and how this on-going trend has affected the scene. A list of the most prominent clubs and
\nbands will be provided together with a semantic and linguistic analysis of their names and a few conclusions as to
\nthe reasons behind this overall trend will be offered supported by findings from the science of suggestology,
\nsociology, and anthropology. The article is part of a bigger research with a working title: Problems of the Current
\nAlternative Music Scene in Bulgaria (Clubs and Media). The methods used are inclusive observation,
\nanthropological interviews, rich ethnographic materials, and other methods.<\/p>\n
\ncommunist regime slowly but surely started its demise. This tremendously affected the music scene together with
\nthe influx of Western music, images, media, and particularly MTV (Music Television). In this way English
\nlanguage, Western music, and the change came together in the country making various intraconnections, parallels,
\nand analogies between each other. English language also gave people the freedom to travel, to communicate with
\ndifferent nations, and to have access to other unknown cultures beyond the well-known countries from the
\nCommunist Bloc thus turning it into a symbol of freedom and emancipation. When we consider the
\nEnglish-Bulgarian language paradigm and what stimulates the importance of this language, we should take into
\naccount the hypothesis of linguistic relativity that the differences in languages are not only a real barrier in
\ncommunicating with people from other cultures but are basic in the way we view the world and how we think
\nbecause the principles of classification are different and the mutual understanding is just an illusion (Paceva,
\n2004, p. 131). As John Locke argues words tend to \u201cenchant\u201d people, suggest ideas and distance people from the
\ntruth about objects. When it comes to getting the message across the insignificancy of words,<\/p>\n
\nwhere the words for the most part standing for arbitrary and numerous collections of ideas, not regularly and permanently
\nunited in nature, their bare sounds are often only thought on, or at least very obscure and uncertain notions annexed to
\nthem. (Locke, 1824, p. 345)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\ntwo parallel universes overlap but never mix, we can add to the Bulgarian situation the fact that after the changes
\nEnglish language started being taught as a second language in schools thus creating a generation living in an
\nEnglish context in opposition to the previous generations brought up in a Russian one. Connected to the political
\nchanges at that period, we can draw conclusions upon the importancy of signs and \u201cthe textual world\u201d (De
\nBeaugrande & Dressler, 1996, p. 101) that it was formed around these two language systems and how it slowly
\nevolved in an English-dominated music scene. Shortly after the changes many bands started composing primarily
\nin English, named their bands with English names, and were supported in their acts by clubs and bars with
\nEnglish names, too. If we take Saussure\u2019s paradigm, the use of English is the signifier, the symbol, the form of
\nexpression. What it signifies is the concept of otherness, of freedom which ultimately leads to an identity crisis or
\nan identity emigration as was mentioned above. When we talk about club experience, it can be taken as a form of
\na self-development or self-realization process, a so called \u201cidentity project\u201d, in questions concerning love and
\nromance (Rief, 2009, p. 132). Another way to look at club culture is the way music and dance help people
\nreinvent the surrounding world and their place in it (Shankar & Elliott, 1999). What Statelova explains is that
\n\u201cidentity\u201d is formed gradually where identity develops and shapes in the presence of \u201cdifference\u201d and
\n\u201cinteraction\u201d (Statelova, 2011). What stems from this difference is the disposition that \u201cnon-actors\u201d in this act of
\nself-construction are class inferior others and from this \u201cexagerrated otherness\u201d the idea of an existing
\ncommunity strengthens even more (Thornton, 1997, p. 200). It is an \u201cemotional community\u201d to use Arjun
\nAppadurai\u2019s term about a group of people who present themselves and feel together (Appadurai, 1990). Also it is
\nnecessary to take into account the fact that these communities occupy somehow not so ordinary places which are
\nsituated somewhere in a distorted space and time and add to this the property of musical language to be able to
\nincorporate and convey spatial images, simultaneously producing and reproducing social systems (Kong, 1995, p.
\n4). Thus the Bulgarian club scene with its identity projects founded on the mutual need to be different and to
\ninteract, based on the innate necessity to distance from other generations started forming an alien community who
\nbelonged not here, here meaning Bulgaria, and which in order to occupy a certain physical space started
\nproducing their own spaces like clubs and bars. In the Bulgarian club scene which is too rigid and young since it
\nstarted developing in the 1990s, we have two categories of club-goers: the \u201cemotional communities\u201d which is a
\nvery small group of people loyal to certain places and consistent in their music taste occupying these specific
\nislands of otherness; and neo-tribes (Maffesoli, 1996) which, like subatomic particles act according to chance,
\nchaos, coincidence, and don\u2019t obey any laws of subculture and club culture but joggle with different identities in
\na hedonistic fashion. In his work on the power of suggestion \u201cSuggestopedia\u2014desuggestive teaching.
\nCommunicative method on the level of the hidden reserves of the human mind\u201d, prof. Georgi Lozanov takes into
\naccount the specifics of a common psychological condition called multipersonality where \u201cchanges in the whole
\npersonality, including functions of the body and the brain\u201d take place, a condition inherent in every person more
\nor less (Lozanov, 2005, p. 55). According to his findings \u201cone and the same emotion or thought changes the
\noverall physical activity, attitudes, motivations, readiness for one activity or another\u201d (Lozanov, 2005, p. 55).
\nThe example provided by the professor is connected to children who \u201cliving in an environment of irresolvable
\nconflicts exhibit different personality traits in communicating with a different parent, teacher, friend, etc.\u201d. In the
\nBulgarian music scene, the irresolvable conflict comes from the Cold War rivals Russia and the USA. During the
\ncommunist regime on one side, there was the mandatory Russian language in schools, the widely tolerated
\npropaganda Russian music and culture. On the other side stood stifled and incomprehensible English language,
\nthe dangerous West and its forbidden music. And while other countries like former Yogaslavia did a smoother
\ntransition between socialism and capitalism as far as music is concerned in Bulgaria the harsh methods towards
\nstopping cultural influences from the west managed to form major discrepancies resulting in a generation gap
\nbetween musicians, an older generation unwilling and unable to pass their knowledge to the young ones, and a
\nyoung generation disinterested in anything belonging to that particular period of time. This explains the certain
\npush in the extremity where Bulgarian bands have started adopting English names, English lyrics and follow
\nWest models. If we take a quick look at bands throughout the years and how the audience responded we can find
\na certain correlation between political aspirations and musical preferences, too. Beginning with the 1970s and
\n1980s bands were forced to have Bulgarian names at the time if they wanted to be played on the radio. Such bands
\nare: \u041d\u043e\u0432\u0430 \u0413\u0435\u043d\u0435\u0440\u0430\u0446\u0438\u044f, \u0420\u0435\u0432\u044e, \u041a\u043e\u043a\u043e\u0448\u0430 \u0433\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0430, \u0410\u0442\u043b\u0430\u0441, \u0411\u0435\u043b\u0438 \u0417\u0435\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0438 \u0427\u0435\u0440\u0432\u0435\u043d\u0438, \u0412\u0442\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0442\u043e \u041d\u0430\u0446\u0438\u043e\u043d\u0430\u043b\u043d\u043e \u041d\u0438\u0449\u043e, \u041a\u043b\u0430\u0441,
\n\u0417\u0435\u043b\u0435\u043d\u043e\u0442\u043e \u0443\u0431\u0438\u0432\u0430, \u0412\u0445\u043e\u0434 \u0411, \u0421\u0440\u0435\u0431\u044a\u0440\u043d\u0438\u0442\u0435 \u0433\u0440\u0438\u0432\u043d\u0438, \u0429\u0443\u0440\u0446\u0438\u0442\u0435, etc. (in English: New Generation, Review, Hen\u2019s
\nHead, Atlas, White Green Red, The Second National Nothing, Class, The Green Kills, Entrance B, The Silver
\nbracelets, The Crickets). With the case of punk bands like the band \u041a\u043e\u043a\u043e\u0448\u0430 \u0433\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0430 (Hen\u2019s head) and \u0412\u0442\u043e\u0440\u043e\u0442\u043e
\n\u041d\u0430\u0446\u0438\u043e\u043d\u0430\u043b\u043d\u043e \u041d\u0438\u0449\u043e (The Second National Nothing), there is a tendency to mock and irritate authorities and that
\nis why most of the names of punk bands are still in Bulgarian since they are meant to be understood by everybody
\nin order to shock and provoke. Other punk bands are: \u0425\u043e\u043b\u0435\u0440\u0430 (Cholera), \u0410\u0431\u043e\u0440\u0442 (Abortion), \u041a\u043e\u043d\u0442\u0440\u043e\u043b (Control),
\n\u0411\u043e\u043b\u0438 \u041c\u0435 \u0424\u0430\u0440\u0430 (I Don\u2019t Give a Fuck), \u0411\u0438\u0442\u043e\u0432 \u0422\u0435\u0440\u043e\u0440 (Home Terror), \u0425\u0438\u043f\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043b (a blend between hippopotamus
\nand crocodile), \u0420\u0430\u0437\u0432\u0440\u0430\u0442 \u0438 \u041f\u043e\u043a\u0432\u0430\u0440\u0430 (Fornication and Rot), \u041d\u043e\u0432\u0438 \u0426\u0432\u0435\u0442\u044f (New Flowers), Voyvoda
\n(Revolutionary), \u0410\u043a\u0430\u0449\u0438 \u0414\u0436\u0443\u0434\u0436\u0435\u0442\u0430 (Pooping Dwarves), \u0414\u0435\u0446\u0430 \u0441 \u0423\u0432\u0440\u0435\u0434\u0435\u043d \u0421\u043b\u0443\u0445 (Kids With Impaired Hearing),
\n\u0411\u0435\u0437\u043f\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0438 \u0425\u0438\u0435\u043d\u0438 (Sexless Hyenas), \u0421\u0440\u0430\u043c \u0438 \u043f\u043e\u0437\u043e\u0440 (Shame and Disgrace), \u0412\u0438\u043e\u043b\u0435\u0442\u043e\u0432 \u0413\u0435\u043d\u0435\u0440\u0430\u043b (Violet General),
\n\u0420\u0435\u0432\u044e (Review), and others. Bands with English names started emerging after the mid-1990s and slowly began
\ndominating the scene. These are: P.I.F. (Pioneers In Fashion), Babyface Clan, Panickan Whyasker, Pyromania,
\nSlang, Awake, Gravity Co, Wickeda, Bluba Lu, and many others. Here we will not focus on female vocalists who
\ntend to keep their personal names such as Milenita, Milena, Raja, Ruth, Beloslava, etc. What is interesting with
\nbands currently on the scene is that the trend has been kept and the exceptions have become bands in Bulgarian
\nwith Bulgarian letters\u2014\u041e\u0441\u0442\u0430\u0432\u0430, \u0410\u043d\u0438\u043c\u0430\u0446\u0438\u043e\u043d\u0435\u0440\u0438\u0442\u0435, \u0418\u0441\u0438\u0445\u0438\u044f, \u0420\u0430\u0437\u0445\u043e\u0434\u043a\u0430 \u043f\u043e \u041b\u0443\u043d\u0430\u0442\u0430, \u041e\u0431\u0440\u0430\u0442\u0435\u043d \u0415\u0444\u0435\u043a\u0442, \u041e\u0440\u0430\u0442\u043d\u0438\u0446\u0430,
\n\u0427\u0435\u0440\u043d\u043e \u0424\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0434\u0436\u0435, \u0414\u0440\u044a\u043d\u0447, \u041c\u0435\u0440\u0443\u0434\u0438\u044f and \u0411\u0435\u043b\u043e\u043d\u043e\u0433\u0430 though because of platforms like youtube and other sites for
\nsharing for the sake of easy search these bands can also be found transliterated. Even rarer occasions are bands
\nwith Bulgarian names written in Bulgarian and not transliterated with very few examples. Without any particular
\norder, active alternative bands with English names now are: smallman, LaText, Apemen, Popara, Voyvoda,
\nMacrophone, Musicoholic, Bears and Hunters, Casual Threesome, Urban Grey, Soundprophet, Der Hunds, No
\nmore many more, Jin Monic, Comasummer, Nick Chongi, Balkansky, Dozen\u2019t Frogs, Urban Grey, The Black
\nSwells, Affection, Panic Station, D*VINE, Drynch, Jeremy?, Overgame, Kottarashky & The Rain Dogs, Hayes
\n& Y, and the ones already mentioned above. If we include band names from other styles like metal, metalcore,
\nhardcore, neo-metal, etc., we will see the same trend reoccurring. Examples include the bands: 40 Days Later,
\nAlien Industry, Sepuko 6, Vendetta, Last Hope, Them Frequencies, Odd Crew, 8m\/s, JFT, K.O.R.A., Downer
\nKill, Formless Reality, Booze Brothers, Skirt, Fyeld, O.H., PIRAHNA, and others. What is important in a band
\nname is the name to be catchy, short and at best if the word is part of the international vocabulary. The last feature
\nis seen across different generations of Bulgarian bands and musicians. What is not tolerated are words which
\ninclude sounds not found in the Bulgarian phonetics like [th], [ng] while an [r] is widely used but it is almost
\nalways pronounced with a rhotic [r] since this is the norm in Bulgarian. When we talk about music and music production, we can explain the process of music making by the triangular methodology suggested by Barbosa in 1991 in connection to art production. According to it in order to create a piece of art, we need to pass through three stages: learning, practice of critique, and finally creating a
\npiece of art, i.e., to learn the development of a certain style then practice music critique to get enabled to evaluate
\nmusic works and finally make music, which \u201cis assuredly based on the knowledge and sense of evaluation gained
\nthrough the previous phases\u201d (Barbosa, 1991, p. 7). According to Von Oech \u201cthe creativity process consists of
\nfour steps: the explorer, the artist, the judge and the warrior. Each character represents a stage of the creativity
\nprocess\u201d (Oech, 1987, p. 12). Some of the stages of Von Oech overlap with Barbosa\u2019s theory for example the
\nexplorer mirrors the learning stage. The explorer\u2019s task is to collect necessary information related to a specific
\ntopic. The second step, i.e., the artist represents the experimentation phase of the process where the collected data
\nis used to freely generate multiple answers and pieces of art with questionable value. The third figure of the judge
\nis responsible for the process of evaluation, i.e., critique so that the best option can be chosen. Finally, the warrior
\nstands for the stage of applying the selected solution in a broader context. Taking these two paradigms of art
\nmaking into account, we can conclude which stage Bulgarian musicians mostly inhabit. If we take Barbosa\u2019s
\ntriangular model, we can say that stage one or learning is a very problematic one since because of the communist
\nregime the Bulgarian mass audience have decades of music development to catch up with. As one of the
\ninterviewees, an owner of the former Club Lebowski in Plovdiv city, laments:<\/p>\n
\npeople who had information at that time have one interest in music, the people who were not like that they are interested
\nif something is sellable or not, modern or not, which is not a serious attitude at all towards music in general and the media
\ndoes not help in any way that thing to be overcome. (\u2026) You can turn the radio on after two years and hear the same
\nsongs at the same time and that\u2019s true, that\u2019s funny and that\u2019s tragic. There is a lot of work to be done and unfortunately
\nthe standard is low and people (\u2026) cannot let themselves experiment, be calm, not agonize and all this lowers the chances
\nof somebody really delving deep into music (Interview with Nikolay Kostikov, Plovdiv city, June 28, 2015).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nscene in Bulgaria altogether are very superficially touched upon in order to save resources and time and most of
\nall because there was no support from mentors and musicians from previous generations. This resulted in the
\nemergence of Do-It-Yourself, Do-It-Together (DIT) or Do-It-With-Others (DIWO) projects. Due to the lack of
\ncritical engagement in the Bulgarian alternative scene and music making a situation has emerged which can be
\ncompared to reading a book without analyzing what has been read which ultimately leads to minority, not
\nmaturity (Stiegler, 2011, p. 37). This explains why since 1989 the alternative scene in Bulgaria has been
\nshrinking rather than maturing. One of the consequences connected to the shrinking of the alternative scene and
\nits immature imitations has resulted in the up-bringing of a passive audience, a neo-tribe which soon migrates to
\nthe next new thing in the entertainment business whether it is piano bars, karaoke bars, or anything suggested on
\nthe weekly program. What is characteristic about neotribes is that they are multiple so a person can choose being
\npart of many without them dominating his or her life. Second, neotribes are based on the idea of games and thus
\nthey lack moral responsibility (Mu\u00f1iz, 2001). Third feature is that they are transitory, fluctuating, appearing, and
\ndisappearing according to people or resources as in the case with piano bars and karaoke bars and other fleeting trends in night life culture. Forth characteristic of neotribes is that they are entrepreneural and constantly shape
\nthe products on the market according to their taste (Kozinets, 2007). So if the alternative scene is dependent on
\nneotribes since emotional communities are still gaining ground or are shrinking into minorities, we come to the
\nconclusion that in order to attract the eye of the masses a band or a club must imitate or at least resemble a mass
\nproduct to be popular. This further contradicts the opposition mainstream\u2014alternative questioning the right
\nusage of the \u201calternative\u201d label in the Bulgarian context. No wonder then that the alternative scene in the late
\n1980s and the beginning of the 1990s was a majority and that was because it was opposing a mainstream pop
\nculture. In the 2010s with the lack of any visible and clear mainstream the \u201calternative\u201d label has lost its important
\nconnotations and has become a minority. This shrinking eventually brings us to the problem of consumption or to
\nput it in other words this closes a vicious circle where lack of original\/authentic music is followed by a lack of
\nprofessional musicians which leads to imitation and altogether lowers the standards. This on the other hand
\ngenerates a disinformed and disinterested audience which is unwilling to pay unless the product is well-known
\nwhich leads to low income of clubs, managers, producers and results in an overall reluctance to sponsor authentic
\nnew music and new artists. The \u201cI must survive\u201d choice brings us to easy listening formats where cover bands,
\ntribute nights sweep the clubs and suck in neo-tribes as customers. As one musician confirms the situation \u201cIf you
\nplay your own music in Bulgaria you have cut your head from the waist up\u201d (Interview with Valentin Kamenov, Gabrovo city, May 1, 2015).How does the identity emigration look from the point of view of clubs will be tackled in the next chapter where a special emphasis will be put upon club names and the specific context they outlay for bands, the specific semantic fields they inhabit and what is the
\nsuggestion behind the chosen semantic fields according to the science of suggestology.<\/p>\n
\nthe 1990s in Plovdiv city and Sofia city. Ironically the first club in the capital carried the name \u201cChaos\u201d which in
\na way resembled the situation in the country at that time. Although it worked only three years, it was the first
\nauthentic punk bar and had the aura and mystery of a notorious underground \u201chole\u201d with an improvised stage
\nspace. Thanks to its habitants one of its nicknames was \u201cThe Punk\u201d, while because of its humidity another name
\nit got during its time was \u201cThe Muddy Place\u201d. Soon after its success and demise a plethora of clubs flooded the
\nbig cities. A thousand of voices wanted to be heard, to live through the Western kind of atmosphere and parties, to
\nhear live their favourite songs. Some of the clubs appearing around Bulgaria and mostly in Sofia were the
\nfollowing: Swinging Hall, \u041c\u0430\u0441\u043a\u0430\u0442\u0430, \u0421\u0442\u0440\u043e\u0435\u0436\u0430, \u0411\u0438\u0431\u043b\u0438\u043e\u0442\u0435\u043a\u0430\u0442\u0430, \u0422\u0440\u0438 \u0423\u0448\u0438, Mr Punch, and others, while in Plovidv
\nthe existing clubs were \u0423\u0441\u0442\u0430\u0442\u0430, \u041d\u0430\u0439\u043b\u043e\u043d\u0430, \u041f\u0435\u0442\u043d\u043e\u0442\u043e, and \u041a\u043e\u043d\u044e\u0448\u043d\u0438\u0442\u0435 \u043d\u0430 \u0426\u0430\u0440\u044f. If we divide the club names in
\ncategories semantically, we will have three groupings: Films and wordplay, Marginalised spaces, and of course
\nMusical themes. In the first category, we have clubs like: \u0422\u044a\u043d\u043a\u0430 \u0427\u0435\u0440\u0432\u0435\u043d\u0430 \u041b\u0438\u043d\u0438\u044f (Thin Red Line), Lebowski,
\nAdams, Rockenrolla, \u041c\u0430\u0441\u043a\u0430\u0442\u0430 (The Mask), \u0427\u0435\u0442\u0438\u0440\u0438 \u0441\u0442\u0430\u0438 (Four Rooms), MAZE (which in Bulgarian can be also
\nread as \u201cBasement\u201d), NoSense, Wrong Bar, Bar Zar (\u201cZar\u201d meaning dice), Bar Dak (a pun with the Bulgarian
\nword \u201c\u0431\u0430\u0440\u0434\u0430\u043a\u201d meaning whorehouse), Bar Fly, Non-Sleep Hostel. The second category includes clubs whose
\nnames occupy marginalized spaces, sometimes with negative connotations suggesting a certain type of danger,
\nfor example the clubs: Chaos, \u0421\u0442\u0440\u043e\u0435\u0436\u0430 (The Construction Site), Terminal 1, MAZE, \u041c\u0430\u0439\u043c\u0443\u043d\u0430\u0440\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0430 (The
\nMonkey House), \u0411\u0438\u0431\u043b\u0438\u043e\u0442\u0435\u043a\u0430\u0442\u0430 (The Library), \u0425\u0430\u043c\u0431\u0430\u0440\u0430 (The Barn), Neu!Berlin, \u041f\u0435\u0442\u043d\u043e\u0442\u043e (The Spot),
\n\u041a\u043e\u043d\u044e\u0448\u043d\u0438\u0442\u0435 \u043d\u0430 \u0426\u0430\u0440\u044f (The Tsar\u2019s Stables), \u0422\u0440\u0438 \u0443\u0448\u0438 (Three Ears), \u041d\u0430\u0439\u043b\u043e\u043d\u0430 (The Nylon). The third category is
\nlogically connected to the semantic field of music with the following clubs: Fans, Sofia Live Club, Swinging Hall,
\nStage 51, Studio 5, Mixtape 5, Rock It, Steppenwolf, and others. Here we can refer to Stuart Hall\u2019s
\ncoding\/decoding article and how there are certain \u201cdegrees of symmetry\u201d or degrees of \u201cunderstanding\u201d and
\n\u201cmisunderstanding\u201d. The communicative exchange \u201cdepend on the degrees of symmetry\/asymmetry (relations of
\nequivalence) established between the positions of the \u2018personifications\u2019, encoder-producer and decoder-receiver\u201d
\n(Hall, 1973, p. 510). In the first two cases where we have clubs with film names and bars named after
\nmarginalized spaces club owners suggest to their clientele the possibility of \u201cinterhuman experiences that try to
\nshake off the constraints of the ideology of mass communications\u201d (Bourriaud, 2009, p. 62). The suggestion of
\nthe club name means that by going out to that particular place something bizzare, unearthly and even slightly
\ndangerous can happen so \u201calternative forms of sociability, critical models and moments of constructed
\nconviviality\u201d are developed (Bourriaud, 2009, p. 62). As far as register is concerned in the second category bar
\nnames are predominantly colloquial with an overall sense of anarchy. These spaces occupy the semantic field of
\nurban, interior places which though being public have been squatted or taken over by a community of outsiders.
\nIn these underground musical squats individuals can freely express themselves by breaking the laws of society in
\nthe meantime. In the third group apart from the obvious emphasis on the semantic field of performance arts what
\nstrikes is the usage of numbers which signifies a kind of continuity, a legacy that has been kept and has been
\npassed down onto the next generation and that these places are inevitably connected to other studios, other stages,
\nand other mixtapes. Another suggestion we find in the provided list is that these places are not only marginalized
\nor magical but that they belong to another culture of alien music culture, that they possess the allure of the
\nunknown, they are the foreigner, the stranger. If we take Simmel\u2019s observations in his famous essay The Stranger,
\nwe have the relation where \u201cone who is close by is remote, but his strangeness indicates that one who is remote is
\nnear\u201d (Simmel, 1971, p. 143) meaning that the proximity of the clubs indicate a certain attainability of the assets
\nof these otherwise unattainable spaces. According to Simmel \u201cthe stranger makes his appearance as a trader\u201d and
\n\u201ca trader is required only for goods produced outside the group\u201d (Simmel, 1971, p. 144) so it is no wonder that
\nclubs indicate themselves as traders of other culture by their specific English names. The same can be applied to
\nband names as well. Going through the list of characteristics provided by Simmel another feature of the foreigner
\nfits in the alternative club scene in Bulgaria which is the foreigner\u2019s estrangement from the community, a
\n\u201cdistinctly \u2018objective\u2019 attitude\u201d which in the club scene translates as the failure or even lack of interest of many if
\nnot most club owners and managers to attract and further educate a community of shared musical interests. This
\nmeans that most clubs choose to depend on neo-tribes and thus not have any obligations whatsoever. Just like
\nstrangers or foreigners they keep their freedom to try their luck, move on to another neo-tribe or simply close
\ndown. The same can be said about the plethora of bands with English names which as was mentioned above an
\nEnglish name is the rule not the exception. By choosing to distance themselves from their local identity they
\nascribe more general qualities to themselves \u201cto the extent to which the similarities assume a universal nature, the
\nwarmth of the connection based on them will acquire an element of coolness, a sense of contingent nature of
\nprecisely this relation\u201d. It is another instance of \u201cboth nearness and remoteness simultaneously\u201d (Simmel, 1971, p.
\n147). Thus this presumed connectivity to the global rock scene offers the possibility of making it abroad or at
\nleast by choosing an English name bands leave that option open for invitations. The fan base around such clubs
\nand bars connected to foreign culture and especially because they are music-oriented, promises a relationship of
\nunique proportions, to put it in Depeche Mode terms promises \u201cstrange love\u201d. As Simmel puts it himself: \u201ca love
\nsuch as this has never existed before\u201d and it includes \u201cmany possibilities of similarities\u201d (Simmel, 1971, p. 148)
\nthus connecting the Bulgarian fans to an infinite number of foreign fans contributing to the feeling of belonging to
\na general community of \u201cindeterminate number of others\u201d i.e., the global scene. The love or praise towards the
\nalien\/the stranger has further mutated in a cover culture with the support of most clubs in Bulgaria providing their
\nstage. Another interesting fact is the emergence of tribute bands many of which pay tribute to bands currently in
\nthe peak of their careers such as Arctic Monkeys, Queens of the Stone Age, MUSE, Aerosmith, Rolling Stones,
\nDepeche Mode which further creates and enhances a vacuum of musical mimesis, delivering another such
\nmoment of \u201cconstructed conviviality\u201d. What happens with cover and tribute nights is the shift of roles where
\npassive consumers meaning musicians who do not compose or have no repertoire of their own can become active
\nproducers in order to satisfy their own needs (Atkinson, 2006) changing themselves from mere customers to
\nco-creators in the process (Fuad-Luke, 2009). The shift from consumers to creators is also reflected in the term
\n\u201cpresumption\u201d (Toffler, 1984) indicating an approach to sustainability in which consumers create (produce) for
\ntheir own consumption. Arguably, prosumption includes not only the process of production and consumption, but
\nalso remarkably meaningful layers such as value creation. For this reason, prosumption can be described as an
\n\u201cactivity\u201d initiated by the consumer in order to create values (Xie, Bagozzi, & Troye, 2008). Since after the fall of
\nthe communist regime too few an artist could produce any Western-influenced music many consumers became
\nproducers of that art so as to meet their own thirst for Western music. \u201cIf no \u2018meaning\u2019 is taken, there can be no
\n\u2018consumption\u2019. If the meaning is not articulated in practice, it has no effect\u201d (Hall, 1973, p. 508). So musicians
\nsupported by clubs and bars that relied on neo-tribes and their fluctuating preferences and where bar-owners and
\nmanagers are not interested in developing a Bulgarian music scene caused the emergence of a process where pure
\nimitation grew into the existence of the cover value. This explains why the Bulgarian cover culture, tribute
\npractices and English identity swaps are seen as valuable and not harmful practices of the scene. This is later
\nrationalised in explanations that the \u201clanguage of rock music is English\u201d or that \u201cEnglish comes\/sounds natural\u201d.
\nTo quote again Stuart Hall: \u201cCertain codes may be widely distributed in a specific language community or culture
\nand be learned at so early an age, that they appear not to be constructed\u201d (Hall, 1973, p. 511) thus what follows is
\nthe \u201cprofoundly naturalized\u201d codes. As Hall continues further \u201cThe operation of naturalized codes reveals not the
\ntransparency and \u2018naturalness\u2019 of language but the depth, the habituation and the near-universality of the codes in
\nuse\u201d (Hall, 1973, p. 511). This further supports the thesis of the suggestive factors that govern the current
\nalternative scene in Bulgaria and reveals the \u201c(ideological) effect of concealing the practices of coding\u201d
\nconnected to both periods of communist and post-communist society (Hall, 1973, p. 511). It is important to note
\nthat,<\/p>\n
\nappropriated as a meaningful discourse and be meaningfully decoded. It is this set of decoded meanings which \u201chave an
\neffect\u201d, influence, entertain, instruct or persuade, with very complex perceptual, cognitive, emotional, ideological or
\nbehavioral consequences (Hall, 1973, p. 509).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nof the 1990s. It was another oppressed style of music during the regime that originated in the end of the 19th
\ncentury and that after 1989 morphed into \u201cdance, techno, r\u2019n\u2019b, hip-hop, soul with a global sound but in Bulgarian;
\nwith the eroticism and the image of Madonnas but with Oriental details in the sexual carnal dancing and musical
\npleasing\u201d (Dimov, 2009, p. 113). Thus another opposition appeared between the sexually explicit feminine
\npop-folk Bulgarian-sung scene and the masculine Western models entering the country through MTV and other
\nmedia. Visual media and different visual instruments as a whole is a perfect example of peripheral perceptions
\nthat are part of paraconsciousness and another way to code meaning especially when there is organised
\ninvolvement in the process. Going back to the science of suggestology peripheral perceptions play an important
\npart in the process of suggestion.<\/p>\n
\nattention is deliberately directed to them they enter consciousness and then one can either accept or reject them. Very
\noften, however, they can enter consciousness spontaneously as well. In terms of strength and duration, these are normal
\nsupra-threshold stimuli. However, when these stimuli fall beyond the scope of attention and consciousness, which
\nhappens all the time, they acquire the properties of sub threshold signals. (Lozanov, 2005, p. 51)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\ndressing and stage presence is concerned. Thus the coded signals reach the paraconsciousness and because of the
\nrepetitive mode of these nights together with the tolerance towards them from both bar owners and band members
\nthis trend has slowly become the norm dominating the music scene. Other suggestive factors are connected to the
\naudience on these special emotional occasions who experiences two types of behavior also documented by prof.
\nLozanov and experimented in suggestopedic courses. These are infantilisation and pseudo-passivity. The term
\ninfantilisation is used in the sense of \u201cincreased trust and receptivity while retaining a critical attitude and
\nself-control\u2019 while pseudo-passivity is in the sense of a calm, relaxed, undisturbed and controlled activity\u201d
\n(Lozanov, 2005, p. 53). \u201cInfantilisation is the natural and spontaneous reaction in receiving information with a
\nhigh degree of credibility (reliability). On the other hand, pseudo-passivity is largely the expression of good
\nself-discipline, and at the same time a form of concentrative self-relaxation\u201d (Lozanov, 2005, p. 53). This in the
\nsense of club culture can be expressed through dancing i.e., the infantilisation where we have spontaneous
\nreaction to the music and the band, on the other hand the other type of perceiving music is with a static
\npseudo-passivity where during shows and performances part of the audience don\u2019t dance but witness and
\nexperience the show. What is important here is that it does not matter whether the audience is experiencing
\ninfantilization or is pseudo-passive because the mere presence at such events is what triggers the suggestion. In
\nthe situation where other options of musical experience are almost absent this \u201ccreates the intuitive sense of
\ncorrectness and plausibility\u201d. When we connect these psychological experiences with other suggestive factors
\nsuch as multipersonality, prestige, peripheral perceptions, the Hawthorne and placebo effect (Rayzhekova, 2015)
\nwe have a serious club suggestion where covers dominating a concert are interpreted as something quite
\nacceptable and even obligatory. As prof Lozanov continues \u201cit is the soil where suggestion grows\u201d (Lozanov,
\n2005, p. 54) and thus the cover value continues to spread and remain strong in the Bulgarian alternative scene.<\/p>\n
\nbehavior with new trends of business and music making. In the article an attempt was made to go through some of
\nthe reasons for the predominant cover culture and English-oriented scene in Bulgaria as far as band names, club
\nnames and lyrics are concerned. Together with the end of communism came the beginning of capitalism and
\nswayed generations of musicians from a Russian affinity to an American and English one, a process enhanced by
\nsocial factors as well as the change of generations and a crude disassociation between them. The identity crisis
\nshook the overall idea of Bulgarian identity and music caught these changes on the strings of alternative music
\nwaiting to be analyzed. Together with bands new places connected to the entertainment business like bars and
\nclubs appeared. Their alien nature suggested unearthly experiences, presented new cultural models and occupied
\ndangerous underground places to allure the curious masses comprised of irresponsible towards the music scene
\nneo-tribes. A vicious circle of easy exit ways has thus resulted in a shrinking alternative scene where cover and
\ntribute nights supported by the power of club suggestion has become the norm.
\nIn this article a list of most of the Bulgarian alternative bands was provided as well as a list of the majority of
\nclubs in Bulgaria. A semantic as well as linguistic analysis has given depth towards certain practices where
\nthrough the science of suggestology current psychological processes that enhance the tribute culture in Bulgaria
\nwere introduced such as the suggestive factors of infantilisation, pseudo-passivity, multipersonality and others,
\nall part of the process of identity crisis and identity swap. Through sociology and the work of Simmel the figure
\nof the foreigner was introduced in the face of clubs and bands with English names explaining the shift of
\nperception that this peculiar escapism has led to. The scientific contribution of the article is connected to the
\nterms \u201ccover value\u201d and \u201cclub suggestion\u201d.<\/p>\n
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