We love playing at the Center.
You’ll be playing at the Polish-Slavic Center for the third time. This is the first time in history that a band has performed at the Festival three times.
We understand this. We consider the invitation to this year’s Festival a great honor. I’m thrilled that we’ll once again be able to present ourselves to the Polish audience in Greenpoint. Especially since we sing primarily in Polish. Last year—I remember it perfectly well—it was fantastic, the turnout was great, and the artists gave it their all.
However, this performance won’t be similar to the previous one.
It will be similar in that our style remains unchanged. As well as the rock energy that emanates from the stage during each of our performances. We’ll definitely be playing two new songs written in the last few months. One song is strictly punk, and the other is much more laid-back. Our friend Krzysiek wrote the lyrics, I composed the music for the slower track, and we’ve already written the music for our new punk track together with the band.
Your concert during the Festival will also be different, as there was a significant lineup change in the band last year.
That’s true. Our guitarist Maciej Majchrowski left, which was certainly a difficult moment for all of us. We had to re-arrange many songs so they sounded good as a trio. We decided not to complete the lineup and to play as a threesome for now, which is certainly a major musical challenge, as we all have to fill the void left by the guitarist. In recent years, we’ve always performed as a quartet, and that second electric guitar was always audible. But don’t worry, we’ve been around for many years and have overcome more difficult challenges.
Have you had the opportunity to play as a trio before?
Yes, we’ve played a few shows like that, and it was really good. Last year was quite intense. As always, we appeared at many Polish community events and festivals, and the audience response was fantastic each time. As always, we performed at the American finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. We also played at the Tygodnik Plus festival, a reggae festival, played concerts in Linden and Philadelphia, and this April we opened for Pidżama Porno and Strachy na lachy before their concerts at the Melrose Ballroom. Thanks to our 16-year history in the Polish rock scene, we’ve managed to gain loyal fans who always support us, no matter where we play. I believe the Festival in the Center will be no different.
I have to mention the band’s peculiar name. Where did the idea come from?
I believe that every band should have a catchy and interesting name. When the band was formed, there were several ideas, until finally, our drummer suggested the name Dzieci PRL-u (Children of the Polish People’s Republic). I don’t remember us being particularly enthusiastic about it at the time, but the name stuck, and we’ve been playing as Dzieci PRL-u (Children of the Polish People’s Republic) since late 2009. After all these years, I think the name has stuck nicely, and it also reflects the character of our music well. Besides, most of us were born and raised in Poland in the 1980s, and the music of that era can be heard in our work.
The aforementioned 16 years is a long time for a rock band.
I think so too. The band’s lineup has changed several times, and I’d say a dozen or so members have passed through our band. Each musician brought their own unique talents to the group, but for various reasons, often completely unrelated to music, we had to part ways. Most importantly, however, the band itself is still around and I personally believe it will continue for many years to come. Few of these Polish bands are still active, so as the founder of Dzieci PRL, I’m even more happy that we’re still playing and making music.
You’re not only the leader of Dzieci PRL, but also its bassist, vocalist, and composer. It’s not easy to combine all these roles, is it?
I’ve never really thought about it, but it really doesn’t seem that difficult to me. I love doing what I do; it gives me great pleasure, I love being on stage, and I’m happy that we can bring people a little joy. I hold several positions in the band, but musically, we all contribute significantly to the final shape of the songs, and therefore to the sound of the entire band. Speaking of purely technical aspects, playing bass and singing at the same time is sometimes more difficult than playing guitar and singing, because the bass line often runs differently than the melody of a given song, but it’s all a matter of practice and practice.
How did you become a bassist in the first place?
When I came to the United States in 2003, in the first band I played in, Paradigm, we couldn’t find a bassist for a long time. Willy-nilly, I finally picked up the bass guitar and stuck with it. However, I also play and compose on guitar.
How would you describe your band’s style? Have you focused on a specific rock message from the beginning?
Yes, but our playing has changed over the past few decades. We started with punk rock, which is still very much audible in our music, but over time we’ve toned it down a bit. We’re not in our 20s anymore, and the older we get, the clearer and even a little calmer our music becomes. However, we still strive to maintain that strong guitar character, which is why we often reach for old, powerful punk songs during concerts. We’ll probably never forget our roots.
Your playing has a strong ’80s vibe.
I’ve never hidden the fact that Polish music from the ’80s was a huge inspiration for me. The other guys are a bit younger, but I remember vividly the days when you copied songs from the radio onto cassettes and how important new albums from your favorite artists were, sometimes eagerly awaiting their release for months. They weren’t always available in stores, so you’d borrow them from friends, and sometimes listen to cassettes together on benches outside your apartment buildings. I look back fondly on the work of bands from that era, and I often analyze those old, iconic compositions, so it’s no surprise that this is also evident in our playing. The atmosphere of the ’80s and ’90s is present, especially since those were the best years in the history of Polish rock music. And that’s not just my opinion.
Could you name the artists who had the greatest influence on your musical development?
I’ve listened to a lot of bands, not just Polish ones. However, I’ve always been drawn to artists who can write great lyrics. They were my greatest inspiration. Music in a band is usually the result of the work of several people. Of course, someone comes up with the initial chords or melodies, but as they work on a song, everyone adds their own touch, to a greater or lesser extent. It’s the same with us. I’ve always been most impressed by the creators of interesting and expressive lyrics, such as Krzysztof Grabaż Grabowski from Pidżama Porno, Muniek Staszczyk from T.Love, or Kazik Staszewski from Kult. These are just a few artists who continue to inspire me in terms of lyrics and compositions.
Are you responsible for the lyrics in the band?
Mostly, yes, but our guitarist Piotr “Młody” Klassek also wrote a few lyrics, and the rest are from our friends. When I write, I try to find my own way in what I want to convey, and I must admit that when I start writing lyrics for a song, I have a plan for it from the very beginning. I always try to include a message or tell a story in the lyrics. I also want it to be interesting and encourage the listener to listen to the song.
An important summary of your work is the album “Rymowanki,” which was released in 2017, eight years ago. Are you considering a new album?
Of course. What’s more, the material for it is largely ready. Most of the songs have already been recorded and are still waiting for editing and finishing touches. I hope the album will be released soon, but as we know, it’s not an easy process and sometimes takes longer than originally planned. Lineup changes haven’t made it any easier either. I think the album will be released in the summer of 2026.
What will the new album be called?
I wouldn’t want to reveal it too early before the release. However, it will definitely be more of a ballad album than Rymowanki. I included some very personal lyrics, with Krzysztof Trzciński adding a few of his own.
Music videos were also created for several songs from your first album.
Exactly five compositions have received official music videos. We managed to produce music videos for the songs “Dzieci PRL-u,” “Pankowa Rymowanka,” “Nadstań Czas,” “Krzyk,” “Miłość po ludzku” and “Manipulation.” You can watch all of them on our official YouTube channel, which I highly recommend.
During your concerts, in addition to your own compositions, you also perform a number of covers.
Yes. However, the song selection depends primarily on the audience we’re playing for, as well as the number of bands at the shows. For example, if it’s a festival with many bands, we mostly perform our own songs and maybe one or two covers, but if we’re playing alone, there are definitely more covers to fill a longer set. These are most often songs by bands like Pidżama Porno, Kult, and Strachy na Lachy, and finally, we often reach for absolute punk classics like songs by KSU, Cela nr 3, or Uliczny Opryszek.
Over the 16 years of the band’s existence, there have been quite a few of these concerts.
That’s true. I think we’ve played over a hundred concerts. Currently, we play nearly 10 a year, which is quite a good result for a Polish band. We mostly perform for the Polish community, which is quite natural, since, as I mentioned, all our original work is in Polish.
Which of these concerts has been particularly memorable for you?
I think the most important and unforgettable one was the one we played on the occasion of the release of our album Rymowanki in 2017. Back then, people came to see only us and the results of our work. The concert took place at the Paper Box club in Flushing, and about 300 people showed up, which gave us great joy and satisfaction. We also really enjoy and have fond memories of all the concerts at the Melrose Ballroom, where we opened for bands such as Kult, T.Love, Lady Pank, Bednarek, Dżem, Hey, Daab, and Myslovitz. We also enjoy playing at the Center, and I believe the upcoming concert won’t be our last performance there.
Do you have any musical plans or dreams you’d like to fulfill in the future?
Definitely. I’d like to see more music by Polish bands available online, so that a wider audience, including those in Poland, can discover it. I won’t deny that I miss a more developed Polish music scene, although I realize the reality and that there are significantly fewer bands than there were 20 years ago. As Children of the Polish People’s Republic, we also intend to return to playing live concerts online. This format has proven to be very effective during the pandemic, and we’d like to continue it. And speaking of dreams, we’d love to play at a festival in Poland someday. What’s more, we believe this will happen, although of course, that’s still some way off.
What can festival attendees expect from your concert?
We always give it our all, and we won’t let up this time either. The venue at the Center is demanding on musicians, so we need to be fully focused before the performance. Our lineup will be: Paweł “Mieczyk” Bernasiuk on drums, Piotrek Klassek on guitar, and myself on bass and vocals.
Thank you for the interview, and I wish you the best of luck at the Festival.
Marcin Żurawicz