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VIDEO
STRANGE NOTES WITH GEORGE PETTIT - MAJOR MAKER PART 1
In this Strange Notes episode George Pettit interviews Todor Kobakov and Lindy Vopnfjord of Major Maker. Todor talks about his immigration to Canada from Bulgaria and being classically trained on the piano.
POSTED ON: FEBRUARY 27, 2009
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00:16 [Music]
00:00:02:18 I think that most people are like a lineage
00:00:04:22 as far as what they listen to a music.
00:00:06:16 You know like something
00:00:08:03 spark their interest in the music at a young age
00:00:10:02 and then eventually, there is a point where someone like
00:00:12:15 gets into a type of music
00:00:15:12 that brings people where they are at today.
00:00:16:28 Notes from the font line of a stringing culture.
00:00:20:03 This is Strange Notes.
00:00:21:14 [Music]
00:00:32:00 We are on our way to College Street in Toronto
00:00:34:12 to go meet up with Todor and Lindy of Major Maker.
00:00:38:04 Two very interesting characters,
00:00:41:09 both of which are probably over seven feet tall,
00:00:44:20 one is an Icelandic Winnipegan.
00:00:47:26 The other, a Bulgarian immigrant,
00:00:50:00 who is a classically trained pianist,
00:00:52:07 wickedly talented
00:00:54:00 and they are going to give us inside into what they do.
00:00:56:26 ♪ [Music]
00:01:22:00 So, we are here with Major Maker.
00:01:24:20 Todor, how old were you when you came over from Bulgaria.
00:01:28:04 I was 16 years old.
00:01:29:20 And what year would that have been?
00:01:31:06 That would have been 1996.
00:01:33:09 Okay.
00:01:35:03 On July 15th about 6:00 p.m.
00:01:38:00 There was obviously a lot of
00:01:39:12 like political turmoil at that point.
00:01:41:06 Like in '89, it was communist until end to switch over.
00:01:44:13 Well, there was quite a change for me not only politically but
00:01:48:11 language barrier was huge
00:01:50:04 and culturally, there was a lot of differences
00:01:52:27 in the size of the country, just along,
00:01:57:05 it was quite shocking to me.
00:01:59:03 And I was very fortunate.
00:02:01:07 I started going to University of Toronto Faculty of Music
00:02:04:03 shortly after, a couple of months later.
00:02:06:17 I was fortunate enough to meet a lot of great people there,
00:02:08:18 a lot of friends who kind of really helped me so and adapt.
00:02:14:04 And just slowly by getting better with my English
00:02:18:00 and meeting more people and having lots of girlfriends.
00:02:20:09 Yeah.
00:02:22:06 Things finally took place.
00:02:23:26 -They are the best English teachers. -They are.
00:02:25:24 Like what were some of like the more difficult
00:02:27:28 like cultural differences?
00:02:29:08 Oh! Where do I begin?
00:02:30:28 Yeah.
00:02:32:25 Having drinking age was strange for me,
00:02:36:18 and not being able to go to a concert or a bar
00:02:39:27 at that point was weird because
00:02:42:24 I have never lived with that sort of..
00:02:46:06 what do you called that?
00:02:47:22 -Tyranny? -Tyranny.
00:02:49:28 Yeah I think the first time I went to see a concert
00:02:52:13 at the Opera House and I got turned away
00:02:54:00 because I was under age and what's that.
00:02:55:24 Yeah.
00:02:57:13 But that was different
00:03:00:15 and also you know I was very used to
00:03:03:03 having a lot of close friends almost like a family.
00:03:07:01 And then I found at first that a lot of people I think,
00:03:08:29 those part of being in University
00:03:10:19 or kind of keeping through themselves,
00:03:12:02 were really showing the love that I was used to.
00:03:14:13 And that's how I discovered the Toronto Indie art scene
00:03:17:04 where I really felt like I belong to a certain community.
00:03:20:26 What kind of like musicians were you kind of hanging around?
00:03:22:18 Well, the first person I met was [inaudible] We went to school
00:03:26:08 together and through her,
00:03:27:29 I started working with [inaudible] Management.
00:03:29:28 After that I started working with Noah Mintz,
00:03:32:05 who now is a mastering guy to Lacquer Channel
00:03:36:08 and worked with Hip-Hop artists like Skits and the DOM and K-os
00:03:43:06 back in the day before its very first sort of career.
00:03:46:15 And then I started working with [inaudible]
00:03:51:01 Peter Rainbird from UK and so on and so on.
00:03:54:04 -Yeah. -And Stars.
00:03:56:28 Now being like, do you find that,
00:03:59:19 I find that most musicians I meet
00:04:02:00 are not classically trained,
00:04:03:21 like most musicians I know don't breed music.
00:04:06:14 Well you know what it is.
00:04:08:03 I have just started teaching a couple of DJs,
00:04:11:13 because they said,
00:04:13:06 listen I really want to learn a little bit of theory
00:04:14:22 because it's really...
00:04:16:03 not knowing these things really interfere
00:04:17:14 with my production skills
00:04:19:00 and being able to quickly put tunes to go together.
00:04:21:19 And I said, okay, well let me sort of think of a way of
00:04:25:12 teaching some theory without it being that boring.
00:04:29:02 Thing that everybody fears and I think that's the big problem.
00:04:31:06 I think everybody thinks that it's hard and it's boring
00:04:33:21 and it's not interesting.
00:04:35:07 So in fact, my mission in the next couple of years
00:04:37:00 is to change that.
00:04:38:14 -Yeah. -And hopefully, more people would be interested,
00:04:41:28 because I think it does nothing else but help
00:04:43:28 you to express your ideas quicker.
00:04:47:07 You get to a situation where
00:04:49:03 you are actually around someone who is very classically trained
00:04:52:04 and you watch them like writing notes out.
00:04:54:21 It's everyone is just kind of like awestruck because,
00:04:57:10 I don't know all the guys in my bands were such [inaudible]
00:04:59:11 Well you know what it is, that it benefits to both sides.
00:05:02:25 You know I studied for many, many years
00:05:04:22 and after I graduated from UFT, I spent four years
00:05:06:27 trying to forget everything I know.
00:05:08:28 And I also know tons of guys who probably spent like
00:05:11:09 all of their high school years in their basement
00:05:14:02 learning to play guitar
00:05:15:20 and then at the end of that, they are kind of like
00:05:17:28 can't play in a band
00:05:19:27 or they have like no real grasp on
00:05:22:03 like cultural and pop music and things like that.
00:05:25:08 Well, those are the important things and most of, I think,
00:05:27:13 imagination is what's greatly needed in order to succeed.
00:05:31:06 [Music]
00:05:33:07 Stay tuned for more tales of the bizarre.
00:00:02:18 I think that most people are like a lineage
00:00:04:22 as far as what they listen to a music.
00:00:06:16 You know like something
00:00:08:03 spark their interest in the music at a young age
00:00:10:02 and then eventually, there is a point where someone like
00:00:12:15 gets into a type of music
00:00:15:12 that brings people where they are at today.
00:00:16:28 Notes from the font line of a stringing culture.
00:00:20:03 This is Strange Notes.
00:00:21:14 [Music]
00:00:32:00 We are on our way to College Street in Toronto
00:00:34:12 to go meet up with Todor and Lindy of Major Maker.
00:00:38:04 Two very interesting characters,
00:00:41:09 both of which are probably over seven feet tall,
00:00:44:20 one is an Icelandic Winnipegan.
00:00:47:26 The other, a Bulgarian immigrant,
00:00:50:00 who is a classically trained pianist,
00:00:52:07 wickedly talented
00:00:54:00 and they are going to give us inside into what they do.
00:00:56:26 ♪ [Music]
00:01:22:00 So, we are here with Major Maker.
00:01:24:20 Todor, how old were you when you came over from Bulgaria.
00:01:28:04 I was 16 years old.
00:01:29:20 And what year would that have been?
00:01:31:06 That would have been 1996.
00:01:33:09 Okay.
00:01:35:03 On July 15th about 6:00 p.m.
00:01:38:00 There was obviously a lot of
00:01:39:12 like political turmoil at that point.
00:01:41:06 Like in '89, it was communist until end to switch over.
00:01:44:13 Well, there was quite a change for me not only politically but
00:01:48:11 language barrier was huge
00:01:50:04 and culturally, there was a lot of differences
00:01:52:27 in the size of the country, just along,
00:01:57:05 it was quite shocking to me.
00:01:59:03 And I was very fortunate.
00:02:01:07 I started going to University of Toronto Faculty of Music
00:02:04:03 shortly after, a couple of months later.
00:02:06:17 I was fortunate enough to meet a lot of great people there,
00:02:08:18 a lot of friends who kind of really helped me so and adapt.
00:02:14:04 And just slowly by getting better with my English
00:02:18:00 and meeting more people and having lots of girlfriends.
00:02:20:09 Yeah.
00:02:22:06 Things finally took place.
00:02:23:26 -They are the best English teachers. -They are.
00:02:25:24 Like what were some of like the more difficult
00:02:27:28 like cultural differences?
00:02:29:08 Oh! Where do I begin?
00:02:30:28 Yeah.
00:02:32:25 Having drinking age was strange for me,
00:02:36:18 and not being able to go to a concert or a bar
00:02:39:27 at that point was weird because
00:02:42:24 I have never lived with that sort of..
00:02:46:06 what do you called that?
00:02:47:22 -Tyranny? -Tyranny.
00:02:49:28 Yeah I think the first time I went to see a concert
00:02:52:13 at the Opera House and I got turned away
00:02:54:00 because I was under age and what's that.
00:02:55:24 Yeah.
00:02:57:13 But that was different
00:03:00:15 and also you know I was very used to
00:03:03:03 having a lot of close friends almost like a family.
00:03:07:01 And then I found at first that a lot of people I think,
00:03:08:29 those part of being in University
00:03:10:19 or kind of keeping through themselves,
00:03:12:02 were really showing the love that I was used to.
00:03:14:13 And that's how I discovered the Toronto Indie art scene
00:03:17:04 where I really felt like I belong to a certain community.
00:03:20:26 What kind of like musicians were you kind of hanging around?
00:03:22:18 Well, the first person I met was [inaudible] We went to school
00:03:26:08 together and through her,
00:03:27:29 I started working with [inaudible] Management.
00:03:29:28 After that I started working with Noah Mintz,
00:03:32:05 who now is a mastering guy to Lacquer Channel
00:03:36:08 and worked with Hip-Hop artists like Skits and the DOM and K-os
00:03:43:06 back in the day before its very first sort of career.
00:03:46:15 And then I started working with [inaudible]
00:03:51:01 Peter Rainbird from UK and so on and so on.
00:03:54:04 -Yeah. -And Stars.
00:03:56:28 Now being like, do you find that,
00:03:59:19 I find that most musicians I meet
00:04:02:00 are not classically trained,
00:04:03:21 like most musicians I know don't breed music.
00:04:06:14 Well you know what it is.
00:04:08:03 I have just started teaching a couple of DJs,
00:04:11:13 because they said,
00:04:13:06 listen I really want to learn a little bit of theory
00:04:14:22 because it's really...
00:04:16:03 not knowing these things really interfere
00:04:17:14 with my production skills
00:04:19:00 and being able to quickly put tunes to go together.
00:04:21:19 And I said, okay, well let me sort of think of a way of
00:04:25:12 teaching some theory without it being that boring.
00:04:29:02 Thing that everybody fears and I think that's the big problem.
00:04:31:06 I think everybody thinks that it's hard and it's boring
00:04:33:21 and it's not interesting.
00:04:35:07 So in fact, my mission in the next couple of years
00:04:37:00 is to change that.
00:04:38:14 -Yeah. -And hopefully, more people would be interested,
00:04:41:28 because I think it does nothing else but help
00:04:43:28 you to express your ideas quicker.
00:04:47:07 You get to a situation where
00:04:49:03 you are actually around someone who is very classically trained
00:04:52:04 and you watch them like writing notes out.
00:04:54:21 It's everyone is just kind of like awestruck because,
00:04:57:10 I don't know all the guys in my bands were such [inaudible]
00:04:59:11 Well you know what it is, that it benefits to both sides.
00:05:02:25 You know I studied for many, many years
00:05:04:22 and after I graduated from UFT, I spent four years
00:05:06:27 trying to forget everything I know.
00:05:08:28 And I also know tons of guys who probably spent like
00:05:11:09 all of their high school years in their basement
00:05:14:02 learning to play guitar
00:05:15:20 and then at the end of that, they are kind of like
00:05:17:28 can't play in a band
00:05:19:27 or they have like no real grasp on
00:05:22:03 like cultural and pop music and things like that.
00:05:25:08 Well, those are the important things and most of, I think,
00:05:27:13 imagination is what's greatly needed in order to succeed.
00:05:31:06 [Music]
00:05:33:07 Stay tuned for more tales of the bizarre.