Dushan Svilokos was born and is milking rosewood (and maple sometimes too) in Yugoslavia. He likes to fool everyone that he’s a musician by profession, and he is very good at it, because some people are actually paying bucks to have him play on their records or just to listen and watch him perform, and guess what, a lot of them think he's really good with guitar. Dushan Svilokos has also appeared as programming and editing for some recordings (computers just love him and vice versa), and even as a recording engineer on a few occasions.

Life was a hard and lonely road filled with many obstacles for Dushan as he strayed from a path more than once, even in his early days of discovering unholy wonders of music creation. In his teenage years he was already accused of severe serious villainies including sexual crimes committed on innocent, defenseless guitars. Those guitars never fully recovered, and his guilt was clear to anyone who heard those terrifying screams and growls. Dushan did his time, but just when everyone was thinking he's done with all that guitar playing nonsense, strong arm of law had to intervene for second time: Dushan was jailed again for frequently playing faster and louder then legally allowed on public places. Fact that some of the licks were quite bluesy didn't help his cause a lot, because devilish tappings and wicked slurs were too obvious in his fretwork, and he was finally sentenced to play live in the most difficult conditions for next 10 years. Tough, but righteous decision, some would say.

Years have passed and Dushan appeared to play more legato and soulful, even avoiding solos when songs were asking for it. Wounds healed, but scars of his troublesome youth still remained.

Right now Dushan Svilokos lives life of a decent citizen and a productive member of society, working as a studio musician, teaching guitar and playing in a sonically acceptable rock band. But rumors are growing in numbers that he is preparing in secrecy to strike back the most viciously, with a new infectious breed of organized mind-numbing guitar-induced noise.

What Dushan likes: vegetarian food in big quantities, reading good books (in range from Terry Prachet to works on psychology and spirituality), astrology, smart, good looking women that know what they want, getting up late, spending too much time on internet, intelligent conversations, smell of sulphur and polishing his little horns, disappearing suddenly for a day or two and then appearing out of nowhere.

What Dushan does not like: people that just don't care to embrace the exquisite pain of using their brains and hearts to understand themselves and world surrounding them better for their own good and good of other living souls. His personal conviction is that all the evil comes from human unawareness…and from having poor sexual life, and eating in fast food chains, that counts too.

If you think that you need to know more than this or just think that all these words did not represent Dushan Svilokos accurately enough, keep on reading, usual old school biography is further bellow. :-)

Discography (Selected):

Trigger
2007 Ljubav (Love) (PGP-RTS)

Vervil:
1993 Vervil (self-released)
1998 U3 materine (Jugoton-Beograd)

with Lana i Aldo:
1998 Lana & Friends (PGP-RTS)

with Klinika:
2004 Klinika (City Records)

BIOGRAPHY:

My name is Dushan Svilokos, born in Belgrade, Republic of Serbia, Ex-Yugoslavia, Vojvodina. They are changing names and borders here quite often. "Dushan" was made from a word "Dusha" (soul) so in English translation it means "One with the soul", or something like that. No, I am not an Indian or something. And no, you cannot spend night in my wigwam. Keep away.

As you can see on the photo on the top right, it somehow happened that I got guitar quite early. As a kid I was interested in almost everything except music. But somehow I remember, when no one was around, I started hitting strings on an old acoustic guitar collecting dust in the corner and I ended amazed by strange and unexplainable beauty of sounds that it was making. My god. It is not quite normal behavior for a 4 year old, you know.

Didn't start to play it although, at least not seriously, until I was about 11, when parents got me into music school. I kind of liked that, but I learned only classical music there, as that was school for classical guitar training. I was actually not too much interested in rock until I was 13, and then I got into heavy music of that time, NWOBHM bends like Maiden, Priest, and some older stuff like Purple, at first. After that, I discovered guitar heroes like Satriani, Malmsteen, Halen or Vai that were very in vogue at that time. Although those were my first main influences, I have soon discovered stuff outside hard&heavy genre and become interested in a lot of different music styles (and this is nice way to describe my schizophrenic music taste :-)). So I ended listening music from Prince to Tom Petty, from Dire Straits to Slayer, From NIN to Pat Matheny. I still don't get people that are selective about music styles they like, as I think that musician should have open mind to good music of any style.

As every young guitar gun I used to play for hours, dreaming about being member in a great rock band, and making it big ;-) I have started writing lyrics and composing very early too, because I sensed music as my own vessel for expression, a way to communicate to other people and let them know how I feel thru words and music. Yes, and I wanted a lot of chicks and money, fast cars, almost forgot about that part. :-)

After playing with some local bends I ended up in my first serious band "Vervil" that lived for almost one decade in its various incarnations. I was author of music and lyrics, and the guy that was responsible for guitar pyrotechnics. We were kind of unfortunate, because playing heavy music at that time was extremely uncool for critics and most of listeners, not mentioning that there was war and economic breakdown in Yugoslavia, paired with usual flood of brainless music that comes out in such times. Yes, we were stubborn guys, and got one album self released in the early 90's, and then "official" one in fall of 1997. for "Jugoton-Belgrade". Also, Vervil played a hundreds of gigs and concerts over the country, performed at rock festivals, and had many appereances on TV stations and in Magazines.

During other half of 90's I worked with some other people too. Worth mentioning is trio "Gig Proof" that played mostly instrumental music. Gig proof recorded songs for album, with guest appearances of some of the finest Yugoslavian musicians but sadly, it was never released. You can hear some of it at media page. I have also played with band that got few albums out, “Lana i Aldo", that was pushed by biggest label here at that time, PGP-RTS. I have recorded guitars for a double album of cover songs that Lana (singer and leader of a bend), sung as duets with different Yugoslavian folk and pop "stars", and I have also took part in a promotion of album including live appearances. Just usual case of right man on a wrong place in a wrong time. :-)

All this was kind of funny in a twisted way, I was playing in a guitar virtuoso style in a country where music critics and most of the rock music listeners hated heavier music, or were simply uninterested at the time, and on the other hand, people that were in need of such a guitarist were mostly bands and singers that were performing popular music that was cheap, twisted mixture of dance, middle-eastern folk, and rock music, and that was something I really wanted to avoid at all costs, for the sake of my own sanity. As one music journalist said in his review of one album I recorded guitars for at that time: "Dushan is wasting his time playing this". And I was, too often.

During that time I was also recording some instrumental tracks on my portastudio, giving guitar lessons, and working as a studio musician, leaving my trails and footsteps on other people's records here and there. I also got interested in process of recording, and eventually even ended working as a part time recording engineer, and further studying art of recording and producing. My musical tastes went full circle as I got into Jazz, and even Electronica in 90's and ended listening to a lot of heavy music again in last few years. Just can't help it. :-)

Beginning of new millennium caught me working on a new album with my own band Trigger, that took almost 4 years of work in part because after spending a lot of time in studio first recordings were scrapped as we have disliked results and more importantly lead singer left the band. At the same time I also worked with heavy/electro inclined band "Klinika" that had record out here on "City Records" label. I was originally supposed to play guitars for an album in studio and help with production and programming, but I liked the guys, and as it was a big budget thing (at least for a rock bend in Yugoslavia/Serbia), I decided to became permanent member and see what happens. We were playing dates with legendary rock veterans "Riblja Corba" as support band on their tour that culminated in playing with them in front of 40.000 people in city of Belgrade. That was nice. However because of various reasons, not much having to do with music, Klinika soon ceased to exist.

After that I was back working on "Trigger" album. CD "Ljubav" (Love) has been released in December 2007 by PGP -RTS label for domestic market and first video for song "Jedan dan" also went into rotation. Our CD got us "Discovery of the year" award at annual Music TV Metropolis Awards for 2007 and received great, very positive reviews. "Jedan dan" has topped rock/metal music charts in our country and we are continuing promotion of our music and album, by playing live and finishing work on next video. English version of album should be finished later during the year, and hopefully end up being released abroad.

I am also working on some instrumental songs, hoping to have a full instrumental album in near future, just for the sake of having it :-). I am still milking rosewood as a hired gun in studio for some local pop/folk singers too; it pays my rent, so I guess I'll keep doing that, no harm. Btw my guitar of choice is Gary Kramer, great guitars, a new brand started by famous Gary Kramer, that has started Kramer Guitars in 80's and now has new company under his own name. Yup, I am proud endorsee of those. These are built by great luthier Leo Scala, formerly of Scala Guitars.

So that is all as far as biography is concerned, at least for now. :-) Cheers!