THE LAST STEP

Use headphones and listen to it loudly! A TRIBUTE TO THE TIME OF GREAT EXPECTATIONS Some people might object the absence of ladies' faces in the tribute devoted to the time of the Last Step. Well ... finally, it'd been left to them to decide if they are to reveal their lifestyle of 40-50 years ago to their children (and grandchildren) . But, you can rely upon the rumors about being plenty of beauties in and around the company of the Last Step all along. If you go through the e-magazine you will learn a lot about one peculiar part of the world that stretches along Romanian-Serbian border. It may, if not anything else, gain your interest in geography.  A click on the image above the text (usually) enables you to listen to a beautiful (original) song in English (or, else, with English translation). For those enthusiastic about the Last Step a click on the SONGS article gives you a chance to directly access one of your favorite tunes. Some of the posts are acco...

Vestice / The Witch Ledeni kod / Icy Code Nebo u vodi / Sky in the Water Jatagan / A Cutlass - Live Dan / The Day Slowly Dancing / Usporena igra! Hibiskus / Hibuscus Zaboravi / Forget - Live Zekan / The Rabbit Dirt Minds / Gresne misli Poslednji stepenik / The Last Step

The Witch The Beginning It is possible to trace back the birth of Poslednji stepnik (The Last Step) into mid seventies of the 20 th century. The event took place at a scout camp in Croatia, on the top of the hill called “The Old Man.” The hill is situated close to the settlement of Kostajnica overlooking its Bosnian counterpart on the other side of the Una river. At the time, both belonged to the beautiful country of Yugoslavia. There, sitting around a bonfire and accompanied with a guitar, the two youngsters, Bikadi Zoltan (from here on: Mr. Bicady) and Radulovic Dragan (further on: D.R.Phantom) came to the point that they share the affection about music, in fact, rock and roll music. Having got back home, they animated some of their friends about a fresh born idea. The idea was warmly welcomed. A friend of theirs, Mr. Vranes Branislav, popped up with the expression "Poslednji stepenik" (The Last Step) as a brand new name for a brand new music band of Bela Crkv...

Icy Code Army While D.R.Phantom was struggling as an anti-aircraft  platoon commander in Yugoslav People's Army, his friends in Bela Crkva regrouped and continued entertaining the public of Bela Crkva. Dancing parties took place in the famous garden of Labor University during the summer of 1977. The guitar was taken over by Mr. Ranc Egon, while the singing post was assigned to Mr. Vojnovic Dragan, with whom D.R.Phantom, accompanied with late Ranc Tibor, a close relative of Mr. Ranc Egon, began his journey through the world of music. Mr. Vojnovic, apart from being an excellent singer, helped Mr. Bicady a lot by playing the electric piano. The band enjoyed a considerable local popularity. Yet, the story ended with the first drops of autumn rains. As soon as the summer season came to an end, the band dissolved destined to play never again.           _________________________________________________     ...

Sky in the Water Back to Reality Someday in the April of 1979 D.R.Phantom was released from Yugoslav People's Army to step again into the elusive world of freedom. It would be a great injustice to say he didn't have anything to do with music while he was cut off from "the free world" (for about 14 months). From time to time, he joined the band that entertained army officers and their ladies at the Army Club. It's funny, but those days playing songs from the West was allowed but only if music is concerning. I mean, i f a song which musicians were in favor of playing was originated in one of the Western countries, music was listened wholeheartedly, but singing in English - strictly forbidden! In a word, D.R.Phantom came back to Bela Crkva full of plans for the future. But, life is not a smooth sailing. Having consulted Mr. Bicady and Stanojlovic, with great sadness, D.R. Phantom realized numerous things had changed in his absence. The mentioned gentlem...

A Cutlass The New Beginning The first D.R.Phantom's scribblings were supervised and turned into something meaningful (we call it - written language) by his first teacher Mrs. Micin Milica. It was another example of the Pickwickian nature of life that her grandson Mr. Grncarski Miroslav (for Mrs. Micin Milica's daughter assumed husband's surname after getting married) was a young bass guitar player (from here on Mr. Grncarsky). So, by a stroke of chance, D.R.Phantom and Mr. Grncarsky ran into each other, and, then, came something so familiar to any musician - after heavy drinking they found out being born to play music together. Mr. Grncarsky announced his warm relationships with one young but very gifted guitar player Mr. Bihler Jovica. Quickly, the meeting between D.R.Phantom and Mr. Bihler was arranged. The meeting was decisive as for the future of "The Last Step." Namely, Mr. Bihler is made of no flesh and bones but of his ego and nothing else (so c...

The Day At the Cross Well ... Mr. Grncarsky had a girlfriend and the girlfriend was from Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Moreover, Mr. Grncarsky is a well bred and responsible person. Thus, he realized the time has come to pay back what he owns to his country. So, in 1980, he was another one who joined Yugoslav People's Army. Having completed the service, he left Bela Crkva for Belgrade to stay close to Ljilja (his girlfriend)  and complete his college . Eventually, Ljilja became his wife and mother of their three children . Those days (today is not much better), only freaks could  hope to meet their ends by playing R'N'R. Yet, Mr. Grncarsky wasn't a freak whatsoever. So, the band lost bass guitar player. After being in love with one nice girl since the time immemorial, Mr. Ristic suddenly declared the change of the romantic course of his life. It had something to do with the world of matrimonial business. Namely, he married the girl nobody had ever heard of (du...

Slowly Dancing CHICHIBICHY Luckily, the stool at the drum-set hadn't left vacant for long. In a short while, it was warmed by quite a character better known to the public as CHICHIBICHY. Chichibichy is a disguise name of Mr. Jovicic Radisa or, in a more globalist fashion, Jovicich Radisha. He's adopted some properties of a chameleon. In some songs (as "Dirt Minds") he assumed the name form of "Jovanovic R." Public, however, should be aware that it deals with the very same person. Among the others, Chichibichy suffers two serious 'drawbacks'. Firstly, his playing was a clockwork. No person can be found on Earth to account on him being a cause for the band to play any song again during recordings. The second was that, in spite of his supreme efforts to memorize the order of songs during a concert, refreshing of his memory was inevitable. That's why D.R.Phantom was always on alert of reminding him what song is going to be played next. It ...

Hibiscus Here They Come How did Mr. Stanojlovic rejoin "The Last Step" remains obscure and seems to stay so for a prolonged period of time. It was a quantum leap as for improving the quality of the band's playing. With Mr. Stanojlovic came all what was needed and being waited for for so long. Then again, a hard work during rehearsals took place in the famous building of the old fire department. Mr. Stanojlovic and Chichibichy made a powerful music machine, which brings freedom to the others to play in more relaxed a manner. Additionally, D.R.Phantom decided to play only for the sake of composing new songs and during rehearsals. On the stage, he kept himself in charge of singing and communication with the audience. Of course, he was still in charge of reminding Chichibichy about which song comes first in the queue to be played out. Sometimes, they did so well discouraging other bands to be a part of the program. On one of such occasions, local Army Club invit...

Forget It All Mr. Zlatar This is the right place to mention one name that played so important role in the course of "The Last Step." This post is about person who is not a musician. His name is Mr. Zlatar Milan. His manner is quite different from the musicians of the band. He always acts in a business like fashion. Yet, he likes music. More precisely: music and dancing.  That's why he stays close to POP music, while considering the fans of R'N'R as some kind of eccentrics. E ven more than stated. Mr. Zlatar's wife Snezana attended a classic music school. As a young lady she used to play the piano with his brother who was eventually to become a professional musician. So, it was a stroke of chance that makes Mr. Milan Zlatar acting like a professional musician. Yes, it's very true, he enjoyed some pieces at New York's Metropolitan Opera, but, more than anything else, he was delighted of singing with Janika Balaz's string orchestra in the...

The Rabbit Life Goes On What was the fate of The Last Step's last recordings from Belgrade? At that time (mid 80s of 20th century), discography in Serbia  was owned and controlled mostly by the state. People who worked there (many of them chosen not for personal qualities but by means of nepotism) were prone to bribery and corruption. But the crew of The Last Step were virgin souls. Had they even had resources, they would never have got to the point to bribe anyone in order to gain popularity. Ex-bass guitar player of the Last Step Mr. Grncarsky took advantage of standard procedures to offer audio material to the relevant individuals (Mr. Pilipenko and Mandic) at RTB (Radio and Television of Belgrade). At the beginning, it was a deaf room. Finally, Mr. Mandic Oliver, who, those days, was one on the top pop-stars of former Yugoslavia, suggested a pilot single for the sake of preparing the public for an album. Unfortunately, it was too late. In the meantime, Mr. Bihler ...

Dirt Minds Late 60s of 20th Century The bend didn't ride on the crest of the wave of late sixties, but was shaken thoroughly with the power of its ideas. Vietnam war was at its peak, so the slogans like GIVE PACE A CHANCE, under the familiar symbol of PEACE, fell on the fertile soil. R'N'R music was of the essence of spreading the idea. No doubt, the symbol of the movement was Mr. John Lennon, whose sincerity and courage were unprecedented. As much as he was sincere in his undertakings he was also as much naïve (and so, even more, were the fellows involved in the romantic story of The Last Step.). As a result, he paid the ultimate price for trying to make his dreams (about a better world) come true. His assassination is a landmark in human history. It was a hard proof that bare, brutal force, applied by few, dexterous but perfidious and ruthless elite groups, is what shapes the future of humanity. They see nothing but their personal interest so being a symbol of gr...

Photo Album Legacy The songs of this blog serve as a tangible document that the shores of Bela Crkva were also splashed by the waves of late sixties. The wave washed back long time ago, yet it is still possible to recognize the message engraved in the sand. However, instead of expressions like, MAKE LOVE NOT WAR, etc., what remains legible are the words saying that this world could be saved only by REASON & TOLERANCE. What about LOVE? Some of those who actuated this story think it's better to save the word for your wife or hubby, children or some friends; or, for a rainy day; or, for a glass of wine; or, for a cup of hibiscus tea with a croissant. At the end of the day it doesn't matter whatever. This too shall pass.   _________________________________________________   A Doubt I’m with you but I know,  W here the frontiers of misery are, Where vacant eyes and cycle reside, Where people live their filthy lives. ***  Streets got d...