PLAYOFF BIOGRAPHY

Rock-band PLAYOFF was born in Odessa, Ukraine, on the 16th of March 2002. Our first rehearsal took place in Odessa's communal flat that very day. 'Messenger' was the first name the band was given (of the same name as our song). Frankly speaking, 'Messenger' had much more rehearsals than concerts. Though, there were several gigs as 'Messenger' in the spring of 2002: on the Roman-German Faculty's day of Odessa's National University and a bit later - on the Law Faculty's day of Odessa's National Marine University.

The second name that we tried revealed unpredictable mood changes of the band members - 'Moody'. Later, when we were asked questions about the style of music that we play, we replied, 'We play Moody Rock'. But the name 'Moody' was really moody and we decided to change it again. The third and the final name of the band is 'PLAYOFF'. PLAYOFF is the ultimate stage of a competition, where each game can be the last for both teams. You either win or lose. No draw is possible. PLAYOFF is also a healthy lifestyle, a positive energy, a childish optimism. PLAYOFF is the ability to make fun of one's self, to smile straight in the face of any problem and to overcome any difficulties in life.

The real concert life started on the 1st of May 2004 when 'Moody', fully manned (we've found a drummer in the beginning of the same year), played the first club gig in Odessa art-cafe 'Pobeda' ('Victory' in Russian). Then, also in May, Moody performed in Ilyichevsk and a bit later in Lugansk.

In the summer there was a short pause, after which we resumed our gigs. On September, 10 PLAYOFF rock-band played their debut concert in Odessa art-cafe 'Kontrabas'. It is interesting that precisely 100 tickets were sold to this concert.

The next pause, this time 3 months long, was due to the change of personnel. In December, 2004 we invited two new musicians - on lead guitar and drums. Instantly the band breathed a gulp of fresh air and regained its energy. At this very time the new era started for PLAYOFF. It means that we started to rehearse more and compose more songs. The old songs were rearranged and the team spirit began to grow. As a consequence, our concert life became really busy. Since December, 18, 2004 PLAYOFF plays one gig after another (see GIGS page). And at this very time we decided to leave everything behind and start a professional musical career.

On the 10th of May, 2005 PLAYOFF rock-team arrived in Nikolayev, PAN SOUND studio, to start recording our first album, which would be named 'Eternal Spring' shortly afterwards. The record was finished in the summer of the same year, however its release had to be postponed. The main reason for that was another substitution in the staff. This time we had to replace the bassist, and later on, the drummer left the band as well:

This time the break was long and painful. The band didn't perform and rehearse for more than six months - from February till September 2006. However, new songs kept appearing, and we kept believing: During this time we were searching for the new musicians and simultaneously seeking the opportunity of producing the first album. And bingo! We found both! To be specific, at first we produced the album. To be even more specific, it was produced by 'Moon Records', a Ukrainian recording label. The debut PLAYOFF album called 'Eternal Spring', comprising 8 tracks, was published in 1 thousand copies and our music found its place on the shelves of the Ukrainian music shops on June, 10, 2006.

In autumn of 2006 the group went on Ukrainian tour supporting the release of the album. The 'Eternal Spring' presentation concerts were played in Donetsk, Lugansk, Odessa, Kiev, Lutsk and Khmelnitskiy. Besides these, the same fall PLAYOFF performed at 3 rock-festivals in Ukraine, played supporting acts with the German band 'Anajo' and Russian 'Gorky Park'. The third year in a row PLAYOFF was invited as the 'Official Entertainer' on the Christmas Party of the London School of English in Odessa on 17th December: the end of that year was very delighting and promising - for the first time in our lives we celebrated New Year 2007 on stage!

To be continued: