VISIT THE NEW UZ JSME DOMA WEBSITE: www.uzjsmedoma.com

"Over the course of its existence, Uz Jsme Doma has received all kinds of labels for the music that it plays: intellectual punk, Slavic tone provocation, African music, orchestral punk, funky punk, ska, inspiration by Uriah Heep, Gregorian chorus, melodic avant garde and plenty of others. The group has continually resisted being placed into any of these categories, making use of an ever more diverse and expanding range of mediums, which in their use generate a compact, unified, and unmistakable effect.... They dedicate all their energy and fantasy towards the goal of deserving that most simple of labels: good and meaningful music."

from the UJD pop-up book
The Uz Jsme Doma pop-up book is a collaboration between UJD lead Miroslav Wanek and the painter Martin Velisek who, although he doesn't contribute musically, is nonetheless an integral part of the band.
Since its founding in Northern Bohemia (present-day Czech Republic) in 1985, Uz Jsme Doma (oosh-smeh-doe-ma, Czech for "we're home!") has played 1,000+ shows worldwide and released four incredible full-length CD exercises in sonic profusion and a handful of shorter works, including singles, a soundtrack for a documentary about their resident artist Martin Velisek, and appearances on numerous compilations. Poet Miroslav Wanek, the band's chief conspirator, was not part of the original line-up; he came on board in 1986.
Rather than write too much about the band, I choose to present some of their words and images, in accordance with Wanek's own description of UJD: "It's like three parts: music, pictures and lyrics." You'll have to fill in the remaining third yourself by seeing them live. To the right, lyrics from Uprostred Slov (In the Middle of Words), the first UJD album (1991).

In the Middle of Words

Fear not no fear for the firsts will be gone
I believe yes I do that no seconds will come
The thirds oh the thirds won't even be born
The fourths lie into their graves forlorn

Herd Oh Herd Oh! - what have they taken from you
Herd Oh Herd Oh! - where is your pride of youth

Herd Oh Herd Oh! - instead of a mind you're stuf-
- fed - fed - don't you think you've had enough


Nemilovany Svet, 1992
(Unloved World)

 Tradicni Kocka

Nechat vykynout varecku
Napsat celou vetu za tecku
Rychle skrtat ohen o sirku
Chytat rybarskej prut v jeszirku
Rozvest neprovdanou nevestu
Prejit cerny kocce pres cestu

Padlo
Ma dva konce - ma na vyber
Kterym pojde s pravdou
Ven s pravdou
A ktery pod vodu lzi ponori

 Traditional Cat

Set the wooden spoon to ferment
Type the sentence from its end
Strike the fire on the matchbox front
Catch the fishing rod in the pond
Divorce unmarried would-be bride
Cross the black cat's winding path

Paddle
Has two ends - there is a choice
Which end will be naked
Be naked
And which end dips into the lies

Corrosion ( I )

 What happens when it's quiet
 When the quiet starts to lose itself
 In the cracks
 In the confusion
 In the footprints in the mud

 What happens when it's cold
 When the cold can't be felt anymore
 In the fingers
 In the words
 In the emptiness of a net

 What happens when there's confusion
 And what if it's already weakening...

 Everything changes to humiliation
 In the light of everyday corrosion


Hollywood, 1993

Koroze (I)

Co se deje kdyz je ticho
Kdyz se zacne ztracet
Mezi skviry
Mezi zmatek
Mezi stopy v blate

Co se deje kdyz je zima
Kdyz uz neni citit
Mezi prsty
Mezi slovy
Mezi prazdnem v siti

Co se deje kdyz je zmatek
a co kdyz uz slabne...

Vsechno zmeni v pokoreni
Kazdodenni koroze
Blind Man's Cane

From shore to shore
like a thin white cane
little boats are searching
for that just right place

Only the ocean
remains alone!
Only the ocean
remains alone!
              (by the shore ...)

 Bila Hul

Od brehu ke brehu
jak tenka bila hul
lod'ky si hledaji
spravny kout

Jen ocean
zustane sam !
Jen ocean
zustane sam !
        (u brehu ...)


Pohadky ze Zapotrebi, 1995
(Fairytales from Needland)
If you want to learn more about Uz Jsme Doma, dig the crazy sites below.

You can find their CDs in many record stores, or try writing to Skoda Records, the visionaries who have brought UJD to North American shores: skodarec@bellatlantic.net

You can also try emailing the band. If they're not too busy touring I'm sure they'll write back: http://www.rock-jazz.cz/

"Ears" is released || East Timor Benefit CD || Tour 2000 dates

L-I-N-K-S

"...Simple architecture for childrens' games." An interview with UJD lead man Miroslav Wanek from their '97 US Tour yields philosophical gems and a denial of the oft-cited influence of Frank Zappa:
http://www.furious.com/perfect/uzjsmedoma.html

All the words. In Czech and English, side by side.
http://www.mlp.cz/cgi/ascii/space/ujd/texty.htm

From CMJ Music Reports. The author hits UJD's appeal/dilemma on the head, but I don't agree with his/her assertion that you can't dance to it. You can, but expect to be sore the next morning:
http://www.hear.com/hollow/feature/uz.html

Nemilovany Svet (Unloved World) album review:
http://www.zverina.com/alternatune/home.html#uz

Uz Jsme Homepage! Doma means home, list means page (it also means leaf, opening up many poetic possibilities). List Doma! Page home! Hurray! This one comes complete with .wav files. Now you can hear what all the fuss is about:
http://www.mlp.cz/space/ujd/homepage.htm

Get the goods. You can get Hollywood at amazon.com, but for everything else (and it's all worth having) you'll have to contact Patrick O'Donnell, the man who's put his ass on the line to bring UJD  to the world.

Tour dates and press releases - check this page for the latest concert dates and news:
http://www.gogoweb.com/uzjsmedoma/

European booking and concert (koncerty) information (in Czech):
http://www.rock-jazz.cz/

Exercising an ironic will. Band picture from Pohadky ze Zapotrebi (Fairytales from Needland) with Martin Velisek as animal carcass in foreground. Velisek is responsible for the look of UJD and the design of their CDs, works of art in themselves.

The lyrics and images on this page are the property of Uz Jsme Doma.