Picnic (RUS)

Despite the fact that Picnic hail from St. Pete, the band have little in common with what is commonly referred to as "the Russian rock" (which is known to hail from Saint Petersburg as well). A fanciful blend of the chamber-like art rock, new wave and goth - these are the terms the critics usually use to describe the genre that has been practiced by the band for almost 30 years now. The musicians, though, staunchly defy any descriptions and count such legends as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd as their biggest influences.

Edmund Shklyarski's lyrics are, however, full of mystery and feature characters quite typical of the Gothic novels of the 18th and 19th centuries, not to speak of the infernal jazz and otherworldly reality which the band's sound features even more than there is in Stephen King's books and Joy Division's songs combined.

On February 26, B1 MAXIMUM will see Picnic perform some new material besides their signature show.