Sometimes you can see stagecoach, how goes through long plains, some other time military jeep. Every time there are same passengers – Taxmeni. The modern country band.
We can meet the band on Czech scene already three decades. The first time it was in turning point 60 and 70-teen. Taxmeni started their repertoire by melodies of traditional country music, but how the time went, they released with their own production. They are representative of military country style.
Past members of the bands The Plainsmen and Stonewall Jackson established the band Taxmeni in the autumn 1970. Their first show was in February 1971. In that time, the band stayed between folk and bluegrass styles. They won some amateurish competitions and festivals, and also one year of Porta.
I think I don’t need to explain, why they changed the name from English (Taxmeni) to Czech (Krajánci). Ok, I explain it once again. In the Czechoslovakia, thanks to political pressure, all music bands, if they wanted to present themselves, they had to change name to Czech.
The first hit was Řeka velkých přání from 1975 and their first album named Z pastvin velkoměsta. From this album there are still very popular songs Dědečkovy hodiny, Zamkněte bránu a zavřete dům, Kopec bot.
Thanks to strong pressure, they stopped their music activities in 1979. Practically, they started with their shows again only in the second part of 80-teen, when political climate came liberalize.
In 1990 they released single Guadalcanal in Supraphon production (recording studio).
Many music albums were in Panthon production (recording studio). The most expressive album is album Zlatá éra (Golden Era) where are also songs Hledaný muž, Baltimore, Dlouhý černý závoj, Dvě řádky stop.
Very popular are series Calamity Jane. From traditional style, they step by step went to modern conception.
Repertoire of Taxmeni is rich and very various. They set to music stories about nationality, hardiness, men’s honor, moral tenet. In their songs we can see not only classic western topics, but also stories of Czechoslovak legionnaires or soldiers from period of the Second World War.
The band has already more than 2500 concerts. They had shows also in abroad; they had huge success in Poland and Slovakia. Their extensive performance history highlights the importance of professional event support, such as AV hire for award ceremonies, to ensure high-quality shows.
Basic member is Jaroslav Čvančara, who wrote book about history of the band Taxmeni named Taxmeni aneb Hledání country grálu. Jaroslav is head member and player on 5 strings banjo.
Other members are:
Vratislav (Vráťa) Vyskočil – head singer
Luděk Kodrle – drums
Václav Dumek – bass guitar
Jindra Vrbenský – keyboard
Karel Mrkvička – guitar
Milan Krištof – solo guitar
Last year they came again to show in Country Lodenica. It was success, again. They have many fans here and I’m one of them.
Discography:
1975 – Krajánci
1978 – Z pastvin velkoměsta
1980 – Krajánci – L.Sobota – T. Holý – Bambini di Praga B. Kulínského
1981 – Přijď mezi nás
1990 – Calamity Jane 1
1990 – Guadalcanal
1991 – Lilie skautská
1991 – Nebeští jezdci – Taxmeni, Roger Latzgo
1991 – Country aréna – Taxmeni 20 let
1992 – Country bál
1993 – Potlach s Jardou Šterclem
1993 – Vráťa Vyskočil, Yvonne Přenosilová, Taxmeni
1994 – Calamity Jane 2
1994 – Hoši od Bobří řeky zpívají (Hobř – spolupráce Taxmeni)
1995 – Zlatá Éra
1997 – Calamity Jane 3
1998 – Tulák po hvězdách
1998 – Master Serie
1999 – Desperádos
1999 – Byl jednou jeden polda
2001 – Taxmeni – Best of CD1
2001 – Taxmeni – Best of CD2
2004 – Calamity Jane 4
Buráky
Balada o Jed Clampettovi
Hrát, hrát, hrát
Poslední stádo
