Who’s in the band and what are your roles?
Eliza Stark — lead vocals, upright bass
Dan Fedorov — guitar, backing vocals
Zheka Shcherbakov — drums

What’s your ‘origin story’?
When Dan and I moved to Montenegro, we had to leave all our previous projects behind because of the relocation. At that point, we decided it was worth trying to create something together.
We didn’t find Zheka right away, but when we finally met, it immediately felt right — we understood that we needed each other.

Which bands / artists are your biggest influences?
Our main influences are Batmobile, Reverend Horton Heat, Link Wray, and The Quakes.

Do you adapt your sound between shows/gigs?
We try to keep our sound easily recognisable. Sometimes we have to play a bit softer than I’d like, because we often perform in restaurants where you can’t be too loud! I call it soft rockabilly.

How would you describe your sound?
That’s a difficult question. We just play rock’n’roll the best way we can .

What’s your favourite song to play live and why?
Honestly, I enjoy playing every song. For me it’s always a process. Each song comes out differently every time, so I can’t really pick just one .

What’s been the highlight of your music career so far?
It’s hard to choose just one highlight, because for me every moment on stage feels important. But one of the strongest memories I have is from a show in Kladovo. There was a little boy, maybe five years old, standing right in front of me for both sets. He didn’t take his eyes off
me the whole time. After the concert, someone timidly touched my elbow. I turned around and saw a girl, around ten, who shyly asked if I could take a photo with her brother — he really wanted to, but he was too shy to ask himself. And it was him. When I put my arm around him, he just froze. I still remember that moment very clearly. I hope he becomes a musician one day — or at least grows up loving good music.

Have you faced any difficulties or setbacks in your music career so far?
Yes. Travelling is difficult for me because of visa issues. I’m often not able to go where my listeners are waiting for me and play my music for them. Because of that, I’m currently forced to play soft rockabilly here in Montenegro.

What’s coming up in the future for you?
We want to make as much music as possible and play as many shows as we can. Life is too short to be lazy. I wish people could spend more time on love and good music — and have the opportunity
to do so.

Nick Constantine

Eliza Stark + the Dappers’ new covers album will be released on April 13th on all digital platforms, vinyl and CD!