Val

Val grew up in Sofia, Bulgaria, in the midst of what was known at that time as "socialism". All it was, was bunch of rednecks running perfectly good country into the ground, while social experimenting how a vibrant society and culture can be sent to hell.

So, Val neglected his valedictorian status, didn't go to university as everyone around wanted him to, and played music, just to piss everybody off. And to voice his disdain for the mess around him.

So, he was a founding member of Orion, a prog rock band that sounds rather innocently chaotic these days, but experimented with incorporating Bulgarian folk melodies and beats with rock. It was his schooling in the art of rock banding and music crafting.

So, sick of it all, he left BG in 1990, mingled in Germany for a year, and settled in Seattle in 1991. Couple of projects and few years later, taking care of family and his then young daughters, Val joined Kultur Shock (2000), with the assignment to "plug all the holes in the sound". He steadily learned how to play folk guitar lines and accompaniment, sang with Gino left and right, even performed some ill fated accordion parts (mind you, Val does not know how to play accordion!), did a bit of songwriting and indulged his natural aptitude for production at recording time, while quickly discovering that he can manage band's biz in between.

He has been a part of all the Kultur Shock's albums except "Live in America" (1999), and every show and tour of the band since September 2000. As of October 2008, he is the only guitarist of the band.

Val enjoys playing loud (with no earplugs so he can "feel it"), dancing with a goofy grin on his face while performing and for no reason whatsoever when possible, and bitching about dishonest music. When off stage, he runs a venue named "Solo" which people call a "bar", but it is actually a bizarre place to hang out, have real food, drink good drinks, and meet people that end up being your friends. Smart and artsy riff- raff.

Discography:
1990 Orion, BG5, Balkanton, Bulgaria
1989- 1990 Orion and Milena Slavova including the hits "Ne'am nervi", "Otgore", "Nishtoto", Balkanton, Bulgaria
1993 Dana Osborn Band, Seattle
2002 Kultur Shock, Fucc the INS, KoolArrow Records
2004 Kultur Shock, Kultura- Diktatura, KoolArrow Records
2006 Kultur Shock, We Came to Take your Jobs Away, KoolArrow Records
2007-2008 Kultur Shock, Live in Europe (recorded on location in Sofia, Bulgaria), Kultur Shock Records
2009 Kultur Shock, Integration, Kultur Shock Records

Shows:
Too many to list- every Kultur Shock show since September 2000, including Bumbershoot, Szeget, Exit, Esperanza, Pireneus Sur, Creation of Peace, Sayan Ring, Stuffstock, Earth Festival, Senglar Rock and many other festivals and god knows how many club and open air shows from Seattle to Istanbul and from Copenhagen to Rome.

Equipment:
Val plays Gibson Les Paul- Classic and Studio, rarely his Fender SSH Stratocaster, loves Soldano amplifiers (Lucky 13 and SLO), and swears over DR strings.

www.kulturshock.com
www.myspace.com/kulturshock
www.myspace.com/valume_bg