Escdaily.com recently spoke with Jurgis from Lithuanian band InCulto about the bands Eurovision journey so far.

InCulto will be opening Semifinal two this May with their entry “Eastern European Funk”. We spoke with lead singer and guitarist Jurgis about the band InCulto and their 2010 Eurovision endeavour.

Escdaily.com: Hello and thanks for accepting our invitation for the interview! Can you tell us a few things about the group InCulto? Where did the name come from?
Jurgis: InCulto in Spanish means “uncultured” or “culturally uneducated, unrefined”. I think that summarizes the character and spirit of our music.
About the band itself – we’re a bunch of down-to-earth guys which have a few fetishes, interesting sexual preferences and hobbies but apart from that I’d say we’re pretty normal We formed in 2003, released two albums, won a number of music awards etc. but you possibly know that and it could be boring to repeat it. We’re basically wonderful

Escdaily.com: Which memory from the daily life of the band will you never forget?
Jurgis: I think it would be summer of 2003, or maybe 2004, when the band started to do very well. And I remember we all ended up on the roof of a car that someone else was driving. We were all drunk and I remember thinking “it can’t get any more rock’n'roll than this”.

Escdaily.com: During the past few years (2004-2005-2006), InCulto won and was nominated
for a various of music awards. How do you feel about that?
Jurgis: It’s always good to be appreciated, But mostly, I think, you need to appreciate yourself and be frank and honest about what you’re doing. You need to be in tune with what you want to do with your music. And you shouldn’t do anything for any other motive than making it to your liking and liking of the people around you. If you fall off that boat or start worrying about awards you’re destined to fail.

Escdaily.com: How do you feel about representing Lithuania in the Eurovision Song
Contest 2010?
Jurgis: I’m very excited and we’re very happy that we’ve got so many people who are enthusiastic about the song and about this undertaking. Our whole undermining at the moment seems like a national priority. And the organization of people working for us now seems like a global scale media company. So I’m very happy to be working with people who are professional about what they’re doing. It’s very inspiring.
And I’m just there to have fun. I’m taking a piss and everyone else is working very seriously. I think it’s great

Escdaily.com: Have you started yet the preperations for Oslo? Can you reveal any secrets of your stage performance?
Jurgis: I don’t think stage performance is the most important thing for us. More important is that we’re actually the band which is travelling with instruments everywhere. We actually intend to have a much larger party off stage than we do on stage. So if you have a fortune of meeting us in Oslo for a drink or something else, I really would recommend not missing this opportunity

Escdaily.com: Can you tell us a few things about your song?
Jurgis: Eastern European Funk came in the moment of epiphany. I might have been on the toilet or something like that. But it came very quickly and we sat down in the studio – the song materialised in something like a week. The we found out that Lithuania was not intending to take part in the contest, so we put the song away. And then we heard that Lithuania was going to participate, so we took it out. And then we heard that Lithuania was not intending… You get the idea. It went back and forth many times.
When it comes to lyricist, composer – I’d like to think of myself as an intellectual author of the song. But we work as a collective and the music definitely has a drop of blood and sweat of each and every person in the band.

Escdaily.com: Are you going to promote the Lithuanian entry in other countries?
Jurgis: Of course, and there’s quite a long list. So you’re very lucky if you live in Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, Norway, Romania, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, U.K. And Ireland, of course, because that’s where my wife (Erica Jennings, singer of Skamp, who took part in Eurovision 2001 – ed. note) is from.

Escdaily.com: Have you heard any other songs of the Eurovision 2010? Which
entry(ies) are your favorite(s) so far?
Jurgis: I haven’t heard any of the songs unfortunately, we’ve been very busy. I know there are many ballads and I’m happy about that. Actually, I wouldn’t put us in the same category with the ballads. Because we are fun.

Escdaily.com: Out of the Eurovision, what is the source of your inspiration as an artist?
Jurgis: Real life. The everyday life of human beings. I think art has to express the feelings and urge and it has to be something that inspires solidarity and empathy. So I’m very happy – because we had tough times lately. Latest year-and-a-half have been bad for all of us in the band for economic reasons, just like for many people in Lithuania. So for us to find a source of inspiration that translated into national victory and hopefully can translate into something larger – it’s truly inspiring. I remember after winning the National ESC selection I said to the guys – OK, this is how good it can get but don’t forget how bad it can be, as well. We need to keep our feet on the ground.
In terms of musical artists that inspire me – plenty of them. Beny More from Cuba, Bob Marley, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan – the list is too long.

Escdaily.com: What are the plans of the band after the Eurovision? Any cd release?
Jurgis: We have a very good album coming up. We’re looking forward to travelling a lot. And I think we’ll put the last touches to our album during our trips. We really want to suck in as much cultural influences in different countries, as possible. So we travel with our own camera crew and mobile studio. And because we’re into playing music in different locations with different people under different circumstances, if any of the readers are at the right place in the right time, they may find themselves playing on the album as well. We’re into socialising a lot. Give us a good offer and we’ll come to your house and play in your bathroom

Escdaily.com: Finally, do you have any message to the eurovision fans & the readers of the escdaily.com?
Jurgis:
Enjoy yourself, stay in tune with what’s important in your life and have fun. As Bobby McFerrin said – don’t worry, be happy. And share the moment with InCulto in May!
Thanks a lot!
Jurgis
InCulto sends an exclusive message to Escdaily.com

InCulto at Eurovision in Concert