Rehearsal
צילום: ששון תירם
Seeking to cause mayhem
An interview with Kobi Oz, star of Teapacks, Israel’s Eurovision entry
Just before Teapacks left for the Eurovision in Helsinki, Kobi Oz seemed pleased. Known as a perfectionist, he had spent the final few days before the flight tending to a myriad of last-minute details. But an occasional self-satisfied sigh gives him away.
“I’ve prepared my Shabbat clothes,” he reports. “We’re excited about meeting the world.”
He appears nonchalant about the Eurovision itself – where Teapacks will be singing “Push the Button”. Instead, he’s more concerned about the SMS-voting method.
“We don’t know what will happen at the Eurovision, but the SMSs are worrisome,” he admits. “There’s a quarter of an hour to key in the votes, and go figure who has a lobby and which Eastern European country is going to be voting for its neighbor?”
He abruptly interrupts his monologue to reassure himself. “Of course the performance will be totally amazing. We’re talking about Israeli anarchy!”
Seeking mayhem
An interview with Kobi Oz can easily get out of hand. If your recording device conks out, your listening, interpreting and typing skills had better be synchronized with the fast-talking singer.
After long weeks of intensive rehearsals, Oz is clearly at the top of his game. Since the pre-Eurovision competition in March, the Teapacks have been focusing on polishing their performance.
“We changed more than a few things, and we know where we are on the stage at any given moment. But it doesn’t look any more professional now. The idea is to cause mayhem,” he elaborates. “We don’t want to grovel.”
But there’s more to life than the Eurovision. Teapacks have recently released an additional two songs - both of which are popular MySpace downloads – and are looking toward the future.
“We’ve finished working on a demo of songs in English and French, and since recording companies in England have shown interest, we’re planning meetings there in the upcoming weeks,” he relates as he manipulates the conversation.
Would you say that the uproar in the British press about your song has worked in your favor?
“I’m fairly convinced that all this publicity opened the door for us. People discovered ‘Push the Button’ and thought that this combination of gypsy, hip hop, and punk was pretty cool. It looks like we’re going to be absorbed into the bizarre British punk world.”
In addition to the rehearsals for the competition, your demo, and the new songs, rumor has it that you’ve planned a live performance in Helsinki?
“Absolutely. It’ll be in the framework of what we’re calling ‘The Israeli Chutzpa Party’ on Tuesday, May 8, at the Virgin Oil Club in Helsinki. It’s a club that holds 1,000 people. The general idea is a full-fledged, live, 40-minute performance followed by a party with Shira Arad which will include gypsy, Arabic and Jewish music.”
You thought you might be bored in Helsinki so you brought entertainment from home?
“We thought, to hell with it, we’re a band that plays, but at the Eurovision competition, we’re singing over palyback. So we wanted to play.
“This is the first time that a group that’s participating in the Eurovision is performing live, and the plan is to play a few things in other languages and to present the Teapacks with a more grunge-look.
“At the twilight of our days, we returned to the rock-and-roll area. The first twenty years, we devoted to Israel. The next twenty years are dedicated to unexplained noise.”
Let’s be serious for a second. Aren’t you slightly nervous? There’s not even a twinge of pressure? Something?
“I want to have fun on stage, and I definitely don’t feel like the future of the world is on my shoulders. I’m not carrying the nation’s fate on my back. We’ll sing; we’ll produce chaos; we’ll make faces at the cameras; and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be with us.
“Practically speaking, this is the most interesting Eurovision to date. There are all sorts of bizarre songs, and all in all, we’re talking about an event that’s not as slick as it was in the past. Lordi paved the way for other productions, and that’s terrific.
“From the songs that I heard, I like Belgium – they’re sort of raring to go – and the Bulgarians, who sent a bit of Bulgarian trance. Andorra is also okay, and Ukraine sent one of the strangest and most exhilarative songs. All in all, we’re talking about a freak show with nationalistic flavors.”
