Smak

Smak (Serbian Cyrillic: Смак; trans. The end time) is a Serbian (formerly Yugoslav) band formed in Kragujevac in 1971. The group reached the peak of popularity in the 1970s when it was one of the most notable acts of the Yugoslav rock scene. The band's leader, guitarist Radomir Mihailović, nicknamed Točak ("The Wheel"), is considered one of the most influential guitarists on the Yugoslav rock scene. Formed in 1971 by the guitarist Radomir "Točak" Mihajlović and drummer Slobodan "Kepa" Stojanović, the band did not get a stable lineup until 1975 by which time bassist Zoran Milanović, vocalist Boris Aranđelović and keyboard player Laza Ristovski became the band's official members. However, after recording their eponymous debut album, Ristovski left and the remaining quartet recorded their subsequent albums with various keyboardists before disbanding in 1981. After brief reunions between 1986 and 1992, the two founding members, Mihajlović and Stojanović, reestablished the band with younger musicians — vocalist Dejan "Najda" Najdanović, the second drummer Dejan "Kepa Jr." Stojanović, second guitarist Milan "Mikica" Milosavljević and bassist Vlada Samardžić. During the late 1990, the latter was replaced by the bassist Slobodan "Sale" Marković who performed with the band until 2002 when Smak disbanded once again. The remaining members from the last lineup, with the new bassist Miloš Petrović reunited in 2010, and in 2012 the default lineup of the band made a one-off reunion. Two ambitious twenty-year-old budding musicians—guitarist Radomir "Točak" Mihailović and drummer Slobodan "Kepa" Stojanović [sr]—met up in Stojanović's hometown Kraljevo on 23 April 1971 with a view of starting a band together. They had earlier been put in touch with one another through Mihailović's childhood friend Predrag "Biska" Albić who had served his mandatory Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) service in Mostar with a group of conscripts that included Stojanović. Throughout their army stint together, Albić kept telling Stojanović about Mihailović's exceptional guitar-playing skills and passion for rock'n'roll, eventually arranging for the two to meet. Following the introductory meeting in Kraljevo, the two musicians returned to their lives as Stojanović had already been set to go on a tour with his family orchestra—an engagement he envisioned as an opportunity to earn enough money for a new drum kit—while Mihailović went back to his hometown Čačak. Upon getting back home, Mihailović was introduced to Zoran Milanović (bass guitar) and Slobodan "Koma" Kominac (vocals), both from Kragujevac, who asked him to join their upstart progressive rock band Gentry, an offer he accepted on condition that Stojanović become the band's drummer. During November 1971, the four met up in Kraljevo in order to officially form a band and, having been kicked out of Stojanović's family home by his grandmother who didn't appreciate the sight of four young men with long hair in her house, they went to a local restaurant and eventually to a nearby park where they wrote their first song, later named "Bluz u parku" ("Blues in the Park") in memory of the event. In December 1971, the lineup was completed with the arrival of Miša Nikolić on organ. Still largely a cover band at this point, the group played youth dance halls with covers of Santana, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix. Soon after, the members decided to change the band's name. Influenced by Smak sveta (The End of the World), a Hair-inspired musical being prepared locally at the Kragujevac Theatre in dedication to the schoolchildren killed during the Kragujevac massacre, they agreed on Smak (Endtime) as their new name while the play eventually never got staged. New name Smak occasionally got referred to in jest as S.M.A.K., a supposed acronym for Samostalni Muzički Ansambl Kragujevac (Independent Musical Ensemble Kragujevac). During this period, the band members spent time writing their own material, including 22 instrumental songs — from "Biska 2" to "Biska 23", written by Mihailović as a dedication to his friend Predrag "Biska" Albić (who was 22 at the time), featuring the defined band's sound as a combination of progressive rock with jazz and blues influences. The fact that the band's improvisations turned dances into rock concerts was the reason why their performances were becoming less popular, which eventually led vocalist Kominac to leave the band, being replaced by Slobodan "Johan" Jovanović, Mihailović's friend from Čačak. However, since the performances were the source of income for the band members, they all agreed to reunite with Kominac and go to Dubrovnik where they would perform mostly blues repertoire for two and a half months during the summer of 1972. During their stay in Dubrovnik, the band opened for Time, which had borrowed their equipment for the performance. After the Dubrovnik performances the band took a break until March 1973 when, with the new vocalist Milorad "Kimi" Petrović, Stojanović's former bandmate from the band Bluz Projekcija, Stojanović, Mihailović and Milanović decided to perform at the Požarevac Gitarijada Festival (not to be confused with Zaječar Gitarijada Festival). There, in April 1973, the band shared the first place with the local band Dijamanti, which organized the festival. With yet another return of Kominac to the band, Smak continued performing in Kragujevac clubs, as well as making a successful appearance at the Pop Music Festival in Sanad. This lineup recorded the song "Biska II blues", which appeared on the PGP RTB various artists compilation Leteća diskoteka (Flying Discothèque), compiled by Zoran Modli in 1977. In October 1973, the musically inexperienced high tenor vocalist Boris Aranđelović, who had just returned from Australia, joined the band after auditioning with a successful performance of Deep Purple's "Child in Time". After Aranđelović's arrival, during the early 1974, the band started recording their debut single and were interested in bringing an organist into the band, offering the place to Time member Tihomir "Pop" Asanović, who turned down the offer due to his plans to form his Jugoslovenska Pop Selekcija. Eventually, the band released their debut single "Živim ja" (I'm Livin'), originally entitled "Biska 13", with "Biska 16" as the B-side, in March 1974 through PGP-RTB. "Živim ja" featured the flutist Sreten Tasić "Tasa", at the time member of the band Oliver, who by chance turned up at the studio during the recording session. During the late 1974, "Živim ja" was selected as the hit single of the year on the Veče uz radio (An Evening With the Radio) Radio Belgrade show. Smak performed in Belgrade for the first time on November 10, 1974, during the Veče uz radio anniversary concert, alongside Bijelo Dugme, Pop Mašina and other notable bands of the time. Several days later, the band performed at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Philology, the first time with a guest keyboard player Laza Ristovski, a former Bezimeni and Boki Milošević Orchestra member. Ristovski officially became a member in January 1975, soon after which, Smak performed with the Hungarian band Omega in the Dom Sindikata Hall. In February of the same year, the band performed at the Rock Evening of Opatija Festival, and afterwards in Zagreb at the Kongres rock majstora (The Rock Masters Congress) concert held as the summit of the best Yugoslav guitar players. Unlike the expectation that Mihajlović would be declared the best guitarist of the event, the judges decided that the best four guitarists were Bata Kostić of YU grupa, Vedran Božić of Time, Josip Boček formerly of Korni Grupa, and Goran Bregović of Bijelo Dugme, all of whom, unlike Mihailović, were signed to Jugoton, the event's principal organizer. Shortly after, on March 16, 1975, Smak opened for the Deep Purple concert in Belgrade, performing three of their numbers: "Put od balona" (Road Made of Balloons), "Šumadijski blues"