Taxi (band)
Encyclopedia
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Taxi are a Romania
n pop-rock band. Their sound is an eclectic mix of rock and contemporary pop, occasionally introducing other influences such as hot Nashville
-style guitar licks.
The band was founded March 13, 1999 in Bucharest
. Dan Teodorescu, songwriter, lead vocalist and the band's leader, first recruited Adrian Bortun, with whom he had previously played in Altceva ("Something Else"). Bortun recruited his former bandmate Andrei Bărbulescu from Sarmalele Reci
("The Cold Sarmale"; sarmale are meat rolls with cabbage); Dan recruited Georgică Pătrănoiu with whom he had also played before.
Their first Romanian hit was "Criogenia salvează România" ("Cryogenia saves Romania"), which gained them fans even among the members of the Romanian Parliament with its ironic political lyrics.
It was followed by an EP Jumătate de album (Half an album), after which drummer Andrei Bărbulescu left and was replaced by Lucian Cioargă. Shortly after their song "Luna" ("The Moon") became the Romanian nominee to the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest
. They came in seventeenth, a higher rank than any other Romanian band ever had, but disappointing nonetheless. A few months after the Festival in Stockholm, they debuted an English-language song called "E.B.U - European Broadcasting Union
": "We played poker by their rules... But in the end, they told us that four jacks are stronger than four aces." The song continues on, using an obscene expletive to express their disregard for the contest.
Taxi welcomed the millennium with a song "Doi zero zero zero" ("Two zero zero zero"). Jumătate de album was expanded in July 2000 to a full album Trag un claxon (Honk a Horn). A succession of Romanian hist included "Comunitaru" ("Stray Dog"), which addresses Bucharest's plan of spaying and euthanizing ownerless dogs from the point of view of one of the dogs. The song describes, ironically, the state of the Romanian economy and society, then goes on to a chorus:
This appeared on their 2001 album Americanofonia, the title track of which is a song about the flood of English-language
expressions entering Romanian
:
Teodorescu was married for four years to Melania Medeleanu; the autumn 2006 divorce was amicable, and Medeleanu sings on one track of the 2007 Taxi album Romantica. There are several other collaborators on the album, including Cheloo of Paraziţii
.
In late 2010, they released the single "Cele două cuvinte" (The two words). The video featured more than two dozen male Romanian celebrities (actors, singers, TV personalities, athletes, filmmakers) explaining men's inability to say "I LOVE YOU" and became a YouTube hit, receiving more than 1,500,000 views in less than 2 months.
Taxi are a Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n pop-rock band. Their sound is an eclectic mix of rock and contemporary pop, occasionally introducing other influences such as hot Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
-style guitar licks.
The band was founded March 13, 1999 in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
. Dan Teodorescu, songwriter, lead vocalist and the band's leader, first recruited Adrian Bortun, with whom he had previously played in Altceva ("Something Else"). Bortun recruited his former bandmate Andrei Bărbulescu from Sarmalele Reci
Sarmalele Reci
Sarmalele Reci is a Romanian rock band that was formed in 1993 in Bucharest.-History:The group was formed by Florin Dumitrescu in 1993...
("The Cold Sarmale"; sarmale are meat rolls with cabbage); Dan recruited Georgică Pătrănoiu with whom he had also played before.
Their first Romanian hit was "Criogenia salvează România" ("Cryogenia saves Romania"), which gained them fans even among the members of the Romanian Parliament with its ironic political lyrics.
- Hai să ne băgam cu toţii-n nişte frigidere mari
- Să ne congelăm pentru vreo sută de ani
- Şi să-i aşteptăm liniştiţi pe-americani
- Poa' să vină japonezii, poa' să vină şi nemţii
- Să ne facă reformă că noi nu avem pretenţii
- Doar atât le vom cere: să nu ne uite-n frigidere
-
-
- - Dan Teodorescu - "Criogenia salvează România"
-
- Let's put ourselves all in some huge refrigerators
- To freeze for about 100 years
- And let the Americans come and solve our problems.
- Even the Japanese and the Germans may come
- To reform our economy;
- We will not complain, but we have a small thing to ask:
- "Please, do not forget us in the fridge!..."
It was followed by an EP Jumătate de album (Half an album), after which drummer Andrei Bărbulescu left and was replaced by Lucian Cioargă. Shortly after their song "Luna" ("The Moon") became the Romanian nominee to the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
. They came in seventeenth, a higher rank than any other Romanian band ever had, but disappointing nonetheless. A few months after the Festival in Stockholm, they debuted an English-language song called "E.B.U - European Broadcasting Union
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union is a confederation of 74 broadcasting organisations from 56 countries, and 49 associate broadcasters from a further 25...
": "We played poker by their rules... But in the end, they told us that four jacks are stronger than four aces." The song continues on, using an obscene expletive to express their disregard for the contest.
Taxi welcomed the millennium with a song "Doi zero zero zero" ("Two zero zero zero"). Jumătate de album was expanded in July 2000 to a full album Trag un claxon (Honk a Horn). A succession of Romanian hist included "Comunitaru" ("Stray Dog"), which addresses Bucharest's plan of spaying and euthanizing ownerless dogs from the point of view of one of the dogs. The song describes, ironically, the state of the Romanian economy and society, then goes on to a chorus:
- Castraţi-mă, castraţi-mă,
- Sau, dacă vreţi, eutanasiaţi-mă,
- Pentru că singura voastră problemă
- Sunt eu, câinele comunitar'.
-
-
- - Dan Teodorescu, "Comunitaru"
-
This appeared on their 2001 album Americanofonia, the title track of which is a song about the flood of English-language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
expressions entering Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
:
- Business, meeting, briefing, trading,
- Casting, shopping, fashion, trend,
- Dealer, broker, leader, joker,
- Manager, advertising, P.R., brand,
- Lobby, hobby, weekend, party,
- Timeout, fifty-fifty, supermarket, copyright,
- Discount, cash, card, net, mail, chat, standby,
- D.J., V.J., L.P., C.D., bye-bye!
- Oops, yeah...
- Suntem anglofoni, americanofoni,
- Suntem bu-bu, bu-bu, bu-bufoni.
-
-
- - Dan Teodorescu, "Americanofonia"
-
Teodorescu was married for four years to Melania Medeleanu; the autumn 2006 divorce was amicable, and Medeleanu sings on one track of the 2007 Taxi album Romantica. There are several other collaborators on the album, including Cheloo of Paraziţii
Parazitii
Paraziţii is a Romanian three-man rap and hip hop group founded in 1994. It consists of Cheloo , Ombladon , and FreakaDaDisk .The group is largely known for their dark beats and political humorous lyricism.-History:The group was subject to multiple restrictions by the Romanian National Audiovisual...
.
In late 2010, they released the single "Cele două cuvinte" (The two words). The video featured more than two dozen male Romanian celebrities (actors, singers, TV personalities, athletes, filmmakers) explaining men's inability to say "I LOVE YOU" and became a YouTube hit, receiving more than 1,500,000 views in less than 2 months.
Band members
- Dan Teodorescu (vocals, guitar)
- Adrian Bortun (bass guitar)- until November 2009
- Cantemir Neacşu (lead guitars), January 2006 – present
- George (a.k.a. Georgică or GXG) Pătrănoiu (lead guitars) December 1999-January 2006
- Andrei Bărbulescu (drums), March–November 1999, February 2003-June 2006 (?)
- Lucian Cioargă (drums), December 1999-February 2003
- Darius Neagu (drums), July 2006 – present
- Mugurel Coman (keyboards), January 2006 – present
- Vicky Albu (vocals)
- Kerezsi Csongor (bass guitar) - November 2009 – present
Albums
- Jumătate de album (November 1999)
- Trag un claxon (July 2000: Jumătate de album plus seven more songs)
- Americanofonia (summer 2001)
- C (June 2003)
- Politica (2004)
- Romantica (2007)
- Cele 2 cuvinte (2011)
External links
- Official Website - includes extensive free downloads of the band's songs, including at least six in English.