[BITTER MOON]

The band plays its' first gigs under the name TANAGRA NOISE. The original line-up (late 1999 - early 2000) comprises NICK Fagadar (vocals, guitar), MIHNEA Blidariu (vocals, trumpet, guitar), RADU Cindrea (vocals, solo guitar), GEORGE Farcas (bass guitar) and CLAUDIU Purcarin (drums).

In the months that followed they underwent two line-up changes.

There was clearly friction between Cindrea's melodic, folk-like tunes and the rest of the band who were more rock oriented. In the Spring of 2000, Radu left the band because he didn't like the musical direction that Nick, Mihnea and Peter were planning.

At this point, Mihnea and Nick were writing most of the lyrics and music between them.
In the band's quest for self-improvement, RAZVAN Ristea is brought into the outfit in the drummer's seat and Peter, who can play several instruments, becomes the new solo guitar player.

This second line-up recorded a bootleg demo containing early versions of Simplify My Spider, Your Garden, Red and Unfed during the Spring months of 2000..

During this time, they contacted Richard, who was a friend of Nick's from college. The future manager had been working as a music reporter for a number of years. Richard asked the band to find a more suitable name that could easily be recognized in Romanian and advised the band to start writing lyrics in Romanian if they wanted to have local success. At this point (before the summer of 2000), all but one of the songs penned by the band were sung in English.

After they started working with Richard, their first gigs and opening slots aroused interest among underground music circles. After a few months passed, their Manager asked them: do you think you have enough songs for a proper club gig? The band answered: "of course we do" and the first headlining BITTER MOON concert was organized on November 22, 2000, subsequently leading to the band's first gig outside of the Cluj-Napoca city limits and straight into the Capital city, Bucharest, on Novenmber 26, 2000.
A few months later, the band signed a management contract with Richard.

In December 2000, Richard has the band record studio versions of Cuba, Folclor [Folklore] and Gri dorian [Dorian Grey] for a better sounding demo tape.

The following summer, BITTER MOON recorded another three songs (Rosu aprins [Red], Tanagra Noise, Dizident) in a professional studio.

Fall 2001 would bring about the inevitable split with George, who had for months warned the others of his intentions of leaving the band due to growing stress and limited earnings. Mihai Sorohan and Cornel Cornea auditioned unsuccessfully for the bassist slot but eventually, SORIN Moraru was recruited as a replacement.

That same year, Peter started playing on and off with other local rock bands: BLOODY MARY and SEVEN.

The third line-up (from the end of 2001) proves to be stable, with NICK Fagadar on vocals and guitar; MIHNEA Blidariu on vocals, trumpet and guitar; PETER Gavrila on the solo guitar; SORIN Moraru on the bass guitar; RAZVAN Ristea on drums.

A state-owned TV station produced a studio video for "Rosu aprins [Red]" in February 2002, which is shown exclusively on the respective channel.

"Gri dorian" was released as the first official band video in September 2002, (and was signed exclusively to MTV Romania for a few weeks), although the Manager, with an eye on the eventual commercial breakthrough of the band, had wanted to release the more commercial "Rosu aprins [Red]".

[MIHNEA]
(b.06.09.1979 - Bacau)
(trumpet, vocals, guitar)
Mihnea started out as a folk singer.
BITTER MOON is his first proper rock band.

"I was born in Bacau (in the region of Southern Moldova) in the month of September. My mother is a psychologist and former poet; my father is a professional actor at the Arad National Theater (bordering the region of Banat). I inherited their gifts and this is why I am who I am: a creator; a rebel without a cause; an ultra-independent man; a radical"

I grew up in a town where you have to get up very early in the morning to get a hot shower; a city plagued with corruption and naive people. BACAU has only one good thing to offer: an unforgettable blue autumn sky.

I attended the local Arts and Music School, where I learned that artists are different from other human beings; they are more like butterflies. We can also be like bees - but only when the going gets tough.

When the going got tough for me, I got going - and that is how I ended up attending college in Cluj-Napoca.

I started out at the Modern Language School, which did not turn out to be what I expected ... so now I am part of BITTER MOON - and we are trying to convince the people who are willing to listen to our music that evolution is inevitable.

My life? rehearsals, concerts, love, plenty of rest, studying people, reading books, the KLU circle [a local literary Free Your Mind sort of thing (check it out)."

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[PETRU]
(b. 24.03.1975 - Brasov)
(solo guitar)
(ex-Ura de Dupa Usa [Hate Behind the Door], Experimental and Integrall, all of these in the Zarnesti-Brasov region, where he grew up)

"'75 - ZARNESTI - BRASOV - PETER - GAVRILA - MOUNTAIN - MOONSHINE - CHICKS - ROCK BAND - STAGE - CEAUSESCU - POLICE - ACCIDENT - POVERTY - SACRIFICES - SURPRISES - STRESS - EXPERIENCE - VALUES - BELIEFS - BITTER MOON - BEER - GUITAR - RAMONA.

IthinkIwasBORNtooLATE
INaVERYoldCOUNTRY WHEREhendrixWAS equalTOmaziluAND radioFREEeurope WASthe TAUTOLOGYonly ROMANIANSdid NOTneed..

IwasKICKEDoffSTAGEin 1988becauseOF communistCENSORSHIP. IN1990IbelievedTHAT everythingWOULD changeFORtheWORSE andIwasRIGHT.
EVILrulesANDiGREWup.

IfinishedSCHOOL andDROPPED outOFcolleges BECAUSEiDIDnot HAVEenoughMONEY.
IcameTO clujAND teamedUPwith THISbandAND theSTRAGE creaturesTHATcomprise THIScontinuously SURPRISINGbitterMOON. NOTbeing MASOCHISTICinNATURE iTRUSTEDthem ANDourMANAGER andIhadQUITEa PLEASANTsurprise: ITworks..

IlikeTOplay THEguitarALTHOUGH thisINSTRUMENTis IMPOSSIBLEtoTAMEwhen YOUthrowIT inTHISillPERFUMED cageCALLEDthe ROMANIANmusic INDUSTRY. HEREyouDO notHAVEtoBE anEXPERIENCEDguitar PLAYERforYOURguitarTO haveAgoodSOUNDbecause THEelephantEARED producersONLY payATTENTIONto THEphonicFARTING commercialARTISTS..

ITisQUITEunchallenging:soNOWiPLAYguitarDRINKbeerMAKElove!

HELLofANexperince FEELINGgoodATtheEND ofTHEdayBECAUSEyouKNOW thatYOURhard WORKisMAKING history. THISisMYworld INaNUTSHELL..

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[SORIN]
(b.17.02.1978 - Vatra Dornei)
(bass guitar)
(ex-Elefunk and Access, both Cluj-Napoca student bands)

"I, Sorin Moraru, the person in BITTER MOON that plays the bass guitar, kindly ask you and yours to attend our concerts because they are quite interesting and totally anarchistic in nature.

I, Sorin Moraru, was born, by sheer chance, in the Vatra Dornei community, in the region of Suceava, and live right across the road from the local Bar.

I would really appreciate it if you would come to our concerts (and pay the tickets) so that I may someday be able to buy a 5-string Ibanez bass guitar.

I really love to play with the cute little mouse attached to my personal computer while I gun down people and see blood splash across the monitor screen. I also love to listen to music and read. I must underline the fact that am quite a kidder, if you haven't noticed. also, I would like to mention that aside from my very good humor, I am also very good looking and loved by my women (Paula and Mother).

Please visit our website again and again and again!
Hugs and kisses.

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[NICK]
(b. 24.05.1977 - Cluj)
(vocals, guitar)
(For founding member Nick, BITTER MOON is his first music project, a dream come true)

Nick's biography is cozily nestled between two cigarettes and four walls inside his head ... and if I know this character well enough, it is here where his biography will solemnly rest FOREVER...

sometimes I see him trying to smile ... it is only recently he has discovered sunshine ... I can see him grasping at a bright morning every now and then, as one who has never before enjoyed a laugh in his life ... this past autumn he has fallen in love ... I must say I cannot remember having ever seen this much delight in anybody's eyes before, since he last stared at me in the mirror ... last fall ...

caught between two worlds, he is restlessly trying to invent a third one ... and I think he will succeed someday. too much "asphalt", too much "empty space" ... sometimes it hurts ...

now he is staring at the screen but I know he is not here ... I think he's praying for it to snow, this January is completely his ... this moment was not just his but also yours ...

true sunshine

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[RAZVAN]
(b. 15.08.78 - Cluj)
(drums)
(ex-Problem Child and Agony, High School metal bands that played in Cluj-Napoca)

"I think I will never forget how I met the persons that, apart from myself, make up BITTER MOON.

Mihnea was always strange; I first saw him in the College hallways. I had the honor to know Nick in High School, although we were perfect strangers for about two of those years. George (our former bass player) was friends with Nick, and Peter ... something strange happened with Peter. from the very moment I met him, I knew I had a musical ally. the same thing goes for Sorin (our newer bass player).

I have reached the conclusion that the thing that unites the five of us is the fact that we are so different from each other. I am not the only one who believes this.

it is quite difficult to talk about myself but I will try. I fell in love for the first time in 1989. her name was MUSIC. ROCK, to be more precise. I believe it had something to do with the fact that it was harder to listen to rock music back then (in the sense that one could not find many rock albums in Romania back then). this is how i started appreciating the real value of music (at least this is what I would like to believe). I tend to be introverted; however, this does not mean I do not have friends. nonetheless, these are not very numerous. my world revolves around music, friends and books. it may not seem much but sometimes I get to lose myself in the few things I do appreciate in life. I started playing the drums in 1990 and started playing in a thrash-death metal outfit, turning to jazz fusion after a while. only Nick knows how much convincing I needed before I finally accepted to try out BITTER MOON. I kind of like it here now. I have never been limited to a certain field of music and that is why i love listening to absu, smashing pumpkins, tool, judas priest, cure and many others...

if I COULD change something in Romania, I do not think I would change a single thing. maybe it is better for things to be the way they are. this way you have greater satisfaction when you manage to have success doing something noone thought possible/against all odds in Romania.

see you later,

razvan."

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[GEORGE]
(b. 07.05.1979 - Gherla)
(bass guitar)

George moved to Cluj (with his family) when he was barely three years old and spoke only in Hungarian until the age of two. His first guitar was a gift from his father. George started playing the bass guitar in 1999, when he got to play in a band that did not have a bass player.

His personal idols are: Iosif Kappel (Phoenix), Joey de Mayo (Manowar), Korn ... and he would really enjoy working on a song with Joe Cocker.

A mechanics freak, he would move to Saskatchewan/Canada TOMORROW (if he could) because he loves the wild outdoors.

George had to give up on BITTER MOON because of health problems. Under quarantine for more than a year, Music will remain a hobby for him.

In the meantime, we are extremely glad that George has completely recovered.

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