September 1984. The height of the regular persecution of the rock. In Cherepovets I pulled Leonid Parfenov - the young "light lichnost- Vologda regional TV. As soon as we had a liberal dialogue does not exclude the right to rock the existence (and soon branded local writer Belov as another "sortie"), came into the studio one of Leni. Sasha Bashlachev. Short, thin, moderately long hair, bad, like most disadvantaged vitamins northerners, teeth and bright, enthusiastic eyes. He was dressed in the same things that I've seen on it, and years later: a black leather jacket and jeans. Plus-shirt cowboy shirt. I can not say that he immediately made a strong impression: the usual amateur rock. Immediately began to ask about the Grebenshchikov, calling it a big fan ... Parfenov remained in the service, and we went for a walk on the gloomy, as if lined with a ruler, Cherepovets. Houses in Cherepovets boring, built 30-50-ies, but fun to raskrashennye- not quite resemble the barracks, I guess. In one of these houses, bright blue, Bashlachev rented a room. We were sitting there. We listened to "DDT" and he told me a little about yourself. Twenty-four years, a native of Cherepovets, graduated from the Faculty of Journalism at the University of Ural Sverdlovsk, now working district correspondent of "Communist" newspaper. Earlier texts written for the local group "Rock-September," ... Alas, familiar sad story: yearning completely off the beaten track and obscurity, "Rock-September," sent his tapes to the Russian service "Bi-bi-si." and disc jockey Seva gave them into the air. The joy was short-lived in Cherepovets: musicians called "where to" and banned from playing rock. Group leader Slava Kobrin moved to Estonia, where to this day plays guitar blues "Ultima Thule", the rest scattered in restaurants. This successful campaign has given the right to someone from the Department of Culture say the famous words: "We Cherepovets with rock music's all right - we have it no longer" .

He continued to write poetry, and in May the 84th, during the II Leningrad rock festival, bought a guitar and started to learn to play it Accumulated had half a dozen songs. We agreed that he will sing their evening Leni Parfenov.

That evening ... We were three of us. Bashlachev liked more - it was not painful provinciality, did not have with him lisp, holding inside a yawn. He took the guitar, when it was too late. Sorry, bad plays. I have not thought that he was very shy, self-assured, too, I was not. Generally sang very natural, sometimes only sospokoynym curious glances at us.

In total, he sang about fifteen songs - and I can not say that they were all masterpieces. They were mostly ironic and lyrical sketches "of youth life", slightly reminiscent of his own lyrics for "Rock-September." Written beautiful language and precise on observations, they could decorate the repertoire of any rock bard. It was there and some "narrative" ballads, very traditional, but built on the brilliant metaphors, reveals how the stories OTenri, in the last line.

Of these, the "early" songs Sasha Bashlacheva me then the three most liked. Neputevyi rock 'n' roll anthem "Dead Season" (or "Hour Tide"). Then, "Train number 193". often referred to by the people "Crossroads railways" .- breath, desperate love song. "Love is the sun, which sees the sunset ... This is me, this is your unknown soldier". Finally, the "black hole" - the first, according to Bashlacheva. a song written by him. And the easiest - but his fate is already encoded in it:

"Good guys, but not on the road with them.

There is no sense to go, if the main thing - do not fall .

I know that I could never find

All that probably can

easy to steal. But from an early age I am not able to stand

in the ranks. Me blind the sun, when I look

flag. And I'm tired of you stretching your

The open hand to shake his fist again. "

The same night he first "on people" sang "bells Time" - a song that became then a symbol of Russian rock. For Sasha Bashlacheva it was a breakthrough astonished him. Breakthrough of the intelligent world "urban folklore" in the wild, pagan Russian space imagery. In this area still untouched by any bards or rockers.

He sang at a pace rvanuvshis bit triples, and it seemed as if the foam is flying with information anguish lips:

"... Century chew matyugi prayers.

The Age zhivem- balls though we vykoli.

Sleeping yes drink - liters per day and .

Do not sing poem- ​​already weaned.

The long wait. All went dirty.

Because become similar.

And the rain turned out to be different.

Bolshinstvo- honest, good.

And let the broken father Tsar Bell.

We came with a black guitar.

For big beat, blues and rock 'n' roll

bewitch us first blow.

In grudi- sparks of electricity.

Shapki- in the snow, and jerk louder a minute

Rock 'n' roll- glorious paganism.

I love time bells ".

(verses given in the original version. The author later something izmenil.- them AT)

I told him that he should go as soon as possible with a guitar in Moscow and Leningrad: songs there will be "a great success" ... Bashlachev listened to it all with children, happily-incredulous expression on his face. Leonid Parfenov not without irony he encouraged ... After a couple of years, Sasha told me that he was returning home that the dead of night, singing, jumping and dancing - like in the movies sometimes show a very happy people .

Since I was not in Cherepovets not once, but often thought of these places, wondering: Does this "deep", the poor and at the same time is a little idyllic Russian North has formed a creative Bashlacheva? I think. that influenced, no doubt. But you can not say that it is "all there" - how. say, "the singer edge" Nikolai Rubtsov. Creativity Rubtsov and all around the "northern" pathos he treated very calm and never, at least in my presence, did not show pride in their "glubinochnoe" - as opposed to "rotten" capitals - origin. Moreover, it seems to me that he was very boring, painful even in its "native land." In the last three years of his life he was actually nowhere to live - but only in the most desperate situations of deadlock, he drove home in Cherepovets or village Ulomov, and even then could not stand there for long periods. Although mother and sister loved.

So, a few weeks later, he arrived in Moscow, he stopped me. and every evening we went to someone to visit, where Sasha Bashlachev gave a concert. His very first Moscow performance took place on the old Arbat apartment Rizhenko Sergei, a former violinist "last chance" and "Time Machine", remarkably talented guy. Sasha brought a few new songs, two tremendous domestic ballads, bringing the audience to hysterical laughter, and four major things in a different tone and a different perspective to talk about the same:

"If someone wanders supernatural -

Hit the poor living creatures.

Our strength rare serdeshny.

Yes fool our evil -. Reserved

rolled out a tub of cabbage.

What's on the outside is still empty?

And inside is still closely ...

This is a cold and laugh.

And what about laughing - no matter .

If the morning is very boring.

That evening very scary.

sevenfold yutimsya on a chair.

The whole world - on the bunk-loft .

Sleep. my child, Luli-Luli!

There is no one birch zalomati "

There were also "Winter's Tale." "Straight Road" and "Litho". "Litho" he sang even angrier and more exciting than "bells Time". and playing as fast as you only have time to change the position of the fingers, taking the chords. This song has remained the most "fierce" in his writings. "They put the team of - covered with snow blizzard. Vodka for a week - yes year hangover darn body. By the edges sewn. Exactly one year sweated, yes exactly one hour chewed. "

This is just one of nine verses. Others are not worse. It's amazing how much he had time to write. Once. during this first visit, I told him to go to Alexander Gradsky, Executive remarkable cycle "Russian song" and sing it, "Jingle Bells" and "Litho". On Bashlacheva meeting seems not made much of an impression. Strictly speaking, the meter expelled him back home in about twenty minutes. I called Gradskij to hear his opinion. He began, of course, with the fact that both play and sing the guy is not able to ... but good poetry! "Hard-working guy. - Gradski said. - I can only imagine how long it sits on each line. Work with the word, of course, jewelry. " - "As far as I know, he writes everything very quickly ..." - "Oh, come on! It can not be. He is a genius "- and Gradskij heartily laughed into the phone ... Though was not far from the truth .

Bashlachev said that the songs literally "overshadowed" it, so much so suddenly at times, that he hardly had time to write them down on paper. Moreover, the meaning of certain images, metaphors, allegories been himself not immediately clear - and he continued to decipher them for yourself months after writing .

Moscow debut was triumphant. Bashlachev went to Leningrad, where he had success. From there Cherepovets- but to resign from the newspaper and say goodbye to relatives.

Songs of Sasha Bashlacheva got better. In his second tour of Moscow - where in January - he brought a "mill" February 85-go- "Smoke yoke" -Ask star "and" rusty water ". After another couple of months - "Absolute watchman" and "All of the screws". "Wachter" - the "frontal", "political" song Bashlacheva. When he sang it, all were asked to turn off the tape: fear of informers. This song is about the horror of totalitarianism.

But not from the fear of "light" and for another reason Bashlachev rarely sang "Absolute janitor." For this reason, he soon ceased to perform almost satirical "Secret Agent" and "Rally-Symposium", in spite of their popularity. The thing is. that politics, life, all "mundane" matters interested him less - both in life and in poetry. "Tired ernichestvo ... Stupidity is all" .- he said. Slowly but surely, of his songs "squeezed out" two qualities: the irony and household concreteness ...

Summer - Fall '85. I think it was the peak of his inspiration. First, he wrote, "one for the road" - it seems that his most favorite song topped sad formula. applicable to him and samomu.- "After all saints in Russia know only carrying out" ... then first performed mysterious epic about Yegor Ermolaeveche, fascinating, dark, not like anything. Finally. "Vanya", OPUS MAGNUM Bashlacheva. It's a song, or rather, a small epic, not so spectacular in terms of versification, but endowed with exceptional strength. Its impact on the audience precisely defined the word "catharsis". He forgets, like all of us who listened to him, and only when the song ended, saw that all the guitar in a spray of blood. He tore his fingers. This is a banal metaphor, but it really tore apart and his whole soul. This could be strashno- like everything that happens beyond human napryazheniya.- if it were not so holy and exaltation. "Vanya" - a song about the Russian soul. Unfortunately, when you talk about what the songs Bashlacheva often have to resort to "pathetic" if not devalued almost to the level of kitsch concepts like "Russian soul", "faith and hope", "love and death", "spiritual power" .. Of course, it's not Sasha's fault. On the contrary, he is one of the few who have taken the liberty, and said the true word in the fate of these eternal, but jammed values.

Some of it is another of his songs, written at the same time. "In the life of the poet." The song is about himself and his fate: "Let not the court of these angels - laborers .

will break the pen that long axes to chop.

The poets in the world after the lines put the sign of bleeding.

These porog- to God but they are true imut a shame ... "

Bashlachev listened to dozens, hundreds of enthusiastic compliments, and not only on the semi-underground bogemiantsev, but also from the mouth of the well-known poets, influential literary critics, the secretaries of the creative unions.

"Let no one tramples your palate" - Sasha inscribed his book "superintendents of the spirit" Andrei Voznesensky, to paraphrase a line from "Down and Out" - "trampled field, sowing the sky" ...

Well. sky it is perhaps no one trampled, birdie flutter of God is not prohibited. No one denounced him as "an ideological saboteur," "bully with a guitar," "dangerous cleric", etc. By the way, almost certainly, leave it "out" for a year and a half earlier -. It would be arrested for "nelegalno- concert "activities.

All "prestigious" performances Sasha Bashlacheva had as its main objective to help him somehow cling to the more or less "official" culture - for example, to print a poem to the press or to obtain an order for the song to play. This would mean, and access to a wider audience, and a certain degree of security - Civil and material. I can not say that Bashlachev lusted official recognition, however, and their "underground" destiny he did not boasted. Social and artistic status just was not for him, "the cardinal question", but hope for some movement, new possibilities were.

But true it was not fated. There were concerts - including in "Lit newspaper", and at the Théâtre Taganke.- and Bashlachev and remained "not to the court" .

... In Siberia he liked scary: he said that he felt there is an incredible rush of "positive" energy and joy. That same autumn in Sverdlovsk, his son was born. Sasha wrote a lot of songs in this poru- "In the open field," "test," "Vera, Nadia and Lyuba", "As the wind of autumn", "Incident in Siberia" and the other, only about ten. Bright, full of hope, even pacified - in so far as Bashlachev general could be peaceful. In short, love songs. He said that most tender of them, "Let's sit down next", wrote after one night he dreamed of the girl: "I know that it was love itself" ... At the same time he wrote a triptych - the dedication Vysotsky - one more song poets, ending with the words: "be - be? What is the question, if there could be no different. "

In January, the son died. In the spring of '86 Sasha Bashlachev wrote the last song we know. There are four: "When we are together," "name names", "Eternal Post", "we dance in the fire." At this time Bashlachev carried away by the magic of Russian words, he was looking for their roots, harmony, and through them - the true, hidden meaning of speech. His last song - a wonderful play on words, but not formal, but quite inspired .

"name names

Do not otmoeshsya if all the blood -

Yes, like a duck's back trouble and broken trough.

Instead icons

Will a terrible trial for us to judge ourselves mirror.

Name names

will pull out by the roots all that.

that before the deadline buried

The sieve times

Throws pain but a blade of grass, so that the truth of the deadline came up. "

You can say it is religious songs, although they do not have a single gram of church dogmatism. "... And the dome is not to throw in the Name Names burning gold cap." The songs Sasha Bashlacheva is real spiritual power. Although, I'm sure. and here it would be considered a heretic. "I rolled up his. Lord, sleeves! Give me the rod on the right track! "

At one time it seemed that Sasha Bashlachev completely moved away from the rock, even a little bored by them, finding a new "Russian" way. However, these two songs are built on a magnificent, elastic rhythm. Oh, how they wanted to write properly! As, however, and everything else. What Bashlachev always singing just a guitar, it does not mean that anything else he did not want. On the contrary, all the years he had dreamed of the ensemble, which would have all kinds of tools - from the samplers to spoons. Even invent a name for the group, "second capital", "Zastava" ... Nothing came of it. Musicians of the Leningrad rock club, and many Moscow, Sverdlovsk and Novosibirsk Bashlacheva knew, liked, but play with it and have not gathered. I only remember a remarkable dramatization "Egorkin epic" that they played three Slava Draw and Bones Kinchevym. Sasha's songs have never sounded so as he heard them: a harmony and a military band, electric guitar and thunder ... And the usual, "guitar" record - and by the time they were done in a studio is not as four- good as we would like.

Then he left to travel - first home, then into Central Asia ... has disappeared, and a very long time. No one knew anything about him not really heard.

He called in December. At first I did not understand what had happened to him. He was calm as ever, even a little sluggish, very silent. He said that many experienced during these months, changed his mind and he was clean. Naturally, I did not want to ask the question, which he apparently waited for the pain: "What's written?"

Nothing. He said that he could not write any more songs. What can not even fulfill old. "That's it, I can not, and all" .- he answered reluctantly, looking down somewhere. In buduschem- can be, but still ... "I should not do that." I did not bother him rassprashivat- it would be cruel and not in a friendly way. Rather, the fact that the last two years (those only two years, for which he wrote almost all the songs!), He lived in such inhuman tension of his creative powers, senses and nerves that their depletion could not come . He gave too much too quickly.

He did not want to sing the old songs, because he knew that he could not do it as much as before. So, as it should. However, he had to break the silence. To survive, physically survive, he had to do something. And what else but sing? And everything expected of him songs - so he kept himself in the circle of friends and acquaintances. So he made his first appearance at the Leningrad rock festival ... Of course, he felt that all this is "wrong": before they sincerely admired, now rather cheered. And all the language spun the question: if there was anything new? And he still has not been written, although he insisted that "something cool" in my head ...

Two songs written in the last year - "Archipelago revelers", from which there is not a record, not even a word, and "When the two of us" .

"I cursed myself.

aspen stake - in the living .

Live rebelled chest -

All scratches but in the bells.

hath dushu- yes breathing.

horizon ... do not ruin

Burnt lip I whisper.

That, they say. I have a temper, I am in the hearts -

And in the hearts of all, I!

And every beat on the ice. But singing.

For any take and love. Do not hold on my life -

unlikely Death measure.

And I damn for nothing. Because, and I feel closer to the body of the soum.

It's easier to know the honor

And I've got - I've got to go after the song, which you believe .

See you in the morning. Then you will understand everything myself. "

February 17, 1988, in the middle of the day, he jumped from the window of an apartment on Leningrad Prospect Kuznetsova. Then in the audience rock club was a big concert to his memory and commemoration in the red corner. We arrived musicians from different cities, the mother, father and sister from Cherepovets. Buried Sasha Bashlacheva Kovalevsky on the huge cemetery to the north of the city. While. that people everywhere were so many, the silence was complete. There were no speeches, no laments about the "youth" and "timelessness" or even crying out loud. Up to the lowering of the coffin. This silence speaks volumes. The first of a heavy feeling of guilt. Probably everyone here could have something to help Sasha Bashlacheva until it was too late, but I did not.

But there was another general feeling that intensified stage of silence: a sense of the inevitability of tragedy. It is not that. to calm, rather, the translation of the tragedy of the death of Sasha Bashlacheva purely "life" in a different, more philosophical plane. "Do not believe the end. But do not expect a different array "- he sang the song of the poet, of their own kind. It was thus which usually do not last long, so deliberately lived. it was difficult to survive. And his death foretold in many songs. The sad thing ,. We realized that all this is absolutely clear only in retrospect. But before his life, especially the last year and a half, was silent hell.

The sad fact that only in retrospect, and with a fair amount of hypocrisy remembered Bashlacheva our "official" cultural authority. After the death of his poems were printed out the plate. In life, there was no support and never in anything. Remembering the hard life of Vladimir Vysotsky, in all blame the era of stagnation and its cowardly functionaries. And Bashlacheva, a man no less talent, fate was even worse, and he died in the third year "era of transparency" .

Yes. he was a man prone to emotional and mental "self-immolation", but is a noble cause prices to "bad luck", poses on geniuses? Can be considered a truly humane system that does not support their reckless, "cursed themselves" Therefore, not giving them a chance to survive? Sasha Bashlachev gone, leaving no trace in the majestic halls of the Great Soviet culture. That is partly true: it was not his level. ~~~ ... Winter night we went to Peredelkino platform, in the hope of the last train, and Sasha told me about the transmigration of souls. He said he knew exactly who was in a past life, and it was very scary. "For a long time - I inquired I. in the Middle Ages?" - "No, - he answered recently" .- "I wonder - I began to talk about the cases in which, strictly speaking, not very much believe - why, for any team in the next soul enter the body? "-" I know how it happens - said Bashlachev - the soul begins to suffer again on the ground, as soon as its previous life is forgotten. Soul holds the heavens energy storage ".

Artemy Troitsky

Publications:
• "Biography" (1987. The radio station "Youth". Alexander is "Hit Parade Gradsky." It was there that first heard the song "Cinema" "Alice," DDT "Cloud edge" Bashlacheva, "AIR", "Zoo", "Secret".)
• " Fate buffoon"
• " Rock-and-roll is alive? "
• " Faces of Russian Rock "
• " I wish I became a builder, not a singer "