Once a journalist asked Chizh whether he remembers the moment when he realized that he had become famous. Sergei replied that of course he remembers - the very moment when he was born.
Childhood and the way to music
The biography of Sergei Chigrakov began on February 6, 1961 in the city of Dzerzhinsk, Gorky Region. Every second Soviet shell fired during the Great Patriotic War, was fired in this city on the Volga. In the year of Sergei’s birth, about 180 thousand people lived in Dzerzhinsk, most of whom were “chemists” - conditionally sentenced and sent by the court to construction of the national economy.
To Gorky, where there is some kind of civilization, almost an hour by train, and here - all life fits into three words: a plant, a bottle, a cigarette. And also a guitar. The industrial town, saturated with sulfuric acid vapor, was filled in the evenings with groups of guys and girls on benches who sang songs to the guitar that did not sound on the radio and on TV. So, however, it was in most Soviet industrial centers.
In 1969, the cartoon "Bremen Town Musicians" appeared on the Soviet screen. Probably, it was this event that determined the career and future life of Sergei Chigrakov. Seryozha watched over and over again a cartoon about a cat, a rooster, a donkey and, most importantly, a troubadour - a guy in trendy flared pants, singing about his love for the beautiful princess. After a couple of years, Sergey went to study at a music school. Parents made this decision without asking their son. Most likely, they just wanted the boy not to stagger around the streets and not get in touch with bad company. In addition, musical education is not the worst way to get a life for a guy growing up in an ordinary industrial town. As an instrument, an accordion was chosen for it. Firstly, because my father played the accordion well, and secondly, because in the evenings at the local cinema, before the start of the sessions, the teacher of the same music school masterly played the accordion. He was given the son of the Chigrakov for training.
Seryozha's elder brother played drums in a local group. The whole city knew him as "Siskin". Later, this nickname passed to Sergey. All his free time he spun around with his brother at rehearsals and performances, and when meeting with pride he introduced himself: "Siskin Junior." Soon Chizhi already played a couple in one or the other team. The junior at first went to replace the musician who did not come out. Drums, bass, rhythm
anyway on what, Siskin Jr. in pleasure rescued in any case.
In 1976, Sergei entered the music school and continued to play as part of various groups at parties, at banquets and in restaurants. After graduating from college, Sergei enters the Leningrad Institute of Culture with a degree in accordion and orchestral conducting. After a year, he was taken to the army from the institute. After serving two years, he is transferred to the correspondence department of the institute, and at the same time he is accepted to study at the jazz studio of the Leningrad Conservatory in the drums class.
Professional musician
In 1985, Chizh returned to his native Dzerzhinsk and got a job as a music and singing teacher at school, earning money at the same time performing at weddings and banquets. A few months later he was invited to the local hard rock band GPA ("Extended Day Band").
In the spring of 1988, at a rock festival in Gorky, Chigrakov met with a Kharkov group that had the same name: State Traffic Police. In 1989, after graduating from the correspondence institute, he decided to move to Kharkov and join the namesake group. After the arrival of Chizh, the Kharkiv group splits into two, one of which takes the name "Different People". Chigrakov entered it as a backing vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. In the same year, the renewed team performs at the Leningrad Aurora Festival, where it makes a very good impression on both spectators and critics. The group played very professionally. The author of most of the songs of the Kharkov GPA was Alexander Chernetskiy. With the advent of Chizh, the songs of his authorship began to appear in the repertoire of "Different People", often becoming hits. Soon Chernetsky was forced to quit his job in the group due to sharply worsened health. Chizh replaced him both as the main soloist and as the main songwriter.
Personal group
In 1993, the group "Different People" with Chernetsky who had recovered by that time appeared on the air in the program "Program A". This was the first acquaintance of a wide audience with Sergei Chigrakov. In the same year, with the support of Boris Grebenshchikov, Sergei recorded his first album "Chizh". He did not yet have his own group, therefore, musicians from various Petersburg teams took part in the recording of the album.
Within a year after recording the album, Chizh gives several recitals in clubs in St. Petersburg, and by mid-1994 decides to create his own group. Already this summer, Chizh & So is recording the album Crossroads. The album immediately made the band super popular. Siskin songs are played on all radio stations.
In 1995, Chizh & So released its second album, “On Love, ” which included many songs written by other authors. In the same year, the group recorded live at a concert in the UK "Great" album Greatest Hits. At the concert, the audience sang along with all the songs. Sometimes Chizh forgot words and then the audience sang with inspiration for him.
The following year, the Chizh group recorded two albums. A clip is shot for the song "Polonaise", which was included in one of the new albums. Filming takes place in St. Petersburg and in the USA.
In 1997, an album of versions of old Soviet songs was recorded, which included the song "Bombers." A video was shot for this song in which Marina Kapuro sings the female part. Also in the album of cover versions included the song "Tanks rumbled on the field", which a month after the album's release sounded throughout the country. Rock Fuzz magazine calls this year Chizha & Co. the group of the year. In the same year, Chizh appears in the episode of the cult film Alexey Balabanov "Brother".
Over the next three years, Sergey Chigrakov’s group has been actively touring the country, as well as in Israel, the UK and the USA. In 2001, Chizh recorded a solo album "Haydnom I Will" for work on which other musicians were not involved. Chigrakov himself played all the instruments in the ode to prepare the album.
The most significant event of 2004 was the 10th anniversary of the group. In honor of the anniversary of Chizh & So, they gave two four-hour concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the summer of that year, during the next tour of America, Chizh fulfilled his old dream - to play with black blues musicians. True, this dream, voiced by Sergey more than once, sounded a little different: "play jam with Eric Klepton." In this form, it has so far remained unrealized, but perhaps such an opportunity will still present itself.
