2024-03-22 07:07:25
Petr Fiala, frontman of the Valašskomeziříč band Mňága a Žďorp, will celebrate his 60th birthday on Wednesday with his family and band. “I’m really looking forward to everything, it’s an opportunity to be together. The mere fact of turning sixty is not that important,” he says.
He prefers travel experiences to things. Recently, Fiala returned from the Yemeni island of Socotra and neighboring Oman. Both places far exceeded his expectations. After returning with the band, he initiated a series of concerts that will last until May. Next year, he wants to record another album with Mňága and Žďorp.
“When I was about fifteen, I didn’t understand why people in their thirties were still alive when they were so old. That’s the nice self-centeredness of youth,” says Petr Fiala. In retrospect, he notes that he never expected anything, he always got down to something and did it as neatly as possible. “I’m still surprised at how far I’ve come with music, and in a way I feel like I’m still at the beginning sometimes, especially when I’m writing a new song or when the band and I are making a new album,” he continues.
He always enjoys performing in front of people. “Concerts are a great shared experience with the fans who have been with us all this time and to whom we owe the biggest thanks for being able to make a living doing what we enjoy so much. We have all humbled ourselves in the band over the years and we really appreciate this opportunity, because it is not a matter of course at all. Moreover, we manage our entire career by ourselves, we have never had to make any compromises, especially not artistically,” says the musician.
He was born in Hranice, but his life is connected to Valašský Meziříč, where he started in the formations Slepé žinloso and Happyend. In 1983, he also founded Mňága and Žďorp there, which has been a constant on the local scene ever since.
“I love Wallachia and I’m happy as a flea that I have such a wonderful region around me. When things are going well, I go for a hike once a week, fifteen to twenty kilometers on the local hills, and I never get tired of it,” he declares. Alone and with the band, they received offers to move to Prague. “That it’s good for business, all the parties, parties, contacts. But we didn’t consider it for a second,” he explains.
Petr Fiala performs over 100 concerts a year with the Mňága and Žďorp band. | Photo: Libor Fojtík
He still likes to travel. “I try to visit one new country every year for at least two or three weeks, which I can do mainly in January and February, because otherwise we keep playing. I like Asia the most, besides the breathtaking nature, food and smells, it’s the people there who make it happen. I give back refreshed, with a ton of experiences in the cabbage shop and ready for another load of concerts with the band,” says the musician.
Next year in January, he wants to record a new record with Mňága and Žďorp. “I’ve been working on new songs for a long time. I actually have them all written, but I’m just enjoying it,” he says.
This year, in addition to clubs and festivals, the band is currently working on new songs. “As always, I firmly believe that we will record at least the album of the millennium,” declares Fiala.
It also supports various projects, including charitable ones. “It makes me happy when I can make people happy. I was given the gift of writing songs and playing them for people, so I try to give it back somehow. I sign everyone’s autograph, take a picture, answer a personal message, record a video greeting,” he says, specifically mentioning that with the band, they have been supporting, for example, the Valašské Meziříčská Jonášek Foundation, which cares for children with cancer. “We send them a thousand for every concert played, of which we play over a hundred a year,” explains Fiala.
He personally supports, for example, the hospice, Doctors Without Borders or the organization People in Need.
“The band and I are doing crowdfunding campaigns for the creation of new records, and if more are selected, we will send the money on. Most recently for a local day center for autistic children. I realize more and more that I have had a clique in my life despite all the vicissitudes, and I want something to do for the community I live in. Helping Ukrainian refugees was and is a matter of course for me, and those were moments I will never forget,” concludes Petr Fiala.
Mňága and Žďorp will perform in Pilsen or Hradec Králové during March, and she will perform more than 20 concerts by the end of May. The highlights of the tour will include performances on April 10 at the Lucerna Music Bar in Prague and two days later at the Mahen Theater in Brno.
Video: Song for You by Mňágy and Žďorp
The song pro Tebe is one of the biggest hits of Mňágy and Žďorp. Photo: Drahoslav Ramík | Video: EMI