Photos by Elayne Laken
Video Provided by Infected Mushroom
www.myspace.com/infectedmushroomcentral
Special thanks to Ron Rivlin www.coastiicoastent.com
Thanks to Christine Vlahos
Thanks to The Guvernment
Footage taken by Moshe
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If you are the Birkenstock wearing, Floyd-loving type of Yid, chances are that you might not have ever come into contact with the Israeli duo most commonly known as Infected Mushroom. Recognized for pioneering the Psychedelic Trance movement, Amit Duvdevan (more commonly known as Duvdev) and Erez Aizen have been rocking their way around the globe, playing gigs everywhere from Tel Aviv to Toronto.
After a recent gig in our fair city, we sat down with the guys behind the most rockin’ dance beats coming out of Israel. Duvdev the voice that permeates through much of the groups’ songs did most of the talking…actually all of it.
A :In my opinion, it was the best show in Toronto we’ve done. Last night was our best show in Montreal too, so something’s gotta be right.
Q: What do you like the best about playing so many club gigs?
A: You see a party like tonight with all the people coming to support us. You see the people rocking so hard. I enjoy it so much.
Q: Where’s the best place you’ve ever played?
A: There is no best place…I think the best scene in the world at the moment is Brazil. Japan was really good as well. We also had a good time here, no?
Q: I guess Toronto is a good spot for you then?
A: The first time we came here was for a huge party. We played with Armin Van Buren. It was the first time anyone heard Infected Mushroom and nobody danced. It was the hardest show of my life. The next time…we destroyed the place.
Q: How would you characterize the scene in Brazil?
A: We are bringing our girlfriends. We are very afraid (laughs).
A: It is one of our favourite places. We were there for 10 days before coming here for a good vacation and lots of great parties.
Q: Did you ever play anywhere where you encountered anti-Israeli attitudes?
A: That only happened to us in Paris one time. Besides that party, we’ve played all over the world and never had problems.
Q: Which country has the best groupies?
A: Mexico. Yeah. You wouldn’t believe how crazy they are.
Q: What’s the craziest thing fans ever done?
A: Well some people have Infected Mushroom tattoos all over their body. Sometimes people hide under the stage too.
Q: Are Israeli girls powerless to your rock star status?
A: I don’t know. Israeli girls are tough. But in the end we stick our own.
Q: How do you guys know each other?
A: We met a few years ago through a mutual friend. We started playing together and started up Infected Mushroom. 2 years ago we added a guitarist… played a few shows in Israel
Q: Is your name really as obvious as it sounds?
A: No it’s not. We actually stole the name from another band that split up. They were industrial punk music.
Q: Ok, just for fun let’s do a little quick translation. What do the following Hebrew words mean to you?
A: Coosiot – chicks…very nice girls…. lets say big time vagina, Sharmuta – big bitch, a slut as well…. you can’t translate it any other way and Coos-Amek – fuck your mother (laughs)
