Eugene Hütz

Eugene Hütz (pronounced [ˈjʊəɡeːnə hyts] Ukrainian: Євген Гудзь Ukrainian pronunciation: [jɛvɦɛn ɦydsʲ], Yevhen Hudz′; born Yevheniy Aleksandrovich Nikolayev-Simonov, Russian: Евгений Александрович Николаев-Симонов, 6 September 1972) is a Ukrainian-born singer, composer, disc jockey and actor, most notable as the frontman of the Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello.

Early life

Hütz was born in Boyarka, to a Russian father, a butcher by profession, and a Ukrainian mother who was of half Servitka ancestry. His father also played guitar in one of Ukraine's first rock bands, Meridian. When Eugene was 14, he and his father made his first guitar of plywood, his first distortion pedals out of radio parts, and his first drum set from large metal fish cans, skinned with layers of Scotch tape. Hütz learned English through his musical "mentors" because "Russian rock always had lyrics that were superb and more advanced than the original Western rock ‘n’ roll, I think. Of course, Western rock is much stronger when it comes to performance and production, but Russian song writers were the champions of writing lyrics. So naturally I picked mentors who taught me how to tell a story, like Johnny Cash or Nick Cave or Leonard Cohen or Shane MacGowan from The Pogues. I learned English through my mentors. I feel like they are kind of my uncles in this sense."