10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Drumming My Way to Yekaterinburg
wake up call: yekaterinburg isn't what you expect. it's where europe gets cold feet and asia starts rubbing its hands together for warmth. i landed here with drumsticks and a naive grin last february - minus 25 degrees punched me right in the sinuses. popped an eardrum from the dry air? rookie mistake.
first reality check: rent. grabbed a soviet-bloc apartment near *Ploshchad 1905 Goda for 25k rubles/month ($270). locals laughed when i asked about zillow-equivalents - you hunt listings through crumpled notices at supermarkets or beg friends of friends. recently stumbled upon this wild flat-hunting telegram channel where people post finds.
job market’s weird. bars pay musicians peanuts unless you’re backing politicized punk at Radio Torino. overheard this gem while nursing cheap vodka at Harley’s Pub:
> "play covers of korol i shut after midnight and drunks throw double what promoters pay. trust me, i’ve funded three winters this way"
- overheard from saxophonist with icicle breath
safety’s… situational. gotten scammed buying drum skins near Vaynera Street? yes. walked alone at 3am blasting drum solos on headphones? weirdly fine. locals gave me the spat-out sunflower-seed wisdom:
> "don’t look like money, don’t act like prey. winters keep crime lazy and frozen."
street fuel: pirozhki cost less than guitar picks (35 rubles/$0.40). stumbled upon grandma selling them near this church - flaky dough filled with mystery meat that keeps you drumming through blizzards.
the iset river freezes so solid they build entire art installations on it. today feels like god left the freezer door open - currently -19°c with that special ural wind stealing drumsticks from careless hands. but hey, moscow’s only an hour flight when you crave civilization.
internet’s faster than my drumrolls - 600mbps for $7/month. crucial when uploading session tapes to clients in berlin at 4am.
biggest surprise?имo fashion boutiques beside decaying factories. sold vintage adidas track pants i'd packed to some hypebeast for triple the price. hunters, peep this thrifting hole: volkhonka collective.
last drunk tip from a bassist at Mishka Bar:
> "learn cryrillic or starve. ordered pelmeni last week, got boiled sheep eyes. whatever, added protein."*
check local gig boards on vk.com/yekat_music if you wanna play. bring wool socks, cynicism, and backup drumheads - this city eats gear alive.
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