Garavi Sokak

Garavi Sokak
Garavi Sokak performing live at the Wine Festival in Novi Sad in 2009
Background information
Origin	Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Serbia
Genres	Pop rock, folk rock, pop
Years active	1980 - present
Labels	Udruženje rock muzičara Vojvodine, Panonija koncert, Jugoton, PGP-RTS, Vojvodina Music
Associated acts	Apsolutno Romantično
Members	Bane Krstić Boban Dževerdanović Milan Trifunović Dragan Tasić Ervin Malina Siniša Blanuša
Past members	Zoran Alvirović Šeri Toplica Slobodan Trkulja Zoran Brajović Nikola Oršoš Miroslav Ilić Đorđe Urban Suad Saračević Miroslav Papić Senad Jašarević Petar Alvirović

Garavi Sokak (Serbian Cyrillic: Гарави Сокак, trans. Sooty Alley) is a Serbian folk rock/pop band, formed in Novi Sad in 1982.

In 1980 Bane Krstić (vocals, acoustic guitar), Petar Alvirović (bass guitar), Milan Trifunović (drums) and Šeri Toplica (rhythm guitar) formed the band Pa Šta! (So What!). Initially influenced by The Beatles and Bijelo Dugme, Pa Šta! performed at school dances across Vojvodina.

In 1986 they released the single with songs "Sećaš se" and "Bejbi" under the new name, Seks (Sex). The single was released through the Association of Rock Musicians of Vojvodina. In 1987, under the influence of Krstić's religious parents, they changed the name to Garavi Sokak after the book of poems by Miroslav Antić. They rereleased the songs from their first single under different titles, "Solunska" and "67. bejbi", and started working on their debut self-titled album. Garavi Sokak was produced by Saša Habić and released through Panonija koncert on audio cassette only. However, the band's first official album, also titled Garavi Sokak, was released the following year through Jugoton. The album was produced by Gabor Lenđel, and brought folk rock hits "Skeledžijo", "Teci, teci, Dunave" and "Mađarica". Their following album, Garavi Sokak II, released in 1990, featured similar sound and hits "Ti si mene caknula", "Neko, neko ko je daleko" and "Na temerinskom vašaru". In 1991 they appeared at MESAM festival with the song "Pozdrav iz Soko Banje", which was released on the 7" single, the B-side of which featured a cover of Crni Biseri song "Džudi, Džudi". In 1992 the band released the album Da se vrate srećni dani (May the Happy Days Return). The album was produced by Ivica Vlatković, and featured numerous guests. The album's main hits were "Kao ja", "Reci zašto", "Zima, leto..." and a new version of "Solunska". In 1994 the band released Slova tvoga imena (Letters of Your Name) in the new lineup: Bane Krstić (vocal, acoustic guitara), Zoran Brajović (drums), Nikola Oršoš (bass guitar), Miroslav Ilić (accordion, prim), Šeri Toplica (acoustic guitar) and Milan Trifunović (percussion). The album, produced by Rambo Amadeus, marked the bands shift towards acoustic sound, and brought hits "Biće bolje ako budeš tu", "U Perlezu stao voz" and "Plavi svitac". After the album was released the band started performing with acoustic instruments only.