Written by: Bri Bagshaw (Slavic Minor and 1st-year Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian student)

Photo by Ursa Premik

In January 2024, CSEEES began a new series of weekly social media posts called #MusicMonday which features musicians across Eastern Europe and Eurasia. From classical to pop and rock to musical activism, the aim of these posts is to take our audience on a tour of the sounds and songs of our center’s regions. Slavic minor and 1st-year Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS) student Bri Bagshaw recently had the opportunity to interview our featured artist for March 4, Joker Out of Slovenia. Responses have been edited for clarity.

Part two of Bri's interview focuses on life in Slovenia and Slovenian culture. Read part one of Bri's interview where Joker Out discuss their music career here!

Bri: What are some places in Slovenia that you would recommend to someone who is visiting for the first time?

Jan: We have a lot of pretty lakes, such as Lake Bled, the famous lake within the island with a church on it. And very close is Lake Bohinj, which is a very beautiful part of the Triglav National Park, which itself is a part of the Slovenian Alps. Also, if you like mountains, Slovenia is full of them. We have a few mountainous regions. We also have some coast, we have some cool regions, and we also have a lot of wine regions as well. I think the best part of Slovenia is that you can travel from one point to any other point in the country in, like, two hours. 

Bojan: Two and half, three at most.

Jan: But that’s extreme. Everything is so close – there are many different geographical regions. Some are closer to Italy, some are closer to Austria, and some are closer to Hungary. And yeah, the capital – of course, the capital Ljubljana is also very beautiful. 

Bri: What is a Slovenian dish that each of you would recommend? 

Jure: Žlikrofi. 

Nace: Yeah!

Jan: Yeah, I also vote for žlikrofi.

Bojan: Yes, I’d go for the Carniolan sausage with a side of buckwheat.

Jure:  Oh, potica, you Americans like that. 

Bojan: Oh yeah, potica is actually called potica, who told us that?

Jan: Someone in Dublin.

Bojan: No, so the producer who mixed our second album is based in Los Angeles, but he is originally from Colorado, and he told us that in Colorado there is this group of people who are lovers of potica, or something like that. [Nace laughs]

Jure: Slovenia is half potica.

Jan: I think that we met some guy in a pub who was from Dublin and said he’s, like, from the place where potica is a big thing. 

Bojan: So yeah, there’s a Slovene dish that is like a-

Nace: It’s a pastry.

Bojan: It’s a pastry called potica, you cannot translate it. Obviously there’s a place in Colorado where it is huge. 

Žlikrofi, also known as idrijski žlikrofi, are traditional Slovenian dumplings that are stuffed with potatoes. Carniolan sausage and buckwheat is a popular meal, often eaten for lunch. Carniolan sausage is a pork sausage seasoned with garlic and pepper. Potica is a traditional Slovenian pastry that is typically stuffed with nuts and raisins. 

Bri: What meal or snack do you miss the most when you travel?

Jure: Good popcorn.

Bojan: I miss good soup.

Jan: Yeah.

Bojan:  When we travel, that is definitely – we eat a lot of hard foods.

Jan: We had a few soups in Norway and Poland, but on a tour bus you can’t really make soup. 

Bojan: No, but it would be really cool to have soup every day.

Jan and Jure: Yeah.

Bojan: Are soups big in America?

Bri: It depends on your cultural background. For me, growing up, we had chili more often. It’s like, beans, beef, peppers, and tomatoes. And then when we were sick, it was chicken soup. So I don’t know. My roommate, she’s never really had soup. 

Bojan: She’s never had soup? 

Bri: Not a lot. I’d be like, oh yeah, chicken noodle soup, and she just goes “I don’t know what that is, I’ve never had it.”

Bojan: Interesting.

Jan: Chicken noodle soup literally describes itself. 

Bri: Well, she’s just never had it. I’d be like, “I want some chicken noodle soup”, and she’d be like “Why?”, and I’m like “Because it makes you feel better.”

Bojan: That’s interesting.

Jan: We love soup. [all band members express agreement]

Bojan: It’s soup-erb. [all laugh]

Bri: Which brand would you be most excited about being sponsored by?

Bojan: I’d say that for us as a collective, it would be very good to be sponsored by a healthy food brand.

Jure: A soup brand.

Bojan: A healthy soup brand. We’d be most excited about a healthy soup brand. Or just healthy-

Jan: That or Gibson.

Nace: What about Fender? [noise of uncertainty from Jan] Don’t defend-er the Fender. [laughter]

Jan: Yeah, so some kind of soup, or some type of guitar, drum, or bass.

Jure: Or maybe some hair products? I think everyone uses them.

Bojan: Now we’re getting picky.

Nace: Yeah.

Jure: Yeah, we started with the soup.

Bojan: Healthy food would be great.

The rest of this response is a reference to their new single, “Everybody’s Waiting.” 

Nace: Ginger shot company-

Bojan: Or vitamins [laughter] or shower-

Nace: Or shower-

Bojan: Or maybe a law company, case closed, soul sold.

Nace: So-so-soul sold.

[laughter]

Bojan: So there are many options, definitely. 

Nace:  It’s hard to choose just one. 

Bojan: Yes.

Jan: Just give us the products with the money. 

Bojan: We’ll take it all, that’s the pop part. [laughter]

I started listening to Joker Out at the beginning of last May, after I saw their performance of “Carpe Diem” in 2023. Their three-minute performance was so incredible that the energy they had on stage conveyed the message of what the song meant, even though I did not know what they were saying at the time. Afterwards, I proceeded to listen to all of their released songs and translate them. Joker Out introduced me to a language (Slovene) that I would have never considered listening to, but now it is one of the only languages I listen to, with bands such as MRFY, LPS, Alo!stari, and Jet Black Diamonds. Overall, I think that Joker Out is an amazing band whose goal is to share their language and culture with the world. 

CSEEES would like to thank Bri Bagshaw, Dr. Matthew Boyd, and the wonderful members of Joker Out for letting us share this interview with our readers! Be sure to watch the video on our YouTube channel as well by clicking the link below.