Drums/ Percussion

From an early age Ilya showed an interest in music. Starting with an organ bought for him by his mother, followed by a Mexican guitar given him by his father, next playing alto-saxophone for two years in junior high school, real dedication seemed to elude him. Then he discovered the Drum. "I remember in high school band being magnetized by the drum-squad drumming the entire band onto the field; the bass drummer in particular." It wasn't long before he found himself playing any available drumset. "It was quite simple to play the basic two-and-four drum beat, but by no means did I consider myself a 'drummer'."

A few years of musical limbo passed when one day the idea dawned on him to trade his '81 Fender Stratocaster (again bought for him by his father) in for a drumset. He marched the few blocks to the neighborhood music store he frequented and "got taken" by a sour, much older salesman. "I got the worst possible set of drums with no hardware but at least they were new." After a few rehearsals with a band of friends, Ilya met Arthur who was co-writing, singing, and playing in another band. Challenged by the subtle yet complex pop-songs, he found himself frustrated but dedicated to meet the needs of the music. "I knew there was some real talent in the band so I stuck it out." The collaboration would prove to withstand the eventual demise of their band and solidify into the next project, Lavendula. "There was quite a lot of stylistic variation in the one album we recorded, Joseph Bringley. I learned so much during that time."

During the recording and in the following years, Ilya was exposed to the world of hand-drumming. "I can't express how much it helps my stick-drumming and vice versa. I don't differentiate between the two idioms anymore; they seem to come from the same part of my spirit." With a recently acquired 50's era Gretsch drumset and the new frontier that is Arthur Yoria, playing drums has never been more satisfying for Ilya. "I am ecstatic every time we play or rehearse. With this level of songwriting as the nucleus, there seems to be nothing this music can't do."