The Grand Astoria

The name of this band - The Grand Astoria - comes from a famous hotel in their hometown of Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, built in 1912 and then renovated in 1991. Those dates alone give us a snapshot of the building's cultural significance. As one of the city's most famous hotels, it was designed as a final expression of pre-Soviet grandeur, and would - decades later - benefit almost immediately from an huge injection of post-Soviet wealth. In between these two dates and events, one of the world's most powerful and restrictive regimes both rose and fell.

Somehow the Astoria kept standing.

The Grand Astoria is a Russian rock band from Saint Petersburg, formed in 2009. The current lineup consists of Kamille Sharapodinov (vocals and guitar), Igor Suvorov (guitar), Michael Bookin (bass guitar), Albert Vartanov (drums) The band style combines such genres as psychedelic rock, stoner rock, punk rock and heavy metal. The members mention Iron Maiden, Mudhoney, Megadeth, Faith No More, Jimi Hendrix among their major influences. DIY ethic is the usual way the band arranges their tours and record deals. During the fall of 2010 The Grand Astoria played over forty shows across Europe in support of their second album. Their third album named Omnipresence was released at January 1th, 2011. A world tour has been announced for the whole year as well via the band's MySpace.

http://www.myspace.com/thegrandastoria