Gravel

A “break-through story of the year”, Gravel is a four-piece rock band from Naujoji Vilnia (a working-class district of the Lithuanian capital), dubbed “Lithuanian Oasis” by some critics. Although the guys themselves dislike the comparison, there are some similarities – the “I don‘t give a shit” attitude of singer Tomasz Sinicki and his guitar playing brother Mirosław creates a kind of charisma not dissimilar to that of Gallagher brothers. Gravel caused huge fuss during the national selection of Eurovision 2006 – with no record label backing, promotional budget and Tomasz not bothering to take his hands out of his pockets during the performance, the band succeeded to fascinate enough viewers to outcompete some of Lithuania’s biggest bands ending up in Top 5. Brave and outspoken, Tomasz is currently a bit of a cult figure in Lithuania – a successful businessman and a lecturer in the Vilnius’ International School of Management, he came pretty close to becoming an MTV VJ, as well. Gravel released their debut album Pockets Full of Fun in December 2006. “It’s the best record in the Lithuanian history”, Tomasz explains matter-of-factly.