The current Phoenix band’s Nick Kovach-led solo concert at the wedding of AUR leader George Simeon, which many saw as close to Russian propaganda narratives, did not go down well with some of the band’s former members or collaborators.

Josef Kapple, the band’s bassist and longtime member, spoke on Saturday and distanced himself from Nick Kovaci’s decision.

• Ex-Phoenix member’s attack after Niku Kovaci agreed to sing at George Simeon’s wedding: “I’m ashamed of his disgrace! Farewell meeting! Not with me!”

Why Joseph Kapple thinks Phoenix shouldn’t have performed at George Simeon’s wedding

Now Joseph Kapple reveals why he thinks singing at Simeon’s wedding was the wrong move.

“There is no shame in singing at a wedding or a funeral, even if your name is Phoenix! But if it’s someone’s wedding with a worldview that goes against the philosophy and message of the music you’re making, and it’s just a gimmick, and you agree to sing it for money, then there’s something wrong with it!” Kapple told the publication Santinela.net

“In this case, it was very necessary to intervene immediately to remove any association of the event with my person as the Phoenix name I was a member of!”

“The achievements of the Phoenix group, here I mean the 70s, when the masterpieces that marked the history of Romanian rock were created, do not belong to one person, but to a large group consisting of musicians, songwriters, poets and philosophers.”

See also:

• Andriy Uzyke’s Violent Reaction After George Simeon Says Phoenix Has A GOLDEN Anthem: ‘I forbid any misappropriation and misuse of even one verse’