Cane (musician)
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Zoran Kostić (Зоран Костић) (born August 17, 1964 in Belgrade) widely known by his nickname Cane (pronounced [tsanɛ]) is the vocalist for Serbian punk group Partibrejkers. With his trademark nasal voice, narrative singing style and distant attitude he is one of the more recognizable figures on the Serbian music scene.
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[edit] Early years
Born to a working class family, Cane exhibited rebellious tendencies early in life, and seguéd easily into the role of a punk band frontsman. After playing with Urbana gerila for a while, he continued in Radnička kontrola where he joined up with some also soon-to-become-notable musicians: drummer Žika Todorović, lead guitarist Darko Milojković and bassist Srdjan 'Djile' Marković.
As teenagers they recorded two tracks - "Dosada" and "TV u koloru" - both of which found their way onto a various artist compilation ARA: Artistička radna akcija released country-wide by Jugoton in 1981. This national exposure led to a spot on the showcase concert at Belgrade's Tašmajdan stadium in September 1981 with a batch of other up-and-coming acts. Even though more than a dozen bands played, the concert would mostly be remembered for Cane's annoying behaviour. Barely 17 years old, he incessantly provoked the crowd to a point where so much commotion was created that the show had to be interrupted. This got him some, mostly negative, publicity in the daily papers by prompting a discussion on the values and morals of Yugoslav youth.
Still, Radnička kontrola's biggest claim to fame came in October 1981 in Ljubljana where they opened for Sarlo akrobata at their last ever show. It later turned out that this was also Kontrola's final appearance.
[edit] Partibrejkers
In August 1982, Cane and drummer Goran Bulatovic 'Manza' dreamed up the idea about a band called Partibrejkers. They were soon joined by guitar player Nebojsa Antonijevic 'Anton' and bassist Ljuba Konstandinovic.
Main article: Partibrejkers.
Cane quickly became notorious for his colourful on-stage interaction with audiences. When he'd address a raucus crowd he'd often do so in an extremely condescending manner creating a poisonous atmosphere which would on occasion even incite violence. He seemed to revel in making people uncomfortable. As he got older he became less inclined to do this, but will still quickly and easily revert back to old ways during a show if he notices something he doesn't like.
Though he never went into details, it's generally implied he did plenty of drugs during Partibrejkers' early period. For two years during mid-1990s the band was on hiatus and possible brink of folding while Cane battled illness caused by thyroid gland problem for which he had to have surgery. In 1995 he got married and moved to Zrenjanin where he recuperated with his wife. Leaving the pressure cooker of Belgrade behind, he also turned to religion which he credits for helping him calm down and instill self-discipline.
[edit] Urban myths
Since Cane rarely gives proper interviews, and even when he does they're seldom forthcoming, his public image is full of inaccuracies and embellished tales that have spread through the word of mouth.
Some of them have him sarcastically cutting down random female fans who collected enough courage to walk up to him on the street to profess their love. Others paint him as a stubborn coot capable of sending his girlfriend home from a date simply because of not liking her choice of shoes for the occasion. And yet others more recent ones, have him speaking in slacker, street lingo with Serbian Orthodox Church monks.
Majority of these stories probably aren't true, but they persist perhaps because it isn't very hard to imagine Cane actually doing all those things considering his off-coloured stage persona. They're also proof that at the age of 40+ he, himself has become somewhat of a walking urban legend.
[edit] Trivia
On his mother's side, Cane is related to Gavrilo Princip.
