NUDE CONCERT SHOCK In a cafe society scene worthy of Henry Miller and Anais Nin,the classical duo with punk attitude- Misha & Ingrid Bodnar, otherwise known as Béla Lugosi -performed last tuesday at a release party for their new album,We Suck Hard, Bodnar announced that they were about to play Dvorak's Dumky trio, "just because Gerald Carpenter said he disliked it." In a display of pure, convention free art and humor, the ensuing performance featured a stripping, Rubenesque music page turner, while cellist Bodnar himself took off one item of clothing for each section of the trio, until the last movement , when he was performing in the buff. Adding to the punk/classical ensemble's growing reputation, they performed last Friday at what they refer to as "Santa Barbara's Loony Bin" (the County's Mental Health facility), and their "home away from home." There they performed Brahms and Iggy Pop and had two felons in orange suits shouting "lewd comments and stupid questions." This past tuesday, Bodnar performed in the 13-year reunion of Venus B**ch (the band with balls) in full drag, where Bodnar tried to "connect with his inner lesbian self."NUDE CONCERT SHOCK - Duncan Wright Santa Barbara Independent "They're decent people at heart, with a wicked sense of humor and the audacity to believe that punk and theatrical attitudes can be woven into the realm of classical music making." - joe woodard l.a. times Béla Lugosi Biography The band Béla Lugosi was created in the streets of Santa Barbara CA, in 1984 by cellist Misha Bodnar. The small boy was discovered playing his cello in front of a bar, by the Hungarian gypsy virtuoso cellist Gabor Rejto. Under the tutelage of Rejto, Bodnar progressed in his music studies at an alarming pace, eventually becoming the youngest student ever to enter the U.S.C. music program. After a violent fight with his family over money owed to his father, Bodnar ran away to Paris to study at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique. During his time at the conservatory Bodnar won the Royaume de la Musique, a nationwide competition sponsored by Radio France. After graduating , Misha worked with the Marseilles Opera Orchestra to survive, but quickly became disillusioned with the attitude of his fellow orchestra players. He decided to ditch the paycheck and go back to his roots; playing in the streets for small change and sandwiches. The streets of Marseilles were full of musicians of different sensibilities and cultures. It didn't take long for Misha to hook up with a group of rabble rousers named Venus B**ch. He stuck a pick-up on his cello and snatched the lead guitarist's amp thereby becoming the first electric punk rock cellist ever. With this band Misha travelled Europe opening for acts like Suicide, L7, Lords of the New Church, The Legendary Pink Dots, and punk legend Johnny Thunders. After the tour Misha felt his home town calling and decided to take the best of Venus B**ch home with him. They crammed into a tiny studio once inhabited by Charlie Chaplin and renamed themselves Béla Lugosi. They recorded eight albums and took over the local clubs and press for almost a decade. The city of Bodnar's youth was changing, becoming more gentrified and sterile, and clubs began to shut down (or Béla Lugosi was banned from them). But they won't give up and continue to haunt the dark allies and dank clubs still remaining in this sunny seaside town to this very day. One thing Bodnar takes seriously is the quality of performers he works with, and though Béla Lugosi is a motley gang of musicians, dancers, strippers, cross dressers, comedians, guerilla theater actors and painters, they are all artists at the top of their game.