MD Network.

Meet Jarrid Frye! This 24 year old basketball point guard was one of the best players in Macedonia last season. He was part of the team that took Ohrid basketball club AMAK S.P. to the national cup finals, where they played against Swisslion Pelister and grabbed the first title in the history of Ohrid basketball. Coming from Maspeth , New York, USA he continued his career in Macedonia immediatelly after his NCAA college ball days for the Sacred Heart Pioneers.

In his last NCAA college ball season of 2006-2007, Jarrid averaged 13.3 points per game, 5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game while his FIBA Europe stats are; 14 points per game, 3.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

After winning the cup with AMAK S.P., Ohrid fans were dissapointed to read Jarrid was leaving. That one day before the second playoff quarterfinal game against MZT Skopje. Even for the players it was a mystery why he left so soon. They really could have used him in the playoffs. AMAK lost and went fishing earlier then expected after such a good season.

We had a moment with Jarrid and asked him some questions, in our new interview, A moment with Jarrid Frye.

MD: Jarrid! Thank you kindly for having this moment with us. You are an outstanding player and very popular among the Amak SP fans and youth in Ohrid. You are definitelly a big part of the succes of Ohrid basketball. That's why we found it so hard to believe you left, and that so suddenly during the playoffs. Let's start to ask you when was the first time you touched a ball and when did you fell in love with the game?
JF: I started playing basketball when I was 7. I grew up watching my brohter and older cousins play a lot, and it just grew on me.

MD: You have played in the NCAA for some time with the Sacred Heart Pioneers. How is it to play in the NCAA?
JF: The NCAA was great. The competition is very tough, and the atmosphere is intense. Every game you must play your best.

MD: After your seasons with Sacred Heart, you decided to play with AMAK S.P. in Macedonia. How was the link with AMAK created, why did you choose to play for AMAK?
JF: After my senior year in college, I hired an agent to work in finding a club for me. I believe he had a good link with my first year coach at Amak. And from there I came for a tryout, and later signed with the team.

MD: How did your family and friends react when you said you were going to play in Macedonia. It's for sure not one of the most known countries in the world.
JF: No one really knew where Macedonia was at first. But we were all excited that I was going to play there, and get a chance to prove myself. But now, there are more people out here in New York that know about Macedonia !!

MD: Did you like Ohrid and was it hard for you to get used to the city, the people and the culture? What about the Macedonian type of playing the game? Can you name some differences with the NCAA?
JF: It was a little hard to get used to the slower lifestyle in Ohrid, things here in New York are much faster. But I got used to it very quicly. The people in Ohrid were very friendly and supportive, and I thank them for that. On the court, the game was also a little different for me. The European game involves more strategies rather than one on one. There were also some violations i had to get used to....as far as "traveling" and reaching fouls.

MD: Do you miss Ohrid? What is your best memory of the city?
JF: Yes, I miss playing in Ohrid...the atmosphere at the games was great !! The best memory would probably be when we won the Cup Title, we had good time celebrating that night.

MD: Which beach and place did you liked the most in Ohrid?
JF: In Ohrid, I like "Liquid" and "Kadmo"...I went there a lot for drinks and to relax.

MD: So can you end the mystery and tell us why you left the club?
JF: Wellll...there were some financial problems with the club. And we made an agreement to part ways.

MD: Where can we see you playing next? Any new club?
JF: Im not sure as of now where I will be playing....but as soon as I find out I will let you guys know !!

MD: What is your favorite NBA team and your favorite player? Do you follow the NBA and recently the NBA Draft? Which player in this year's draft do you think we will see the most of?
JF: I didn't get a chance to watch a lot of NBA when I was in Europe...but I'm a big fan of Dwayne Wade. I think Stephen Curry in this years' draft will do good also Ricky Rubio from Spain.

MD: What about NCAA basketball? Any favourite teams or players?
JF: havnt been keeping up with colleg lately either...I often check on Sacred Heart. Also Devin Ebanks playing for West Virgina, a friend of mine...good player.

MD: If you could choose one basketball club in the world to play with, which one would you choose?
JF: I would love to play for any NBA team..haha. In Europe I'd like to play in Spain or Italy.

MD: Any plans this summer? Taking a vacation or are you going to focus on basketball?
JF: Yea...I took a small vacation after the season to relax and take a break from basketball for about 2 weeks. After that I start to begin my workouts and work on my game for the next season.

MD: How does your typicall day looks like?
JF: I workout in the mornings ( Monday - Friday)...rest in the afternoon with my friends/family. Then I'll play in my summer league games at nightime. On weekends I relax, and go to clubs at nightime to enjoy myself.

MD: Finally, what are your thoughts on the Macedonia Daily website?
JF: I think the MD website is great.....It's a good way to find out what's goin on in Macedonia. I even have my friends and family looking at the website to get updates on the latest news in Macedonia !!

MD: Thank you very much for having this time with us. We wish you all the best in your basketball career and keep us up to date when playing for your new club!
JF: Thanks again for checking up on me....I want to thank Ohrid for their support for the two seasons that I was there. And I'm really interested to vist Ohrid during the summer months...that I've been hearing so much about..hehe !!! See ya...

BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments

MD Network.


The most of you will probably know Miyatta of her song "Veruvam vo sebe" which was a huge hit in Macedonia last year and she also participated in the Idols competition back in 2005. She is working on her first album and is also planning to make an english album afterwards.

This 27 year old singer with her wonderfull voice keeps amazing us, and she certainly did with her latest song; "Postojam" (Click to see)


This very emotional song goes about the Macedonian refugees from Aegean Macedonia who were forced to leave their homes in 1948. We believe many tears have been dropped by people when listening to it. The videoclip is a wonderfull compilation of symbolic and emotional scenes and pictures from that period and we can see MIYATTA herself in the style of an ancient Macedonian queen with a dress made of a map of Macedonia.

MIYATTA! Thank you for having this moment with MD.
We and many, many other Macedonians love your music! We got to know you with the song, Veruvam vo sebe which was very popular in Macedonia but also among the Diaspora. Let us start with asking you what your interesting name means? We are very curious!
MIYATTA is an artistic expression that includes my identity as a daughter of my father (his name was Mijat), and also it is a much unique and shorter expression to represent me with my music, internationally, than my real name, Natasha Mijatovic.
I am really glad to hear that the message carried in the "Veruvam vo sebe" was recognized and popular outside Macedonia. I thank you for that.

When did you start making music?
The audience here first got to know me through the Idol show in 2005, where I made it to the top 10 (for Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro). Later, in 2006, I took part in two festivals (national Eurovision contest, and Makfest) with two of my songs. But the spotlight happened in 2007 with Veruvam vo Sebe, which was the first of my songs for which i made a video.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
From my everyday life. I can never make up a story for any of the lyrics. What I do, is I concentrate on a feeling, a true emotion that happened at some point of my life, and i try to express it in the most suitable rhytmic manner. So for example, Veruvam vo Sebe is for my determination to walk the path of music, and the positive message is that i believe in my talent, and in the belssing that i carry within me. The following song was Volshpstva (Wonders) dedicated to my husband, but also to my everyday routine...Postojam is inspired by the pshychological torture that our southern neighbour is executing over us, etc...

Your new song "Postojam" is a beautifull and very emotional song about the Macedonian refugees who fled Aegean Macedonia. You have really touched many Macedonians with the song. Why did you decide to make this song? Do you have any link yourself to Aegean Macedonia? Do you have roots there? Or relatives who went through this tragedy?
I do not have Aegean Macedonian roots. The lyrics and the intention of this song is not to concentrate on their tragic saga. It is a message that Macedonians are higher beings, that we have outgrown the obstacles that Greeks have put down on us for centuries. But for the video I used materials from the Aegean tragic history because that is a part of our history. We must be aware that the people below us, have been capable of doing such a genocide in 1948, and that veto is just the lighter expression of their hatred towards us. I also wanted to remind all of the Macedonians, how Aegean Macedonians love their homeland country. And that is the way we all must love Macedonia in order to protect it from all the ones that dream of her destruction.

In the "Postojam" music video you are wearing a beautifull dress with a map of Macedonia on it. You look gorgeous by the way, like a Macedonian queen in the style of Kleopatra. Can you tell us something more about it? Who designed it?
The dress was painted by a young artist named Borkica Arsevska. The jewlery was borrowed from a jewlery shop Milosovski, downtown Skopje, and represents the traditional Macedonian bridal look. I wanted the combination of both to present the Goddes of Macedonia coming down the battlefiled and ecouraging her solders before battle. A metaphorical battle of course... I wanted to remind us that the spirit of Macedonia is alive. Maybe even more alive than ever. The map on the dress does not have borders. I did not want to imply anything or any geographical form of Macedonia because, Macedonia lives within every living Macedonian anywhere in the world.

Have you written the text for this song yourself? What about your other songs?
Postojam is a song written by Kuzman Markoski, the music, and me as a lyricist. For the other songs so far I have written both the music and the lyrics.

Have you ever performed in the Diaspora? Or are you planning to do so?
Perhaps not before next year. I would like to finish my first album this year, so that I can have a full album material to present myself before the Diaspora. I would like for my brothers and sisters abroad to see me as a high quality musician and singer, and to be proud of me, and proud with my music.

The clip for one of your other songs, "Volsepstva" was filmed in Cuba right? How did you liked it there? What have you experienced? Have you thought about a duet with some Cuban artists?
I really enjoyed my stay in Cuba. That was in December of last year. There, i definitely was inspired not only by their music and nature, but also the culture in general, the architecture, the cars, the breeze. I did attend a concert of Buena Vista Social Club, but more for my personal inspirational purposes...Who knows, maybe one day there will be a collaboration with some Cuban artist .

What are you working on now? Any new things coming up?
Always working on something new. I just received a confirmation that my song was approved by Makfest, so in October, you can watch me singing at our festival in Shtip. There is another festival this summer, a radio festival for the first time in our country, so I am trying to finish a song for that one before the deadline...

You seem to have a love for oldtimer cars! How come? and do you own a oldtimer yourself?
My vocal coach, singing professor, Goran Dinovski is a president of the old timer society here in Macedonia. So the first contact was through him, but in Cuba, having seen all the old timers alive, the passion grew even stronger. I do not own an old timer, which is not a necessarily permanent condition.

How does your typicall day looks like?
I go to work, at the airport Alexander the Great, where I work as an air traffic controller. After work i usually do some kind of activity related to music, either attending a singing lesson, or going to a studio, or having a creative meeting regarding next project, and in the evening i come my cosy home, where i spend the evening with my husband.

Finally, what do you think of the Macedonia Daily website?
You are doing a really good job: Objectively selecting events, and keeping up-to-date.

MD: Thank you MIYATTA very much for this interview, we wish you much luck and succes with your musical career! You are just another example of how rich our Macedonian musical culture is! And indeed, as you sing, we exist and will exist for ever!

"Postojam"

MIYATTA @ MySpace

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 12:17 AM | Permalink | Comments

MD.

As you may know we have written often about famous Macedonians from around the world who very few people know off them having Macedonian roots. We compiled a list, which you can see below. We will not include historical figures (like Alexander the Great, Aristotel or Cleopatra) to the list, but rather more recent famous Macedonians and less known for their Macedonian roots .

Do you know some celebrity or other famous person with Macedonian ancestry? Send us an email to spotting@macedoniadaily.org and we will add him/her to the list.

MK Roots list:


1. Kevin Kouzmanoff - Known as 'Koooozz' or the 'Mashin' Macedonian' is a Macedonian-American baseball player for the Oakland Athletics in the MLB. Previously he played for the San Diego Padres. Born in California and raised in Colorado he started playing the game and was drafted by the Cleveland Indians. In 2009 he set an NL single-season record for third basemen with a .990 fielding percentage, committing three errors in 309 total chances. Kouzmanoff broke the record of .987 by Colorado's Vinny Castilla in 2004 after which the HOF asked him to send them his glove. He was mistakenly seen as a Russian by his fans, before stating that he is in fact a Macedonian.


2. Michael Stoyanov - Do you all remember the tv-series from the '90's "Blossom"? The main character was Blossom Russo and her older brother, Anthony Russo was played by a Macedonian, Michael Stoyanov. He also had a small part in the Batman movie, the Dark Knight.



3. Pandel Savic - Pandel Savic, a Macedonian from the village of Drago, came to Youngstown, USA thru Ellis Island when he was a little boy. "It was the Steel Valley, and the only way to get out of there was to make it in sports," Savic said. "So I played basketball, baseball, track -- anything I could get my hands on." And so he did, he became a college football player for Ohio State. He helped the 1949 Buckeyes to Ohio State's first Rose Bowl win, gaining 16 total yards rushing and passing, including an important 6 yards on the ground to close out the remaining time and seal the Buckeye victory. The 1949 team also won a share of the Big Ten title, with Savic throwing for 581 yards and six touchdowns on the season. Savic went on to play an important role in the golf community and served as longtime chairman of the PGA's The Memorial Tournament. In 2009 he was inducted into the Ohio State hall of fame.


4. Georgiy Malenkov - a Macedonian, was a Soviet politician, Communist Party leader and close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. He briefly became leader of the Soviet Union (from March to September 1953) after Stalin's death and was Premier of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1955. Despite many close calls, he was one of relatively few important members of Stalin's inner circle who died a natural death in old age.



5. Touriya Haoud - is a Dutch actress, model and singer of Macedonian and Moroccan heritage. Soon after graduating the private Schoevers education with a communication diploma a friend persuaded Touriya to participate in a modeling contest which started her modeling career. Her first U.S. movie is Five Fingers (2006 film). As one of the main characters, Touriya plays Ryan Phillippe's fiancée Saadia, just before he is abducted by terrorist Laurence Fishburne. Following the wrap of shooting Five Fingers (2006 film), she moved to Los Angeles in April 2005. Currently, she can be seen in national commercials for Budweiser Select, TAG Body Spray. She is married to American actor Greg Vaughan and has a son.


6. Mariela Antoniska - is a field hockey goalkeeper from Argentina with Macedonian roots. She won the silver medal with the national women's hockey team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She was born in Buenos Aires.



7. George Alan - is an American actor of Macedonian descent. Alan has appeared in several television shows, including Criminal Minds, 24, Charmed, Friends, Ally McBeal, Alan had a recurring role on the show Girlfriends as the bartender at The Blue Bar.





8. Steven Stamkos - is a Canadian professional ice hockey player with Macedonian and Scottish roots, currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL. Stamkos was the first overall pick in the 2006 OHL entry draft, from the Markham Waxers of the OMHA.After a successful career with the Sarnia Sting, Stamkos was selected first overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, following the team's heavy promotion of him via their Seen Stamkos? website. On July 29, 2008, Stamkos signed a three-year, entry level contract with the Lightning, in which he could earn as much as $8.55 million in performance bonuses.In addition, Stamkos has a number of sponsorships, including an athlete’s agreement with Nike (terms not disclosed). He is featured in a Nike online commercial called Forget Everything which was released to coincide with his first game in his hometown of Unionville on October 28, 2008. He also has an endorsement deal with Tissot watches.



9. Pete Stoyanovich - was an American football placekicker of Macedonian descent who played with the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs and briefly the St. Louis Rams in the NFL. He attended college at Indiana University. Stoyanovich attended Crestwood High School and was a high school All-American in soccer and played on the junior national team at 17. Considered Indiana University's greatest two-sport athlete, he played both football and soccer from 1985-88, sometimes flying from a Friday night soccer match to an IU football game on Saturday, then back for a Sunday soccer match. He chose football over soccer in his senior season, missing out on an Indiana soccer national championship. The All-American finished his football career at Indiana as the greatest kicker in the school's history, holding numerous school and Big Ten records. He was a rare NFL-drafted kicker and is statistically considered one of the most accurate NFL kickers between 1989-2000, during his career with Miami, Kansas City and St. Louis. In 1991 with the Dolphins, Stoyanovich kicked an NFL playoff record 58-yard field goal against the Chiefs.



10. Ziya Tong - is a television personality and producer based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Being of Chinese and Macedonian descent,she was born in London, England and later lived in Hong Kong. Tong moved to CTV to host the new television series Island Escapes, which premiered on January 6, 2006. Critic Denise Duguay called her a "lively and game travel host." In this position, she visited many exotic island locations, and highlighted the attractions of places such as New Caledonia, Bedarra Island and Fiji.




11. Ed Jovanovski - is a Canadian professional hockey defenceman currently playing for the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Florida Panthers, with whom he was originally drafted in 1994, and Vancouver Canucks. Jovanovski was born in Windsor, Ontario, to Macedonian immigrants. Coming from an athletic family, his father Kostadin was a professional soccer player in Macedonia.







12. Mike Illitch - is an entrepreneur and owner of the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers. In addition to his sports ownerships, he is the founder and owner of Little Caesars Pizza since 1959, which has become an international fast food franchise. He has been at the center of Detroit's downtown redevelopment efforts when he purchased and renovated the Fox Theatre, and relocated his headquarters into its offices. He is a first generation American of Macedonian descent. He is married to Marian Bayoff Ilitch.




13. Steve Staios - is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and alternate captain for the Edmonton Oilers of the NHL. He has played both right wing and defence in the NHL. Steve is of Macedonian origin. Staios was selected in the second round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, 27th overall, by the St. Louis Blues. After a relatively successful career in the OHL, Staios spent several years in the IHL and the AHL, eventually making his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins.



14. Marek Jankulovski - is a Czech football left back or left attack winger of partial Macedonian origin. He currently plays for Milan of the Italian Serie A and was voted Czech Player of the Year for the 2007/08 season. He is well known for his versatility being able to play anywhere up the left wing. He is also known for his ability to cross the ball and his considerable technical ability.





15. Toni Maticevski - is a Melbourne-based fashion designer. Matičevski's parents migrated from Macedonia. Matičevski studied fashion at RMIT University graduating with First Class Honours. After graduating he won a Fashion Group International Award resulting in a placement with Donna Karan in New York. Matičevski shockingly turned down an extended position at Donna Karan, deeming the power house creatively draining. Matičevski left for Paris to work two seasons at Cerruti. Matičevski returned to Melbourne in 1998 to launch his own label.




16. Jose Theodore - is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Washington Capitals of the NHL. Théodore was born in Laval, Québec. His father, Ted Théodore, is of Macedonian descent. Théodore played major junior in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), where he won a President's Cup as QMJHL champions and competed in the Memorial Cup with the Hull Olympiques in 1995. He won both the Ford Cup as the top defensive player and Guy Lafleur Trophy as playoff MVP in 1995 and is a two-time QMJHL Second Team All-Star. He is also known for dating Paris Hilton.



17. John Bitove jr.(middle) - is a Canadian businessman and sportsman. He is the controlling shareholder through Obelysk, of Priszm, Scott's Real Estate Investment Trust and Canadian Satellite Radio (which owns XM Satellite Radio in Canada). He is the son of John Bitove, Sr. and of ethnic Macedonian descent. Bitove was the volunteer president of the City of Toronto bid for the 2008 Olympic Games. He was the founder of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association franchise as well as the creator of the new home of sports and entertainment in Toronto the Air Canada Centre. He has also been the volunteer organizer for the 1993 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics (track and field) and the 1994 FIBA World Championship of Basketball. In 2005 he received the first James Naismith Award of Excellence by Canada Basketball.




18. Brett Bitove - is a collegiate basketball player in the United States. He plays for Wake Forest in North Carolina. He was given the name Brett Emerson Bitove. His parents are John and Randi Bitove. His father was the founder and owner for several years of the Toronto Raptors. Brett gave the name 'Raptors' to the Toronto franchise as a young boy. He was born in Toronto, Canada but attended high school in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He now attends Wake Forest University with his brother J.J. and intends to major in Business. He also has a younger sister Blair.



19. Gheorghe Hagi - is a Romanian former football player of Macedonian/Aromanian origin. He was famous for his passing, close control, long shots and was regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s. Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", he is considered a hero in his homeland as well as in Turkey. He has won his country's "Player of the Year" award six times, and was recently named Romanian football player of the century. In March 2004, he was named among the top 125 living footballers by Pelé.



20. Timothy Goeglein - was Special Assistant to U. S. President George W. Bush and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison from 2001 to 2008. Goeglein is a descendant of Macedonian immigrants. In January 2009, Goeglein became the top Washington DC lobbyist and spokesman for Focus on the Family, an Evangelical Christian organization dedicated to family and social responsibility and the outlawing of abortion in the United States.



21. Chris Joannou - is a Macedonian Australian musician, best known as the bass player for the successful alternative rock band Silverchair. Born in Newcastle, New South Wales, he has a twin sister and an older sister. He was the first of the three band members to cut his long hair short. Joannou was nicknamed 'Lumberjack' by Silverchair fans for his love of trees, and plaid shirts. Chris' bandmate Ben taught him how to play bass guitar, making him the only Band member who didn't know how to play an instrument. However, he learned quickly.
As well as being a well known bassist, Joannou was the assistant producer for The Mess Hall albums Feeling Sideways and the ARIA award winning Notes From A Ceiling.



22. Mike S. Zafirovski - is a Macedonian-American businessman. Zafirovski immigrated to the USA in 1969, arriving in Cleveland, Ohio with his family, $1500 dollars among them and speaking no English. Two years later, he entered Edinboro University on a swimming scholarship. In 2004, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. He joined Motorola, serving as Executive Vice President and President of the Personal Communications Sector from June 2000 until July 2002. Afterwards Zafirovski became the President and Chief Executive Officer of Nortel Networks, He was elected to the Board of Directors at Boeing on October 25, 2004 and in July 2007 President George W. Bush appointed him to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.




23. Justin Peroff - a Canadian Macedonian is best known as the drummer for the Toronto based indie rock collective Broken Social Scene. He was also a member of Junior Blue, a collaboration with Dylan Hudecki of By Divine Right. He is a credited actor, appearing in the major motion picture How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and the Canadian television shows Straight Up and Our Hero. When not touring with Broken Social Scene, he is known to DJ Hip-Hop clubs in and around Toronto under the alias Juicetan.



24. Mile Sterjovski - is an Australian footballer of Macedonian origin, who currently plays for Perth Glory and the Australian national team. Sterjovski plays mainly as a right winger or as a second striker, but has also played as a left winger and as a central midfielder. Sterjovski was selected to represent Australia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. In the build-up, he made an appearance in the Australia vs. Greece friendly at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and also played against Liechtenstein, scoring the first goal for the Socceroos in a 3-1 win. In the finals he started in the games against Brazil and against Croatia.



25. Peter T. George - Macedonian American Peter T. George was an Olympic medalist in weightlifting during the 1940s and 1950s.
George was born on June 29, 1929, in Akron, Ohio. His parents, Tryan and Paraskeva Taleff (also known as Tony and Para George) were immigrants from Macedonia. As a child, Peter George excelled in sports and especially developed a fondness for weightlifting. In 1948, at only nineteen years of age, George won a silver medal in weightlifting as a middleweight at the Summer Olympic Games in London, England. In 1952, he won a gold medal in weightlifting at the Summer Olympic Games at Helsinki, Finland and won a silver medal in weightlifting at the Summer Olympic Games at Melbourne, Australia in 1956, competing in the middleweight division each time. Between 1947 and 1952, George also won five world championships as a middleweight in weightlifting.




26. Mike Vrabel - is an American football linebacker of Macedonian heritage, for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at Ohio State. He also spent eight seasons with the New England Patriots, where he set NFL records as a line backer and is a three time Superbowl champion; XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX



27. Steve Atanas Stavro - was a Macedonian Canadian businessman, grocery store magnate, Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, sports team owner, and a noted philanthropist.




28. Vlade Janakievski - Already the third Macedonian who has played for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team. Janakievski immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1967. During Janakievski's career at Ohio State he was the first OSU kicker to be selected twice to the All-Big Ten team. In his first year as a kicker (1977), he made all 44 of his extra point attempts, and is second all-time in extra points (172) for the Buckeyes. He set numerous records during his time playing for coaches Woody Hayes and Earle Bruce.
Janakievski finished his Buckeye career second of the Ohio State's all-time scoring list (behind Pete Johnson), with 179 career points. Janakievski was selected to the Ohio State Football All-Century Team in 2000, and was inducted into the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame in 2004.He currently own a Deli/catering business in Columbus, Ohio.


To be continued....




[MD]

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments

MD Network

We want to introduce you to Macedonian musician, Yova!

She grew up in Bogdanci, and her career as a singer started when she went to sing at the first year of the childrens festival “Kalinka” in Gevgelija where she performed the song “Da peeme za mir”.

At the age of 16 she took part in the “Tins Fest” in Prilep where she got the chance to meet and work with Macedonian hitmaker at that time, Tose Pop Simonov and she performed a song called “Ekskurzija”. She was also invited to take part at one of the band's “Zijan” concerts in Negorski Banji.

After finishing high school she went to the United Kingdom, where she got a diploma in popular music performance at the highly acclaimed “Vocaltech”. It was then when she started working on a project with two great songwriters and the album is now nearly finished.

One of her songs “Be happy” has been finding itself on the popular Billboard European quarterly compilation of 2004 and has been the “Record of the day” in March of 2004 on the record of the day website (a website that's launched some of the big names in the industry, such as Damien Rice, Keane & Nizlopi.

She even got a comment on her myspace from a member of the internationally known band “Dire Straits”. Mr. David Knopfler complimented her on her song “Here & gone” saying that it has the potential to become a movie soundtrack. She has had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Knopfler & finding out more about his latest solo releases..

Recently she has been working with top Los Angeles music producer, Ken Rose. And they have even spoken about a collaboration on a song to compete in next year's Macedonian eurovision songcontest! And Macedonia Daily has the privilege to bring out this news first!

Her album will be finished soon and now she is working on the artwork.


Hi Yova! Thank you for having this moment with MD.
We listened to some of your songs on your website and we must say they are really good. Most of the macedonian singers do R&B, HipHop and pop, so we were very delighted to see that there is a Macedonian who makes this style of quality music in english! Your album is coming up, what will it be like?
Thank you for your interest in my music.
I must say with living abroad it’s not always easy to stay in touch with what's going on back home, but I definitely didn't know that the style of music I do is not that present on the Macedonian music scene. Maybe.. we can change that in the future. The material on my album is pretty much acoustic, emotionally intense at times and I can even say it's looking to pull some heart strings.

Your song, "Here and gone" is beautifull and when listening to it we got some special feeling, maybe even emotional. Is that also what you wanted your listeners to feel?
I'm glad you like "Here & Gone", it has had a great response..As well as when performed live it's been greatly received on my "My Space" page too. (www.myspace.com/yovamusic). It is without a doubt a music piece that carries strong emotion and looks to connect with the listener. It has had quite a few comments saying that it would be perfect as a movie soundtrack. Maybe one day it will be :-)

Do you write the lyrics yourself? And are the songs about your personal life?
The material on this album has been co written with two other writers and some of the songs have definitely been influenced from my personal experience.

Which song are you most proud of?
I have to say that all of the songs are dear to me but.... "Growing Pains" seem to be the one I always go back to....Regardless I love them all.

You have been in the UK for a long time now, do you ever visit Macedonia? Just for vacation or do you also perform there?
I've been in the UK for about 8 years now and although I would love to visit Macedonia on regular basis it's not always possible. I try and see my family and friends at least once a year.......
As for performing, I haven't been on stage in Macedonia for a very long time, but I plan that to change in the near future.

Are you doing anything besides singing?
Although a lot of my time is taken by making music, I do Multimedia studies as well, that is Graphics & Animation. It is also a very creative. One can produce great results by combining the work from different programmes.

How does your typicall day looks like?
My days tend to be slightly different every day, but they mainly revolve round my Multimedia studies, making music of course, some part time work in a Music department of a Big Retail Company and going to the gym.

You want to compete in next year's Macedonia national eurovision contest, can you give us some info on what kind of song it will be? Are you also thinking to add folk elements as many previous Macedonian and foreign eurovision participators did?
The idea of entering the national Eurovision contest in Macedonia came about only recently. A friend of mine Ken Rose who is a very respected musician in the business recently suggested that we team up for such a project & it would also be a challenge for both sides. He would be working on something that will be interpreted in a completely different language, where on my part I would have to convey that message in the best way that I can by singing in my home language, and it's definitely been a while since I've had the chance to do that. Although it's still very early stages I will make sure I do my research & who knows maybe even add some folk elements. Whatever happens I'm sure it will be great.


Finally, what do you think of the Macedonia Daily website?
Brilliant idea! And great work on the website. Good design, easy to navigate and above all it does a great job to keep every Macedonian in touch with what is going on in Macedonia wherever they may be.


MD: Thank you Jova very much for this interview, we enjoyed it, and we want to wish you much luck and succes with your music career and of course with your proposal for the Eurovision next year! We hope you will create a great song, so Macedonia can have some real succes at the Eurovision sometime, we really need that!

Thank you very much!
It's been my pleasure! Hope I do everyone proud. :-)

Posted by Macedonia Daily at 3:10 AM | Permalink | Comments