Karel Gott told us: hats off to you guys!
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Emil Miko, singer and bass guitarist of the band Kale, was born on 12 July 1961 in Rokycany, western Bohemia. He comes from the first Czech-born generation of Roma children. Both of his parents grew up in eastern Slovakia. Along with many others, his grandparents decided to live a new life at another place. They made use of a work and accommodation opportunity, leaving in 1946 for Czechia and carrying their musical instruments along. Emil’s interest in music began in his early years. He was a devoted listener of a cimbalom band which rehearsed at his grandma’s. He was under the influence of several genres: traditional Roma music, the Beatles, and Stevie Wonder’s funk. He began playing the guitar with his friends in the park. In 1978, he became a member of a cimbalom band, playing the double bass. Lacking a formal musical training, he was advised by Karol Giňa, father of the singer Věra Bílá. In 1982 and 1983, his daughters Stáňa and Denisa were born. He had left the band after eight years. In 1986, he founded a new band based on guitars and double bass with Věra Bílá and his cousins. After the Velvet Revolution, Zuzana Navarová motivated him to establish the band Kale, featuring again Věra Bílá as a lead singer. At that time Emil Miko exchanged double bass for a bass guitar. Following the release of their first CD in 1995, the band became a hit. They had toured numerous countries all around the world. Emil considers the concert at Hollywood Bowl as their greatest success. In 2005, Věra Bílá left the band. At present, Emil Miko focuses on writing.
