Russian country act to play in Orono

Who are Natasha, Ilya, Lydia, Sergei, Alexander and Sasha?

Leading contenders in pro tennis? Supporting characters in the latest James Bond film? Stars in amateur figure skating?

No, they’re the musicians in the Bering Strait, which plays at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 2, at the Maine Center for the Arts in Orono.

In ultracompetitive Nashville, which chews up and spits out starry-eyed Americans on a daily basis, these six Russians have managed to make a name for themselves. They earned a Grammy nomination with their 2003 debut album, they’ve been featured on “60 Minutes” and in The New York Times, and they are the focus of the 2003 documentary “The Ballad of Bering Strait.”

Still, their time in this country has made members of the sextet more than a bit leery.

“We’re still a little careful,” said Lydia Salnikova, the band’s pianist and harmony vocalist. “We won’t say we’re successful yet. We’ve had some great milestones to show that we’re advancing along. But seeing labels fold up in front of your eyes makes you really cautious. Still we’re hopeful we’re doing the right things.”

If Bering Strait’s members ever write a tune about their stop-and-go development as a band, it would be a real crying-in-your-vodka song.

Although they grew up as the offspring of leading Soviet scientists, the group’s performers hardly rocketed to the top. They met in after-school music classes in the city of Obninsk, where nuclear research reigned supreme.

In hopes of making rehearsals more fun, a guitar teacher introduced students to bluegrass. Over a number of years, Bering Strait evolved into its current lineup: guitarist-banjoist Ilya Toshinsky, lead vocalist-acoustic guitarist Natasha Borzilova, dobro player Sasha Ostrovsky, Salnikova, drummer Alexander Arzamastsev and bassist Sergei “Spooky” Olkhovsky.

What was the lure of this definitely Western form to these Russian musicians?

“Bluegrass was an exotic, fresh music that was technically challenging,” Salnikova explained. “The level of musicianship was always astounding. It was the same thing with country, which they were playing when I joined. We were trying to improve and always grow as musicians, and it seemed this music offered those possibilities.”

After the fall of communism, all things Western were in vogue in the former Soviet states, and these bluegrass babies benefited, becoming minor celebrities.

Still they realized that the only place to succeed as country performers was in Nashville, and they began spending more and more time in America. This led to a split with their guitar teacher-mentor in 1998. They next hooked up with Mike Kinnamon, who became their manager and even housed them in his home for two years.

The sextet signed a recording deal with Arista in 1999. But when a corporate shake-up in 2000 led to the departure of label head Tim DuBois, who had championed their deal, the group asked for and received a release from the RCA Label Group.

They planned to follow DuBois to a startup label in 2001, but that company never came to pass. So the Russians, whose visa wouldn’t allow them to do anything for work but play music, found themselves sitting around, waiting for months as their resources ran down.

Soon a breaking point loomed.

“We gave ourselves a month,” Salnikova recalled. “We needed something to happen fast so we could survive somehow. We would push all the buttons there were to push, and if nothing happened, we were going home.”

Before that time had elapsed, DuBois had convinced Tony Brown, president of MCA Nashville, to sign Bering Strait, which he did in January 2002. The pair then moved the group over to Universal South, their newly formed venture with Universal Records. The band’s self-titled debut album came out in January 2003.

Bering Strait is about four songs into recording its follow-up album, which Salnikova said they hope to finish by late this year or early next year.

“It took us five years to complete our first album, so we managed to outgrow what we’d just recorded,” she said. “We’re a little bit less green this time. It’s more about us trying to find our own sound and liking what we come up with.”

So what’s been the biggest accomplishment for the band? Appearing at the Grand Ole Opry? Being featured on “60 Minutes”? Earning a Grammy nomination?

“The thrill is movement, growth, progress, being able to do what you love on stage, and to touch more and more people with your music,” Salnikova said.

For tickets, call the Maine Center for the Arts box office at 581-1755. Dale McGarrigle can be reached at 990-8028 and dmcgarrigle@bangordailynews.net.