The Croatian band Seven and Counting was founded in 2014 by Vinko ‘Rusty’ Baković. The inspiration for the band was Rusty’s curiosity. Although he had no prior experience in music whatsoever – never played solo or in a band and never took music lessons, he’d written some songs and wondered what they would sound like if he did, in fact, find some like-minded people to play them…

I like the name “Seven and Counting.” What does it mean to you, and what does it reveal about the band? 

On our first rehearsal ever, there were seven of us. But we knew it won’t be the final number so before we grew up into an even bigger band, we came up with ‘Seven and Counting’. Ever since we have established a lineup of at least eight members and on a rare occasion we count to ten. To me, that name was something very true, very connected to the band’s origins and also, potentially flexible in the terms of lineup changes. But one gets at least seven people on the stage and that’s mandatory!

How did the band get together?

I had a pretty big pile of songs written in about twenty years. I never had an ambition to go public with it, I used to write songs for my own amusement or, in a way, as self-therapy. Then, when I turned 42 and to my surprise, I realized I still enjoy playing those songs and it started to make me wonder if it’s worth more than being played in my living room. After a while, I decided to give it a shot and spoke with my wife Daria (one of our backing vocals) and Boško Colić (drums) and the three of us decided to form the band. At first, we just wanted to see if my songs would sound in the real World as good as they sounded in my head. After two demo singles we all agreed what we do makes sense and from that point on, we exist as a proper band.

You never took music lessons before putting Seven and Counting together. How did you learn how to play? 

It all started when I was in high school. I’ve learned a little bit of rhythm guitar by myself, just for fun. Over the years I improved my playing skills but, as I mentioned before, I was never too serious about it and I actually never believed I have enough talent for music. I just loved to play songs I like. Of course, when the band came up, my experience was far from enough to cope with the band’s needs and I had to learn hard and fast on so many different levels. And I was already a middle-aged bloke! But with a great deal of patience, support and knowledge shared by my bandmates, it all developed into something far better than I could ever imagine.

Similarly, you’d never been in a band or even played solo before Seven and Counting, yet you had written songs twenty years before the band got together. What inspired you to write songs long before you had any thoughts of recording them or performing live?

I asked myself the same question for years… I think we all have moments in life when certain emotions explode and leave a significant mark on us. Dealing with it could be tricky and I guess my way came in songwriting. For example, the title song of our debut album “Tonight”… Me and my wife were in a very bad financial situation when it was written, we didn’t just talk about emigrating but we also took serious steps in that direction. When it was obvious we could actually leave the World we know in a month or two, it wasn’t easy to absorb. Late at night I would imagine that last night, before departure, how it would make me feel, what would I do and it was stressful. Then, the song came to me and I was writing it and composing it for a day or two and once it was finished I felt relieved. Songwriting is, for me, like putting a dot at the end of the sentence. Something that wraps things up and allows me to move on.

How did you learn how to be a band leader? 

I’m a graphic designer and in my professional life I worked in teams, led teams, I worked with different people and presented our work to clients. And I found out it’s not too different from being a band leader. You have to know what you’re doing, you have to know and understand the people you work with and you have to “sell” your work to clients/audience. Of course, when your first live gig ever is only an hour away, it’s not easy and no matter how confident one might be, there is at least one single moment where everything inside you screams “Run and don’t look back! Hide! This is not for you!!!”… Well, I passed that moment when it came to me as a fact – “I’m not going out there to face 50-100 people with assault rifles… I’m going up on that stage to play some music and there’s nothing I can do but get up there and give my best”.

Do you feel like your lack of formal musical training has been a benefit in any way? 

As always, being ‘out of the box’ (or formal boundaries) has its benefits but it’ always better to be in that box for a while and then to step out. I see many bad sides of me not being formally educated in every day’s work with the band but after eight years we found our own way of explaining and communicating about the ongoing work. On the other hand, my relationship with music was based on very pure and honest grounds: I was a listener! I was listening to all kinds of genres and I listened carefully, paying attention to details and nuances simply because – I loved to listen to the music. So now, at least I know how to connect the dots so my bandmates would understand my ideas and how to push the song in the right direction.

I hear echoes of classic rock in your music—specifically Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Who are some of your influences? 

Bulls-eye! :-))) Yes, Bruce is definitely one of the heroes of my formative years. But not the only one… John Fogerty, Bob Dylan, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles, Mark Knopfler, they all left such a strong mark on my taste for music during my teens. Later, in my early 20’s, I discovered Willie Nelson, Van Morrison, Johnny Cash, to mention only authors I still listen to regularly to this day. I hear bits and pieces of them (and many others to be honest) in our songs and I believe it’s not just ok, it’s normal. My house of music was built on their bricks too and they were great teachers and it comes natural to absorb their teaching and a little bit of yourself. I mean, my songs would never remind anyone of the bands like Anthrax or Blue Oyster Cult’simply because they were never ‘my thing’!

Seven and Counting is a large band. How do you balance the decision-making? Does everyone get an equal say? 

From day one, my idea of this band could be summed up in one sentence: “We are entering the rehearsal room with my song and we are leaving it with our song”. As long as an idea or effort is good for the song, it’s welcomed. The song itself is most important and we all are putting our egos aside to serve the song. When a lead guitarist comes and says ‘I think this guitar solo should be shorter’, no other explanation is needed! :-)))))) But, if we stumble upon a fifty-fifty situation, the decision is on me. So are the consequences!

Your wife, Daria, is also in the band. How does that relationship influence your music?

In a very good way, actually! As I work on the song at home she can hear me and when the song becomes more or less finished, she starts to think of backing vocals, how and where to sing and stuff like that. So when we start to work on that song with the band our three backing vocals already have some ideas and guidelines and that’s a huge for us because we are using their singing extensively in our work.

Your press materials mention that everyone in the band has a similar sense of humor. Why is that important?

It’s normal to face some tensions occasionally and the best way to overcome it is laughter. But if someone can’t understand the joke (and of course, they are oftenly not something to be displayed in public!), it can make the whole situation even worse. But if bandmates can share a good laugh and make jokes at each other’s expense without bad feelings afterwards, it is as much important as mutual understanding while making music.

What’s next for Seven and Counting? 

Well, most likely a several summer gigs in our hometown and surrounding area and then in the mid September, we’re back in our rehearsal room with new songs. Hopefully, our second album won’t take that long to be published as ‘Tonight’.