When it comes to the next big thing in alternative culture in Czechia, RUWORR!ED are leagues ahead of the pack.
Though still in their infancy as a band, the things they have been able to achieve in such a small amount of time are more than many hope to get to do in their whole career. It all started when mastermind Šimon Zahradník jumped on stage with YUNGBLUD at Rock For People back in 2024 for a rendition of ‘fleabag’. What has followed is a special relationship with Dom that has just seen him perform at the third annual Bludfest. Throw in a support slot with Palaye Royale, and you have some very special friends in your corner.
Yet what makes RUWORR!ED so remarkable is just how far they have come along as songwriters. Their recent EP ‘am i in love with the mess?’ is a pitch-perfect amalgamation of rock and roll attitude, emo intensity and pop-punk bounce, and this is still only the tip of the iceberg.
To find out more about the project, Rock Sound sat down with Šimon to detail more of their journey so far and what they are hoping comes next.
Rock Sound: How does it feel to be able to say how much you have been able to do over the last couple of years with the project?
Šimon: The whole journey really started in Summer 2024. At that time, I had like three songs out. It was just like a bedroom project, nothing too serious. At that time, I had never played a live show. But since then, it has been a little bit hectic, even though I still hadn’t even got to a point where I knew what I wanted to do or what direction to go. I have just jumped in. In the first six months after the performance with Dom, I was able to put the whole set together, get the whole band together, and we managed to do a first show in Prague. It was a 200-capacity venue, and we sold it out, you know, like first show ever. So, it shows you just have to do it.
RS: To go right back to the very beginning, who were the bands that really made you fall in love with rock music, and where do you feel like your musical passion came from?
Šimon: I think my Dad has played a big part in this. Just him showing me music. And I’d say one of the most important bands for me growing up was obviously Linkin Park. I managed to see them live; I think it was 2014. So that was with Chester, and I’d say that was one of the biggest things. But over time, there were Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Nine Inch Nails. Then Quarantine hit, I started playing guitar when I had all this endless time in my room. So I just watched every single Bring Me the Horizon interview, playing ‘Count Your Blessings’ and ‘Suicide Season’ songs. Around that time, Dom was also releasing ‘Weird!’ and that’s when things started to merge for me.
RS: So when you were playing guitar in your room, did you then eventually learn ‘Fleabag’? Because you were very much ready and knew what to do when your time came at Rock For People?
Šimon: Before the band, my friend and I would jam all the time. All the songs we would listen to and then try to learn. I think Fleabag came out in 2021, and when we heard it, we just learned it. It was intentionally in my back pocket. I know these songs; I’ve listened to them 100 times.
Then when it came to the festival, it was just so random; I have no idea how I even played it. It was the fourth day of the festival, so you can imagine what state I was in. I’m glad the video is only 20 seconds, but I think it looks good. People loved it. It was just so spontaneous and euphoric, and it went both ways. It wasn’t just me jumping around and drinking their beer on stage; Dom was going crazy, too. So many things came together. It was rock and roll fate.
RS: What do you remember about your time on stage?
Šimon: The whole thing was like five minutes, I think. I threw my hands up, and just ran to the stage. I’m on the stage. He gives me a guitar. Boom. And then I’m standing, watching his whole set with that guitar in my hand from the main stage. And it was just like that. It’s almost exactly two years since it happened, and it’s still hard to explain it. It was just really fast.
RS: It’s clear how special a moment it has been, but what sort of effect did it have on your own creativity? Because all of a sudden you’re no longer just jamming in your bedroom; you’re forming an actual band and writing your own music.
Šimon: Aside from making music, it really gave me the confidence to come up on stage and do it as he does. I don’t mean it in a way like copying him, but more just giving it all—100%, maybe even 110%. With the whole project, I think the most important thing for me and the direction it has taken actually comes back to my friend. I’ve known him for 15 years; he’s my drummer and his name is Thomas. Before we started playing shows, it was really like post-punk, full of samples. But if you look at the new EP and the singles after that, it really feels like the songs belong to the stage now.
The music, for me, has really been about writing myself into these songs, and it has really helped me understand who I am. I know it’s cliché, because everybody says it, but it really has worked for me. I’m just working on myself. Some songs stay on the computer; they’re not released yet, and maybe they will never be. But with the new EP, I’ve really had to put myself into the project. I’ve dealt with some stuff while writing – just people going away – and I think writing in the way we have healed a lot of the stuff and solved a lot of the stuff for me. If it hadn’t been for this project, I think I would still be dealing with them.
RS: Is it also gratifying to see that other people are connecting with those feelings as well?
Šimon: It’s really comforting that when we put this music out, people listen to it and read those lyrics, and sing along when they come to the venues to see us. Seeing people singing these songs and just crying out, and really being there, present in the moment, it just really warms my heart and tells me that I’m doing the right thing.
RS: And in playing BLUDFEST, knowing that you also have a co-sign from Dom must be really special, too?
Šimon: We also opened for Dom in October in Prague, on his European ‘Idols’ tour, and the first moment we met, he told me, ‘BLUDFEST, Czech Republic, you’re playing’. That’s priceless.
RS: What would you say the next step is, then? What are you excited about in terms of what the future holds?
Šimon: The biggest goal for the project right now is to get out of the Czech Republic. The scene is really closed here, and the, like, the whole music scene, not, not just like the rock scene and the underground scene. We want to make it out of here and play shows around the world.
