Sergey Kuzmenko was born in Kiev, the Ukraine in 1984. In 1999, after graduating from the local Music School, he went to The Gliyer College of Music (Kiev). In 2000 he formed his first band “Zapasnoj vihod” (“Z-exit”) and in 2001 they released their first album “Sny o lichnom” (“Dreams about Private”). People started to notice that Sergey looked like the famous Soviet Rock Legend Victor Tsoi, who tragically died in 1990. Not only he looked like Victor Tsoi, but his voice sounded similar to Victor’s as well. After Sergey moved to the U.S. in 2001, he quickly gained popularity with the Russian Community in New York. Very soon he began to receive invitations to perform on stage in New York, Boston, Washington DC, Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, Toronto and many other cities.
In 2007 his videos went viral on YouTube and the Russian equivalent of Facebook: Vkontakte. In 2008 Sergey was discovered on YouTube by one of the casting directors from Russia and invited to play Victor Tsoy’s double in the movie “Chapitau-show” alongside the legendary actor and musician Piotr Mamonov, known for his stellar acting in ‘The Island’ and “Tsar”. In 2010 Sergey was invited to impersonate Victor Tsoi in the Russian popular TV-show “Bolshaya raznitsa” (“The Big Difference”) on Channel 1 (Moscow).
After that TV appearance the singer’s popularity peaked, with more concerts and invitations piling up, this time not only in the U.S. but also in the Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Kazakhstan, and Germany.
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In 2011, after the world premiere of the movie “Chapiteau-show”, Sergey was invited to perform at the 33rd Moscow International Film Festival. Among the celebrities who attended the Festival were Geraldine Chaplin, Michael Bay, and John Malkovich.
The movie “Chapiteau-show” received a special Jury Award, which was handed over to the producers by Geraldine Chaplin. In the Summer of 2012 it was screened at the “Seattle International Film Festival”. Later in 2012 Sergey spoke at the movie screenings at the “Anthology Film Archives” in New York, and in Port Worth, TX. Screenings were supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, The Government of Texas, and The “Lone Star Film Society”.
“Z-exit” as a band was formed in Ukraine, but now has multiple members around the World. Most recent musicians:
- Vitaliy Nepomniashiy
- Andrey Kuzmin
- Andrey Gmatik
- Sergey Pyuro
