Fred Durst, frontman for the U.S. rock band Limp Bizkit and self-professed admirer of Russia and Crimea, just may get the chance to put his show on the road in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR).
The American-born rocker has broadcast his desire to obtain a Russian passport, and has reportedly written about his intention to show the world what a great guy Russian President Vladimir Putin is.
The founding member of Limp Bizkit -- voted by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the worst bands to emerge from the 1990s -- reportedly loves the idea of living in Crimea, luring creative American talent there, and making the peninsula illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 a star in the entertainment industry.
Now, according to separatist news agency reports, the "culture ministry" of the self-proclaimed DNR has sent the band a formal invitation to perform.
The invitation apparently came in response to a statement made by Eduard Ratnikov, organizer of Limp Bizkit's Russian tour, who told Donetsk News Agency that the band might consider coming to separatist-controlled eastern Ukrainian cities in 2016.
"We talked to the band about adding [the cities] to the next tour, and in general the guys say that they will consider proposals of those inviting them and maybe include Donetsk and Luhansk in this schedule," Ratnikov said.
The organizer added that Limp Bizkit had not swung through the disputed region during its current eastern European tour because "the roads are bombed and there are shell craters, so trucks with equipment can't pass quickly."
But if conditions are right, it seems, residents of the hotly disputed Ukrainian territory can look forward to rocking to songs from Chocolate Starfish to Hot Dog Flavored Water and perhaps even the upcoming album Stampede Of The Disco Elephants.
Calling all you "hot mommas, pimp daddies, and people rolling up in caddies" -- it's time to get Rollin' in the DNR.
Durst And 'Crimea's Great Future'
In a September 1 interview with the Russian RockFM radio station, Durst, whose third wife Ksenia is a Crimean native, said he wouldn't mind obtaining a Russian passport.
"If you have connections with the relevant authorities that could assist me to get one, share them," he told the interviewer.
Durst later appealed directly to administrators of Crimea, Izvestia reported on October 8. According to the pro-Kremlin daily, the musician wrote a letter suggesting that if he were granted a Russian passport he would be able to live in Crimea for six months at a time. There he would shoot movies and television shows that would push Russia to a "high level in this business."
Durst reportedly wrote that he wanted to be a part "of the great future of Crimea and Russia" and guaranteed that "other creative Americans from film and show business" would follow him to Russia.
Limp Bizkit reached its peak of popularity in the West in the early 2000s, but Durst and his band appear to enjoy a large following among Russians -- and even the Russian government.
In his recent letter to the Crimean authorities, Durst reportedly made clear his fondness for the Russian president.
"I think that President Putin will understand what kind of person I am, having looked into my eyes ,and will know that he has an ally that can help in many things," Durst wrote, according to Izvestia. "I am sure that we can do many important things together and it will help Russia, and it will help people all around the world to understand that Putin is a great guy with clear moral principles and a nice person."
Perhaps Durst sees someone in Putin -- something he often sings about on stage in Limp Bizkit's cover of The Who hit Behind Blue Eyes:
No one knows what it's like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes
And no one knows
What it's like to be hated
To be fated to telling only lies
Or not. Whatever the case, Russian officials in Crimea appear anxious to hear from Durst to further discuss the possibility of cooperation.
"All the proposals that he puts forward, I am sure, will be met with enthusiasm in Crimea," Sergei Strelbitsky, Crimea's so-called minister of resorts and tourism, told Izvestia.
