Important by itself...

Well, some songs are important because they simply are! Everythig I remember about this song is that it was ALWAYS number 2 or 3 of the daily top 10, just like that Green Day's song, do you remember?

They both are from the same period of my life (obviously, cause they are from 1997 and 1998), when I was just figuring out what music was in my poor life, 2 or 3 years before I start to play the guitar.

I also remember that they performed a concert in São Paulo many years later, I still liked the band, but it was really expensive and I wasn't excited and "rich" enough to pay for it...

This song reached the number 1 in the US (but not in Brazil as I told in the beginning =o)

Music: Never There

Album: Prolonging the Magic

Band: Cake

Realesed: 1998

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São Paulo's City Centre - Rock Gallery

There's a place at Sampa's city centre that's called "Galeria do Rock" (Rock Gallery). It's a 5 floor building where a bunch of stores sell CDs, vinils, t-shirts. In the past it was all about rock, nowadays there stores which sell other kind of music and stuff.

When I was 14, I went to the Rock Gallery with my father and a very good friend of mine (Dezesseis' drummer). I had saved some money to buy everything I could, so did my friend.

My father was driving and he parked in a car park close to the Rock Gallery. Right in front of the car park there was a broken pipe, which was being used as a shower by a beggar. He was completelly naked, using a plastic cup get the wather from the gap of the sidewalk. It was a very warm day and I have never seen someone as happy as him when taking a shower!

After that, we went shopping and bought everythin we wanted. It's wasn't much, because we didn't have much money. My friend bought a CD by Sepultura, and he openned it when we were in the car... sadly, it was falsified.

One of my goods, the only one I can remember, was Insomniac by Green Day. This CD had been reaaally criticised by the audience, but for me, it's as good as the others (even Dookie).

Song number two, Stuck With Me, is my favorite, and we used to play it in Dezesseis. Some say, that it's name is wrong, and had been exchanged with a song called Do da da (From Stuck With Me Single), which says repeatedly "Stuck With Me" in the chorus. It's an unfortune that this song is not part of the main CD, because would definetely be one of the best songs of the album!

Band: Green Day

Song: Stuck With Me

Album: Insomniac

Release: 1995

Band: Green Day
Song: Do da da
Album: Stuck With Me (single)
Release: 1995

(Sorry about the video)

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My First Band and My First Song Ever

Once upon a time, there were three youngster from the south of São Paulo. They were only friends until one day when things changed!

They were "having fun" in a "party" of a "friend" when they first suggested to start a band. Well, the guitar player wasn't good, the bass player (myself) neither, but the most important was that the drummer wasn't actually a drummer, he had never played a drum before that day. However, it was only a small detail: what's the problem about starting a band without a drumset? Easy, anyone can do it! To make things even better, my friends decided to name the band as Porca Loka (I have always hated that name, I was against it, from the beginning, I swear!)

Ok, we finally bought a drum and started playing (or pretending). I still have some tapes of or rehearsals, so disgraceful! Well, it wasn't good as music, but it was awesome as friendiship and good fun!

How can a band be a punk rock band if its first song is not from the Ramones? So, the first song that comes to my head when I remember things from that time is "I wanna be your boyfriend". How dare we play it so badly? Jesus...

The funniest thing is the sound of the drumplates, that were actually demonstration plates, what means, plates to be shown in the front of the store with the drums, but not to be sold with it! Holy shit, it had been better if we used pans, traffic signs or something else!

Very, very good times! I really miss it, thanks to my old Friends Dan and Surf (he loves his nickname =o).

Song: I wanna be your boyfriend

Band: Ramones

Album: Ramones

Release: 1976

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Happy Days for a Waiter!

Well, well... this song reminds me two situations of happiness.

The first one happened in the end of November, actually on my 24th anniversary! I went to a Saw Doctors concert with my girlfriend, and this was one of the best moments in Ireland. I was so excited in the concert, coundn't stay quiet a second. This is one more remarkable moment for me, because i could feel and share this moment as part of a group... I felt I was part of something Irish... there was no more imigrants or foreigners in the theatre! All the irish were singing out loud! From my seat I could see a man in this fourty's who was singing as it was his first concert ever! Right in my front, there was a elder couple which was really charming! The old lady was dancing so beautifully that she seemed a little girl!

This was my fourth concert abroad and the third in journey to Ireland, and my first in the Irish island... Sister Hazel (EUA),  John Mayer's(UK) and Amy MacDonald's(UK).

This day itself would be enough for me to not ever forget this song. But, one month later I was in my company's party! Ok, it was a catering company, but it was a happy day, happy people and the beginning of the holidays, it was christmas party! =o)

I talked to the DJ and asked a Saw Doctor's song. Almost half an hour later he played, N17 was on again! 90% of the company was made of foreigners that didn't know that song, but, there 4 or 5 happy irish guys who sang this song with me, once more, unforgettable!

N17 is the road that connects Tuam (Saw Doctor's hometown) to Galway city.

Music: N17

Band: Saw Doctors

Album: If This Is Rock and Roll, I Want My Old Job Back

Release: 1989

Few scenes from the concert!



The video bellow shows some shots from the party! (Song: The Pogues - Fairy Tale of New York)


Festa de fim de ano da With Taste

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If there´s No Substance, it goes to the bin!

Well, last week I told you the story of the first song I learned to play in the bass and this song reminds me another story... It didn't happen to me, but it bothered me a lot at that time. I was fourteen or fifteen...

When Bad Religion was the best and almost my only band to hear, one of my friends was listening to it and he finally bought CD.

Few days later, he came to me to say he threw the CD away. The reason: his mother read through the lyrics and found out what they were about. For those who are not informed or are too orthodox, the lyrics can be misunderstood as something anti-Christ.

I was shocked, I had that CD and I cound't imagine that someone could ever do that. Months later, my friend came to me once again and asked my CD for him to make a copy...

There's no specific song that reminds me this story, then, my favourite song in this CD will do!

Music: Shades of Truth

Band: Bad Religion

Album: No Substance

Release: 1998

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First Song in the Bass

I think I'll write a series of posts based on my "firsts". I have already writen about the first music I liked in the Pop Blues style, the first I liked by Sister Hazel, and so on.

It´s a variation of the same subject, thats the first song I ever played in the bass. It happened in the year 2000 when my big friend Edu Giansante came back to our village. He brought his drums, guitar e and bass with him.

I was only a begginer with the guitar but I wanted to learn to play the bass. I showed him some songs I liked, and he learned by ear one by Bad Religion that started with the bass, and taught me!

Then, this song, far away from my favourites, but still a good song, draws a division line in my "musical life".

Music: Shades of Truth

Band: Bad Religion

Album: No Substance

Release: 1998

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Lowering my Self Steem...

Well, nothing is perfect. It´s a brazilian saying that can be said and understood in any language! 

Once upon a time, there was a band, my band, called Dezesseis (Sixteen). Once upon the same time, there was going to be an event in my school... Well, it can be seen as an oppotunitty, can´t it? 

Well, we talked to the principal and she allowed us to play in the event, bad luck day, I have to say...

We rehersed some new songs, trying to get the most most popular but still in our style, Punk Rock / Hard Core. We played few songs, 4 or 5... One of ours, and the others were covers... I could remind any song we played, but for some reason, any reason, I remind Offspring - Sefl Steem. 

The sound equalization was awful. They plugged the microphones in speakers that were located metres away from the band, we could barely listen to it, and the audience could hear only it! That was a disaster in its perfection! One of my worst shows ever, possibly the worst!

Artist: Offspring
Music: Self Steem
Album: Smash
Released: 1994

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