"I still have newspaper and magazine clippings from the Kiss concert in '83. Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes."
Before The Rolling Stones and The Beatles…
By Cesar Gavin (*)
I was born in 1969, the year of Woodstock! Thank God!
I was still a child (between 7 and 8 years old) when my brother (17 at the time) called me into his room and said: listen to this. He turned on the record player and played “Detroit Rock City” by Kiss. The interesting thing is that he started “narrating” the introduction to me (I remember it like it was yesterday). I listened to the whole track and at the end he concluded: wait, wait, it's not over yet. There's the end of the story… and then came the audio of the car accident, which is on the album. Let's say that this moment was the division of everything, that is, the “before” and the “after”.
Even as a boy, I started paying attention to the records we had at home. From then on, many would become the soundtrack of my life. And then came Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Joelho de Porco and Pepeu Gomes, etc. I was particularly struck when I saw the cover of the album "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (Black Sabbath). A mixture of eroticism and satanic ritual. For a boy, everything was new and intriguing.
At that time, I started attending rehearsals of the heavy metal band Zero Hora and soon after I became close to the members of the dearly missed group Centúrias.
My older friends were growing up and also started listening to rock, heavy metal, and hard rock. My cousin was addicted to Bill Haley and His Comets and showed me all his music. My friend Silvio introduced me to Scorpions, Motörhead, Cheap Trick, Dust, and Judas Priest. My heart was taken by all of that. My head was filled with Kiss, and my daily life was overflowing with their songs. I also had some friends who were fanatics about this band, like André (my neighbor across the street), Wagner, and Hélio (both from school). André was a friend who did me the favor of showing me the sound of Mötley Crüe. It was also with him that I had my first bands. And so I grew up with this magic that music provides.
One of the brilliant outings I loved to do was go to the Wop Bop record store (in downtown São Paulo) and keep up with the new releases. The first record I bought was "Rock and Roll Over" by Kiss, of course. But the real delight was putting together compilations on cassette tapes, like a "musical program." I loved it! When I was washing my dad's car, I'd turn the tape player up really loud and listen to Queen and AC/DC, mainly. I knew everything about the band members, the album and song titles. It was so much fun to memorize all that. I think I started researching music back then (with cassette tapes).
At age 12, while the boys and girls played soccer in the street, I would go to watch the rehearsals of the band Ira, which were held at my house. For two years, I spent shows, rehearsals, and creating new compositions that were born there in my backyard. Songs and hits that would fill their repertoire until their fourth album and also Edgard Scandurra's first solo album.
The "signs" of that time came when I heard the Rio de Janeiro band Blitz and the São Paulo band Rádio Táxi on the radio. I went crazy! I thought: Brazilian rock is making its presence felt! The music could expand!
The year 1983 arrived, and we mortals had the joy of seeing Van Halen (with an opening act by the group Patrulha do Espaço) and the long-awaited Kiss concert. There I was, with my brother and friends Wanderley and his brother Mário Sérgio. To this day I still have newspaper and magazine clippings from that remarkable year! Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. Life was full of emotions!
The fun also included dressing in black and going to the defunct "Rock Show," which was located at the Cal Center (Av. Faria Lima). The audience sat on the floor and watched rock band performances on a big screen. I saw Kiss, Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath there.
That same year, Nasi (former singer of Ira) started showing me punk, post-punk, and new wave bands like Ramones, Sex Pistols, Gang Of Four, The Police, The Jam, The B-52's, among others. From Hard Rock and Heavy Metal, I expanded to the new sounds of the time. My friends remained into Heavy Metal and were indignant that I started "testing" other sounds on my record player like The Clash, The Cure, and Siouxsie And The Banshees.
And at 13, Edgard Scandurra taught me some chords, and then I started studying guitar, which I soon switched to the bass, an instrument that accompanied me for quite some time.
While I was playing with some friends from the neighborhood, I gained access to the musical and artistic scene, witnessing important events of the time, such as the debut of the band RPM on a stage in a square in Vila Madalena, São Paulo. And in that context, I saw the formation of bands like Cabine C, As Mercenárias, Smack, among many others that were beginning to emerge. During this time, I frequented places that were crucial to the beginning of Brazilian rock in the 80s, such as Projeto SP, Napalm, Tifon Danceteria, Radar Tantã, Rose Bombom, Radio Club, Lira Paulistana, Sesc Pompéia, and the Fábrica do Som program, produced by TV Cultura.
Then I was able to follow the behind-the-scenes and beginnings of bands that would become the biggest in Brazil, such as Ultraje a Rigor, RPM itself, Os Paralamas do Sucesso, Titãs, Capital Inicial, Magazine, Sepultura, Inocentes, Legião Urbana, and others of importance at the time like Azul 29, Voluntários da Pátria, Muzak, Nau, and Agentss. Phew! I could only think about music!
When I turned 15, I watched Rock in Rio from home and was blown away by all those musical "monsters." Soon after, I went to study electric bass at the now-defunct Marcelo Tupinambá College. That was what I wanted for myself.
When Brazilian rock exploded in popularity, I recorded shows like Globo de Ouro, Chacrinha, Perdidos na Noite, Clip Clip, and many others on VHS. My passion for music was combined with my love for TV and video. In addition, I attended almost every international concert that was in São Paulo and the best shows by Brazilian bands.
I continued playing bass in the alternative circuits of São Paulo with the bands Bala de Prata, Roleta Russa, A Imagem do Som and Jacqueline.
He was a boy who loved the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
In 1989, my bandmates were more into the blues, and that's when I was definitively captivated by The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Chuck Berry, Aerosmith, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and all blues in general. That was it! The kings arrived in my record collection. Everything was complete!
In 1991 I was invited to work as a roadie for Titãs, a band I accompanied for almost 5 years. With them in 1993, I worked on the album "Titanomaquia", alongside the renowned Jack Endino (producer of Nirvana, Bruce Dickinson, Soundgarden and Mudhoney).
The following year, after returning from vacation, I had the unique opportunity to replace Nando Reis, who was ill at the time, at a show in Pato Branco, Paraná. The following week was the Hollywood Rock festival. Fortunately, Nando recovered and returned to the band for the festival.
Soon after, I was invited to work in the artistic department of MTV Brazil. It was the pinnacle! And there, I met many renowned Brazilian and international music artists such as Bruce Dickinson, Ozzy Osbourne, Ronnie James Dio, Gal Costa, Rita Lee, and so on. My feeling was one of a dream fulfilled with a guaranteed job.
I ended up giving up my career as a musician and consequently as a roadie. I became a music producer and went to work for record labels, producing albums and later for more TV and radio stations, in addition to teaching music programming.
The rest is history!
(*) Cesar Gavin is a music producer and radio broadcaster. He is an artistic consultant for the digital platform Dreamusic, a professor at Senac, and the author of the blog Vitrola Verde.
Click here to learn more about Cesar Gavin's work and here to learn about Dreamusic.