Live fast Love Hard Die Young - Part Four

After almost 6 months of their departure, things in Porto started to feel a little weird, once they were gone for more than that single month they spoke at the beginning, and also ‘cause it was Christmas time and no one accepted that they wouldn’t return for the season. But they didn’t…They were in Denver at Christmas eve, and this made them feel deeply home sick: no mummy’s Codfish, no family around, no presents given in person, no girlfriends and of course, no Portuguese traditions to made things a little less painful. Between the couple that was most stoned by the girlfriend reaction, things weren’t really going ok. Letters begin to fail in November and in December, conversations rounded about confusion, misunderstandings and pressure. And it was certain that something must be happening, once not even the other boys could explain to her what was going on. So they broke up, and things got a little tense between the boys: not only due to this mess that involved everyone in a problem that got both friendships, but also due to a list of problems that were starting to appear: It was the Visas uncertainty to renovate, it was the money failing, it was the Record that was not done yet, it was the pressure coming from Portugal, and at the end there was the popping question: how will things end up for them? Spite it all, they kept united and proceed doing what they were good at – playing Rock’a’billy music, giving everything they had to leave everybody happy. But as we all know, even then emigration to US was forbidden, and with no more Visas extends, they didn’t have any other option, than to pack…

They stayed with the Oncle in Colorado for just about a year, made the Record and gave to Denver, and any other cities they got to play in, the very best of their unique style of music, and one can say for sure that everybody simply loved each and every one of them in return. After they got back to Portugal, and found a place that they didn’t recognise anymore – the time they spent abroad, showed them how little, stupid and hard things were in their home country, in many aspects, but especially for musicians.

The only thing that they truly enjoyed was the indescribable happiness to return to their loved ones - family, friends and passions – well, all of them except that one that didn’t had a girlfriend anymore, but instead he got a wife - an American girl he fell in love with and with whom he got married few weeks before they returned.
Well, this fact made everything different, because now one of them could return – the one that at the beginning said to the guy willing do so in order to stay there, that he was mad! Now, isn’t that ironic? But no one blamed him – after all, he did say that in fall in love, they knew her and they liked her, so they understood what happened and, at least one of could go on living happy in America.
So, the problem was the Band – how would they manage to play with one of the members away? It seemed that was the beginning of the End…
They got steady for almost a year more, playing all around Europe – in every country Rockabilly was heard, they were invited – people knew them by name, and their reputation followed them wherever they go, and things got firm for them, so they had the need for a new member – and of course, any musician of that kind of music, was willing to fulfil the Band, and they kept on going with the same name. After a while, they once again started to realize, that they couldn’t go one living here just with the concerts earnings, and again the pressure to “get a job, get life” had them go to a point they had to choose what they were going to do. One of them was willing to do whatever it took to do and play music – actually he kept on saying it since the start, right? And as I said, they were all so good in what they did, that he soon got propositions to play with other bands, here and abroad, and he chose to go away, and 12 years passed he keeps on living only by his music!
Yes, that was truly the End. The guys had to split apart the Band and therefore, there was no point on keeping the name they all tattooed on their harms.

The ones that stayed here formed a new Band, but as for the American Dream – it was it: no more living upon that. They felt the need to find Jobs, but never quit playing, also because they had to fill that gap in their hearts, and gigs are just for pleasure.

Nowadays they keep on playing whenever they can, they rehearse every week, they study, they make new songs and the new Band gets bigger as the musicians get better. Today they have new instruments, and play music based in what they have learned in almost 15 years - from Rockabilly, Western, Country, and even Jazz. No matter what, they keep on improving themselves and they are still unique!
As for the old Band, well they get together every now and then in the major concerts over

Europe, always giving to everyone the very best of Rock’a’billy Music!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaThe End

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Dedicated to The Tennessee Boys aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
This Story that I share with you is from my own personal point of view, but it shows us how difficult it is to be a musician here – whether you’re good or not – though sometimes it seems to be less difficult for the worst ones… It’s very sad to see that our Portuguese men and women have to go abroad, in order to accomplish their dreams. What happened with them is probably very similar with any other Portuguese Groups, and I feel ashamed to see that things unfortunately, are not going easier to any of us...

Live fast Love Hard Die Young - Part Three

Arriving to Denver – Colorado, was their America’s first sight. Better would only be to land in Memphis, Tennessee.
The “choice” of Denver was made due to the fact, that none of the Record Labels in Europe, had accepted to Record them, so the Band leader chose to write to a Label in America that he read in the back of one of the albums he used to listen to. He told them their story and their wish to record there. The owner of the Company, spite feeling a little suspicious said Ok, and they were astonished, because they always had in mind that probably in America people wouldn’t like European Rockabilly…
But that simple Ok, was all it took for them to pack.
They were welcomed by the same man that they spoke to two months before - a guy that couldn’t believe they actually were there when he got the message from the local airport, demanding directions to his house…
That’s were they hanged out most of the times and soon started referring to him as the Oncle. He was a well known artist of the Rockabilly scene in America, and he and his wife really seemed to love them as their own children.
After a few days of getting adjusted to a “brand new world", so damn different than they have been used to in every single aspects - bleeding noses due to the high and dry climate, people with strange habits like not knocking before entering, or going to another’s fridge without asking, they soon started to adapt to the new costumes, and immediately commenced going to the favourite rock-a-billy club, called Ziggies Saloon, where they were introduced to all the Cats of the area.
But they wanted was to play, so they borrowed some instruments from one of the local Bands, and the town of Denver was changed forever!
The boys took all of them by complete storm! Actually, as the Oncle once said: «they flat rocked our socks off», so they rapidly became the rock-a-billy "house band" and played almost every weekend there. People loved them: so polite with that amazing European good manners, so humble in their own success, and so young and good looking, with baby faces smiling lips and honest eyes… they were something else!
It didn't take them very long before they'd won over the hearts and minds of every Rockin' cat in town, including a number of International success Bands, that ‘till that moment, they only have heard of…
«Can you imagine?» They told to their friends, «We’ve met High Noon!!!»
For them this was the most outstanding thing, they were connecting with the big Sharks. How come a small town Band from Portugal that had to sold most of their musical equipment and personal possessions in order to buy airline tickets, a Band that was denied even from Rock House Records and from all others Labels - once none of them wrote them back, be now recording in America, meeting incredible musicians, and even improving themselves as musicians???
This was unbelievable, the kind of things that only happens in the Movies.
Well, it happened to them.
During the week, the boys got together with the Oncle almost every day, and jammed and recorded, and the Oncle was amazed with the talent they really were. He have heard other recordings they had made in studios, but none of those even came close to the power and spontaneity of the recordings they made together. And the Boys were thrilled. It was their dream finally coming true.
All this came to Portugal hears, with joy and worries. Everyone was astonished with their success, but that implied that they might just enjoy being there, and who knows? Perhaps they even loved living there, and in that case it could be that they wondered about making their lives there?
That was one of the concerns not only from the Parents, but also from the Girlfriends, and soon nobody expected them to return so soon… Who could blame them? After all, this was what they have travelled for during 32 hours, across the Atlantic Ocean to another Continent.
Though everyone at home seemed to handle well with all this, one of the girls kept very sceptic, and when she talked to the others girlfriends, she could not truly understand how come they were so calm, was it possible that only her was feeling that they would not return? Didn’t it matter to them? Of course she was happy for them, she loved them all, she always believed in them, and always knew the great potential the guys had, and probably due to that, she was feeling that in what concerned her relation ship, it wouldn’t be possible to work for long. She needed him near, either he came back to her, or she would go to him. But these thoughts were not acceptable to other girls that kept with their lives, waiting patiently, only she seemed to be going crazy…
One cannot deny that these feelings didn’t affect the guys there. We know it now. They suffered tremendously with the distance, they all missed their girls, and every time they spoke on the phone, they felt sorrow for being way. And every time a letter came in it was a mix of happiness and fear – normally every single day arrived correspondence for one of them, and they waited in line with hunger and tears in the eyes, wishing the Aunt would call their names. But spite it all, what they could do, was try to explain what they were doing and why, ‘cause in what concerns the big joy of being in America, they felt a little ashamed to admit it, because it seemed that if they said that that was what they always wished for and that Portugal didn’t matter anymore because only there they’d have some future, no one would comprehend or forgive them for thinking that way. After all they had no complaints, they missed their families and Porto and the girlfriends, but they were happy. And days go by, and then weeks and soon they stopped counting the time…

Live fast Love hard Die young - Part Two

It was the summer of their lives, and the heat was burning some relations…
For the ones who had to stay – the close ones they left, everything sounded very odd.
No one could even imagine or truly understand what they felt, what they believed in.
One of the boys actually said: «No matter what, i will get it. Spite it seemed that deep inside all the persons were with fingers crossed for us to fail, i am a believer so the “witchcrafts” won’t stick…»
But there were no prayings for them to fail, it simply was a question of lack of comprehension: How come one leaving a beginning love, or a college degree? Your family? Or even your own home town?
For some of the parents it was hard, because they felt the boys were trading something real – like education and the possibility of a good job for their future, for a mere possibility of making music abroad.
Some others thought that that was their son future, so let them go!
As for the Girlfriends… Well it was also hard - no one likes to be left behind, but there was the security they gave that it was only for a couple of months – the necessary time to record the album.
Off course there was one of girls – there always is, that felt most abandoned, perhaps because she already felt deep inside that something might go wrong…
If things turn out ok abroad, there was even one of them willing to get married, in order to stay there! The others smiled facing that possibility, but only one had the nerve to say that he was mad! But immediately he replied that he could do it, once he was the only one not dating at the time, so…
The thing is that even for them all this was very tuff, because though they were going towards what they always wished for, dealing with all of this, and at the same time transfer to the others that everything would go ok, that everything was being taken care of, was not a simple thing to do, especially because there were no guarantees…
As we can see, all the persons involved were going through a lot of pressure, anxiety and sadness. What would they do if something went wrong? Where were they going to live? And how would they manage to get money to eat, pay the rent, and everything else? Well, it was only for a couple of month’s right? In the worst of cases they would be back for Christmas…

Live fast Love Hard Die Young - Part One

When they got into the plane, they all thought the same: At last!
Porto was yet near, but they felt it already so far way.
Finally! Finally dear God, they managed to get it.
They were going to set feet in the Land of the King!
After all the trouble that lasted unending months; after all the misunderstandings with Visas and Banks; after all the mess caused by disbelieving people, jealous friends, distant Nations, worried parents and crying girlfriends; spite all this they were going to accomplish their American Dream: Record an Album in America, meet some people, do some Gigs and of course: live fast, love hard, die young.
In the 90’s Rock’ a Billy was not a usual kind of music. Nowadays, youngsters do not hear those old songs from the fifties. Much less in a peculiar country like the lovely but no longer conqueror, Portugal.
To start a Band like they had wasn’t really that hard.
They had the skills, the will and the youth. But they also had brains, and they aimed for more, much more, than being a regular home made band.
So much for the small town concerts, so much for the low pays, and the few spectators. They knew they could really go higher. If they wanted to, they could go further, and with the right means, they would do it.
They were conscious of the great musicians they already were – no musical backgrounds, not even in Musical Schools, but the entire musical hears. The voice was amazing, and the guitars gathered with the double bass, really made all the difference.
One can ask, but what about other similar Bands? Well, there were some, but I can tell you: no other like them!
But they also knew that though the Lusitan soul was big the Lusitan mentality was unfortunately, very small.
So, they had to leave to the Nation where it all begun...