Devotos

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..Devotos: A Hardcore Look at Life in Recife....

Infância dos Mortos (Childhood of the Dead), a book about the life of a child who lived on the street, was made into the critically-acclaimed 1981 film Pixote by Hector Babenco. The group was and still is based in the Alto José do Pinho neighborhood of Recife, a low-income hillside neighborhood that has both abundant social problems and many people working to improve conditions there. They changed the name of the band to "Devotos" in 2000.

When MTV began to be broadcast in Recife (over the airwaves, not on cable), the signal could be picked up clearly in the Alto José do Pinho neighborhood, and the future members of Devotos listened to punk rock and bands like The Smiths and The Cure along with punk rock from São Paulo. They were aware of the traditional genres that bands like Chico Science e Nação Zumbi would later incorporate into their sounds, but they were interested in playing a melodic style of hardcore rock (Teles 2000: 248)...

The members of Devotos embrace the do-it-yourself ethic of punk rock. Guitarist Neilton explained to me in 2001 how he made his first guitar and amplifier himself--this includes carving the fingerboard and body of the guitar and winding the coils of the pickups--and played it for a long time without anyone noticing that it wasn't store-bought.

Neilton's creativity extends to the artwork on the bands' CDs and the design of their web site. The band makes its own instrument cases and speaker cabinets, only buying what they can't make themselves. This isn't done, however, with a sense of deprivation. On the contrary, Neilton says, "I don't feel anguish about it. I take pleasure and

pride in having done it, and having my work out there, a simple pride in seeing my work done, the idea conceived." Neilton was able to buy Gibson Les Paul and Fender guitars and a Marshall amplifier once the band became more successful, but he still felt the need to play with people's perceptions of product labels. He bought a cheap electric guitar, removed everything, including frets, made it over in his style, gave it the brand name "Robson," and started using it in concerts. Soon people were admiring its sound and asking where they could buy one. Among the obstacles the band faced in its early years were police repression and the disapproval of neighborhood residents for their choice of musical style. The Alto José do Pinho was home to caboclinhos and maracatu groups that were prominent during Carnaval. The media image of rock bands linked them to middle-class youth. When Devotos began getting press coverage, it was due in part to the perceived incongruity of a group of lower-class youths playing hardcore rock (Teles 2000: 251). Over time the band relationship to the community improved, as it demonstrated its commitment to by attracting abundant press attention to the many bands that had formed there, and founding an NGO, Alto Falante (a play on the literal expression "loudspeaker," altofalante, and the name of the neighborhood, "Alto," speaking, or "falante"), which does cultural and social projects...

The band has released three CDs: ..Agora tá Valendo.. (BMG, 1998), ..Devotos.. (Rockit!, 2000), ..Hora da Batalha.. (independent, 2003) and ..Flores Com Espinhos Para o Rei.. (independent, 2006). Devotos 20 anos (independent, 2006), Victoria (Mass Prodution - France, 2006).

To return to the theme of Brazilian national identity that is addressed in such songs as "Aquarela do Brasil," by Ari Barroso, listen to "O Meu País" (My Country) from Devotos as an example of the band's work.

It is less intense than many of the band's other songs, which use a high-intensity hardcore style while still remaining very tuneful; "Alien" from Devotos is a good example...

_______________________ Listening activity

As you listen to CD track 19, "O Meu País" from Devotos, note the contrast between the medium tempo rock ballad style and the content of the lyrics, and the growing intensity of the performance.

..

..My Country....

I live so happily

This is my country

And everyone that loves it

Knows of its fame

As the country of carnival

Of the global forest

Of the king of football (soccer)

Of "the extermination of minors"

We know about the present

What will be our future?

The minors are dying

What an insecure country

I've told you this already

It's no use to forget

I'll keep reminding you

Just let me express myself

I don't sing just for myself

I sing for you

Equality and conscience/consciousness

Is what we should have

The future is uncertain/insecure

The road is dark

But there is a solution

Let's all work together

________________________

..The gentle rock ballad style may seem at first to be a jarring contrast with the lyrics, which address the serious issue of the assassination of street children in Brazil's major cities, a problem that has attracted international attention. But ultimately the message of the song is a hopeful one.

Obra Citada - Teles, José. 2000. Do Frevo ao Manguebeat. São Paulo: Editora 34.

Author John Murphy is Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at UNIVERSITY of North Texas College of Music. Extraido do livro "Music in Brazil"- editora Oxford - USA