2024-08-17 03:01:00
In 2004, The Little Guys They released an album that made the history of the band will change forever: Armando ChameleonThe release of that album was a turning point for the group. Songs like “Brujería”, “Campanas en la noche”, “Algo” or “Silencio” They even sounded in football stadiums and on television shows, In addition to rotating in loop on the radio. From playing for free on the pedestrian street in Villa Gesell, they went on to be part of the line-ups of the main festivals of the time, sweeping the awards and filling the legendary Gran Rex.
The point is that the album is fulfilling twenty years and Los Tipitos will celebrate it with the launch of a documentary and a special concert this Saturday at 8:30 pm at the Rex (Corrientes 857). “We are going to play the whole album, not in order. And give value to all the songs. And there will be many guests,” the singer and keyboard player says. Willy Piancioli.
The band will soon release on streaming platforms. streaming –still to be defined- From the street to the Gran Rex (2024), the documentary that portrays the phenomenon that meant Armando Chameleonwith interviews with Leon Gieco, Abel Pintos, Margarita Bruzzone and Pablo Guyot, producer of the album; and conduction of John Christmas. “It’s hard to know,” Piancioli confesses when asked why that album became a hit. classic of Argentine rock. “But I understand that when something like this happens it is because there is a in keeping with the times, with a way of composing and making songs; with a social moment as well,” he says. “Perhaps it has to do with being able to strike the chord that corresponds to that moment. There were several bands that in those years published important albums that later were heard throughout their history, such as Guasones, Miranda!, Stellar or Rolando’s Spot”.
On that album, beyond the classics that were played over and over again, there is a very important song for the group that completes Raúl Ruffino on guitar and vocals, and Federico Bugallo on bass: “Why.” “To those who disappeared/ Let no one forget them/ No one is us/ Baby, don’t forget yourself,” they sing in this song that makes sense again today. “It’s very important,” Piancioli confirms about the song. “It has a melody, a harmony and a very artistic treatment from the production. And, of course, the strength of the lyrics. We had just started a new stage in the country where It seemed like the worst was over. And that song reflects that moment. In the nineties we also lived moments of denialism and strong situations,” he recalls. “And today the song can be reinterpreted, because we are living a tremendous moment. Sometimes I can’t believe what we are seeing and experiencing again. You thought something like that would never happen again, but suddenly you’re on top of the wave.”
-At that point, had you reached a state of artistic maturity or had the conditions been met to record with good sound, a producer like Guyot and the structure of a label like Popart?
-Yes, it was a combination of many factors. We had been composing and recording albums for ten years. Armando Chameleon was the band’s fourth studio album. So, I think there was a kind of change vision. Or this thing of matching your music, your lyrics and what you’re saying with what people are perceiving. And it happened there. With Pablo Guyot We learned a lot about how to make a song play. It was a school album. The record company’s commitment was also important. With the album Vintage (2001) we started to sound on the radio -with the cut “Búsquenla”-, but we made the strong leap with Armando Chameleon.
-At that time, was there a need to refresh Argentine rock music?
-At that time the song took center stage, yes. That’s why more rock and roll bands turned to making more traditional songs, like Intoxicated. I mean songs with a clear, singable melody, with simple chords and deep lyrics. There was a rediscovery of the song and also a need for people to hear that. The song is always something that lasts in the long run. Afterwards it depends on the inspiration of each artist. But the need to sing songs is always latent. The song is the atmosphere, the lyrics and the melody. With one or two chords, like “Morning in Abasto” (from Sumo), you can make a great song.
-How important was León Gieco’s role for Los Tipitos?
-It was very important. Because he was the first person who believed in us and made it possible for us to make a record. (The Little Guys1996) and that we should go back to Buenos Aires, because we were living in Mar del Plata. Margarita Bruzzone sent some of our material to León and he paid attention to the band. And he encouraged us to go back to live in Buenos Aires and record an album. León discovered us as a band from Mar del Plata. His independent label, Cañada, was created to record artists from the interior.
-What did you learn from playing in the streets of Mar del Plata and in the summers of Villa Gesell?
-It was a school. Because there is a lot of contact with people in an environment where there are no fences or anything. The challenge was to keep them engaged and entertained. Making a show possible is no small feat, it’s difficult to achieve. It’s a craft that you learn by doing and watching other street artists. When to pass the hat, how to pass it, all of that is an art. And also keeping people expectantwhich puts together a neat and numerous round. At one point we were overwhelmed, with many people on the street and the need to produce homemade records to have new material for the following summer. Those four summers in Gesell were very important for us. At that time we had notebooks in which people wrote down their line number and we collected thousands of phones. When we did the first date in Buenos Aires, in 2000, we cut 923 tickets by calling each person at home.
-After Armando Chameleon have held up over time. Was it difficult to continue making songs and sustain yourself after such a successful album?
-Although we managed to hold on, at the time it was difficult. Even without being aware of that difficulty. But it seems to me that managing to sustain ourselves has to do with a attitude. Although the gravitation of success is present, you have to try not to look at it and get inspired again. Don’t let that play a trick on you when it comes to demanding yourself to make a song. You have to do it a work of forgetting and over time we were achieving it. That is, trying to pretend that success did not happen and looking for the song again. That will give you genuine support: trying to be honest with oneself composing.