Festival de Música Internacional Costa-Bazooka, que se realizó en Rancho Alegre de Damas, Quepos,el cual fue a beneficio de la Fundación de Niños Roberta Félix, y contó con la participación de mas de 10 bandas, entre ellas 4 de Estados Unidos y de Costa Rica, dentro de los locales Utopia y Sybü fue invitado a participar en este festival que se realizó el pasado sábado 12 de Enero de 2008 y la entrad fue de $15.
Las bandas de Estados Unidos:
END WAY
TURNING POINT
IONIA
DEATH BY FAME
BEFORE THE FALL
STEREOPATH
Las bandas de Costa Rica:
Evolucuion
Sybu
Govinda
Infinitu
Agressor
Virgin Zoombies
Utopía
Nada
Para mas información pueden ingresar a las paginas www.myspace.com/costabazooka o a www.costa-bazooka.com
Costa-Bazooka el festival más esperado por muchos en este comienzo de año, con muchos generos desde el rock, ska, punk, metal, pop, en fin muy matizado.
La cita fue en el Rancho Alegre, Damas de Quepos, la telonera fue Utopía, una banda nueva en el ambiente, le dio un matiz diferente por Luana la vocalista y una energia.
Con ellos dio inicio el festival pasada las 1:00 de la tarde, muchas bandas hicieron presencia ese día, dándole un ambiente muy bueno, los amigos de Akasha también se hicieron presentes en este festival y otras buenas bandas nacionales, y aunque el publico no era en cantidades apreciables se continuo con el evento que en espectáculo y sonido estuvo muy bien.
Sybü arribo al escenario casi dando las 5 de la tarde en el reloj, un pequeño problemita con el sonido hizo que se atrasara un poco, despues los locales tocaron con mucha energia en el escenario, presentando muchas canciones originales que a los presentes gusto, la gente nos dio su apoyo, que a pensar, como repito, fue poco pero que se mantuvo disfrutando de este primer festival internacional en esta zona, que para el genero del Rock a sido tan difícil, pero aun así hay muchas personas que llegan a apoyar el esfuerzo y la buena música nacional como internacional, y así le abrimos un poco la mente a la gente de Quepos que esta muy poco acostumbrada a este tipo de cosas, pero solo así habrá mas gente que llegue a apoyar este tipo de eventos.
El festival transcurrió con normalidad dejándonos con un buen sabor de boca, a pesar de que al organizador se le hiciera un desorden con las cosas planeadas que al final se dieron muy mal, pero que por suerte no fue ni con el sonido ni el tiempo en escena de las bandas.
Gracias como siempre, ya que sin Uds. los que nos apoyan y los que llegan a ver estos festivales, porque una banda sin gente no es una banda y es siempre gracias a todos los que dan ese apoyo incondicional los que hacen grande a las bandas.
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Entrevista a BEFORE THE FALL:
1.Why you help the costa bazooka fest / Porque ayudar en el Costa-bazooka festival?
Costa-bazooka, porque creemos en lo que la Fundación Roberta Felix está haciendo, y el ser músicos siempre puede ayudar, llevándoles la música a las personas que necesitan escucharla. Donamos nuestro dinero, tiempo y esfuerzos para ayudar a hacer que las cosas negativas se conviertan en positivas
Costa-bazooka because we believe in what the Roberta Felix Foundation is doing, and being musicians can always help by bringing music to people who need to hear it. We donate our money, time and efforts to help make wrongs become right
2.What style (rythm, gen) you play Cual es su genero Musical?
Estamos esencialmente tocando Rock and Roll. Tenemos nuestros momentos Hardcore Metal tal vez un poco de aquí y de allí, pero tambien algo de Pop impulsado lo suficiente como para mantener su cabeza en bamboleo!
We essentially play Rock and Roll. We have our Hardcore moments maybe a little Metal here and there but its still Pop driven enough to keep your head bobbing!
3.What was the best you enjoyed in Costa Rica / Que le gusto mas de Costa Rica?
Para nosotros la mejor de haber pasado en Costa Rica, fue ver como estaban los niños felices por los que estábamos tocando!
For us the best thing that happened in Costa Rica was seeing how happy it made the kids that we were there playing for them!
4.Wich were your impressions with Costa Rica bands and with the people / Que impresiontes tuvieron con las bandas de Costa Rica y con el publico?
Estamos absolutamente encantados con el estilo de la música y las bandas de Costa Rica, ellos se presentaron ahi e hicieron su trabajo, la música realmente rompe todas las barreras del idioma! estuvimos muy impresionados con la banda AKASHA!
We absolutely loved the style the costa rican bands had, they got up there and they did their thing, music really breaks all language barriers! We were most impressed witht he band AKASHA!
5.What are the lirics of your songs (your message through the music) / De que hablan sus canciones?
Se cuenta cuentos, nuestras canciones dicen historias individuales. Algunas son buenas, pero algunas son malas, acerca de que la mayoría de los eventos reales que tienen lugar en nuestras vidas. Por ejemplo: El Gran John, la primera pista de nuestro nuevo álbum, cuenta a una historia de coraje y valentía establecido en el Iraq. Una verdadera historia de la vida real a cerca de nuestra real lucha por la libertad.
Were storytellers, our songs tell individual stories. Some are good some are bad but mostly theyre about real events that take place in our lives. For instance John The Great, the first track off our new album, Tells a story of courage and bravery set in Iraq. A true story about our bassists real life fight for freedom.
6.Wich records you have already done / Tienen algo grabado?
Tenemos una EP y que nos dio a conocer por completo en septiembre 2007.
We have an EP and we just released a Full Length Album in Sept. 07.
7.Why to help the Roberta Felix Fundation cause / Por que ayuda a la causa de la Fundacion Roberta Felix?
Porque creemos en lo que la Fundación Roberta Felix está haciendo, y ser músicos puede siempre ayudar a llevar música a personas que necesitan esucharla. Donamos nuestro dinero, tiempo y esfuerzos para ayudar a transformar lo negativo en positivo!
Because we believe in what the Roberta Felix Foundation is doing, and being musicians can always help by bringing music to people who need to hear it. We donate our money, time and efforts to help make wrongs become right
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Entrevista a Ionia
1. Porque ayudar en el festival Costa-bazooka?
Los niños de la Fundación Roberta Felix son una pequeña población de personas alrededor del mundo que necesitan apoyo. Ellos dedican su vida a estos niños, ayudarles nosotros haciendo lo que amamos, es una pequeña parte de lo que esperamos lograr en el futuro.
2.Que estilo (ritmo, gen) que usted toca Cual es su genero musical?
Tocamos un Modern melodic hard Rock and Roll. Tratamos de mezclar diferentes estilos y en mantenerla fresca y diferente. No queremos encacillarnos a nosotros mismos en un estilo de música como muchas bandas de hoy en día.
3.Que es la mejor que usted disfruta en Costa Rica?
Nuestra parte favorita de Costa Rica fue la gente y su entusiasmo por la nueva música. Las playas son muy bonitas. Tenemos previsto regresar a Costa Rica para visitar en un futuro próximo.
4.Cuales fueron sus impresiones con bandas de Costa Rica y con el pueblo?
Las bandas de Costa Rica no son muy diferentes a las bandas de América. Fueron todos muy cool con nosotros y parecían muy felices de tenernos allí. Algunas de las bandas que conocimos y nunca olvidaremos son: Evolucion, Akasha, Defecto (México), y Agressor por nombrar algunos.
5.De que hablan sus canciones (su mensaje a través de la música)
Ionia es una banda con consciencia Social, de Medio Ambiente y política. Enviamos un mensaje de cambio. Nuestras canciones son acerca de lo que nos parece mal en el mundo de hoy. Nos sentimos afortunados si podemos ayudar incluso a una persona, a ver estos problemas y hacer allí parte para hacer del mundo un lugar mejor.
Todo lo mejor,
Craig (Ionia)
Www.ioniamusic.com
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Proximamente mas fotografias y una reseña oficial del evento por Costa-Bazooka Staff (www.costa-bazooca.com).
Kronika segun la organizacion:
The Costa Rica Experience Costa-Bazooka 2008
Day 1:
Entering San Jose, The Presidente Hotel in San Jose is successfully checked into, and eating and drinking ensues at the downstairs restaurant:
A small Group heads to Atlantis, The premier strip club of San Jose.Trying to salvage the shows scheduled for MON and TUES nites.
Cancelled due to lack of comunication between me and the club.I did not stay on top of thier promotion(so they did none),
I did not stay on top of permits and paperwork (so they had none)The Blame Falls on me. After a productive meeting we agereed to meet the next day
Durring the meeting the bands had a good time in the club.
Day 1 is complete.
Day 2:
After many meetings with theClub owner I am informed that our first show in Costa Rica at the aforementioned Atlantis Club,
Will be cancelled.We will only do one show the next night.
The bands begin to work the streets.
The crowd in the streets begins to notice the bands and the cab drivers begin blasting music
that they had been given weeks before and have started to like. Heads turn. Photos are taken. Posters are signed. All in all a good day.
Filmed interviews in the hotel lobby,
The bands visits a local music store as well as a club called the Observatory to promote future shows
and then perform acoustically in the restaurant after hours.
Latter that Evening and the bands discover the benefits of the Del Ray Club: a quasi casino/brothel/bar.
A good night was had by all.
Day 3:
The bands final day in San Jose and a full one: The bands embark on a handful of radio interviews and eventually appear
on what is the MTV of Costa Rica .Martha escourts the bands to interviews previosly set up
by Balerom(singer guitarist for Costa ricas top rock band Evolucion)
The Show at Club Atlantis that evening is unique to say the least. All the bands really rock , surrounded by pole dancers .and
Martha dancing on the runway at the height of Rewind (Ionnia’s song )
We Thoroughly impressed, the biggest radio Dj in Costa Rica and Promoter and both pledge their undying support and allegiance to
The Costa Bazooka Tour and to bring American music to Costa Rica.
Highlights of the show.
Ionia was as good as I thought they would be.
Before the Fall was better than I thought they would be(they are a special band).
Death By Fame friends of mine from Boston could hold thier own with anyone.
Morgan from Endway loves the spot light and it loves him
Josh Allen of Turning Point established himself as the Premier guitarist of the show.
Gregg Raposo (with only half a band gave a glimpse of what was to come).He totally involved the dancers as part of his act.,
using the pole and grinding on them.His song Party Rock had been in the regular rotation at the club for months.So the girls were familiar with it.
Costa rican band Akasha Shows american bands how to rock.
Club atlantis doesnt feed the bands ,and doesnt pay us when we are done,THEY DONT GIVE US THE TOUR BUS FOR THE WEEK.
This creates mor problems for me.Plan B
At the end of the day …one band thinks they are better than everyonre else and the other bands dont like thier attitude.
The evening is capped by another nite at the Del Ray Casino
Tomorrow the bands set out to Quepos via bus.
Day 4:
The bus leaves by noon and is packed to the gills with five other bands.
The bus drive to Quepos will go down in history as one of the most dangerous and stomach churning
journeys through the hills and cliffs of Costa Rica ever! . 3 hours into the journey, the bus stops in the town of Jaco for a rest stop
It is here that 50 plus passengers got off the bus and thought they were abandoned due to the bus driver taking off.(he was just turning around).
He came back in 10-15 min just like he told me he would.
The Prima donnas acted like they saved the day.We all let them
Quepos is achieved. A small town on the southern edge of CR. The bands check into the aptly named Hotel California.
Here Larry sanchez (co promoter) meets the bands.
We have some confusion with our hotels.Ionia’s hotel was not ready.And Before the Falls’ hotel had bugs and the staff was rude we had
to get them out of there.(thanks mom for your patience)Turning Point went to the farm house at Kenny’s request.They hated it.and Josh
had to book his own hotel(sorry Josh).
There are no shows schedualed for tonite.
Day 5:
Morning comes and with it a clarity of the surroundings. San Jose was a city…Quepos is jungle.
Upon waking, the bands set off to meet and hang out with the many unfortunate and handicapped children of the Felix Foundation.
The beach is well earned and the bands relax briefly. The water is warm, the sun is hot, While some of the guys attempts to hone thier surfing skills,
the rest of the bands do thier own things.
An accoustic get together for free beer at the Lounge started slowly but erupted into a great time.
We go to eat at Baba Rojas.And get ready to do accoustic nite.We have a problem no sound gear
(the guy with the systwem decieded he did not want to do it at the last minute)
This is when everyone else started to pull together as a team.Morgan(from Endway) steped up and we put a system together
with the help of the club owner George.And a great show followed.
EndWay impressed Larry so much he booked them to play at the Hotel Califronia the next day.One band complained about the show and did
not want to play.They changed thier mind jumped on the stage and took Death by Fame’s spot,and DBF did not get to play. It was kind of rude
but not surprsing.
Day 6:
This was a trying day.Everyone was positive and everything was on schedule.When One band (guess who)decieded to take over.
I give them credit for the initiative,and at that time i needed some help.We had two shows to do that nite and
i was not possitive the sound and backline would show up.They said they had secured sound and back line ,but we would have to act now.
Aggainst my better judgement I agreed to thier plan.I told them I would believe the sound guy would work out when I see it.
It cost me an extra $350.00 and more headaches.
The Endway show at the California was a big hit and everyone had a blast.(It was apparent Morgan was a fantastic entertainer)
Later that nite The newly hired sound guy showed up at the downtown stage with no power amps(another words he was useless).No surprise.
The sound co. that was under contract by me showed up on time .but couldnt set up because this other company was in the way.
Then the power went out everywhere(good thing because we were not going to be able to play without amps)
While the power was out we came up with a new plan.Original sound guy would let us use his amps(I was paying for them anyway).
Finally all we need is the power to come back on and we give a free show for the people of Quepos.
Our favorte band became impatient and decieded to take the drum kit to our next show.So that they would get to do thier electric show.
The power came on .Now we have no drums.The three bands that stayed with us made the most off a bad situation .We did an hour and a half
accoustic show with a great P.A.With the streets packed with people.And they LOVED the show(our best show of the week).
(thanks to Endway and Akasha)
We got to the Bamboo Jam our next scheduled show and it was just starting.(If the band stayed downtown they would not have misseed a thing
and they would have got to do two kick ass electric sets)
Bambu Jam goes off without a hitch and all the bands Kicked ass.Ionia set is very powerful.The trend is continuing .Josh allen wows em on guitar.
And Gregg Raposo is constantlty winning over the crowds as well as all of the other bands with over the top showmanship.
Their efforts don’t go unrecognized by the other bands and promoters,(meetings are set up to get these guys back for more shows).
We are pleasantly surprised again by the Texas band Before the Fall.and Death by Fame continues to impress.
Day 7:
The big festival at Rancho Allegre in Damas: Many, many bands. Costa Rican and American. A long day that begins early and ends late.
We started late Power failure once again.
Everything was going great all the bands were fantastic.Circus synphnie finally arrived and they were worth the wait.Costa Rican legends
Evolucion wowed the native audience.I was told "I cant believe you brought Evoucion to my town.Thank you"
Akasha played thier set and we all realised they were the best band here.They were unbelievable and so young.
Tickets were finaly selling .We were getting ready for a second half of the day.The americans all had one more set.
Then the rain came.First slowly then a downpour.
That was the end of that show.We move on.
Day 8:
Day off! The band takes the day to relax and generally kick back after blowing up the show the day before.
Besides, it’s the last day in Quepos before heading back to San Jose.
All the bands had a day at the beach it was fun,and most of the bands really began to bond.
My friend Andres(Balerome Singer evolucion)met with several of the bands(he was espescially impressed with Gregg Raposo).
while at the beach CR Police arrive to sniff out people’s bags.The rockers didnt exactly look like beach goers
We went to eat at Sal Supuedes
and prepared for one last accoustic nite.Most of the bands had a blast and continually kept thanking me for bringing
them and that they cant wait till next year.Endway with Stereopath stole the show.Circus Symphony WOW
Day 9:
The band returns to San Jose on a similar bus ride through the mountains that brought them to Quepos.
The only difference this time is the bus breaks down due to a cracked fuel filter.
All are stranded at a rest stop for about an hour. The heat bears down and the trip is winding and long.
Freddy provides his ipod for the driver so as to blast some good music, while Blaise and Donato take in the suns rays.
Upon returning to San Jose, the bands were all in different hotels (another screw up by me)
We go to the observitore for a final show
It was the best vibe of the whole tour.
Everyband had thier best set
Once again the club owner said to me we have to get this band Stereopath back here, thier front man (Greg raposo)is incredble.
After akasha played it was apparent to everyone there that they were in a league of thier own.They will be big rock stars.
Josh allen said"this band is amazzing". Endway says"unbelevable" .Greg Raposo asys"these guys are GREAT"
Thank You Akasha for a dose of humility.
We said goodbye to eachother and even shed a few tears
The best moment for me is when we are walking out of the club and my son Stefan says"Dad I am proud of you,you did a good thing here"
That was it we all went home.
Finacialy the tour was a dissater.
EVERY OTHER WAY IT WAS A SUCCESS
Thank You Tiffany I could not of done this without you.I LOVE YOU.
Thank You Tim, Stefan, Jeff, Pepe(Steve)
I would like to thank all the bands.You were all Great.
ANDRES Thank You
Tilac Thank You
Marta Thank You
Special thanks to.
The Hotel Presidente (Daniel),You and your staff were unbelievable.
The Hotel California (Larry),You and your staff were unbelievable.
Roberta Felix.You are one of a kind.Very special woman.
THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT YOU
WE HAVE TO MANY SPONSORS TO LIST HERE I WILL BE SENDING OUT INDIVIDULE THANK YOUS TO OUR SPONSORSHIP FAMILY
Reportaje: Kenneth Zuñiga, Sybu, Bruce LaPierre, Editor: Jorge Zúñiga
Fotos: Sybu, Utopia, Costa-Bazooka, Marta Sanchez
Entrevista: Marta Sanchez