Eduardo

THE SONICS lyricsI was not only into Little Richard, The Sonics, MC5, 13th Floor Elevators, The New York Dolls, The Dead Boys, The Stooges, Johnny Cash or Rolling Stones. My first two bands I must have been The Beatles and ABBA, both through my couple of years older sister Ana. Then, at some point after our first visit to Finland in the late seventies I discovered & got deep into Kiss and AC/DC although they were both labeled gay bands by many, even "chicken killers" in the case of Kiss! And satanic ofcourse!!!! Heavy metal (or hard rock) music was very difficult to get hold of during my childhood because local labels were simply not into releasing anything that was near marginal and this genre was almost new and forbidden, definetly not accepted by any of society..s standars. A huge scandal concerning Gene Simmons.. tongue and blood arose during the military goverment years of Argentina. They were not welcome to our country because they were "too violent"...now wait a minute... that really sounds like a bad joke, right? Anybody who remembers something about our history during those years - the "dirty war" term - think about it a little bit NOW! The ones who..ve blamed rock..n..roll music as being a bad influence to the youth have always hid themselves behind much worse things like religion. Back in those days - to make matters worse at home because my father is a poultry vet - EVERYBODY: in the papers, television, at school and probably church too - swore they had seen Kiss on TV with their 7" leather boots steppin..on top of live BB chicks while performing onstage infront of a crowd!!!! I never got over from that one... and there were many other bizarre stories, believe me! Maybe that..s why I still support Kiss no matter how bad they may be musically. A decade or so later I got myself an Alice Cooper VHS with old clips and finally realized where that whole rumour took off from... But back to Kiss, some "national movement" even threatened to blow up the Boca Junior..s football stadium (which was also my favorite team: "el número 8 de la camiseta azul y amarilla...") if the band dared to bring their tank as part of their (10th anniversary) stage gear because we had just lost the war against Great Britain. Tickets were about 100 pesos - or about the equivalent to euros nowadays - each and the 2 or 3 shows were almost sold out. My parents were cool, I remember for example how stupid they thought banning a song like "Cocaine" was, same thing with Pink Floyd..s "The Wall" album, so I just couldn..t understand why me going to that concert was totally out of the question... but it must have been one of the very few times in my life I was not ripped-off because the band cancelled those shows and the "managment" office supposed to refund the tickets closed down and "managed" to run away from the law, just like in the movies. Those were times where it was a very big issue that bands like The Police, Queen, Van Halen and even Yes dared to visit us creatures from the 3rd world. Ok, I still remember the effect of listening to a whole CCR or Rolling Stones compilation album for the first time, The Times They Are A-Changin.. or Nashville Skyline from the vinyl section stored on our house..s shelf, which my parents taught me were valuable - and never played themselves! I stared very long at those albums, trying to understand what the hell was all that text written on the inside sleeve cover. "Poems with no relation to the music or lyrics" was my dad..s answer. The first band that made it from Finland into the international market was Hanoi Rocks but they had just split, so their old records were impossible to find; except for me - I was lucky and I got them all. Those albums and compilations spread like wildfire between my friends - most of them in bands already - and it was like the top of an iceberg from here onwards. I can remember also climbing to the roof of my house, each and every possible night staring at the moon from the top of the kitchen..s sqare meter chimney with my dad..s binoculars and investigating all of the planes crossing through the dark sky. I guess I was waiting for E.T. to appear or something... I didn..t know it back then, but he was already living in my house. And we caught Ozzy Osbourne & Iron Maiden fever after the first few albums, together.During the Malvinas/Falklands war disater, "la musica nacional" was "UP". From Cantilo Punch, Los Abuelos De La Nada, Obus, Miguel Mateos, Piero, Raul Porchetto, Rubén Rada, León Gieco, Mercedes Sosa, Alejandro Lerner, Juan Carlos Baglietto, Serú Girán (later Charly an David Lebón), to GIT, Helicopteros ("Aquí radio venus llamando, es que nadie está escuchando?"), Los Twist, Viudas e Hijas Del Rockenerol, Virus, Riff, Barón Rojo (Spain), Los Violadores and much later for me Patricio Rey & Los Redonditos de Ricota, Ratones Paranóicos, Enanitos Verdes and Soda Stereo although I..m only dig their very last studio album "Sueño Stereo" and the "Música Para Volar" (unplugged) that followed. Anyway they were HUGE in Chile the first time I visited that country around ..83, much bigger than in Argentina. Viva Los Jaivas!The first two concerts I remember gettin.. drunk on were during the summer vacation at the beach with La Zimbabwe Band and Vox Dei. Later at some point I did the same thing in the Big City, at a discotheque - the only place where kids were free from parental survrillance and could dance with strange girls - until (totally out of it) I grabbed somebody..s ass in the complete wrong moment... and as a consecuence my nose was badly fixed by a bigger-than-me boyfriend or brother, didn..t have the time to ask although he carried me out and apologised later. I told my parents afterwards that it had happened earlier at a rugby match... but it was a good lesson, plus a good reason to hate discos and disco music!For some strange reason I still believe my music roots come from an even earlier period than all this. My family was never really into tango music although we listened to it, it was impossible not to. My father always made fun out of the lyrics, I think he still does. But one day for ex. while checking a rock magazine ("Pelo"=hair!) he pointed to an album cover saying "that..s good" and it read: "Pappo..s Blues" Volume something. Many years later he said he had once seen Tanguito (the legend who sang in one of the very first Beat bands and later co-wrote our first local spanish hit: "La Basa"; a movie has been made about him with some horrible music on it) at a club during the very early 60..s totally lost... I have seriously never understood if what Papá said was truth or fiction, but I..ve always felt like there are messages and connections behind his words. I started diggin.. into Los Gatos, Manal, Aeroblues, La Pesada, Almendra, Pescado Rabioso and Invisible with the brand new CD era. Last but not least shall I add here the name of most revolutionary band we had during the 80..s: SUMO, worth checking out if you want to understand who my heros are.You can say I..m wrong but I believe there is still a bright future for rock music in South America. Lyric-wise also, the classic stuff written there has been mind blowing. One of the reasons why I write so little spanish with The Flaming Sideburns is the standard level of what I listen to is way too difficult for me to really compete with. But I keep on dreaming some day I..ll make a whole album in spanish anyway. I was born in a german hospital of Buenos Aires, 1969 and was raised there until I finished (high) school, turned 18 years and had to go to the Army. After that was over I sort of runned away and switched between places like New York until I settled down in Helsinki, 1990. So, my parents still live in my old home town, North from the capital district, in Florida, province of B.A. thank god. My dad was born South in Bahía Blanca but my mother came all the way from Helsinki. She moved to such a remote place after meeting Don Jorge in Atlanta, Georgia U.S. during the mid-sixties and she hasn..t given up her native language but I still speak to her in what I consider our language, "el castellano". And I miss them both (my parents and my old country) very, very much!!!! So, I guess you can say I..m half argentinean and half finnish now, even if I still haven..t learned how to write or speak this last one propelly. I..m also half deaf and believe me, it ain..t fun. Fourteen years of abusing volume levels in a rock..n..roll band have taken it..s toll. Do not make the same mistake, use earplugs and protect yourself!!! Through all these years in Finland I can proudly say that I..ve been anyway blessed for having joined the following bands live onstage: Jack Meatbeat & The Underground Society - first one I ever sang on; The Fishfaces, The Nomads, 22 Pistepirkko, The Hellacopters, The Mutants, The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, The Hypnomen, Dashing Waves, The Balls, Cool Sheiks, Valkyrians, Five Fifteen, Mad Juana, Thee Ultra Bimboos, Zorros Petardos Salvajes, Los Natas, Ellio & Thee Horribles(Arg), Killer Dolls(Arg), Forgotten Boys (Bra), Circus Knuclebone, Tehosekoitin, Tarot (ok, they didn..t ask for it...once at a festival I jumped onstage with an unplugged guitar and I was carried away by some bouncer, it was a very stupid move but loads of fun for a drunk idiot like me). I..ve sung in different tribute bands with various artists I admire like Jukka Orma, Jimi Sero, Kinde & Cheri from Smack, Brian Robertson, Lauri Porra, Santeri Saksala, Rikki London, Marjo Leinonen, Mitja Tuurala, Sami "Kanttori" Nieminen, Niko Ahvonen, Sami Roine, Mr."Antero Holmsten", Elias Slim , Markus Nordenstreng, Knipi, Jiri Nikkinen, Heikki Tikka, Pekka Gröhn, Janne Haavisto, Lasse Kurki, Maria Hänninen, Pelle Miljoona, Jukka Tolonen, Jukka Gustavsson, Jim Pembroke, Hasse Walli, Petri Peevo... I..ve also done some studio appearences here and there, starting off with The Barefoot Brothers.. album "Vermo Reverb"(Como Esta) back in 1997, Andy..s "Real McCoy" movie (which I never got the credit for), The Bambi Molesters.. amazing collection of "Sonic Bullets" (El Corazón Del Loco Jorge), 2 tracks on The Deadhearts "R&R Used To Mean Something" EP (Body & Soul + Jumping Jack Flash), The Black League..s Hurriganes cover for Hot Wheels on the "Man..s Ruin" LP and CD single and even Remu Aaltonen..s ..remix.. album "Stick..n..Stones" (both recorded at Seawolf in Suomenlinna and released in 2004 - I also did some spanish translation on somebody..s record but I can..t remember who for anymore!), Phantom 409..s excellent "King Of The Gutter" album & 7" (Tijuana - by far my favourite recording of these all) released in 2004 & Tik..n..Tak ..s cover of The Clash..s "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" - well, that was the spanish answers, along with my long time friend & supporter Dario E. Cabello from Chile. I..ve also co- written "Mamacita" in 2002 with Pekka Laine, and it was aired quite a lot on GROOVE FM. Now, that..s something I..m very proud of!!! I sing on one song from Turku Romantic Movement..s new cd/ep. Rami is btw a very good person who..ve helped me a lot at the Kick Out The Jams! studio. Same as Jürgen.Ever since the Since The Sideburns 10th Anniversary Part we..ve done some very occasional gigs in Helsinki with The Smackfaces, a SMACK-FISHFACES Tibute Band that includes more or less musicians from both bands. The highlight for us was playing at Tavastia at the release party for the double studio and live compilation album "Smack On Your Face". Included were Guest Lead Vocal Performances by Manna and Jyrki69. Apart from praising all these artists I would like to seriously THANK EVERYBODY mentioned on The Flaming Sideburns.. "BACK TO THE GRAVE" compilation album specially very MUCHO! Same to those who helped me on Sky Pilots (Mari Halonen) & Keys To The Highway (Lisa, Greg) - a vos Chiqui, GRACIAS X TANTA AYUDA CON EL PIANO EN TODOS LADOS!!!! Todavía te tengo que entregar al HOMBRE DEL CASCO DORADO... a ver si nos vemos!!!!Bueno, la traducción al castellano va personalmente para el que le interesa. GRACIAS! Thanx for readingble"Smack On Your Face" Release Party at Tavastia w/ Smackroad feat. Cheri on Bass & Kinde on Drums!Distorted Sound w/ Smackfaces and Guest Mika Järvinen Live At Tavastia 7-6-07