Desorden Público

Desorden Público
Founded at the west of Caracas in 1985, Desorden Público  represent the first and most important ska project –and one of the biggest pop bands–  of contemporary musical history of Venezuela,  besides being one of the latin ska more solid proposals today. Their founders, Horacio Blanco (born on september 30, 1968, Caracas; guitar/vocalist)  and  José Luis "Caplís" Chacín  (born on december 22, 1964, Caracas; bass)  work as DJ's in the underground of Caracas when they decided to baptize their band with a name that satirized the trucks of Public Order of National Guard in Venezuela. As DJ's Horacio and Caplís were specialized in british punk and ska, new wave and jamaican reggae: all these sounds will be a direct influence fot the first repertory of the new group.

A little later, the incorporation of other musicians, among who still belong Danel "Dan-Lee" Sarmiento (born in september 26, 1963, Buga,  Colombia; drums) and Oscar "Oscarello El Magnífico" Alcaíno  (born in april 30, 1959, Caracas; percussionist), will give Desorden  Público their sonic, graphic personality and their image: a seal that will make them famous en the circuit of theaters, bars and punk and underground parties. By 1987 Desorden  Público is a septet very very Two Tone.

After a contractual offer presented by one scout from CBS Columbia of Venezuela, they record their first work in 1988. A simple and harsh sound and direct lyrics loaded of political critic and black joke, were the ingredient so that this record reached a striking level of sales and an important spreading inside and outside of the new wave scene of late eighties. With this record, of homonym name, they start national tours and a first international visit to República  Dominicana.

In the early 90s, and more and more solid as a band, the group get deeper in musical search. Soon the cumbia, salsa, bógalo, merengue and afrovenezuelan persussion, as well as soul, jazz and funky, will complete the own character of the characteristic latinamerican combo. In that moment of a lot of experimentation they record their second work, En Descomposición (1990), under the production of the austrian-venezuelan jazz player Jerry Weil.

A terrible economic crisis destroys Venezuela, the generalized inflation rises the prices very too high and the record and show industry suffer a hard depression. In spite of the difficult situation Desorden  Público does not weaken and continues going up: important presentations in Venezuela (First International Latinamerican Rock Festival 1991, Caracas  Jazz Festival  1991, First Pop and Rock Festival in your language 1992, First Ska and Reggae Festival in Caracas 1993, Third Festival of Latinamerican Music  1993) y tours outside (EEUU 1993) testify it. In this period the group starts its projection in the international ska movement,  and they begin being the target of several interviews for skazines and fanzines in Latinamerica,  USA and Europe. Moreover, a song of En Descomposición called "Ska de  acá" is included by a german record company in a ska compilation of the world  (United Colors of Ska, Por Pie).

This music exhibition and image beyond their country will lead them to participate almost by mistake in a ska festival in the New Music Café of New York in 1992, a first contact that will let them act together with The Toasters –and other bands– in festivals  in Venezuela and the USA during 1993. In this way, they are invited to the international tour  Ska Summit 93  that travelled New York, Washington and Ashbury Park,  New Jersey.

Also that year they record Canto Popular de la Vida y Muerte, the expected third record that would reach Gold sales in Venezuela and that would give them a much more solid exhibition in Latinamerica.

The themes proposed by the lyrics of this Canto Popular revolve around latin unity, political criticism, search of tolerance and trascendence of being. It was produced by the brazilian Carlos Savalla (Os Paralamas Do  Sucesso, Papas Da Lingua, Professor Antena, Fausto Fawcett),  and in it 17 songs were recorded among which outstand "Tiembla" (that goes up to step #6 of national radio chart in venezuela), "Cachos de  Vaca" and "La Danza de los Esqueletos".

The internationalization leads them to México in 1994, where they perform in discotheques and underground clubs. Then they travel continuously and in 1995 they have their first successful visit to Puerto Rico, more performances in New York (Palladium) and in Los Ángeles (SIR Theater, Hollywood). At a local level, they make two important national tours that lead them to visit not only the cities with more population but also medium cities, towns and little towns where pop music shows had never been performed before. They are constantly invited to big festivals, among which can be standed out very crowded performances in La Carlota, Caracas, for at least one hundred and twenty thousand people.

Desorden has already become the biggest group in venezuelan stage.  In 1996, they travel for the first time to Europe to make concerts in Madrid,  Barcelona and Berlín. That same year they return twice to Puerto Rico and participate in another important festival at the Universal Amphitheater in Los  Ángeles. It is in this city where they record, at the end of the year, their fourth production titled Plomo Revienta, under the guidance of KC Porter (Fabulosos  Cadillacs, Os Girasoules, Seguridad Social). This work has a central concept criticize the terrible social violence,  economic and cultural of which countries of the third world are victims, specially latinamericans. Important guests make this production pleasant: the singer and saxophonist Angelo Moore (Fishbone), the cuban percussionist Luis  Conte (Madonna, Phil Collins) and the venezuelan jazz player Otmaro  Ruiz at the  piano. The record is presented in 1997: previous sale is gold record in venezuela and the theme "Allá Cayó" reaches very good positions in the Top Ten of the national radio (seat of honour that lasts for several weeks).

Once again the band goes all around the country and makes an ad honorem tour around prisons of the capital area.  México receives Plomo Revienta with open doors. The group visits the aztec country to perform at the El Mazo Festival, Razteca Festival and in Tianguis Cultural of El Chopo. That year they return once again to Puerto Rico.

Without resting, 1998 turned out to be another very important period for the international exhibition of Desorden Público. They are invited to Europe to make a tour that will take them for seven countries (Spain, France, England, Italy, Germany, Swiss and Czech Republic) and by 21 concerts in cities like Berlín, Jena, Colonia, Münich, Regensburg, Rostock, Lübeck, Eichstätt, London, Madrid, Roubaix, Bordeaux, Narbonne, Bologna, Bergamo,  Zürich and  Prague. They return to México to get on the stages of the El Camaleón 98 Festival, and they continue their expansion through Latinamerica, visiting Colombia and Panamá. In Colombia they are invited to the Festival Rock Al Parque, free event to which millions of people from Bogota assist and in which participate at least a store of international bands.  In spite of the tendency to hard rock that keeps the style of this festival, the answer of the public is extraordinary and the comments of the media are really flattering.   As to Panama, the invitation came from Los Rabanes band,  the biggest in that Central American country, and it was concreted  in a party in a private discotheque.

n relation to Venezuela, the work doesn´t stop. The other tour of Plomo Revienta let them show their work on stage in more and new markets; the shows have as standard being crowded and ultra energetic. Once again the stage of La Carlota in Caracas gives them the ovation of one hundred and fifty thousand people. To a level or record company they participate in a tribute to The Police made by Latinamerican bands, they are included in a tribute made from Australia to the british The Specials, they offer an unpublished theme to a record in honour to children rights, and are invited to compose the official theme of Venezuelan League of Beisball for the season  98-99. If this was to little, in the early 99, they edit a compilation of their first works (period 1985-1990), under the title ¿Dónde  está el futuro? (Where is the future?) This work contains unpublished themes, live  recordings, re-mixtures and re-recordings, and before their getting in the market it is gold record, previous sale. In February of that same year, they work for the second time with the basque Fermín Muguruza, recording the music of one of the themes of their first project solitary.

About the middle of 99, the band return for the third time to Europe, in a tour of 10 concerts through the Basque Country, Italy, Holland, England and Germany, and back to Venezuela they are tributed by the mayoralty of the Federal District, being decorated with the order Diego de  Losada in their first class, as representatives of young culture of Caracas. The new millenium comes and Desorden Público get their free letter of Sony Music.

They immediately decide to shut themselves in the record studio to work in the composition and arrangements of new themes, and at the same time they listen to offers of several  record companies interested in signing with them. Meanwhile, in June they return to Colombia as poster head (together with the mexicans Café Tacuba) of the "Rock a lo  Paisa"  festival in the city of  Medellín.  After listening and discussing different offers, the band decide to sign for the emerging venezuelan record company "Guerra  Sound  Records". In September they travel to Miami for a performance together with Los Auténticos Decadentes de Argentina, and one week later they start recording the new record at Warehouse studio in that city, under the production of the acoustic engineer César Sogbe (Prince, Baaba Maal,  Carlos Vives, Auténticos Decadentes, etc).

Then they travel to the "Second Vive Latino Festival" in México where they share poster with the most important bands of the current latinamerican rock movement, besides the special guests Fishbone (USA) and The Wailers (Jamaica). Also by that time, they added two particular collaborations: they were the only representatives of latinamerican ska in an australian record (Spare Shells)  made as tribute to The Specials, and they participate in a compilation CD  made by the spanish magazine Zona de Obras, included in a volume that the publication dedicated to venezuelan rock.

In this way, crowning a busy year 2000, on December 11, Desorden Público present before the media their new record, "Diablo" (“Devil”), which theme "Combate" (“Combat”) would reach to position 6 of national chart in the next months.

On January 2001 the perform in the first edition of Caracas Pop Festival together with Rubén Blades and Maná before more than 30,000 spectators, and in a few weeks they almost get triple platinum selling 58,000  copies of a special edition of Diablo made in association with Digitel brand. With this impulse, they make a promotional tour in Perú,  Ecuador, Colombia and Panama. In the middle of a bulky agenda of national performances, the band travels in July as head of poster of El  Rastazo festival in Bogotá  (more than 6,000 people receive them rising signs and holding flannels with their emblems), in September they return to Puerto Rico to make two performances, in November they get to their country to participate for the first time in a very important venezuelan fair (Fair of La Chinita, Maracaibo)  before a crowd of 50,000 souls), and by the end of the year they are invited again to Vive Latino III in México, where they complete a tour of 5 shows.

The coming years will not change very much in the heat of the activities that have always involved Desorden Público. The international incursions, record company participations and special initiatives have continued happening invariably. In 2002 they play again in Puerto Rico;  they share stage with the legendary Skatalites in their first visit to Venezuela;  they make a good show in the Billboard Live of Miami, as well as one of their best national concerts in Maracay. On the other hand, two French compliations with European distribution make the name of the band roll in those circuits: Resto Pollo Rico 1 and Active Sound vol.1.  At the same time, the french independent record company "Sabor Discos', edits the record DIABLO and in México is licensed and edited under the name of "Chamuco". By February 2003 the band appear in a good compilation edited in Spain titled Global Ska 3, and later for the mexican market they are included in the album Latin Skankin' 2. In June they travel to New York to share stage with their mexican friends Maldita Vecindad and the Panamanian  Rabanes in a sort of Lollapalooza of Latinamerican Rock.

Mounted on this productivity train, on september 20 Desorden Público make a job performance as few have done in Venezuela, getting a total full in the most important theater in caracas, Teresa  Carreño, in a concert made speaking of their XVIII Aniverssary.  In october they travel to México again, and for the first time in nine years of continuous visits to that important country, they get out  of DF to make a big show in the Hard Rock Café of Guadalajara together with the argentinians of Auténticos Decadentes. In that same ocassion they perform in the southamerican festival Estalla in full DF. They continue numerous peformances in Venezuela and in november it is performed for the first time to a continental level the satellite transmission of the 18 years of the band concert,  by the important cable television net, Direct TV. 

As part of a commercial alliance signed with a relevant food brand, a a compact CD edition is edited with 12 themes live,  extracted from the concert of  18 years celebration of the group. In only six days 10 thousand copies on sale are are exhausted, giving them officially the Platinum Record.

The following year, in April, it is only edited for the northamerican market the compilation "Desorden Público,  The Ska Album", under the record company Megalith Records, property of an old friend of the band, Bucket (The  Toasters). Also that first quarter it appears in the Czech Republic a compilation that includes one of their themes and that is distributed worldwide with the Skazine Banana, together with a very complete interview to the boys.

The attractive of Desorden Público for the big brands continue and a massive promotional campaign of Coca Cola to a latinamerican level,  includes one of their songs in one of the 4 mini CD's given to continental level. Always "profetas en su tierra", in May they take two covetted awards of venezuelan scene: the Pop & Rock  to "Best Show" and the most important of all, "Best Group by Popular vote".

By the end of the same month of May, the sticky theme Gorilón,  the new single for then, reaches position Nº 1 in the national chart and it keeps in the first five positions for almost five weeks.

In June it is put on sale the complete and official edition of the DP18, double album that besides the concert of Teresa Carreño, includes 5 themes in studio that show the new sound of the band. In august it is published by the german record company Übersee  Records a second volume of their excellent compilations, "Echte Übersee  Records", in which the band figures with two themes. That same month they are invited among the main names of the poster of a musical festival in Caracas that calls more than 36 thousand people.

It is important to stand out that of the 32 shows made by Desorden Público this year, most of the concerts of 2004 were really massive events for audiences of 10 to 40 thousand people. And closing year 2004 new international compilations include a DP: Mundo Mestizo  (Argentina), Skamorfosis (México), Ska’ndalazo Latin (México)  and Resto Pollo Rico 2 (France).

During the first months of 2005 the band is dedicated to compose and practise new songs while they continue their usual circuit of performances in venezuela. In May they record the first two themes of the new repertory and taking advantage of the visit of new york group Slackers to  Caracas, they invite Vic Ruggiero and David Hillyard in both songs. Simultaneously Desorden Público work in what will be their republishing of the complete catalogue of their four records made by Sony Music, and have just get license of DP18 for the mexican market.

In Swiss and Germany it is imminent the publication of the repromotional version of "The  Ska Album" and they talk to Japan about the license of a new version of this record. For the summer of 2005 the itinerary of their fourth tour to Europe is advanced and a posible first trip of Desorden Público to Asian lands, after been confirmed as oficial part of the artistic delegation that will represent Venezuela in the World Expo of Aichi 2005.

Sony Music, the group’s former label, begins re-releasing their first four records. A revamped version of The Ska Album, titled Tokyo Loco is released in Japan featuring a track from the band’s upcoming album, a cover of the Derrick Harriot classic  “Monkey Ska”, along with various rarities..

July 2005: Fourth European tour with 17 successful concert appearances in less than a month throughout Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Holland, Switzerland, England and Belgium, notably among them the ROSKILDE Fest (Denmark) and Switzerland’s  Gurten Festival.

January 28th,  2006: The band is invited to headline Sao Paulo’s 1st International Ska Festival.

During the first months of 2006, “Sex”, the band’s latest single, climbs the Pop & Rock chart of the Record Report, staying at #1 for seven weeks and 11 weeks in the Top Ten.

May 4th, 2006: A special release party is held for the band’s first ever DVD, Desorden Público en vivo en el Teatro Teresa Carreño, and the “Sex” single is officially released.

May 14th,  2006: Desorden Público further cement their international status at Mexico City’s Foro Sol, closing out the seventh installment of the Vive Latino Festival in front of 40,000 excited fans.

June 1st,  2006: The first ever book about the band, Disorder Public / Buscando Algo en el Caribe, written by journalist Maria Isabel Cern and published by Alter Libros Editions, is released.

From late June to late July, the band embarks on their fifth European tour, with successful appearances at the St Gallen festival (Switzerland), Pohoda Fest in Slovakia, Magosta Fest in Spain, and adding new fans in Germany, Holland, Belgium, the Chezc Republic, Croatia and Austria.

Representing Venezuela at an event called Caracas-London in September of that same year, the band travels to England and performs for 10,000 fans at Trafalgar Square.

December 2006: The band’s sixth studio album, Estrellas del Caos, and eighth of their official discography is released. This new CD garners excellent reviews and first single “Espiritual” immediately hits #1 on the Record Report Pop & Rock chart, enabling the new album to go gold in Venezuela in less than three months.

In 2007, Estrellas del Caos is released in México, the U.S., Germany and Switzerland. In May Desorden Público once again close out the first day of the Vive Latino festival, before 43,000 fans. The rest of the year the band remained in Venezuela, touring all across the country behind the new record. Meanwhile, Desorden record almost a dozen new and unreleased promotional jingles for the ad campaign of a popular Venezuelan beverage, earning 3 nominations and a Best TV Commercial Music award from the National Association of Advertisers.

In late 2007 three new compilations, which include DP, appear in the European market: United Colours of Ska Vol 4 (Germany), Ska Mestizo: Rebel music from Venezuela (Holland) and a free CD given away with Spanish magazine Zona de Obras.

In a tragic traffic accident, the band loses trombonist Cesar Mijares in late October.

The band wrap up the year with performances in Venezuela’s main cities and announce their plans for 2008, including their first ever South American tour including Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia; the recording of a new video clip; and a return to European stage in the summer.
Bookmark/Search this post with
  • Facebook
  • MySpace
  • Twitter
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Google
0
Your rating: None