Titãs

Infobox musical artist
Name = Titãs


Img_capt = Titãs, classic formation (from left to right: Charles Gavin, Paulo Miklos, Tony Bellotto, Arnaldo Antunes, Marcelo Fromer, Branco Mello, Nando Reis and Sérgio Britto)
Img_size = 260
Landscape = yes
Background = group_or_band
Origin =
Genre = Punk rock (early records) Post-punk Pop rock
Years_active = 1981 - present
Label = WEA Abril Music BMG Sony/BMG
Associated_acts = Os Camarões Kleiderman Trio Mamão Cabine C Banda Performática RPM Ira! Nando Reis e os Infernais
URL = [http://www.titas.net/ http://www.titas.net/] [http://www.endino.com/titas/ http://www.endino.com/titas/]
Current_members = Paulo Miklos Tony Bellotto Branco Mello Sérgio Britto Charles Gavin
Past_members = André Jung Arnaldo Antunes Nando Reis Ciro Pessoa Marcelo Fromer (deceased)

Titãs are one of the most successful rock bands in Brazil, along with Legião Urbana, Os Paralamas do Sucesso and Barão Vermelho. The best-known line up is the one in the album "Cabeça Dinossauro" (1986): Nando Reis, Branco Mello, Marcelo Fromer, Arnaldo Antunes, Tony Bellotto, Paulo Miklos, Charles Gavin and Sérgio Britto. Out of these, only Mello, Bellotto, Miklos, Gavin and Britto remained in the band as of 2007.

History

Beginnings and first works

Most of the band members met at Colégio Equipe in São Paulo at the end of the seventies and, after their first live performance at the school itself in 1981, the band began to perform live in several night clubs around the city. The first formation was: Arnaldo Antunes (vocals), Branco Mello (vocals), Marcello Fromer (guitar), Nando Reis (bass), Paulo Miklos (sax and vocals), Sergio Britto (keyboards and vocals), Tony Bellotto (guitar), Ciro Pessoa (vocals) and André Jung (drums). It was a pop/new wave-styled band, with a rather conventional sound and odd looks, with tender and little ball neckties. In 1984, without Ciro Pessoa, who left over a disagreement about Andre Jung's drumming skills, the band signed with the WEA label to record their first album, Titãs, produced by Pena Schimdt, and featuring songs previously recorded with Pessoas's vocals. Although poorly promoted and hardly a success, the band spawned their first hit: "Sonífera Ilha", later recorded by singer Moraes Moreira.

In 1985, with Charles Gavin replacing André Jung on drums (the latter going on to Ira!), their second album, "Televisão", produced by Lulu Santos, was released with tighter arrangements than their debut album. Not only was the title track a great hit, the album was more heavily promoted than the first one and brought more opportunities to the group.

Up to the Spotlights

In November 1985, Tony Bellotto and Arnaldo Antunes were arrested for heroin traffic and transportation. [ [http://www.titas.net/historia/ Titãs history at the official website] ] The episode made so much of an impact in the band, the next album, "Cabeça Dinossauro", released in June 1986, contained a lot of tracks criticizing the public institutions ("Estado Violência" and "Polícia"), as well as other "pillars" of the Brazilian society and indeed society in general ("Igreja" and "Família"). The heavy and punk-influenced rhythms and the forceful lyrics, characteristic of the band in this phase, are fully represented in this album which is considered by the critics one of the best works of the group and one of the landmarks of the Brazilian rock.

"Jesus Não Tem Dentes No País Dos Banguelas", released at the end of 1987, continued in the same vein as the previous album in tracks like "Nome aos Bois","Lugar Nenhum" and "Desordem", however adding samplers in tracks like "Corações e Mentes", "Todo Mundo quer Amor", "Comida" and "Diversão". After some international performances, the band recorded some of their hits in live Montreux Festival and released "Go Back (ao vivo)" in 1988. The biggest hit to come out of Go Back was a live version of the song "Marvin" which is a re-invented version of "Patches" by Dicky Lee made famous by Elvis.

The producer Liminha (a former adjunct member of Os Mutantes) was always an important associate of the band since "Cabeça Dinossauro", and this association arrived to its climax in "Õ Blésq Blom", one of the most popular productions of the band by that time. Some of the prominence tracks: "Miséria", "Flores", "O Pulso" and "32 Dentes". One of the prominent features of this work was the special guest appearance of a couple of improvisors, called Mauro and Quitéria, discovered by the band in a beach in Recife.

The First Changes

The band had arrived to a decisive point in its history and the next album, "Tudo Ao Mesmo Tempo Agora" mark a strong yaw at the musicians' style, searching for heavier, alternative and authorial sound, along with scatological lyrics. The members themselves produced the album and the work was possibly the final reason for Arnaldo Antunes to leave for a solo career. The following album, "Titanomaquia", in 1993, continued the previous work in a way, with heavy instrumentation and aggressive lyrics, only now produced by Jack Endino, producer of important bands like Nirvana, which contributioned for the grunge-influenced sound.

The "MTV Unplugged" Era

In 1995 the band decided to take a break for one year during which many of its members decided to work solo or work with other bands (most notably Nando Reis), or to do different activities. Tony Bellotto, for example, wrote his first book.

By releasing "Domingo" at the end of 1995, the band definitively took up a pop sound, but its popularity only reached a second climax on the commemorative work, "Titãs - Acústico MTV" (MTV Unplugged), their most successful album, released in 1997, which sold 1,7 million copies. Recorded Live, MTV Acustico not only revisited their career up to that point but it also had a song which became an immediate hit named "Pra dizer Adeus".

This record was followed by "Volume Dois", modelled in the same way of their unplugged album, only recorded in studio.

The record of covers of others artists in "As Dez Mais" wasn't very sucssesful (despite Aluga-se's and Pelados em Santos' charting) and the band decided to make another interval in 2000.

In June 11 2001 Marcelo Fromer was rammed by a motorcycle in São Paulo [ [http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/ilustrada/ult90u14401.shtml Folha Online - Marcelo Fromer, do Titãs, é atropelado em SP e está em estado grave] ] and died two days later of Brain death. [ [http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/ilustrada/ult90u14464.shtml Folha Online - Exames clínicos comprovam morte cerebral do músico Marcelo Fromer] ] It was a hard stroke to the band, which started recording their new album the day after. "A Melhor Banda de Todos os Tempos da Última Semana" was released at the end of 2001 and brought "Epitáfio" as the prominence song (aside of the title track) which could represent the moment lived by the band that, after losing Marcelo Fromer, saw the departure of Nando Reis, who currently leads a successful solo career with many singles prominent in Brazilian charts (including songs penned for other artists) fronting his own band "Nando Reis e os Infernais".

After Nando's departure

With the release of "Como Estão Vocês?" (How Are You?), at the end of 2003, the five remaining members continued to write the history of more than 20 years of the band. With self-help hits as "Enquanto Houver Sol", questions on relevance remain on Titãs' side, which faced declining sales and the ageing of their fanbase.

In 2005, they released another MTV-branded album, only this time in a non-acoustic live performance. This album generated a new hit for the group, called "Vossa Excelência", that basically criticizes the hypocrisy and lack of care from politicians, thus bringing the band back to its roots. It was seen as another opportunistic stunt by Brazilian critics, as the song was released exactly when Lula's government was facing manifold accusations of corruption.

In 2007, the band started a tour, entitled "25 Anos de Rock" (25 Years of Rock), joining Os Paralamas do Sucesso to celebrate the 25th anniversary of both bands, as well as the 25th anniversary of the rising of 1980s Brazilian rock bands. The two line-ups played together most of the time on the shows, presenting also some invited musicians, like Arnaldo Antunes, Andreas Kisser and Dado Villa-Lobos. The concert in Rio de Janeiro, which took place at January 26, 2008, was recorded and filmed. The resulting CD and DVD from the show were released five months after.

As of 2008, the band is working on a new studio album, and on a documentary of the 25 years of the band. The documentary will feature 90 minutes of images collected since the beginning of the band, including recording of albums, live performances, and more. [ [http://oglobo.globo.com/cultura/mat/2008/05/14/documentario_sobre_os_25_anos_dos_titas_resgata_historia_da_banda_em_imagens_ineditas-427380434.asp Documentário sobre os 25 anos dos Titãs resgata história da banda em imagens inéditas] ]

Members

Current members

*Paulo Miklos - lead vocals, backing vocals, saxophone, guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, harmonica.
*Branco Mello - Lead vocals, backing vocals, bass.
*Sérgio Britto - Lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards.
*Tony Bellotto - Guitar, acoustic guitar.
*Charles Gavin - drums and percussion.

Past members

*Nando Reis (1981–2002) - Lead vocals, backing vocals, bass, acoustic guitar.
*Marcelo Fromer (1981–2001) - Guitar, acoustic guitar.
*Arnaldo Antunes (1981–1992) - Lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar.
*André Jung (1981–1985) - Drums.
*Ciro Pessoa (1981–1984) - Lead vocals.

Touring members

*Emerson Villani (2002- ) - Guitar, backing vocals
*Lee Marcucci (2003- ) - Bass

Discography

References

External links

* [http://www.titas.net/ Official Website] pt icon
* [http://www.endino.com/titas/ Official English Website (by Jack Endino)] en icon
* [http://radio.terra.com.br/busca/cd.php?p_artista=Titas Rádio Terra - Listen to Titãs online] pt icon