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Power Trio
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By the end of 1988, Roberto Medeiros 19 and 21 year old Leonardo Monteiro decided they wanted to step away from the mainstream of pop and explore their instruments and musical sensitivity more. They invite guitarist Henrique C. Lima to join this new RAME where not only would he be allowed to explore the most of his pedal set-ups but where the abuse of feedback is incited. Such an invitation was almost a blessing. Henrique had always been restrained in other bands so to not over do it, now he had no singer to tone down for. By the beginning of the following year, the line-up would be Roberto and Leo, bass and drums, plus the guitars of Henrique and Cesar Nine. Cesar carved his mark on Brazilian rock history for being the guitarist and founder of Rio's first punk rock band - Coquetel Molotov - in the early eighties and was now playing pop music for Finis Africae alongside with Roberto, MacGregor (ex-Motim), Eduardo de Morais and Ronaldo Pereira. |
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Cesar brought in material and tried to make his voice and his swing an imprint on the bands overall sound but it was themes like Montanha Russa (Roller Coaster), the first of a series of compositions by Henrique, Roberto and Leo, that really solidified the group as a trio. Highly complex, like a roller coaster, the theme obligates radical change-ups and never goes back to the same point until it's over. By the end of 1990 Cesar leaves the group and a more acute, tenacious and gut spilling trio storms the stage. |
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For the following three years RAME was superb, being everything you'd expect from a power-trio. Personally very discreet, you could not ignore them on stage! They were heavy, they were hard and they were extremely loud! A hurricane of sound that would grab you, shake you within and leave you dizzy, messy and with a hiss in your ears after it was over. Part of their new growing followers were other musicians and want-to-be's. Those who had a chance to see them don't forget the experience, those who didn't, missed it and will probably never know. No recording or video can portray the power and fury that being in the same room when the boys played can give you. |
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| Three demo tapes circulated among the top-notch and smaller record companies: Montanha Russa in 1990; Sumaré (Lima-Medeiros-Monteiro) in 1992 and Dunas (Henrique & Lula Costa Lima) in 1993, with guest session-man Lucas Santana on alto sax. The trio signs with Cidade Eletrica hoping to achieve access to a wider crowd but leaves them a few months later annoyed with the lack of publicity invested upon them. They then dedicate the year of 1994 to cut their first record on their own. |
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By the closing of that year, RAME feels the necessity to change. The formula of composing themes extremely hermetical becomes a musical cage and a sense of imprisonment seeps in. Searching for alternatives, more and more musicians are invited to join them at rehearsals and onto the stage as special guest appearances. Yet it would take another year or so before they found there way out of their predicament with improvisation sessions. On different occasions, RAME would play with guests Alexandre Loureiro (keyboards), Kamal Kassim (guitar), Moreno Veloso (Violoncello), Fabio Bola (keyboards), Julio Flôres (guitar) and Aasmond Brecker on piano rhodes. |
| Still as a power trio, their last live performance was on May 21st, 1995. The public that evening were gifted by the inclusion of a new theme, the recently composed Marat Sade (Lima-Medeiros-Monteiro). With a more ambient opening before going onto riff and solo, this theme gave away the notion that the composition process had already changed. More changes were but a few months away. With the end of this presentation the band closes another cycle and the power trio format never would be seen or heard again. |
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Leonardo Monteiro, Roberto Medeiros e Henrique Costa Lima |
