Music
Press
" Despite being excelent musicians, the Bad Folks retain their punk attitude while being under the influence of Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Woody Guthrie. They have the spontaneity and and the punch required for every band beyond mediocrity. They are innovators while paying dues to the good sounds from the past." - Dynamite Magazine - SP - Brazil
" The good surprise tonight: Bad Folks. The quintet from Curitiba plays country pop rock with songs that make you dance, sing and whistle along. You don't need much more than than that, do you?"
- Folha de Sao Paulo Newspaper
" Imagine a mariachi band playing irish trad music after a brief internship with Captain Beefheart in the desert. Imagine Leadbelly being the third White Stripes member. They're the real beasts of the pinewoods who completely expose themselves through their art. To call them a Folk Rock band is unfair and is like putting them inside the left sock of a heavily clothed cowboy."
- Vitrolaz Mag - Online
" Assim como "banda de garagem", a expressão "banda de boteco" tem duplo significado. Ela pode ser pejorativa, dando a entender que se trata de um balaio de músicos de pouco talento e/ou personalidade que dificilmente irá além daquele ambiente em que toca. Mas também pode corresponder a um grupo que não precisa mais do que uns poucos metros quadrados para mostrar atitude, simplicidade, bom gosto e, principalmente, despretensão. Dadas as explicações, vamos aos fatos: no Brasil, poucas bandas de bar se encaixam tão bem na segunda definição quanto o Bad Folks, seja ao vivo, seja em disco.
Formado em 2002 por figurinhas carimbadas da cena roqueira curitibana (ex-Magog, Woyzeck, UV Ray, Svetlana, etc), a banda foi uma das atrações da primeira edição do Curitiba Pop Festival e mostrou as credenciais num Ep de três faixas, tudo no ano passado. Diante da torrente de elogios e shows cada vez mais numerosos, viu-se que era pouco e uma nova edição do disquinho saiu no início de 2004, desta vez acrescida de mais três faixas. E o que era bom ficou ainda melhor.
Como se fosse uma banda nascida nos cafundós de Nashville, o Bad Folks incorpora o country e o folk e tritura ambos os gêneros com uma atitude rock’n’roll. Descendo a mão nos violões e se apegando a harmonias vocais certeiras, o quinteto às vezes remete aos momentos mais tradicionalistas do Byrds, e em outras, lembra uma cruza de Stones com Teenage Fanclub, como em "Big White Chase". Craques em melodia, os curitibanos escavam as raízes ianques com guitarras e cravam os refrões de "Down the Drain" e "Bad Folks" na memória do ouvinte. O country-rock sessentista surge com força e fôlego punk em "Capo", e com ternura comedida em "If You Wanna Say Something". Com garra acústica impressionante, os trabalhos encerram com "Dream # 13 (A Portuguese on a Mission)", um desvio do folk irlandês em direção ao sul brasileiro.
Se "The Bad Folks", o Ep tem um problema, é o fato de ser curto demais. Suas seis canções são tão boas e agradáveis que tornam a espera pelo disco completo - o que deve acontecer no segundo semestre, eba! - um perigo para as unhas já detonadas. Ainda bem que temos os shows, em que o grupo toca com o tesão estampado no rosto e faz o favor de dividi-lo com a platéia felizarda. Bar, afinal, é pra isso, né?"
- Lookhere
" There was some tension in the air before the show started. Some people thought it would be a Brazilian Underground Samba event or whatever, they weren't prepared for an indie rock band from South America. But as soon as the first song approached its end, everyone was astonished. They had the guts, they had the attitude, and they were rocking it to the bone. Their raw mix of folk rock and classic punk reminded me of The Clash, but there was something else. They have something new there, and it's strong, I can tell you that. I've been in Brazil, I know this guys are really street-wise. It is difficult to be street-wise musically these days, specially in Europe, with all the benefits of our economic background. That's why the Bad Folks are closer to The Clash's working class angst and musical energy than any current British band trying to be Mick and Joe." - Lecool
"Bad Folks - It's one of my favourite bands in Brazil".
Carlos Eduardo Miranda, producer, rock critic and jury at Ídolos SBT TV (Brazilian version to American Idol). - Top View Magazine - Brazil
"The Bad Folks' gig last Saturday was the best show in Florianópolis in 2007 so far!"
Fábio Mutley - Diário Catarinense Newspaper - Florianópolis - Brazil.
- Diário Catarinense Newspaper
Discography
- Bad Folks single (2003)
- Bad Folks EP (2004)
- Grande Garagem - Live (2005)
- Bouncer (to be released, 2008)
- Streaming: www.tramavirtual.com.br/the_bad_folks / www.myspace.com/badfolks
Many Bad Folks' songs play in college radios worldwide.
Photos
Bio
Formed in 2002 by five friends after two of them had booked a date in a pub at their hometown, promising to the venue’s promoter “a night of wild and desperate folk music and rock’n’roll”, you’d expect anything but the raw and charming folk rock with a punk feel they play, given that they come from Samba and Bossa Nova’s homeland Brazil. Dubbed “The Clash of the 21st century with a Subtropicalist twist” by a Brazilian newspaper, the band’s repertoire and their infectious live performances truly deserve attention.
An audition might reveal traces of The Replacements, Elvis Costello and other influences, but with aesthetics that only a band with that subtropical background could have. That alone separates them from their English-speaking counterparts. But then there’s more to it: they sound genuinely fresh.
After releasing a single and an EP in 2003, the band played At Curitiba Pop Festival (CPF), one of Brazil’s most prestigious rock festivals. Their show was praised by the critics and audience, and reached the top of a poll chart at Folha de São Paulo online newspaper, beating headliners Breeders and Stereo Total.
In 2004, they toured Spain. Shortly afterwards, Bad Folks released a live album, cut during an event promoted by the label Grande Garagem Que Grava, in Curitiba. The project released 16 local bands CDs into two box-sets - a historical registry of the city's greatest bands.
In the following year, they saw their fan base grow and cross borders. Their first video, Big White Chase, was produced in New York, and has been frequently aired by MTV Brazil. Unfortunately, Bad Folks was unable to attend its production because of budget constraints, but they were represented in the video by a shark puppet, two Irish policemen, artist friends and Brazilian poetry verses.
Bad Folks are playing intensively their country’s indie circuit, earning a notoriety for outstanding performances in which it is impossible not to feel compelled to dance, even during the softer songs - they probably learned how to do that during their country’s ultimate yearly street party, Carnival.
But don’t expect fusion sounds or any Latin drums + banjo + slide guitar rags. The Brazilian character of their sound is imbedded in their songwriting (which is done by three members separately, two of which have been playing old school Samba for the last eight years), but cannot be detected on the outer layers. After all, Bad Folks is a very good rock and roll band with a world-class original sound.
The band was recently cited by Veja Magazine - a major brazilian new magazine - as one of the best bands of the new brazilian indie rock. In September 2007, Carlos E. Miranda, Journalist and rock critic, cited Bad Folks as one of the bands he most like in Brazil.
Bad Folks has just recorded its first full lenght CD, which will be released in January 2008 in Brazil by Discos Voadores.
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