RAGEOUS GRATOONS

We do not play history again on stage, we live it.
This motto is even more true for The Rageous Gratoons, a French group from Bordeaux formed in 95, and for whom the stage is a place to live on, a place where you can meet other people and share things with them. In Concierto Live, their 5th production, their 5th self -production is a part of that story. Mainly recorded in january 2007 during a live performance at BT 59 in Bégles, near Bordeaux, this live concert settles down a 2 year live tour , with about 150 concerts around France and abroad.

We do not play history again on stage, we live it.
The story of Rageous started twelve years ago. Gratons Rageurs in the beginning imagined shows for children with a rock sound to them. When they became adults, their shows started transforming their creators. Gratons Rageurs were eventually swept out by Rageous Gratoons, mixing on stage and in studio traditional music with ska acoustic, polka from the Balkans, riffs from the Mediterranean…

This In Concierto live is a new self-made production , it proves if necessary , that the band has never accepted anyone to mingle with what they considered to be their own business. Rageous Gratoons is their own and as in cooking ( so important in France) they have their own recipes, they choose their ingredients themselves, give the right doses, and mix them together. Because of their various musical backgrounds (folk music , rock, psychobilly, African , or Oriental), the 6 musicians enjoy confronting their influences and point of views in order to give people new insights, and have them go wherever it may lead them.

Palme Barbatesti, a traditional Rumanian lament sung by Olivier opens up the CD as well as the concerts. And with it you can imagine the setting. The musicians may now come in and take their position on stage : Hurdy-gurdy player, double bass, drums, guitars, mandolin, accordion, harmonium, saxophone, violin, gralla and cymbalum.
A whirling sound rises with the first measures of Himba, the next piece. Once and a while , some lyrics of the Rageous set the focus on our world, and question its values.
Himba, inspired by a people from Namibie deals with the risks due to our world . Reste ici ( Stay Here) delves into the suffering of a friend of the singer who had been accused of a crime he had not committed . You can also hear about capitalism, nuclear energy , assholes, trips, wanderings, vampires, voodoo and even Love. The Rageous strike where it hurts. They feel responsible, and so worry about what will happen to human race, to our world. We may be thankful.
Baba Squaaly (mondomix mag)