Tarantola 31

The style of the group can be described as halfway between an Italian repertory and unavoidable foreign influences (the English of Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Stones and the Clash, the Spanish of Manu Chao and Mano Negra and the French of Brassens’ and Les Negresses Vertes) as well as combining a weird and interesting mix of dialects. Linguistic mélange, made of different sounds and flavours, often eclectic and shamelessly irreverent. Acoustic and electric guitars, bass, drums and percussions, accordion, bouzouki, laùd, kazoo and bold singing voices are all elements that blend together in their live performances, creating music to be listened to and danced to, and that can be performed either at concerts or also at parties.
Thanks to the cooperation with Radio Popolare Network’s Controradio (one of the most important radio networks in Italy) and an intensive number of live activities consisting of concerts in in all types of environment have allowed to Tarantola 31 to impose itself as an interesting part of the Tuscan rock scene.
The group is currently finalizing an important contract with an Italian indy label from Milan, LaFuente Records, which will help the band to finish and publish its very first LP at the end of summer 2008.
The principal part of their concept is the actual songs. Music and lyrics have to join together, and one cannot override the other. So with Kafkian deliriums, nostalgic ballads, latin rhythms, Mediterranean, Celtic or Slavian melodies, listeners find themselves in a weird world, where Bob Dylan meets Caterina Bueno (a former Italian folk singer) and the Rolling Stones meet Koçani Orkestar. The band plays covers and new songs written by singer Igor Vazzaz (who also plays the acoustic guitar, kazoo, harmonica, bouzouki and laùd); an artist with experience in various musical fields (as a musician he has won awards throughout Italy, and has shared the stage with important singers and bands such as Claudio Lolli, Ivan Graziani, Modena City Ramblers, The Gang, Banda Bardò, Piccola Orchestra Avion Travel, Jackie McShee) as well as having many other strings to his bow (he is also a theatre critic, journalist and author), whilst the musical arrangements are created and developed by the whole group.
The aim of the band is returning to the roots of music, recovering the source of melodies (tarantula of the group’s name is referred to a magical and mysterious Italian folk dance) which are often copied and recycled by artists from the other side of Atlantic Ocean, making them more superficial and banal in the process. The project has no archaeological intentions, knowing well that living traditions do not comprehend the concept of “traditional�. To get an vivid artistic expression it is not necessary to crystallise it, just bend it to its individual aesthetic and poetic exigencies.
Tarantola 31’s musicians are all experienced and talented, each one of them has a very personal musical CV, and their own backgrounds contribute to the project. Simone Amato (drums and percussion), Stefano Martini (electric guitars, backing vocals), Rossano Bagnoli (accordion), Antonio Santagati (bass, vocals) are the band members, and the first three of these also played in a former group called Miniera Matilde alongside Igor Vazzaz.
It is not easy to define Tarantola 31, but on a big stage, in a pub or simply in a square, this band is able to play, to act and provide everyone with a good time.