While domestic and English bands have dominated the
American music consciousness since modern pop and rock first appeared in the
mid-20th century, most non-Anglo international acts are left by the wayside.
Supla and João Suplicy, the members of band Brothers Of Brazil, have garnered stardom, praise,
and their own action figures in their home nation, the up-and-coming economic
and surf powerhouse of Brazil. But yet they’re still strangers to the American
public, even though the band’s melding of genres creates a delectable palette
of American pop, rock, and punk thoroughly spiced with Brazilian bossa nova and
samba influences eagerly awaiting U.S. appetites.
Supla, the elder of the two brothers, rocks bleach-blonde
spikes and outlandish garb, looking like a taller Billy Idol, which is a fair
comparison seeing as Supla is a Brazilian punk-rock statesman with more credits
to his name than I dare to mention. Meanwhile, João personifies the introverted younger brother
archetype, maintaining an even keel only set to roll when a nylon-string guitar
takes a virtuoso’s thrashing in his manicured hands while Supla barks with core
confidence and mayhem.
Nearing the end of their U.S. tour in support of 2011’s
self-titled debut album, Brothers Of Brazil spent a quick night at The Local
506 in Chapel Hill, NC, charming ladies, earning man-given credit, and getting
the house dancing. Between a sound check, a back-alley excursion, and the usual
language-barrier stumbles, I caught up with Brothers Of Brazil to get them on
the record.
ESM: Brothers Of Brazil — are you two actual
brothers? Have you been playing together your whole lives?
Supla
Suplicy: We are from Sao Paolo,
Brazil, and we are brothers, blood brothers.
João Suplicy: No, we have not played together our whole lives. We
had separate careers; he had his thing, and I had my thing, and then about four
years ago we started this band together. We became the Brothers Of Brazil.
Supla: We say “band” but really it’s just me and him.
ESM: Why did you two choose to be a two-man band rather
than include more members?
Supla: We think about bringing two different styles —
he brings a lot of bossa nova and the Brazilian music, and I bring a lot of
punk rock and rock ‘n’ roll — and of course, he knows rock ‘n’ roll and I
know Brazilian music, but we try to blend this together to bring
something different to the table. And I play drums and sing.
João: And I play guitar and sing. We actually got used to
filling up the sound with just the two of us. Like if we play a song the way we
play it and then we bring a bass player, it might work eventually, but most
times it just sounds unnecessary because the way we play we’ve already filled
those holes, those spaces.
Supla: João is a very good guitar player, in my opinion, and he
plays with his fingers — so he keeps his nails long — which lets
him make the bass out of it. He has to go to… what do you call it?
ESM: Get a manicure?
João: Ya, I have to keep my nails strong. I have to get
them done again tomorrow. So people look, and I’m not a metrosexual, it’s just
that I’m a guitar player.
Supla: But when we started we decided to just have two
people in the band. Let’s keep it simple and rad, you know? That’s punk. That’s
hardcore. Just acoustic guitar, drums, and vocals.
João: Nothing to hide behind.
Supla: Our first big show in Portugal was Rock In Rio.
There were 20,000 people waiting for The Offspring and bands like that. And I
was like, “Okay, João. It’s just you and me, man.”
ESM: As you mentioned, your music blends genres. How
would you describe your sound for someone who has never heard you before?
Supla: There’s a lot of bossa nova guitar playing, and a
lot of cool beats that I play, and together that brings melodies. Then we bring
subjects to these melodies, stuff that matters to us, and it might mean
something to somebody else too. We talk about stuff that really matters in the
heart. But musically we do a lot of Brazilian stuff focused on acoustic guitar
mixed with rock and other genres more popular here in America.
João: It doesn’t mean that it’s always easy to blend. He
has his own ideas, I have my own ideas, different styles. And sometimes it’s
very hard to fit those. But when we find the track, and we’re both into it,
then it becomes a song.
ESM: When I first reviewed your album, I learned that you
two used to have a variety show in Brazil. Variety shows are kind of taboo in
the U.S., so can you explain to me how you turned into this awesome band?
Supla: We had a national TV show in Brazil, and we were the
hosts. We used to bring all kinds of people — musicians, athletes,
politicians — to interview them, and we’d play music. It was a great
time. It was on air for about three years. But we started as a band. I was
doing a job in London and João was doing his thing, but we decided to meet in
London to do a show at a little place I knew in Camden Town. We played some
covers, one of my songs, one of his songs, for some friends. And then my very
good friend, who used to manage The Clash, Bernard Rhodes, he came and he said,
“Supla, the name of the band is Brothers Of Brazil.” And Joao and I said, “Yeah,
that’s great.” And we started the band. Then we ended up doing the TV show.
João: When the TV show ended we got a chance to focus more
on the band again. We flew to New York, and did ten shows in ten days. This
girl, Lisa Brownley, she saw us and invited us to play on the Warped Tour, and
hooked us up with SideOneDummy, our record company. Then we started touring,
touring, touring, and we’ve gone nonstop.
ESM: The Warped Tour has been a mainstay in surf culture
for some time now because of its punk-rock roots. How did the band fit in to
that repertoire?
João: I don’t have a history in punk rock. [Supla] used to
dress me up as a punk rocker when I was a little kid. Put my hair up, the whole
deal. But my roots are in Brazilian music.
Supla: That’s the thing. That’s what’s punk rock’s about to
us. We want to be ourselves. We want to have our own identity. That’s not
fucking following stuff like a blind let’s-everybody-follow-this. We even have
a song called “Blinded By Fashion” about followers. It’s cool to have style. If
you have your own style you live that 24 hours. João was very punk in his attitude. He was like, “Fuck
that, I’m going to study Brazilian music.” And I think people get a better idea
of that once they hear us live.
ESM: Brothers in bands are notorious for their feuds: The
Kinks, Oasis, The Black Crowes. Do tensions ever boil over within Brothers Of
Brazil?
João: Fighting, all the time. Not like physically, not
yet.
Supla: That’s fucking not good. I’ve already told him if
you want to put on boxing gloves, we can go and box.
João: He just says that because he used to box. So if I
fight him I won’t box, I’ll have to use some other thing.
ESM: One of the standout songs from your album is “I Hate
The Beatles.” That statement alone could incite riots in some areas, but the
first line is “I hate The Beatles/ Maybe it’s because I love them too much.” So
which is it?
João: He hates The Beatles. I love The Beatles. No, I’m
just joking. We both love The Beatles.
Supla: It’s the best band.
João: The message of the song is have something to believe
in, something to look forward to.
Supla: The message is not to live in the past, live in the
present. The past is great, respect and everything, but go to the future. Live
in the present.
João: But I still love The Beatles more than anything in the
present, and I hate that sometimes. I wish I could love something as much as
that.
Supla: They were good. I’ve been in fights with skinheads
over The Beatles.
ESM: With Adriano de Souza, Gabriel Medina, Miguel Pupo and
others, Brazil has been coming into its own in the surfing world with some
major international victories. Do either of you surf at all or keep up with the
Brazilian surf scene?
Supla: Oh we love surfing. We’re so proud of the Brazilian
guys. I mean the kid that beat Kelly in the final in Portugal [de Souza], he’s
awesome. We’re surfers ourselves. We’ve done trips to Hawaii, Mexico, and Puerto
Rico. Coming from Brazil we’re more used to surfing beachbreaks though.
ESM: What connections do you find between music and
surfing?
Supla: I see a lot. When I was a kid in Brazil, going to
see these movies of surfing, there was this music in the back always. There was
this connection between the surfing and the music. Recently, I saw Bustin’ Down The Door and that opening
scene with the waves and Leonard Cohen playing in the background… that was
amazing. I think it goes totally together. I actually have a music video of me
with an acoustic guitar in Hawaii surfing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyykwj5R-b4
ESM: Who are your key influences?
João: Well, I’ll say some Brazilian guys like João
Gilberto, Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Jorge Ben. But also a lot of rock ‘n’
roll like Hendrix, Santana.
Supla: The Rolling Stones. We even do a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Let's Spend The
Night Together.”
ESM: How hard is it for a Brazilian band to crack the U.S. market?
Supla: They got to have great songs, great personality, and work a lot. And we’re not
fake; we’re real. We’re the Brothers Of Brazil. I believe we have everything we
need to pass our message to the people. Be free, be yourself: that’s our
message. If you want to love, love. Do whatever you want to do — just
respect people. I think a lot of the inspirations for our songs people can
relate to, and we want them to be able to relate. It could be about anything.
We have a song about the economic crisis.
João: The
song is called “Take The Money And Run Away To Rio.” It’s something we’ve
always heard about in movies. Being from Brazil, we watch that and we’re kind
of like “Hey, that’s pretty funny. You want to come here?”
ESM: Can we expect another Brothers Of Brazil album?
Supla: Oh yeah, we’re playing new songs on the road already. We’ll be sticking with our
record label. Any label that gives a Brazilian band a deal, done. Can you think
of a better label? All I have to say is God bless America — that’s what
the Brothers have to say.
For
all things Brothers Of Brazil, visit www.BrothersOfBrazil.uol.com.br
