Brazzil
Music
September 2002
"We're back!" was the ecstatic cry heard in the early morning hours of July 31st in the Ballroom, a club in Rio's Zona Sul neighborhood, when Herbert Vianna returned to the stage and joined his band-mates João Barone (drums) and Bi Ribeiro (bass) of Paralamas do Sucesso.
This is the first time the complete three-member band has played live together since Herbert Vianna's tragic ultra-light plane crash of Feb. 4, 2001 that killed his wife, Lucy Needham, and brought him to the brink of death, leaving him paraplegic.
About one thousand fans pushed, jumped, and shouted when he came onstage in a wheel chair with his guitar in hand. He tore into "A Novidade" unleashing strong emotions from the entire crowd: laughter, whistling, applause, and many faces were bathed in tears of joy.
Rightfully so: when Herbert was flown by helicopter to the Copa D'Or Hospital in Feb. 2001, the doctors gave him less than a 10 percent chance of survival.
Herbert, 40, displayed his same stage presence of old times with the band. He smiled broadly as the crowd sang with him on "A Novidade" and he invited them to clap hands.
Next, Bi Ribeiro whispered in the other musician's ears and they played "All I want to do" and "Cherry Oh Baby" by UB 40, (the latter also covered by the Rolling Stones). During both songs Herbert took long guitar solos.
Next the drums broke into "Meu Erro" (one of the band's most powerful songs in their live repertoire) completely overwhelming the crowd, inspiring spontaneous crowd participation: singing with Herbert in alternating verses.
"Lift up your hands, all of you!" Herbert said, and instantly the crowd chanted a series of "Ee-Yeh-Oh's"—unassisted by Herbert altogether.
"We're gonna play something new, something recently completed," Herbert announced. "A cabeça do malandro aqui voltou a ter um mínimo operacional," Herbert joked, which roughly means, "My mind is back to minimum operation."
The band began playing "Calibre" an unreleased song that will be on their new CD "Longo Caminho" (The Long Way).
Eu não sei de onde vem o tiro
Vivo sem saber até onde estou vivo
Eu nao sei o calibre do perigo."I don't know where the shot comes from
I live not knowing how alive am I
I don't know the caliber of danger.According to Herbert, the new CD is already recorded and will contain strong social and personal commentary.
"I only had fragments of "Calibre" and I only recently completed this one. In this song, it's not about my personal situation: it's only a world view," he explained.
"We have to go!" Herbert announced to the crowd. He could feel himself being inundated with hundreds of fans, so he beat a quick retreat, leaving the crowd to engage in nothing less than an all-night party (something not exactly unheard of in Rio, however, this was a particularly deliriously happy crowd).
Drummer João Barone explained that the CD is currently being mastered in the United States by producer Carlo Bartolini. Before the accident, Herbert and the group had, in fact, announced that they would record a new CD scaling back from an eight-piece band, to the drums-bass-guitar of their original rock/reggae/samba roots.
"It was difficult after the accident," Barone said. "I felt shocked, but things have worked out extremely well. We're all ready to play. Astral total," he said.
In fact, the medical team that has supervised Herbert's recovery in his home, and also the doctors who worked with him at the Hospital Sarah, in Brasília, Brazil's capital, agree wholeheartedly. They stated recently that despite his paralysis that confines him to a wheel chair, he is doing well and will lead an independent and normal life. In July, Herbert passed a series of medical exams, they said.
His family stated that he chose treatment in Brazil, although he had received many offers of assistance to bring him to various clinics abroad that specialize in brain and neurological injuries.
The band's agent, José Fortes, says that they had been in the studio for two months recording 11 songs. "The process had been very slow, due to Herbert's recovery, but he is recuperating very well," he said. Before entering the studio the band practiced the new material in Herbert's house in Rio, which was essential to not only his physical and emotional well being, but also in improving his memory, which is still an ongoing challenge for him, according to Fortes.
The band's label EMI has re-issued virtually the entire Paralamas do Sucesso catalog, and is gearing up for a late September international release of Longo Caminho.
Mike Dobran lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He works as an educator, student, and freelance writer. He has lived, and traveled in Brazil. You may contact him at montycheese4@yahoo.com
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