Samba Rock (Sahm-ba Hawk) : June 14th, 2009

Ok, so last night I had my quintessential "I must be dreaming" moment. We went to this Old mansion turned bar in the heart of São Paulo. It is a club/venue like any other, It cost $20 Reais to enter... however, let me try to give you a visual. When you first walk in there is this big open space with a fireplace, red leather couches, live plants and a couple of bars, then to your left there are big French Doors that lead into the "house" - upon entering you see a stage to your left, and classic looking bar (almost like a speakeasy) scattered around the place are various old couches and chairs, and all original hardwood floors and tall doors and windows. Up a winding staircase the moonlight streams in from nearly ceiling to floor original stained glass paneling. Up stairs you find all the original rooms in the house (plus a bar that has been installed) and each room has been painted with murals from various local artists and brightly colored walls. Here are some photos from this bar - from the outside in - to help tell the story . . .

  




Around midnight the live music began. It was a Samba Rock (pronounced Sahm-ba Hawke) band called Funkaría - They were basically a mix of Funk, soul, Samba, and Rock. For those of you who know me, you are probably thinking "OMG, Tiff was in heaven" well, I'm not going to lie to you, it was absolutely amazing to be there, in Brasil no less, listening to a style of music that comes so naturally for Brazilians, and one that I find to be exotic and brilliant. To hear it mixed with funk and soul... Off the hook. Here's a short clip to give you and idea - this band is really fun - there website is www.funkaria.com



After the first set, I went to get a drink (Bohemia, light Brazilian beer - SOOO good) and was just hanging by one of the bars surveying the scene and dancing a little. I made eye contact with this older black man from the band, he smiled and we began to chat. Come to find out, his name is Hobson, and he's a freelance bassist that just plays occasionally with Funkaría. It was fun to get his spin on the São Paulo music scene, which apparently is really great. He said that he noticed me rocking out and I shared that I was a musician. Once he heard that he wanted to take me to meet the rest of the band - this was really good for me to get an introduction (As you can imagine, I was hiding my nerves and trying not to let my American accent seep into my Brazilian Portuguese) . . . I met the singer and keyboard player, total sweethearts and I happened to have a CD on me so I gave one to David the singer of the band, in the hopes that we could trade. He said that they didn't have any that night but that they play a regular Friday night show at a larger and more private venue (He has emailed me since the show and said that he listened to my CD 3x and really likes my voice. I'm hoping to see about opening one of their Friday night shows before I leave - I keep you posted :)

 

Towards the end of the second set, the group that I was there with wanted to head back to one of their houses and since it was early (3am) I thought, why not? Friends of Samya's younger sister (Ana Carolina), they are all young, handsome boys between the ages of 18 and 23 . . . I felt ancient, a bit Mrs. Robinson-esque, and was so wishing my little sister was there :) The great part however, is that they were all complete dolls and totally talented musicians, we spent the rest of the evening back at one of their parent's houses (parents were out of town in Italy - wealthy family, killer house) Playing Bossa Nova for the next few hours. I was completely and utterly in HEAVEN once again. These kids are so talented... It's like these Samba/Bossa rhythms are part of their genetic code. Unreal.

So, the end to a very wonderful, long and dream-like day in Brazil. And the very best part, was the list that these boys compiled of their top 40 favorite Bossa and Samba songs for me to download. Please and Thank you.

Ate Mais.