Fonzie is a Portuguese

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

from

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

. The band was formed in 1996. It consisted of vocalist and guitarist Hugo Maia, guitarist David Marques, bass guitarist Carlos Teixeira, and drummer João Marques. The band was nominated for "Best Portuguese Act" at the

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. The band did three world tours, playing in the US, Japan, Australia, Singapore, UK, Brazil, Germany, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, Sweden, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina. Their music was featured on major music TV channels throughout the world, such as

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

MTV Asia MTV was a pan-Asian music pay-television channel which launched on 3 May 1995 as a standalone pay television channel. It was owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA. History MTV Asia was officially launched on 3 May 1995 as a 24-hour English-languag ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

Fuse TV Fuse is an American pay television channel launched in 1994 which was originally dedicated to music. After merging with the Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino-oriented NuvoTV in 2015, Fuse shifted its focus to general entertainment and lifestyl ...

, MCM, and was played on radio stations around the world. Their song "Gotta Get Away" was featured in the American MTV series "

Laguna Beach Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and a ...

" and " MTV MADE".

History

Formation and ''Built to Rock'' (1996–2003)

In 1996 Hugo Maia, João Marques and David Marques decided to form a band named "Fonzie." In 1997, the promo tape "Bring Me Up" was released containing four tracks. The first EP, called ''The Melo Pot'', was released in 1998, including 10 songs. It sold out the same year. Their debut album ''Built to Rock'' was recorded in 2001 in Sweden with producer Pelle Saether. In the same year, Fonzie won a worldwide contest sponsored by

Millencolin Millencolin is a Swedish punk rock band that was formed on 12 October 1992 by Nikola Šarčević, Mathias Färm, and Erik Ohlsson in Örebro, Sweden. In early 1993, drummer Fredrik Larzon joined the band. The name Millencolin is derived from t ...

to elect the best "Millencolin Cover Song". In 2002 ''Built to Rock'' was released by North American publisher Jumpstart Records, followed by a contract with Portuguese Movieplay, ULF Records, Sound Records, PunkNation Records, and Godchild Records. They toured the U.S., Europe, Asia, and South America, and their videos were played in more than 20 territories on TV channels such as MTV, MCM, and Fuse. In 2003 Fonzie was nominated for best Portuguese act at MTV Europe Music Awards.

''Wake Up Call'' (2004–2005)

In 2003 the band's second album, ''Wake Up Call'', was produced by P.O. Saether. ''Wake Up Call'' featured Nicola Sarcevic of Millencolin, Mats Olson, Agneta Olund, Jeremy Miers, and Dj Alex (Tokyo) as special guests. The video for the first single, "Gotta Get Away", was filmed in Hollywood (LA) and was directed by Darren Doane (Deftones, Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World, etc.). Fonzie signed a contract with

Megaforce Records Megaforce Records is an American independent record label founded in 1982 by Jon Zazula and his wife Marsha Zazula to release the first works of Metallica, and devoted primarily to hard rock and heavy metal. It has offices in New York City (w ...

for two albums. In 2004 and 2005, they toured the U.S., Asia, Europe, South America, and Australia for the first time, with 18 dates as headliners, of which twelve sold out.

Tenth anniversary and ''Shout It Out'' (2006–2008)

The years 2006 and 2008 marked the 10th anniversary of Fonzie's run, celebrated with the recording of a ''Shout It Out,'' produced by Fonzie and Fred Stone. The release of ''Shout It Out'' was followed by another world tour of the U.S., South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, and Fonzie was again nominated for best Portuguese act at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

''Angry Odd Kids'' and ''Caminho'' (2009–present)

Bassist Carlos Teixeira formed a side project in 2003, a Portuguese punk rock band called Angry Odd Kids (aka A.O.K), playing the guitar and backing vocals. Because some members left the band and had to be replaced, their debut album ''AOK'' was not released until 2009; it was produced by AOK and Fred Stone. After the album was released, Fonzie returned to the studio to record a new album. In January 2009, the first single, "A Tua Imagem" ("Your Image" in English), was released on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. In 2010, their first album sung entirely in Portuguese, ''Caminho'' ("Path" in English), was released, along with an eponymous single. After they finished touring, Teixeira left to work on his side project "Avenida Zero" and was replaced by JB on bass. In April 2013, their single "Renascer" ("Reborn") debuted on

Band members

;Current *Hugo Maia –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*David Marques –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

*João Marques –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

*JB (bass) –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

;Former *Jorge Gregos –

*Miguel Marques –

*Carlos Teixeira

Discography

;Studio albums * ''Built to Rock'' (2001) * ''Wake Up Call'' (2003) * ''Shout It Out'' (2007) * ''Caminho'' (2010) ;Extended plays * ''Bring Me Up'' (1997) * ''The Melo Pot'' (1998) * ''96'' (2019)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fonzie Portuguese punk rock groups