Serú Girán
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Serú Girán was an
Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...
. Formed in 1978, the group consisted of
Charly García Charly García (born Carlos Alberto García, October 23, 1951) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He formed and headlined two of the most popular bands in Argentina's rock history: Sui Generis in the 1970s and Se ...
(
keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
,
synthesizers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
and vocals), David Lebón (
guitars 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 ...
and vocals),
Oscar Moro Óscar Moro (January 24, 1948 – July 11, 2006) was an Argentine rock drummer. Óscar Moro was born and raised in Rosario. Moro joined a childhood friend, Litto Nebbia, and three others in forming the pioneer Argentine rock and roll band Los Gat ...
(
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 ...
and percussion) and Pedro Aznar ( electric and fretless
bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...
and vocals) the three first being already consecrated musicians through their previous bands. It is considered one of the best in the history of rock en español, both musically and conceptually, including the staging


History


Formation, beginnings and first album (1978)

Serú Girán was born after the separation of the band
La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros ("The bird-making machine") was a mid-1970s progressive and symphonic rock band from Argentina, with strong influences by Genesis, Premiata Forneria Marconi, Yes, and Steely Dan. In their brief two-year lifespan, the ...
which
Charly García Charly García (born Carlos Alberto García, October 23, 1951) is an Argentine singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He formed and headlined two of the most popular bands in Argentina's rock history: Sui Generis in the 1970s and Se ...
had organized in his early post-
Sui Generis ''Sui generis'' ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind", "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". A number of disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. These include: * Biology, for species that do not fit in ...
. Along with David Lebón, Charly García traveled to Búzios ( Brazil) in 1978, with the idea of writing songs for a new album. On their return to Buenos Aires, García met the young and talented bass player Pedro Aznar. They were then joined by
Oscar Moro Óscar Moro (January 24, 1948 – July 11, 2006) was an Argentine rock drummer. Óscar Moro was born and raised in Rosario. Moro joined a childhood friend, Litto Nebbia, and three others in forming the pioneer Argentine rock and roll band Los Gat ...
, who was the drummer of
La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros ("The bird-making machine") was a mid-1970s progressive and symphonic rock band from Argentina, with strong influences by Genesis, Premiata Forneria Marconi, Yes, and Steely Dan. In their brief two-year lifespan, the ...
and formerly of the legendary group Los Gatos. The band Billy Bond and the Jets was formed by Charly García,
Billy Bond Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge * Billy, a youn ...
, David Lebón, Pedro Aznar and Oscar Moro. They released a single album with tracks like "Discoshock", "Toda la Gente" ("Everybody"), and "Loco, ¿No te sobra una moneda?" ("Man, don't you have a coin to spare?"). Finally Billy Bond dismantled the project, and the rest of its members formed Serú Girán. The beginnings of the band were difficult. Its first album, '' Serú Girán'' (released in 1978), did not have a good reception even though some of its songs (notably "Seminare" and "Eiti Leda") would become public anthems. The first public appearance of the band was in a boat over the Riachuelo river. What inspired García to do this was the revolutionary band "Los Jóvenes de Ayer". In its debut, the band was joined by the orchestral collaborations of Daniel Goldberg, who recorded with 24 musicians in United States. The official presentation of the debut album ''Serú Girán'' was held in Estadio Obras Sanitarias on November 3, 1978 with an orchestra of 24 musicians (string section and wind) and closed circuit television. In the back of the stage, a giant screen showed the musicians on stage. Lebón, Aznar and Moro were dressed in white, while Charly chose a jacket, a black mesh bag and snickers. The beginning of the recital, with the full orchestra playing the powerful intro of the song "Serú Girán", presaged an unforgettable night. However, it did not go well. The audience didn't get the satire behind the song "Discoshock", which is about the
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
music in vogue at the time, and was taken aback. Amid a chorus of whistles, the crowd asked the musicians to play "Blues del levante", a song written by García at the end of his Sui Generis tenure. The rest of the concert went to general indifference.


''La Grasa de las Capitales'' (1979)

Serú Girán released ''
La Grasa de las Capitales ''La Grasa de las Capitales'' is the second album by the Argentine Rock supergroup Serú Girán, released in 1979. After its deeply criticized debut album Serú Girán, the band went in search for a different sound, one that could be closer to t ...
'' a year later in 1979. The word "grasa" means "grease" in Spanish, but in Argentina it is also slang for "tacky". As such, the title of the album was a criticism of Argentine society at the time (which was living under a
military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...
following the 1976 coup) specially critical of what it was considered then "commercial" music (as opposed to the more elaborate lyrics and musicianship supposedly present in genres such as
prog-rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
) with
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
music being parodied in the self-titled first track, the cover of the album itself being a spoof of popular
Gente magazine Gente may refer to: * ''Gente'' (magazine), an Italian magazine * "Gente" (song), a song by Laura Pausini *Partido de la Gente, a Uruguayan political party, established 2016 *''Gente y la actualidad'', an Argentine magazine *Genté, a commune in F ...
. "Viernes 3 A.M." (Friday 3 A.M,) and "Noche de Perros" ("Dog's night") were the best performing tracks of Serú Girán's second album. "Viernes 3 AM" would be banned from the radios for a time by the dictatorship because it was considered to incite suicide. In 2007, the Argentine edition of '' Rolling Stone'' ranked it 17 on its list of " The 100 Greatest Albums of National Rock". The official release of ''La Grasa de las Capitales'' was held at a number of venues in September and October 1979 including the Buenos Aires Auditorium (Ex - Kraft).


''Bicicleta'' and success (1980)

In 1980, the album '' Bicicleta'' ("Bicycle") was released. The album described with delicate and admirable accuracy the Argentine social and political times under the dictatorship. "Canción de Alicia en el país" ("Song of Alice in the Land") and "Encuentro con el diablo" ("Encounter with the Devil") are the songs that best described that social reality according to music historian, Sergio Pujol. To avoid censorship, "Canción de Alicia en el país" painted Argentina's reality using metaphors inspired on the book ''
Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
''. Charly García described the feelings of young and middle-aged adults in the songs "A los jóvenes de ayer" ("To the Youth of Yesterday") and "Mientras miro las nuevas olas" ("While I Watch the New Waves") who were ambivalent about old tango idols and emerging New Wave music respectively. ''Bicicleta''   which was also the initial name proposed by Charly for the band but was rejected by the rest of the group   was officially launched at the Estadio Obras Sanitarias stadium on June 6 and 7, 1980. For the concerts, the stage was adorned with wheels of bicycles, rabbits and flowers. The scenery made an impact on the attendants and on the media, being Serú Girán the first group that put some thought about the staging. Serú Girán had delegated scenic responsibility to choreographer Renata Schussheim, who was an old friend of Charly. ''Bicicleta'' marked the beginning of Serú Girán's successful shows. A month later, in August 1980, Serú performed at the
Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jaz ...
in Rio de Janeiro. In general, the Argentine musicians going to the festival were related mostly to jazz or tango sounds, while Serú proposed a progressive rock act. That year the concert had two parts: Serú Girán, American guitarist Pat Metheny and
George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...
performed in the first half. The success of the Argentine band in the first half was such that the organizers offered Serú Girán to play again in the second half along with
John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaugh ...
, Hermeto Pascoal Egberto Gismonti, and the group
Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and vocali ...
. García remembers about the Monterey Jazz Festival that: "When McLaughlin was playing, people skated and threw paper airplanes. I was dying of Embarrassment! If they did that to McLaughlin, they would throw more stuff at us". However, his prediction was wrong. The main reason of the public's favorable response may lie in the variety of nuances in the songs, some, with a cadence that invites to dance. At this festival, Aznar met Jaco Pastorius. On December 30, 1980, the group gave a historic free concert in La Rural, which was organized by the public TV channel ATC as part of its series of concerts named "Music forbidden for adults". The concert drew more than 60,000 attendants, making Serú the first Argentine band to have such live audience.


''Peperina'', ''No llores por mí, Argentina'' and separation (1981-1982)

The next album ''
Peperina ''Minthostachys verticillata'', commonly known as peperina, is the only species of the genus ''Minthostachys'' known from Argentina. It occurs in the northwestern and central regions of the country. It may be the most economically important spe ...
'' (1981) was marked by compositions such as "Llorando en el espejo" ("Crying in the Mirror"), "Esperando Nacer" ("Waiting to be Born"), "
Cinema Verité Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking * ...
" and "
Peperina ''Minthostachys verticillata'', commonly known as peperina, is the only species of the genus ''Minthostachys'' known from Argentina. It occurs in the northwestern and central regions of the country. It may be the most economically important spe ...
". The official release of the album was held at Obras Sanitarias on 4, 5 and 6 September 1981. The album cover was designed by Clota Ponieman, with photos picked by him and Charly. When Aznar decided to leave the band to study at
Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...
( Boston, Massachusetts, USA), Serú organized a series of concerts in advance of the possible break up of the band. Serú Girán's future was uncertain. At beginning of 1982, the track recorded in these concerts, ''No Llores por Mí Argentina'' ("Don't Cry for me Argentina"), was one of the best sellers of that year. Later this year, arguments between García, Lebón and Moro (in particular the first two) on how to replace Aznar and the group's future led the band to dissolve.


Comeback and ''Serú '92'' (1992-1993)

Many years passed until the comeback of Serú Girán became a reality. García, Moro, Lebón and Aznar reunited in the early 1990s to make their last studio album, '' Serú '92'' (1992), and embark on a tour that would be their last. With the return of Serú, presentations were made in
Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...
, Córdoba (in stadium Chateau Carreras),
Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
(
Centenario Stadium Estadio Centenario is a stadium in the Parque Batlle of Montevideo, Uruguay, used primarily for football. The stadium was built between 1929 and 1930 to host the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centenary of Uru ...
) and in Buenos Aires, with two performances at the stage of
River Plate Stadium Estadio Monumental (), officially Estadio Mâs Monumental for sponsorship reasons,soccer stadiums. In 1993 the band released his second live album -and last live album, chronologically-, '' En vivo'' ("Live").


Death of Oscar Moro and sporadic reunions (2006-present)

Drummer Oscar Moro died of a
stomach hemorrhage The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach is ...
in July 2006. The members of the band have since stated that there will not be a definitive reunion of Serú without Moro. In late March and early April 2007, Pedro Aznar and David Lebón played a series of concerts together in the ND Ateneo theater. In their fifth show, on April 6, Charly García joined them on stage to play "Seminare". On July 26, 2007, a year after the passing of Moro, a tribute concert was organized in his honor, in which Charly García and Pedro Aznar played "Desarma y sangra" ("Disarm and bleed"), "Encuentro con el Diablo", "Mientras miro las nuevas olas" and "Esperando nacer". On April 30, 2010, Lebón and Aznar were guest players during García's show at
Luna Park Stadium Estadio Luna Park (commonly known as Luna Park) is a multi-purpose arena in Buenos Aires. Located at the corner of Avenida Corrientes and Avenida Bouchard; in the San Nicolás, Buenos Aires, San Nicolás neighborhood. Initially, the arena primar ...
to play "Seminare".


Discography


Studio albums


Live albums


Compilations


Other


Awards

They were awarded in the categories: * Best live group, * Best Composer (García), * Best Keyboardist (García), * Best guitarist (Lebón), * Best bassist (Aznar), * Best drummer (Moro), * Disclosure group 1978, * Best singer (Lebón) 1980 and 1981, * Best song 1978 ''(Seminare)'' and 1981 ''(Peperina)'' y * Best Album 1978 ''(Serú Girán)''


References


External links


Seru Giran in Rock.com.ar

Serú's return


and Victor Pinto in Express Imaginary.] {{DEFAULTSORT:Seru Giran Argentine rock music groups Argentine progressive rock groups