Extremoduro () was a Spanish hard rock band from

Plasencia Plasencia () is a walled market city in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Western Spain. , it has a population of 41,047. Situated on the bank of the Jerte River, Plasencia has a historic quarter that is a consequence of the city's stra ...

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...

. The band is led by Roberto Iniesta, also known as "Robe", who is often referred as "El rey de Extremadura" (The king of Extremadura). The name Extremoduro is a pun on the band's home region in western Spain, Extremadura, and roughly translates as "extremely tough", "rough edge" or, more literally, "hard extreme". The band was created in 1987 and is regarded as one of the most influential bands of the Spanish hard rock scene, besides being a complete symbol for their region. Influenced by the

Spanish literature Spanish literature generally refers to literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects wi ...

, Iniesta's lyrics are often described as rude street poetry, with frequent allusions to drugs, sex and self-destruction. Well-known songs by Extremoduro include "So payaso", "Golfa", "Salir", "Extremaydura", "Puta" and "Jesucristo García". The highest moment in the band's career was probably reached with the release of their album '' Agila'', which was awarded a prize for best video in the first edition of the Spanish Music Awards in 1997. It is considered one of the best Spanish bands ever by several music magazines. They were ranked number 6 on

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

's "50 Greatest Spanish rock bands". In December 2019, the band announced a farewell tour of eight cities for May and June 2020. However, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

the tour was first postponed to autumn 2020, and finally cancelled. The band is officially disbanded.

History

The beginnings (1987 to 1991)

Roberto Iniesta (also known as "Robe") establishes the band in the summer of 1987 in

, the second most important city of Cáceres, a province of the west of Spain. Previously, in 1983, he had formed the band ‘ Dosis Letal’ with Zósimo "Zosi" Pascual, with whom he composed the song "La Carrera", that would later come to be the penultimate track of Extremoduro's 1996 disc Agíla. Extremoduro were initially formed by Robe, as vocalist and guitarist, "Chico" on the bass and "Miguelin" on the drums. This initial set-up lasted just a few months, after which Robe decided to reconfigure the group and found Salo and Louis "von Fanta" to replace Kaito and William respectively. With this new dynamic in place, and with the difficulty they faced recording an album, they decided to sell vouchers to their acquaintances (at a thousand pesetas each) that would entitle each of them to a copy of the demo tape after it had been produced. They sold 250 of these "coupons" (whose buyers are credited in the finished production). After this, they produced 1000 copies of this first "demo" which already contained some of the quintessential anthems of the group, such as "Extremaydura" or "Jesucristo Garcia"; the collection is '' Rock transgresivo''. The distribution of this transgressive musical offering of rock began to attract attention inside and outside their home region of

; it was so well received that the Spanish television program Plastic invited them for a live performance. They were then selected for the national final of the

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trophy in which they finished third. It was in this final that Avispa Music noticed them and began negotiations for the release of their debut professionally recorded album, '' Tú en tu casa, nosotros en la hoguera''. The album was recorded that summer, containing the same songs as ''Rock Transgresivo'' (in addition to "''Amor Castúo''"). The group often expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome and, in fact, in 1994 it was remixed and partially re-recorded to be reissued under another name. At the end of this deal-making 1989, Robe restructured the band again: he switched to the role of supporting guitarist, to focus on the delivery of the vocals. In this way, Salo became lead guitarist and Carlos "Dirty" took up the vacancy for a bassist. In 1991, a deal was struck with Wasp to record the second album, but due to the poor expectations that the label offered, they decided to break this contract and sign with Pasión-Área Creativa, like Avispa Music, an independent company, but this time with better conditions. They record a second album with them in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

'' Somos unos animales'', published in July 1991. With the collaboration of vocalist and guitarist Madrid

Rosendo Mercado Rosendo Mercado Ruiz (born 23 February 1954, Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish rock singer and songwriter. He was a member of bands Ñu and Leño, and is a prominent exponent of the so-called urban rock in Spain. Biography First steps His fami ...

(ex- Leño) on the songs " ''La canción de los oficios'' " (voice) and " ''Perro Callejero'' " (guitar), they themselves define it as the beginning of the true sound of Extremoduro that the band calls "transgressive Rock." In this first period, drugs – especially heroin – were the inseparable 'other member' of the group. As such, the group's live performances (usually considered their greatest asset) were unpredictable to say the least. Though they now had presence in the Spanish rock scene, it was said that Extremoduro's live gigs were either "unforgettable or a disaster." The group began to sell a lot and Pasión-Área Creativa proved too small for their ambitions, which together with other disputes (royalties not being paid for this LP), lead to them signing with DRO in 1991, giving them better distribution and promotion, and the means to the success that later years brought.

Signing up with DRO Atlantic

DRO (Discos Radioactivos Organizados) was a record company founded in the '80s as Spain's first independent record label by members of the Aviator Dro techno pop outfit. When Extremoduro got signed up with them in 1992, it was one of the largest independent labels in Spain. However, it was in the process of being sold off to Warner Music International, one of the most important multinational actors in the music business. Although the label has changed its name (DRO-Atlantic, DRO East-West, Warner Music España...), Extremoduro has published all of its albums through them since signing up. Indeed, they have re-edited their two previous albums with DRO. In 1992, the third studio album came to be; the first within their contract with DRO, Deltoya. This had its origin in a spin-off project from the band, of Robe's: Extremozoide, although circumstances would cause this to be published as another album of Extremoduro's. The album has a more erotic—and less social—theme than the previous discs, and most of the lyrics are adaptations of the poems by Kiko "Luna Creciente", Tomás Rodríguez (the band's manager) and Manolo Chinato. The album includes the voices and participation of other artists, such as Argentinian singer and guitarist

Ariel Rot Ariel Eduardo Rotenberg Gutkin (born 19 April 1960), better known as Ariel Rot, is an Argentine musician. Rot moved to Spain when he was young and became a member of the group Tequila. Later, he began his solo musical career, after which he jo ...

in "Volando solo". It would not be the last time that Robe hatched upon a project that was independent of the group, nor the last time that this independence would prove to be short lived. 1993 is a crucial year in the history of Extremoduro. For starters, they cross paths with Iñaki "Uoho" Antón (then guitarist of

Platero y Tú Platero y Tú () was a Spanish rock and roll and blues rock band formed in Bilbao in the 1980s, and disbanded in 2001. Their lyrics mainly deal about drugs, bar issues and love, and their style, being mainly influenced by bands such as Status ...

) in

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and together with other musicians start a new project: La Pedrá. Robe is responsible for voice and guitar, Uoho for a second guitar, keyboards and percussion, and they join Dieguillo (bassist for Quemando Ruedas, Cicatriz, Antisocial), Gary (drums for Quattro Clavos) and Selu (from Reincidentes) with his saxophone and

cante jondo ''Cante jondo'' (Andalusian ) is a vocal style in flamenco, an unspoiled form of Andalusian folk music. The name means "deep song" in Spanish, with ''hondo'' ("deep") spelled with J () as a form of eye dialect, because traditional Andalusian pro ...

. In August, they take to the studio to record a half-hour of music but it is highly experimental and discontinuous and the label refuses to back it, as it is seen as too risky. They would have to wait two more years for it to be sold commercially. Still, thanks to the stability that DRO gives the band, Robe is able to start a side project to Extremoduro in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

: The Q3. This gives space to accommodate the ideas that did not work within Extremoduro. Jorge "el Moja" is on drums, Eugene on the guitar, Miguel Ferreras on bass and Ramón Sogas "Mon", on the other bass. Meanwhile, drugs continue to permeate Extremoduro, and throughout the tour there are disagreements in the band that lead to its break up. After being part of the band since recording the demo, and three albums, drummer Luis "von Fanta", bassist Carlos "el Sucio" and guitarist Salo left the group. Robe, not about to see the band go down the pan, or abandon their dreams, replaces the disbanded members of Extremoduro with members of Q3, which marks the end of this project, but saves Extremoduro. It was with this collection of musicians that recorded the fourth album: ¿Dónde están mis amigos?, Which continues the style begun with Deltoya and confirms their reputation as one of the most important groups of Spanish rock. However, they remain unknown to the public at large due to their political incorrectness and raw style. The album was recorded in autumn 1993 and was published later that year. While all his works hitherto had been self-produced, this is the first record for which they hired a professional producer: Ventura Rico. This LP is considered the most personal and intimate of the band. This is probably due to the disintegration of the group, because now the other musicians are employees in a band that is directed by Robe himself. Fernando Madina from Reincidentes takes part in the song Pepe Botika (¿Dónde están mis amigos?).

Band members

Last line-up

* Roberto Iniesta, ''"Robe"'': voice and guitar * Iñaki ''"Uoho"'' Antón: guitar,

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and other instruments *Miguel Colino: bass *José Ignacio Cantera: drums

Previous band members

* Guitar: ** Salo (1990–1993). ** Eugenio (1993–1994). ** Iñaki "Milindris" Setién (1994–1997). * Bass: ** "Kaito" (1987–1988). ** Salo (1988–1990). ** Carlos "el Sucio" (1990–1993). ** Miguel Ferreras (1993–1994) ** Ramón "Mon" Sogas (1993–1998). ** "Dieguillo" Garay (1998–2001) and bass guitar on Pedrá (1995) * Drums: ** "William" (1987–1988). ** Luis "von Fanta" (1988–1993). ** Jorge "el Moja" (1993–1994). ** Alberto "Capi" Gil (1994–1997).

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1100 height:370 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:120 top:0 right:50 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:21/06/1987 till:01/10/2014 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:voice value:red legend:Vocals id:elcgt value:green legend:Guitar id:basgt value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:bg value:white id:lines value:black legend:Studio Albums Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1988 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1988 BarData = bar:RI text:"Roberto Iniesta" bar:EU text:"Eugenio Ortiz 'Uge'" bar:MI text:"Iñaki Setién" bar:UO text:"Iñaki Antón 'Uoho'" bar:KA text:"'Kaíto'" bar:SA text:"'Salo'" bar:SU text:"Carlos 'el Sucio'" bar:MF text:"Miguel Ferreras" bar:MO text:"Ramón Sogas" bar:DG text:"Diego Garay" bar:CO text:"Miguel Colino" bar:WI text:"'William'" bar:VO text:"Luis 'von Fanta'" bar:MJ text:"Jorge 'el Moja'" bar:CA text:"Alberto 'Capi' Gil" bar:JI text:"J. Ignacio Cantera" PlotData= # set defaults width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:RI from:start till:01/06/1990 color:elcgt bar:RI from:start till:01/06/1990 color:voice width:3 bar:RI from:01/06/1990 till:end color:voice bar:RI from:01/06/1990 till:end color:elcgt width:3 bar:KA from:start till:01/04/1988 color:basgt bar:SA from:01/07/1988 till:01/05/1990 color:basgt bar:SU from:01/05/1990 till:01/02/1993 color:basgt bar:MF from:01/02/1993 till:01/05/1994 color:basgt bar:MO from:01/02/1993 till:01/06/1998 color:basgt bar:DG from:01/03/1999 till:01/04/2001 color:basgt bar:CO from:01/04/2001 till:end color:basgt bar:SA from:01/05/1990 till:01/08/1993 color:elcgt bar:EU from:01/08/1993 till:01/05/1994 color:elcgt bar:MI from:18/06/1994 till:02/05/1997 color:elcgt bar:UO from:10/11/1996 till:end color:elcgt bar:WI from:start till:01/04/1988 color:drums bar:VO from:01/07/1988 till:01/01/1993 color:drums bar:MJ from:01/01/1993 till:01/05/1994 color:drums bar:CA from:18/06/1994 till:02/05/1997 color:drums bar:JI from:02/05/1997 till:end color:drums LineData = at:01/12/1989 color:black layer:back at:01/07/1991 color:black layer:back at:15/06/1992 color:black layer:back at:17/09/1993 color:black layer:back at:17/02/1995 color:black layer:back at:23/02/1996 color:black layer:back at:28/09/1998 color:black layer:back at:05/03/2002 color:black layer:back at:09/09/2008 color:black layer:back at:24/05/2011 color:black layer:back at:08/11/2013 color:black layer:back

Discography

Main albums

* '' Rock Transgresivo'' (1989) * '' Somos unos Animales'' (1991) * '' Deltoya'' (1992) * '' ¿Dónde Están Mis Amigos?'' (1993) * '' Pedrá'' (1995) * '' Agila'' (1996) * '' Iros Todos a Tomar por Culo'' (1997) (Live album) * '' Canciones Prohibidas'' (1998) * '' Yo, Minoría Absoluta'' (2002) * '' Grandes éxitos y fracasos (Episodio primero)'' (2004) (Compilation album) * '' Grandes éxitos y fracasos (Episodio segundo)'' (2004) (Compilation album) * '' La Ley Innata'' (2008) * '' Material Defectuoso'' (2011) * '' Para Todos los Públicos'' (2013) * ''Canciones (1989-2013)'' (2021) No.21 Spain

Videography

* '' Gira 2002'' (2004, DVD live performance)

Notes

References

External links

Official website (in Spanish)

Extremoduro
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

Extremoduro
at

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