Starting next week, our beloved friends at Coronado will be going around Europe for a nice end-of-summer vacation. Well, not all of them, only the ones that matter, meaning math rock juggernauts Equations and post-rock-in-2013 stalwarts SAUR. And because SAUR live near me, I spoke to them about what Europe can expect from them. Which is not much. I’m kidding: if you live anywhere near these places, go check them out so you can tell your hipster friends yeah, currently I’m checking out the portuguese scene, Awesome Tapes From Africa got too mainstream.
How did this all start?
Henrique Gonçalves: Last year, Equations were supposedto go with Suchi Rukara on tour, but they had to cancel due to some family issues, I can’t remember very well… They were going to book it for Easter. I was at home with G.D., V.T and Zé Pedro [Equations] – or something like that – and they were talking about it. Then I said, “Oh yeah? So let’s book it together!”.
Isn’t that disrespectful to Suchi Rukara?
H.G.: No, because they can’t! They have important things to do! [laughs]
And you clearly don’t…
H.G: [laughs] Yeah, clearly!
How will you reconcile your first days of college with this little trip of yours through Europe?
André Palma: How will I? I won’t. [laughs] Teleportation hasn’t been invented yet…
You can do it through Skype…
A.P: There’s no roaming, man! It’s very expensive abroad!
Did you choose the countries you’re going to play in or did it just happened?
H.G: It was a bit of both… First we chose, then we began to cross out those that didn’t want us. Then we started to just request them all…
A.P: Yeah… At a certain point we were so desperate that we started sending out E-mails to every place, hoping for an answer. And this tour was the one that was possible for us to make. If it is the ideal tour? Well, it’s not… But when you don’t have anyone behind you booking you a gig, you have to submit yourself to the ones that might appear.
Monetarily speaking, will it be worth it?
H.G: No.
No?
H.G: No. We are going on a holiday, we’re going to spend money! [laughs] This is like an InterRail! Can we still do an InterRail at our age?
A.P: Yeah, you can do it until you’re thirty. And there’s already the senior option… You can be sixty years old and still do an InterRail! [laughs] But we never thought of this tour as a way to make money. We are not prepared to get into that kind of world.
Is it a D.I.Y. thing, like Black Flag? Are you prepared to sleep on the floor?
A.P: Everywhere!
H.G: Well, we’ll always have two people sleeping in the van so that our gear doesn’t get stolen. [laughs]
A.P: This weekend I need to go to Decathlon to buy a sleeping bag, because I have this feeling that I’m going to sleep very badly…
What’s the probability that the driver gets arrested for driving completely drunk under the influence of Gin da Morte?
H.G: I don’t know… Among nine dudes there must be one that might be sober enough to drive…
Considering that five of them play in Equations?
A.P: Equations? The guys at Equations are pussies. [laughs]
Equations’ bass player did a tattoo at home, I don’t know if we can call them pussies…
H.G: But that’s Zézé… anyway, we’ll sleep where we are playing or nearby, so, in the morning, everybody will be already sober. I hope…
A.P: We need to preserve our sense of responsability.
H.G: And if we mess up the van, we’ll have to pay for it, so… [laughs]
A.P: We cannot act like dumbasses.
Is the Red-Light Districtthe main reason why you’re playing in Holland?
H.G: [laughs] No, because we aren’t even going to Amsterdam…
A.P: We’re not?!
H.G: No, we aren’t…
A.P: But we can always have a day off…
H.G: I don’t know if we’ll have the time to do that.
A.P: Me neither… supposedly, we’re heading to Paris on the 30th.
H.G: Basically André just wants to go to Amsterdam.
A.P: And Budapest! I’d love to go there again.
Are you going to play any new songs?
A.P: Our set is going to be very similar to the ones that we’ve been playing, but we should at least play one new song, to check out how it works live.
How is the new record coming along?
H.G: Almost done.
Is “almost done” for real or that’s just an euphemism?
H.G: We’d like to finish it by the beginning of the next year…
A.P: In the meantime, Luís is going to be operated on his wrist. But we’ll keep on composing, and when he recovers he’ll finish his part. Now, as he is going to record with Lydia’s Sleep, it becomes more complicated when it comes to timing… and there’s also other parallel activities, like studying. It’s difficult to reconcile everything.
Do you expect to become more known with this tour?
A.P: The other day we were talking with Ricardo and Iuri, who have already made nine, ten, eleven tours, I don’t know, and they said to me something I can’t forget: that a band who can resist a tour is able to resist everything. I want people to know that we are doing this in a very personal way, but… I kinda hope more that this experience will help us grow as a band, and I don’t believe that this will be a major thing, but yeah… we will probably get ourselves some contacts and know people related to this business outside of the country, and we hope that this tour will not be the first and the last… We want it to be the first of several.
H.G: And – I think it was Bernardo Beja who said this – if a guy likes our band just because of one concert, it’s already great. Then he might show us to a friend – that might also like it – and if that friend has like ten friends, two of them might like us as well… which makes approximately forty or fifty people in Europe liking our band, so…
Among the nine guys that are going, who do you think is more likely to get lost in some city?
A.P: Zézé. [laughs] At least ask me something difficult… If you ask me a question I can answer in about three seconds – or less than three seconds, microseconds!… [laughs]
Are you afraid Zézé might be the biggest star in this tour? Surrounded by all the girls and with all the boys asking him for an autograph?
A.P: There’s no doubt that’ll happen! Why would I be afraid? We all are beautiful guys! [laughs]
H.G: But I imagine Bruno, at the end of the third or fourth day, tired of everyone, going into some street fight and ending up in some police station…
How many Smiths’ covers are going to be played on this tour?
A.P: Maybe two… How Soon Is Now? and This Charming Man.I bet on these. We planned that the other day. I’ll send an E-mail to Amílcar… Nah, we’re not going to play any covers. [laughs]
H.G: I won’t play any more covers! [laughs]. Since that one that we played…
But that one was phenomenal.
A.P: Which one?
She Wants To Move.
H.G: Oh, but it’s not that one.
A.P: It was the one by Phil Collins…
H.G: Weren’t you at that gig?
When?
H.G.: Milhões de Festa.
Do you think I remember?
H.G: That came out a bit bad, because… Well, at first, because we put V.T. and Zé Pedro singing, which was maybe a casting mistake. But we love them, we love them… [laughs]
A.P: Casting mistake? A casting mistake was the fact that it was poorly played… [laughs]
H.G: Yeah, we couldn’t hear…
A.P: We had some technical problems.
H.G: And João won’t let us play any more covers, basically… he doesn’t allow us. [laughs]
A.P: But the concept of a cover song… Normally our covers’ repertoire is more associated to events like Coronado parties. I don’t have that idea of playing covers on our own shows, you see? It was a thing that was associated to Coronado… some sort of extra contribution to a party that belongs to all of us. It’s nothing that we might include in a set. At least in my mind.
H.G: If it were up to me and Luís, we’d only play covers. [laughs]
Do you hate your band’s songs that much?
H.G: Nah, I’m just kidding.
A.P: But we should do a record consisting only of cover songs.
H.G: Yeah, that’s planned…
When will you book a date in Scotland to meet Mogwai?
H.G: That’d be perfect.
A.P: I’d sooner go to Ireland to meet And So I Watch You From Afar.
Do you also plan do make a record about Cristiano Ronaldo’s life, like Mogwai did about Zidane?
A.P: [laughs] That’s an awesome question!
H.G: What’s his name… Raúl Meireles! [laughs]
What’s your take on Raúl Meireles’ beard?
H.G: [laughs] It’s the best! He’s the most stylish! To me, he’s the winner.
A.P: I haven’t seen him with a new beard yet…
It’s awesome. He looks like a viking. It’s the best thing that I’ve ever seen in modern football.
H.G: Wasn’t Raúl Meireles the one who had a fallout with Paulo Bento?
No, that was Ricardo Carvalho.
H.G: Oh, right.
Among you guys, who snores?
H.G: Everyone.
A.P: I don’t snore. You have never complained about me.
H.G: No, but I’m also the first to fall asleep, so…
A.P: Before having surgery on his nose, he used to snore a lot! But now not so much…
Have you got any surprises planned for these gigs? Are you going to take merch with you?
H.G: Yeah, t-shirts and bags. We were supposed to take some CDs, but it seems that it would not be profitable. Surprises, no… because having us there is already a surprise. [laughs]
And if you find emmigrants that know you?
H.G: I would love that! We were supposed to go to Luxembourg, I would’ve loved to play there.
How special is the gig with Unicornibot going to be?
A.P: I’m very curious, I look forward to see them performing.
H.G: I think I’ve already seen them at Milhões de Festa. Haven’t they played there?
A.P: I can’t remember seeing them there… I don’t know what I was doing… probably not a good thing.
Do you think that their coffee liqueur is going to replace Gin da Morte?
H.G: I’ve heard about that…
A.P: I’m not a big fan… only if it’s mixed with cream and vodka… but just coffee liqueur, I don’t like it so much…
H.G: I think they are always carrying coffee liqueur bottles.
A.P: Yeah… I think it’s part of their merch.
H.G: And I think that that secret blog with photos of Zézé…
A.P: Zézé Dead In Places… that’s the name of the blog…
H.G: …It’s from a time where they played with Unicornibot in the north.
A.P: Yeah, but nothing replaces Gin da Morte.
Is there anything you’d like to say to the people that are going to watch your shows – especially French and Belgian people?
H.G: Buy t-shirts… and…
You have to say something in French…
H.G: [laughs] Baguette…
A.P: L’addition, s’il vous plait…
H.G: Trés bien, trés bien… Zidane…
A.P: L’ordinateur… Cahier…
H.G: What does that mean?
A.P: Notebook.
H.G: You already know more than me! [laughs] All that I know comes from that Flight of the Conchords song where they try to speak French! [laughs] Gainsbourg…
A.P: I prefer his daughter… Charlotte… and her record with Beck.
H.G: Who?
A.P: Charlotte Gainsbourg, the daughter of Serge Gainsbourg.
The girl in Antichrist, by Lars Von Trier. When she was twelve she made a song with her father that had a very incestuous subtext…
H.G: Whoa..
A.P: Well, if I were Serge Gainsbourg’s daughter, I would also covet that man… He exuded charm!
Can I write that?
A.P: Of course you can! [laughs]
Questions by PAC
Translation by Inês Sousa Vieira