Roger Moreira, front man for Ultraje a Rigor, sat on the couch in front of me wearing a green shirt with the phrase “A gente somos inútil” (We be useless), band’s anthem which was a great success in 1985 and years later became one of the 10 most important Brazilian songs in the century. Nice and with a good sense of humor, Roger held the SWU Portal’s electronic recorder on his hand and tried to electrocute his friends with it “Tzzzzzz!”!
That was enough to start the laughter which would be present during the whole interview. Between one session of laughter and another, Roger, who will be playing on the 13th of November with Ultraje at the SWU Music & Arts Festival 2011, spoke of the importance of the album Nós Vamos Invadir Sua Praia, his new TV work, that paths the bands will take and the happiness in playing in a festival which joins music, art and sustainability. “We have a great responsibility with SWU”, he said.
What can fans expect from the SWU show?
The show’s been the same for some time now. The public kind of want to listen to the same songs, but it’s never the same. Mainly because we like to make things work in a live context so we can check out the crowd’s energy. What we receive we give back. In a good way.
What do you think of SWU’s motto, which is to join music, arts and sustainability?
It’s important to always create a certain mentality with the youth, with children preferably. Actually, Brazil’s problem is the mentality. Some problems can be solved in 20, 25 years. But they aren’t solved because no one starts. That’s why it’s important to have a festival which attracts the midis, the public and also has the power to shove something good into people’s heads.
The public, like in all festivals, will be quite varied. Does that interfere with the creation of the set list? Is Ultraje a Rigor planning something special?
We’ve all been playing for 30 years, each one of us has an experience and we’ve played to every kind of public. Steak houses, executive parties, weddings, everything. Actually, we aren’t preparing anything different, but we have a great responsibility with SWU, many people will be there and many will watch it on TV. We are paying more attention to eventual mistakes during other shows, each one of us plays differently and certain things work and others don’t. So, we go on fixing it so it’ll be god, but, generally speaking, it’s the same show.
What do you like the most: having the old fans still going to gigs or seeing new fans?
Both are really good. The best part about the new public is that most of them don’t know how it all began, and they’ll discover us with the same happiness as the public in 1985, like, “wow, that‘s cool”. It’s good for us to notice that the same music we made 20 years ago has the same impact on the kids today. Every kind of public is cool. Sometimes we look and think “wow, these people are kind of old”. But actually they’re just our age. (laughs)
What’s the importance of Nós vamos invader sua praia for Ultraje and for Brazilian rock?
This Record was really important for us. It was our first hit album and the first Brazilian rock album to go gold and then platinum. And it makes sense even today, the style wasn’t as trampled in the 80s, and the lyrics are about certain perennial aspects regarding the Brazilian. It also was elected by many specialized magazines and newspapers as one of the most important albums. “Inútil” actually got into a list of the 10 most important songs of the century according to Folha (Brazilian newspaper). And we never thought about making the most important song in the century. That’s not how it works, you know? We were just creating for our friends.
What Ultraje song best represents the days we live in now?
“Eu me amo” (I Love myself). (laughs). People are way into this celebrity thing, being famous because of nothing. Celebrity comes from celebrate and people forgot that. It’s celebrated because it shows on the magazine and such. Artists are people who create art? Nope. It’s the dude who shows up on TV. The public’s requirements have lowered a lot. Sincerely, that wasn’t a preoccupation o four generation. Things now a days are disposable and tedious.
Are you guys still going to continue with the Project of releasing songs on the internet?
It’s a experience we tried out and we still haven’t abandoned. We might continue with Música Esquisita a Troco de Nada. Maybe we’ll release it in a conventional format, when we have more songs. But it isn’t necessary. The market changes a lot, there is no reason for that, especially in our case, since we’re a known band. We used to need a record label because studio hours and recording was expensive and they were responsible for spreading your music. This part has already been done and record sales aren’t our main income. We’ve always worried about spreading the word and the internet does that perfectly. We ever have a daily program… we’re in control and Danilo Gentili only appears occasionally (laughs.
And how’s the experience with Agora é Tarde?
It’s the first time we actually tried this (laughs). It’s kind of weird at first. We’re doing something we already do on tours and shows, which is make fun of each other. This part is fun. I’m loving it, the vibe is good, really in what we like. I just think it’s weird because I used to stay at home and not do anything. (laughs). And it was cool. But now I see how the other half lives. (laughs)
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