From 1999:
- Henrike – Vocals
- Gordo – Guitar / Vocals
- Mauro – Guitar
- Pablo – Guitar
- Carlos – Bass
- Arnaldo – Drums
“Fast and furious with melodic guitar solos and intelligent lyrics” says Flipside magazine about BLIND PIGS. Yet that’s just the tip of the iceberg about to be slammed by a Titanic punk rock assault from the greatest hard-core energy band in Brazil. Led by a 23 year old English teacher with a mohawk, BLIND PIGS are tongue-in-cheek and in your face, mixing humor and a brutal yet tuneful attack that recalls the best of The Clash, early Rancid and Bad Religion, both in political and musical ferocity.
Formed in 1993 when all band members were under the age of 20 (guitarist Mauro was 15!), the São Paulo friends started writing songs influenced by bands like the aforementioned Bad Religion and The Forgotten Rebels (a Buzzcock-like Canadian band that singer Henrike’s dad turned them onto). The Pigs recorded two tapes on their own label, Sweet Fury Records, before coming to the attention of Grita! President Jay Ziskrout, who, after seeing their mohawks and being blasted by the music, knew these guys had to be signed inmediatamente!!
Although BLIND PIGS write songs from an old school of hard-core/punk rock thought, the production on São Paulo Chaos is state of the art, meant to be played loud and plowed, with harmonies that will stick in your head after it’s been smashed against the wall. 14 tunes in 26 minutes go by like a swift kick to the groin – songs like “Fuck The T.F.P.” (Brazilian society in defense of Tradition, Family, and Property, not unlike the U.S. Moral Majority), “Capitalist Myth,” “Urban Paranoia,” and “Rotten Generation,” do the speed rail against a rich, capitalist society while singing about misguided youth and lack of a future. Speaking of no future, the anthemic “No Pistols Reunion” cuts Johnny Rotten and crew down to size, whilst the nihilist “Lost Cause,” and “Conformismo E Resistência” (‘Conform and Resist’) further the caustic attitude yet fancy free thinking of the Pigs “Why can’t we learn with mistakes from yesterday? Your ignorance is the fuel that lights, feeds and starts your hate” (from “Two Week Hate”).
The BLIND PIGS hate people who preach, and bands who tell people what to think. Says guitarist Pablo: “we want people to think for themselves, and not follow what some band says blindly” (like a Blind Pig?).Their name actually comes from a bar in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Henrike’s dad used to go to punk shows, and where Henrike lived for 5 years.
GRITA! is most proud to bring you the BLIND PIGS debut album, São Paulo Chaos, with English and Portuguese lyrics. Produced by Jay Ziskrout (former Bad Religion drummer) and Mingau, (ex-guitar player of Brazilian punkers Ratos de Porao); these guys are the punk ethos of Pig Latin!!! Uck-Fay Eah-Yay!!
PRESSNOTE: The BLIND PIGS poster was drawn by persecuted artist MIKE DIANA, arrested in Florida for drawing cartoons.
