Attaque 77 playing at the Buenos Aires City Festival Rock en Parque Roca- La Ciudad al aire Libre (Photo: Buenos Aires City Govt/Estrella Herrera)

A career which spans for more than 20 years, one EP and 18 albums have placed Attaque 77 as one of the biggest punk rock bands in Latin America. We spoke to the drummer, Leonardo de Cecco, and the bass player and backing vocals, Luciano Scaglione, to let you in on a little more than just their track record.

Founded in 1987 in Buenos Aires by a group of friends, their formation suffered a few changes before its current members settled. The decision to leave the band in 2009 by their founder and previous lead singer, Ciro Pertusi, citing personal reasons, left many fans disappointed. However, Mariano Martínez, who has been playing guitar since the band’s beginning, stepped in and took the lead singing position. This way, the three other members have successfully carried the legacy on.

They were launched into the limelight by their second album, the triple platinum ‘El Cielo Puede Esperar’, released in 1990. The hit single ‘Hacelo Por Mi’ became the opening song for a TV show of the same name, presented by famous Argentine TV personality Mario Pergolini. Escaglione regards this beginning as essential to the band. “Being on television, taken by the hand of Mario Pergolini with the song ‘Hacelo Por Mi’, was something that helped us reach the whole country and that way go touring throughout all of Argentina,” he remembers. These days, Martínez has publicly expressed that he believes ‘Hacelo Por Mi’ resisted the test of time and has become a classic.

Yet, one of the most requested songs during their gigs is ‘Yo Te Amo’ from their first discography which, despite delays that pushed the released date to early 1989, the original name of ‘Dulce Navidad’ was kept.

Their early start, however, was anything but sweet. It is said that they were kicked out of their first public appearance after playing eight songs by the manager of the pub, alleging one of the members was a minor. Later they got to perform at a club as a support act for band Descontrol, who were the ones who suggested the name “Attaque 77”, a homage to the late 70s punk movement in England.

At the beginning of their career, they wore denim jackets as a trademark and played a more traditional punk rock style which was quite raw, with lyrics about the working class struggles. With time, their lyrics varied in subjects, featuring things like animal rights for example, as two of them are raging vegetarians. Their composition also started to denote a more melodic tone.

“We believe the music we make has changed because we have grown whilst in the limelight,” De Cecco said. “When we started playing we were teenagers and now we have more years of experience on stage. The music we make keeps maturing and that is very important.”

Scaglione added: “Even though we’ve never abandoned our punk roots, throughout these years we tried different genres like pop, rock, ska, reggae, etc, and I think we were always successful in what we delivered.”

At first they were inspired by bands like Iron Maiden and Los Ramones. So what bands inspire them today? “I think the classics of always,” says Scaglione. “For example, Motörhead or ACDC, more than anything for their strength and determination to play rock until the end.”

The highlights of Attaque 77 include hit albums Amén (1995), Antihumano (2003) and Karmagedon (2007). Furthermore, in 2007 a compilation of songs played by many national and international bands was released in homage to their 20 year-long career. It is called Por Siempre A77aque (Forever A77aque) and it includes the participation of Eneas, Love Kills and The Rouwkers amongst others.

When discussing highlights, De Cecco thinks fondly of two songs aside from ‘Hacelo Por Mi’ which he believes marked their career: ‘No Me Arrepiendo De Este Amor’ (Otras Canciones, 1998) and ‘Arrancacorazones’ (Antihumano, 2003).

With a long-lived success story, we wondered what advice they would give to new bands out there. “Work hard on your music, rehearse, compose a lot of songs and don’t expect anything. Whatever comes is because it’s supposed to come. There are no formulas for success,” Scaglione explains. De Cecco has a different advice: “Keep going with your music and never give up. The important thing is to generate a new circuit of underground band like there were in the 80s.”

So what is next for Attaque 77? “We will be releasing our first acoustic album in the first half of 2012,” says De Cecco. “It’s a very interesting project in that it was recorded in Teatro Opera with 12 musicians on stage. It was almost like a rock orchestra on stage! The album will come out with a live DVD … This will be one of the highlights in our career, very emotive and different.”

Anything else? “We’ll also be composing and producing material for our next studio album,” Scaglione reveals. We know Argentina can’t wait for it!

Genre: Traditionally punk rock (but recently have ventured into ska, reggae, pop, rock and others).

Dates Active: 1987-present

In their own words: “People refuse to accept change. A good sign that we are going the right way is when fans get a little annoyed.” Mariano Martínez told SkaPunk.com.ar

Most Famous Song: “Hacelo por Mi”

Best lyrics: From the song ‘Cambios’: “Nada es inalterable, nada es definitivo, ya ves solo el cambio es lo único que permanece en el tiempo… incondicional.” (Nothing is unchangeable, nothing is final, you see, change is the only thing that stays in time… unconditionally.)

Famous for: Being the punk band that lasted

Best to listen to: Whilst doing anything that allows you to hum.

Following a screenplay-like trajectory of fame and failure over the last three decades, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs are widely regarded as one of the most influential sounds in Argentine history.

The band is eclectic in itself, experimenting with reggae, salsa, jazz, calypso and hard-core rock over the years, whilst maintaining a loyalty to its original Latin American ska heartbeat.

The evolutionary and malleable nature of its sound reflects the members’ history of acting on good intuition. The Buenos Aires-borne group began in 1985 as a collection of kids poking at instruments in a garage because they thought it would be cool.

Little thought was given to the band’s name either. Originally named Cadillacs 57, after the bassist Flavio Cianciarulo’s car, the group was reportedly wrongly introduced as “Los Fabulosos Cadillacs” in its infancy, and just stuck with it.

The band has rotated many of its musicians in and out, undoubtedly contributing to its ongoing metamorphosis. Its lead vocalists, however, Gabriel Fernandez (known as just Vicentico) and Sr. Flavio, have remained untouched.

The band’s disposition has always manifested in its music. Evidently brittle after the icy press reception of the first album, the band’s second release in the mid-80s was preemptively titled ‘I warned you!’

The record lived up to its bombastic title, selling more than 250,000 copies and establishing the band as a formidable presence on the Latin American music scene.

The album marked a notable maturity in the music. By this point the musicians felt more comfortable in their skin, becoming more deliberate in the constituents of their tracks. Former critics lauded the complexity of the band’s foray into dub and reggae, and public perception answered accordingly.

After a series of successes and disappointments that followed in lockstep with those of Argentina itself, many say the group’s crescendo of ingenuity peaked with its 1992 album ‘El león’.

‘El león’ was the culmination of Los Fabulosos Cadillac’s now-honed adulteration of ska. Latin American and Caribbean dance beats make their way into several of the tracks, such as ‘Carnaval todo la vida’, ‘Gitana’, and ‘Gallo rojo’, a track dedicated to Argentine revolutionary Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara.

Although sales were likely flattened by an awkward public shift to CDs at the time, the album remains the darling of its creators’ to this day. In 2009, Argentina’s Rolling Stone magazine ranked it as the #21 most important national rock albums in history.

It was their track ‘Matador’, however, that nudged the group into critical mass-recognition. Its rage-soaked lyrics juxtaposed punchy saxophone and trumpet wails. The music video follows the song’s contradictory lead, featuring scantily-clad women booty-shaking behind a singing corpse.

Over the years, several of Los Fabulosos Cadillacs’ lyrics have been politically charged, garnering mixed emotions from critics and fans. The musicians emboldened throughout their years, and have been called the “political and social pulse” of Argentine generations.

One of their most notable stances can be observed in the lyrics of ‘V centenario’, where the musicians shun the jubilation that surrounds Latin America’s birth. “There is nothing to celebrate”…”The Indian died and rose dreams of freedom.”

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs’ success extended beyond the Latin American stage in 1998 when they won a Grammy in the “Latin American band” category. Ricky Martin covered their song ‘Matador’ at the 2003 MTV Awards, and the band received high praise for its covers of The Clash and Tom Jones songs.

Although the band never officially broke up, several of its members either flirted with or fully engaged in independent careers after the 90s. The group that once reveled in rubbing critics’ noses in their words became unsure of itself and put a hold on creating new music.

In an interview in 2001, Vicentico said: “This year we realized we needed some time for everyone…we really do not have much to offer… when we are all in tune, we will record again.”

After years of little-activity, the band created a reunion tour in 2009 to the delight of its fans. Proving the timeless nature of its music, the concerts raged with as much force as ever, attracting as many as 21,000 fans at the New York show.

The collective energy and charm of the groups infamous ego was practically palpable, and summed up in the tour’s ad slogan: “I told you!”

Genre: Ska/Latin American dance/rock

Dates active: Off and on from 1985 – Present

In their own words: “We did it without thinking…It was that attitude”

Most famous song: ‘Matador’

Best lyrics: “My words are bullets. Bullets of peace, bullets of justice.”

Famous for: Winning the first-ever Grammy in the Latin American music category, and for their Day of the Dead-style music video ‘Matador’.

Best to listen to: When you want to stick it to the man.