Los Piojos
Encyclopedia
Los Piojos were a rock
band from Argentina
, highly popular, and one of the seminal bands of the 1990s Argentine suburban rock movement.
As with most suburban rock bands, their formative sound owes a significant amount to the style of the Rolling Stones. Unlike most suburban outfits, however, their style evolved significantly with each successive album, not only developing a unique style for the band but also quite harmoniously incorporating elements of murga
, candombe
, and tango
to an electric guitar base. This plus generally tight and at times memorable songwriting by frontman Ciro, set them apart from the legions of suburban bands, and has made them one of the most popular bands in modern Argentine rock, with strong following across Latin America
and Europe
, unusual for a band in their sub-genre of Argentine rock. Their popularity remains undiminished to this day.
Live Only:
Former members
, a similar beginning as countless other suburban rock bands. In 1991, they headed to Europe to participate in an anti-racist music festival in France
, playing with groups from Mali
, Burkina Faso
, Cuba
, and Spain
.
Los Piojos made their commercial debut in 1992 with Chactuchac. Receiving the very favorable blessing of Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota
, did not hurt.
Ay Ay Ay followed in 1994, and both did reasonably well. But the band could not beat back the domination by the Nuevo Rock Argentino rock ("New Argentine Rock") of the first half of the 1990s, so Los Piojos did not achieve a total breakthrough in spite that by the second album Ciro's songwriting was beginning to flourish.
The band's third studio album, Tercer Arco, benefited from the suburban rock explosion of 1996: that year alone La Renga
released their seminal album Despedazado por Mil Partes
, Viejas Locas released their debut with the hit single "Intoxicado", among other events that sent suburban rock to the mainstream and ended new Argentine rock's dominance. But Tercer Arco was a great album on its own right, which made the overall result all the more explosive given the reigning musical environment.
By the second half of the year Los Piojos were filling arenas and small stadiums. And by the start of 1997, Tercer Arco had gone double-platinum in a swift manner. The single "El Farolito" was at the top of rotation in most radio stations, and the video for "Maradó" (about former football player Diego Maradona
) as well as that for "Verano del 92" made top 10 on MTV (probably the only time in the history of rock music where a song based upon an Afro-Uruguayan chant did so!). 1997's gathering power which Los Piojos achieved simply confirmed that they had arrived in the big leagues of Argentine rock, and that suburban rock was now in the driver's seat.
To many, 1998's follow up studio album Azul is the best from the group. The band's assimilation of all types of eastern Argentine musical rhythms became clear with this release, and their eclectic nature did not cut into their popularity, in fact it made them more accessible to a wider Latin American taste, and so Los Piojos went on tour in Mexico
and the United States
. Ritual saw the light in 1999 as the 5th album for the band.
The third millennium arrived and saw Los Piojos still on top of things. They performed several concerts with sellout numbers alongside other suburban rock flag-bearers such as Divididos
, La Renga
, Viejas Locas, and ska-Latin band Los Auténticos Decadentes
.
The group released Verde Paisaje del Infierno in 2000, another solid effort from "The Lice" (which is what their name means in Spanish
). In 2003 the band came out with their 7th full-length, Máquina de Sangre. Becoming one of the best selling albums of the year, it showed that Los Piojos were still current, and that their place in the history of Argentine and Spanish-language rock was largely assured. They would sell out 70,000 seat River Plate Stadium, something only achieved locally by bands such as Soda Stereo
, and the most important foreign musical acts.
Argentine rock
Argentine rock , is composed or made by Argentine bands or artists, in the Spanish language. For nearly half a century it has been a major popular genre, and it is considered part of the popular music tradition of Argentina alongside Argentine Tango, and Argentine folk music.The moment when...
band from Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, highly popular, and one of the seminal bands of the 1990s Argentine suburban rock movement.
As with most suburban rock bands, their formative sound owes a significant amount to the style of the Rolling Stones. Unlike most suburban outfits, however, their style evolved significantly with each successive album, not only developing a unique style for the band but also quite harmoniously incorporating elements of murga
Murga
Murga is a form of popular musical theatre performed in Uruguay and in Argentina during the Carnival season. Murga groups operate in Montevideo and at the Buenos Aires Carnival, though to a lesser extent than in Montevideo; the Argentine murga is more centred on dancing and less on vocals than the...
, candombe
Candombe
Candombe is a musical genre that has its roots in the African Bantu, and is proper of Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil .Uruguayan Candombe is the most practiced and spread internationally and has been recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity...
, and tango
Tango music
Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...
to an electric guitar base. This plus generally tight and at times memorable songwriting by frontman Ciro, set them apart from the legions of suburban bands, and has made them one of the most popular bands in modern Argentine rock, with strong following across Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, unusual for a band in their sub-genre of Argentine rock. Their popularity remains undiminished to this day.
Band members
Current members- Andrés Ciro Martínez: vocals, harmonica, and rhythm guitar
- Juanchi Bisio: lead guitar
- Sebastián "Roger" Cardero: drums
- Miguel Ángel "Micky" Rodríguez: bass, backing vocals
Live Only:
- Facundo "Changuíto" Farías Gómez: percussion
- Miguel "Chucky" De Ipola: keyboards
Former members
- Gustavo KupinskiGustavo KupinskiGustavo "Tavo" Kupinski was an Argentine guitarist, member of the rock band Los Piojos. Before his death, he integrated a band called Revelados, and was guitarist of Las Pelotas....
: lead guitar †
History
The band's origins are traced to 1988 where a bunch of friends from different cities decided to try playing music. They began doing so in the pubs of the far-flung western suburbs of Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, a similar beginning as countless other suburban rock bands. In 1991, they headed to Europe to participate in an anti-racist music festival in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, playing with groups from Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Los Piojos made their commercial debut in 1992 with Chactuchac. Receiving the very favorable blessing of Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota
Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota
Patricio Rey y Sus Redonditos de Ricota were an independent rock band originally from La Plata, Argentina whose tours in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s drew a cult-like following....
, did not hurt.
Ay Ay Ay followed in 1994, and both did reasonably well. But the band could not beat back the domination by the Nuevo Rock Argentino rock ("New Argentine Rock") of the first half of the 1990s, so Los Piojos did not achieve a total breakthrough in spite that by the second album Ciro's songwriting was beginning to flourish.
The band's third studio album, Tercer Arco, benefited from the suburban rock explosion of 1996: that year alone La Renga
La Renga
La Renga are a hard rock and Heavy Metal band from Argentina, formed in 1988.They have a moderate success with the albums A Dónde Me Lleva La Vida and Bailando en una pata, between 1993 and 1995, but it was the release of Despedazado por Mil Partes, in 1996, that made them nationally famous.With...
released their seminal album Despedazado por Mil Partes
Despedazado por Mil Partes
Despedazado por Mil Partes is a 1996 studio album by La Renga.This record has many of the most famous songs of the band, such as "La Balada del Diablo y La Muerte", "El Final Es En Donde Partí", "Lo Frágil de La Locura", "Veneno" and "Hablando de La Libertad", which closes their concerts.The front...
, Viejas Locas released their debut with the hit single "Intoxicado", among other events that sent suburban rock to the mainstream and ended new Argentine rock's dominance. But Tercer Arco was a great album on its own right, which made the overall result all the more explosive given the reigning musical environment.
By the second half of the year Los Piojos were filling arenas and small stadiums. And by the start of 1997, Tercer Arco had gone double-platinum in a swift manner. The single "El Farolito" was at the top of rotation in most radio stations, and the video for "Maradó" (about former football player Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...
) as well as that for "Verano del 92" made top 10 on MTV (probably the only time in the history of rock music where a song based upon an Afro-Uruguayan chant did so!). 1997's gathering power which Los Piojos achieved simply confirmed that they had arrived in the big leagues of Argentine rock, and that suburban rock was now in the driver's seat.
To many, 1998's follow up studio album Azul is the best from the group. The band's assimilation of all types of eastern Argentine musical rhythms became clear with this release, and their eclectic nature did not cut into their popularity, in fact it made them more accessible to a wider Latin American taste, and so Los Piojos went on tour in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Ritual saw the light in 1999 as the 5th album for the band.
The third millennium arrived and saw Los Piojos still on top of things. They performed several concerts with sellout numbers alongside other suburban rock flag-bearers such as Divididos
Divididos
Divididos is an Argentine rock band.The band was formed in 1988 after the death of Luca Prodan and the consequent dissolution of the band Sumo...
, La Renga
La Renga
La Renga are a hard rock and Heavy Metal band from Argentina, formed in 1988.They have a moderate success with the albums A Dónde Me Lleva La Vida and Bailando en una pata, between 1993 and 1995, but it was the release of Despedazado por Mil Partes, in 1996, that made them nationally famous.With...
, Viejas Locas, and ska-Latin band Los Auténticos Decadentes
Los Auténticos Decadentes
Los Auténticos Decadentes is an Argentine band that mix ska with Latin American rhythms. The band was formed around the year 1986 by Cucho and Nito, who invited Gastón to join them....
.
The group released Verde Paisaje del Infierno in 2000, another solid effort from "The Lice" (which is what their name means in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
). In 2003 the band came out with their 7th full-length, Máquina de Sangre. Becoming one of the best selling albums of the year, it showed that Los Piojos were still current, and that their place in the history of Argentine and Spanish-language rock was largely assured. They would sell out 70,000 seat River Plate Stadium, something only achieved locally by bands such as Soda Stereo
Soda Stereo
Soda Stereo were an Argentine rock band who are recognized as one of the most influential and important Latin American and Ibero-American bands of all time...
, and the most important foreign musical acts.
Studio albums
- ChactuchacChactuchacChactuchac is the first album by Argentine rock band Los Piojos, released in 1993.The album was recorded and mixed by Los Piojos and Adrián Rivarola between June and August in 1992 at the Del Cielito Records studio...
(1993) - Ay Ay AyAy Ay AyAy ay ay is the second album by Argentine rock band Los Piojos. Recorded and mixed in 1994 at Del Cielito Records. It was the first work with Alfredo Toth and Adrián Bilbao as guides.- Track listing :All tracks by Andrés Ciro Martínez except were noted...
(1994) - Tercer arco (1996)
- AzulAzul (Los Piojos album)Azul is the fourth album by Argentine rock band Los Piojos, recorded at Del Cielito Records studio and released in 1998. This work mixes candombe and murga with the traditional rhythms used by the band and was presented live in Parque Sarmiento and at the All Boys stadium.-Reception:The Allmusic...
(1998) - Verde paisaje del InfiernoVerde paisaje del InfiernoVerde paisaje del Infierno is the sixth album by Argentine rock band Los Piojos, released in 2000.- Track listing :All tracks by Andrés Ciro Martínez except were noted# "María y José" [Mary & Joseph] – 4:38...
(2000) - Máquina de sangreMáquina de sangreMáquina de sangre is the eighth album by Argentine rock band Los Piojos, released in 2003.- Track listing :# Fantasma [Ghost]# Guadalupe [Guadalupe]# Como Ali [Like Ali]# Langostas [Lobsters]# Sudestada# Motumbo [Motumbo]...
(2003) - CivilizaciónCivilizaciónCivilización is the ninth and last album by Argentine rock band Los Piojos, released in 2007.- Track listing :# Manjar [Delicacy]# Pacífico [Pacific]# Civilización [Civilization]# Bicho de ciudad [City bug]...
(2007)
Live albums
- RitualRitual (Los Piojos album)Ritual is the fifth album by Argentine rock band Los Piojos, released in 1999.- Track listing :# Olvídate [Forget it]# Chactuchac [Chac tu chac]# Desde lejos no se ve [You can't see from far]# Ay ay ay [Ay ay ay]# Angelito [Little angel]...
(1999) - Huracanes en Luna plateadaHuracanes en Luna plateadaHuracanes en Luna plateada is the seventh album by Argentine rock band Los Piojos, released in 2002.- Disc one :# María Y José# Babilonia# Ximenita# Taxi Boy# A Veces# Cancheros# Yira - Yira# Muy Despacito# Labios De Seda# El Rey Del Blues...
(2002)