Solidarity Rock

OK, so, getting back to where we were. Everyone flew home, and began getting settled back into life. Four days after the tour ended, there was a show on the street in Santa Clara, in this outdoor area with big murals on the walls. Eskoria played their last show ever that night, and apparently it was the best ever. When the show was done, William Fabian got his gear together and was leaving. The punk show had turned into a techno night, and loud music filled the street. A half a block from where the show was, a fight broke out. William Fabian was passing by on his way home and saw one of his friends getting beat up, so he waded in to pull him out. A 15 year old kid pulled a knife and swung it blindly. He hit William in the arm just below the armpit. He bled out in minutes. Santa Clara lost a friend and an icon, and it all happened in an instant.

We found out about it the day after it happened. All of our friends in Sancti Spiritus were talking to people in Santa Clara, finding out what they could. A memorial at Mejunje was held, and it brought a lot of people together. Some of William Fabian’s friends in Sancti Spiritus put on a show to honour him at the Conrado Benitez Theatre. We had a show in his memory at the Baby Seal Club in Edmonton.

Over the next few months, we began to regroup and take stock of our situation. All of the energy in everything had gone towards getting the tour happening, and now it was done. On the tour, my friend Sam had pointed out that there was a lack of a stable PA for use, so this was sort of the next step. We hooked up with some of the best people around, in Winnipeg’s SubCity Dwellers, who threw an amazing show on a cold, snowy March night. I drove out to Winnipeg with The Falklands, who have been long time supporters of Solidarity Rock. We raised enough money to help get a PA for the bands to use in Sancti Spiritus.

Winnipeg’s Kids on Fire began talking about making a tour happen, and we spent several months laying out the ground work. We’re very pleased to say we’ll he heading back to Cuba from March 24-April 3, 2011 for a 6 show tour, with radio and TV appearances from Havana to Sancti Spiritus. The best part about this tour is that for the first time, a Cuban band will get to tour Cuba. Arrabio, from Trinidad, Cuba will be hitting the road with us for all the shows.

Obviously there’s a lot to do leading up to this tour, so we’ve got a stack of fundraisers and benefits shaping up all across Western Canada. We’ve working to collect instruments with gear drives in 3 cities, and money to send them to Cuba. If you’ve got an old guitar or bass that’s in good shape, a set of guitar pickups, a loud but small practice amp or drum kit or you want to see go to someone who will use it well, please get in touch. We’ll make an announcement with all the details right away.

So, 2011 is shaping up to be an interesting year for Rock n Roll in Cuba, and we hope to see you along the way.