Solidarity Rock
Well, Vancouver’s Vicious Cycles have indeed left their mark on Cuba. Arrabio’s hard shreddin guitar player Douglas has what’s probably the first ever VCMC tattoo!
Skinny Tim of the Vicious Cycles runs a guitar studio in Vancouver called Anchor Guitar Studio. He’s writing about his experience on the tour in his blog. Here it is.
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Cuba is a beautiful country, the biggest island in the Caribbean. Our caravan in Cuba was over 15 people, including two bands, The Vicious Cycles, and Arrabio. Photographer Sandy Phimister and tour liason Drew McIntosh from Edmonton, guitar tech James ‘eye drop’ Gamble from Calgary, three translators from Cuba, and our fearless Cuban tour manager William Garcia. The trip went off with very few problems considering how many people were involved.
We traveled around in an old school bus most likely form the 80’s, the bus was donated from a group in Portland called ‘Pastors for Peace’. The bus was painted by people and artists in Oregon, covered in slogans of peace, and community. Our bus driver used to race motorcycles, I would classify him as a first class driver, he could really get outta a tight spot. Once or twice we went the wrong way down a highway, luckily the mistake was caught before we got off the on ramp!
The streets in Cuban villages look like they are out of a museum, ‘art deco cities’, something all right about organized maze like streets in Cuba. We spent the first three nights in Sancti Spiritus, what would become our temporary home. We all got familiar with the streets, and places to buy ham sandwiches, and streetza (street pizza). The friends and family that we met in Sancti Spiritus took us in with open arms, feeding us, showed us around the city. Their hospitality was second to none, we wanted to bring all the friends home with us.
Rock and roll happened on the third night of the trip, and would continue till the end of our time in Cuba. We rolled up to La Feria, and found the stone pavilion we would be playing in. When we got to the spot there were no lights, no PA, no crowd, no power, in fact there was not much that we did not have. Luckily people are very handy in a tight spot in the Caribbean, within a couple minutes the lights showed up in the back of an old pickup, the stage was set with the PA, and speakers, and the kids started to stream in. That first night was something else, something to remember for a long time.
Click here for the Anchor Guitar Studios Blog
Sandy Phimester is a seriously talented photographer. He has accompanied Solidarity Rock on the last three tours in Cuba, and each time he blows everyone away with his work. Check out his latest series from the Vicious Cycles’ January 2012 Solidarity Rock tour! Unreal.
The Vicious Cycles - You Ain’t So Tuff -
Live cellphone video from Varadero, Cuba
Check out some live action from Vancouver’s Vicious Cycles in Varadero, Cuba.
THE VICIOUS CYCLES - I LOVE MY BIKE in Cuba - Music Video
Billy Bones’ of the Vicious Cycles put this video together from their recent Solidarity Rock tour in Cuba. If you like bikes, good times and rocknroll, you should check it out!
We Love You Cuba
The tour was Epic! The people amazing! The shows were all awesome! Still trying to get our heads around the whole thing… here are a few pics to start!
CUBA BOUND!
Ok, well, I’m sitting in a hotel room in Toronto with my friends Sandy Phimester, photographer extrordinaire and our new friend, Calgary’s Jimmy Gamble. We’re waiting for about half an hour to get on the shuttle back to the airport for our 6:15 flight to Varadero.
A lot has been going through my mind lately. Cuba is a country which has been at war for 50 years. It’s a country where the people live in difficult circumstances because of the political situation both inside and outside the country. I think that bringing the joy that comes from punk rock to the young people in Cuba is very important. In fact, it’s the thing which I have seen as the most important thing I could do for several years.
Looking back, throughout the last 4 years, I’ve had an opportunity to interact with a lot of amazing people. This project has allowed musicians, artists and other sympathizers to use their creative talents to make the world a little bit better. In the lead up to this tour, we had a lot of help. Ben Disaster, The Mandates, and the Collapse played a show in Calgary and donated what they could to the cause. We’ve been able to use that money to be able to cover part of the bus costs on this tour. We had a show at the Baby Seal Club in Edmonton, and Diehatsu Hijets, Book Of Caverns, Camembert and Morals played and donated everything to help us take care of our Cuban tourmate’s needs on the road. The kick off show in Vancouver brought the AK-747’s and Rich Hope together with the Vicious Cycles to get them on the bus.
We also had the great support of Matt Jeffries, of Stylewise Media who designed the beautiful poster, and Jen Fritz of Fritz Media who handled press for the Vancouver show. We had a full page in the Vancouver Sun and coverage in the Province and the Straight. If you need media relations work, do yourself a favour and call Jen Fritz.
So, we’re heading out with the best hopes possible and the power of friendship to overcome whatever adversity we find. This really is a great thing. We appreciate everyone who has put their time or money towards ensuring our success. We’ll see you in 10 days!
VIVA ROCK SOLIDARIO.
Drew
Vicious Cycles Cuba Tour - Pre Trip
Cuban invasion, Vancouver’s own rowdy bunch on wheels the Vicious Cycles prepare for Cuba tour. This tour will be the 5th ever rock n roll tour in Cuba, hosted by Solidarity Rock.
