Solidarity Rock
Rock ’n’ roll intervention helps Cuban musicians
The guitar player in Cuba band Arrabio poses with instruments donated by Alberta-based Solidarity Rock. Photo by Samuel Reina Calvo.
For the past five years Edmonton filmmaker and photographer Drew McIntosh has been staging what he calls a “rock ’n’ roll intervention” for the benefit of the young people of central Cuba.
He’s launched five punk rock tours through the region — featuring such western Canadian club bands as 7 and 7 is, Slates and Hang Loose from Edmonton, Kids on Fire from Winnipeg and Vancouver’s Vicious Cycles — something that was previously unheard of in that part of the world.
Perhaps more importantly, he’s worked hard to help central Cuba build up its own indie rock scene by donating instruments that were largely inaccessible to musicians in the restrictive communist country. Twenty electric guitars, a few drum kits, a couple of amps and assorted PA parts have gone a long way to helping develop a budding Cuban rock community.
All the while he and a group of fellow photographers have captured images from this mission, dubbed Solidarity Rock.
The best of those are on view Saturday at the House Gallery at 2607 35th St. S.W. The Solidarity Rock photo exhibition will be followed by a musical benefit at the Palomino Smokehouse that will feature popular Calgary acts Forbidden Dimension and Miesha Louie of Miesha and the Spanks, as well as Winnipeg’s the Vibrating Beds.
Proceeds from the show will be used to send another shipment of musical instruments into Cuba in April.
“This photography show highlights the first four years of the Solidarity Rock project in Cuba,” McIntosh says. “It captures the emergence of a real rock ‘n’ roll movement in a nation that was rooted in tradition.”
Adds the 32-year-old photographer: “Musicians from here have been able to do some interesting things in that country and we’ve been able to support the idea of free expression through art and creative interaction. I think it’s important to share these photos and this visual representation of what we’re doing in Cuba.”
McIntosh formed Solidarity Rock in 2007 when he accompanied the band 7 and 7 is to the central Cuban city of Sancti Spiritus, where friends had invited the group to play. McIntosh came to shoot a documentary of the adventure.
He was surprised to find that while there was a great desire for rock music among the region’s youth, they lacked the basic necessities needed to start local bands.
“Even things like guitar strings just weren’t available,” McIntosh says. Nor were microphones, cables and guitar picks.
“We put together a big care package with that stuff … and basically filled in the gaps with the things they needed,” he says. “And the idea of a touring band, going from one town to another for a show, that was a really big deal. Six or seven shows in a row was kind of beyond reach for what people could do… . They didn’t have access to a lot of infrastructure.”
Relationships were fostered during the first Solidarity Rock tour and a passion grew within McIntosh to build a music scene for the rock-deprived Cuban youth.
“That’s how this back and forth interaction started,” McIntosh says.
“It’s an interesting dynamic because when the (Communist) revolution happened the government tried to instil a uniform Cuban culture. Things like rock ’n’ roll were illegal.”
The fruits of Solidarity Rock’s mission can be seen in the photo exhibition, McIntosh says. The work of photographers Sandy Phimester, also from Edmonton, Aaron Bocanegra from Los Angeles, and Cuba’s own San Reina Calvo will also be featured.
Meanwhile, McIntosh continues to make big plans for Solidarity Rock. He hopes to bring a Cuban rock band called Arrabio to Canada in the near future and he’s taking a mobile recording studio to Cuba in the summer, intent on recording three albums of Canadian and Cuban collaborations.
“You see kids that were really young the first time we came there with a band, and they’ve learned that people can express themselves through their music and take the world in their hands and live the way they want to,” McIntosh says, explaining his motivation to make Solidarity Rock grow. “That’s a really powerful thing.”
Spotlight
The Solidarity Rock photo exhibition will be on view at the House Gallery (2607 35th St. S.W.) from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday followed by a concert at the Palomino Smokehouse.
hmccoy@calgaryherald.com
Twitter@VanHeathen
The tour bus, on the streets of Santa Clara, a beautiful city.
Going back to Cuba for a third time in less than a year makes me think, long and hard about what is really going on there with Solidarity Rock. But I think it’s more than that, it’s figuring out our future, as a whole, and as individuals. When we go there, it’s like being brought into a different family, often we sit around the table and share our stories and our thoughts, we are made to feel very much a part of something that a lot of tourists never get to even get a glimpse of, let alone experience. I feel honored by that, I feel lucky… very lucky. I simply cannot express how it feels, it is very much like having a home away from home. Where do things go from here? Well, we shall see, we will work it out together.
We all spend a lot of time on the tour bus, luckily it’s large, and has lots of room) for everyone and the gear. It’s often a time of peace, a time to catch up on sleep, or listen to music and stare endlessly out the window at all the things that pass us by. At other times it’s when we can all have a great discussion and share a lot of laughs, it’s a safe place that we all feel comfortable with, I know I’ve been so thankful for it on many occasions.
Happy to be there! It’s not just all-new for the Canadians on the trip either, a few of the Cuban musicians had never really been on a tour bus before, or played very much in other parts of Cuba. You could tell that it was something special to get on that bus and hit the road; you could feel that, a very tangible sense of excitement and adventure. When we left Cuba, one of the musicians had said, “We’re going to the Airport? I’ve never been to one before”, I guess that makes sense, and puts things into perspective a little bit. Things are very different…
A few of my favorite moments have been experienced while driving at night back from a show, staring out at the ocean while the moonlight reflects delicately on the water, talking in the dark with the windows down, the fresh humid air rushing in. Talking about life, when we were kids, the places we always wanted to go, where we had been and why it was always so special to us. Hearing stories of visiting the ocean or going camping in the mountains from the Cuban friends, and our stories, which seem so similar in many ways… It’s wonderful. I truly enjoy this time on the bus.
Having a quick drink at the Hotel Plaza in Sancti Spiritus. A great retreat from the heat of the day. The live shows were pretty incredible and the language of punk rock and rock are truly universal and I think that no real barriers can exist when you break it down into its finest elements. Everyone loves to rock out and express themselves in their own way. I’ve said it before, but the amount of audience participation at the shows is quite wonderful, back home it’s not so often that you see a large group of people really rocking out at the live shows. In Cuba, it seems to be the norm, for what reason I can’t really say, but it sure puts a lot of energy in the room, the whole venue just feels alive. People truly seem appreciative of this sort of thing, it’s something special, and I’m sure that notion is not lost on anyone involved.
It was HOT, like… HOT! With humidity, some days it was hovering around +50c! One day that we spent on the beach (the only day) nearly sent a few of us into some serious trouble with heat stroke. It was unrelenting at times, everyone was a sweaty mess most of the time, except our Cuban friends, who definitely disliked the extreme heat but did not seem nearly as physically battered by it as we were. The word we used to describe it was oppressive, it was an attack from early morning to late at night. Even at live shows the heat would take its toll, you drink a lot more water than you’d ever think you could.
Live shots from the AHS in Trinidad again, while Arrabio is playing their show after Hang Loose opened. Things have been moving quickly since the last trip earlier this year, we’ve been dreaming up some really great plans for the future, and I’m just overwhelmed with how important and personally touching this has been for me. I’ve made some life long friends out of this, and had a glimpse into a whole other world of possibilities when it comes to passion and creativity.
Since the last trip, Drew has helped send down many more instruments and music supplies, which were promptly taken away by authorities when they arrived, but the Solidarity Rock movement has been gaining so much steam that after some talks and local pressure, the gear was released and given back to the folks who need it most. All is well!
In one month from now we will be embarking on the biggest tour yet, with a band from Vancouver, Vicious Cycles, and the plans we have once we are down there are going to be incredible (let’s hope it all works out!).
Cuba is a very beautiful place, the people we have made connections with are truly some of the kindest souls I’ll ever have the pleasure of knowing, we’ve all helped each other so much, it’s hard to imagine life without this.
Out back of the AHS, a beautiful little area, great for band photos and taking some film photos Solidarity Rock is an artist run organization working to partner musicians, artists and creative people in Cuba, Canada and beyond. It was started by Drew in 2007. The core of the movement is to help rock and roll thrive in Cuba. Sure, rock and roll has been there. But not too long ago, being a punk rocker, a metal head, a rocker, was discouraged. Solidarity Rock, with the support of Canadian musicians, hold benefit shows, raise awareness and funds, and collect gear they might not need anymore. A patch cord, guitar strings, an old amp, a bass, drum pieces, no donation is too great or small! The equipment is taken down to Cuba and distributed to the people who need it the most. In the past, something as simple as a guitar string could put an entire band on hold for a few weeks, while phone calls were made across the province(s) in Cuba looking for someone who might have a solution. While that is still the case in some parts of Cuba, things are changing, a lot. There is now equipment for bands to share, and people have access to music and expression like never before. The initiative has been a huge success.
Lead singer and guitarist for Kids On Fire, jumps during a solo at the AHS in Trinidad
This year, Drew, myself, and a few others went to Cuba and witnessed the first tour across Cuba by a Cuban rock band. A defining moment in rock and roll history, in Cuba and beyond. If you know anything about Cuba, about it’s history, then you know that this is no small feat. It’s a great thing, and I know that this will not be the last time. A Canadian punk band from Winnipeg, KIDS ON FIRE, in partnership with the new Winnipeg chapter of Solidarity Rock had been staging benefit shows. These shows raised the funds required to get Kids on Fire to Cuba and to facilitate the joint Canadian/Cuban tour of the country.
We had a tour bus waiting for us when we got there (wait until you see it!, it’s a huge old school bus painted all over on the outside with amazing political images). A far cry from donkey and cart, we would spend the better part of two weeks in it, traveling Cuba with two punk rock bands. The Cuban band is ARRABIO, I’d say a healthy mix of punk rock and classic heavy metal. A great band, a truly amazing set of guys, and now I’m proud to say… some really great friends too.
We toured across the country for 11 days. Our home base was Sancti Spiritus, a wonderful place, which up until only two years ago was called “a sleepy little city with not much happening in it” by the tour guides and travel books. Now, the same travel books hail it as “a cultural hub that is a place for musicians and artists to gather”. What a difference some gear and some courage make. The town is amazing. The main square, where we’d meet every day around noon, was where we consumed many fresh beers, lots of laughs and formulated plans for the day. It was a ritual, and it felt like home. We had our casa particulares (private accommodation with a Cuban family), two people per place, and it was like having a second little family. So friendly, so much respect and a ton of smiles. Lots of good food too.
The tour bus! Waiting for us at the airport in Veradero. It’s hard to write down all of my experiences there: the park during the evenings, meeting new people, having some amazing conversations. Ten cent pizzas, the music, the bus, the wacky folks we met, the cheap alcohol (oh jeez), the beach, the cities, the shows, the venues, the beaming sun and +42C weather, and most importantly the new friends we made.
We had two days on the beach, seeing the hotel patrons was funny to us, they go to a resort or hotel and see nothing of Cuba, we were fortunate enough to get two rest days out on the beach (not the hotel though, just the beach near it) that’s about all I can handle though, it gets boring after that much time. I sit on the beach, and it’s great, but after a while all I can think about is what’s back there in the real part of the country that I’m missing out on.
It all boils down to the people you share things with. Don’t let me forget a tour bus full of people yelling “super hambergasa!” over and over and over… and over, while the Cuban’s around us look at us like total aliens. The stories are endless. Literally.
A live show, packed to the roof with all ages and types. Our tour bus waiting for us in the morning to take us on the road. I did all the rocking out I could, I went into incredibly crazy mosh pits with my camera to get some shots. I dangled myself out the bus window. I drank my fair share, stayed up late and made life long friends. I guess it was just a lot of things all going on at once. I’ll never forget any of it.
This year has been a hard one for me. I’ve been getting really busy with photography and the whirlwind of life had caught up to me. My father just passed away suddenly a few weeks before I was supposed to go on this trip. Drew had a similar loss in his family as well, a year ago, right around a similar trip to Cuba too. One night, having climbed to the roof of a broken down building, we stood up there, looking over this incredible city at night, shaky, covered in dust and debris from climbing up there. We started talking about how it is to be here, what it means. He offered me his thoughts and strength through this time, and I started to cry, I didn’t want to, but I had to give in. He talked about his loss, and he was crying too, two big tough looking guys wearing rock and roll t-shirts, standing on a roof crying. But honestly, it was a moving moment for me. It’s tough. People treat you differently, you just want to escape, but you can’t. We cried for a minute or two, but then realized what we were doing and started laughing a bit. I went back to our casa that night and broke down a little bit inside. Darryl, who was my roommate for the trip talked me down a bit and we really connected. I don’t know how to express how much I appreciated everything from both of them that night.
Arrabio playing to a full venue at the AHS in Trinidad This was Drew’s 6th trip down to Cuba for Solidarity Rock. I met his friends, and now they are my friends. I will never forget you guys, and I hope I get to see you all every year. That’s a good dream. You made us feel more than welcome. I know Solidarity Rock has helped you all so much in Cuba, but I also know that you guys (and gals) have helped us as well. Live shows aren’t the same there as they are here, for many reasons, but the big one is… turn outs. Tons of people come to these shows. Crowds are not so content in Cuba to just stand at the back of the room and nodding their head, they get up front, yell, scream, sing, dance, and crash around. They really know how to let it all go! I miss you guys, I miss everything there, except maybe that one bathroom in Santa Clara…
William, Irina, Sam, Fendu, Drew, Darryl, Kids on Fire, Arrabio, everyone else, our bus driver, the amazing people we met and shared our stories with, the women who ran our casas and fed us, the rockers we partied with… we are all brothers and sisters!!
It’s not often we go to the beach, but it’s a good time to relax on the hectic tour Solidarity Rock is an artist run organization working to partner musicians, artists and creative people in Cuba, Canada and beyond. It was started by Drew in 2007. The core of the movement is to help rock and roll thrive in Cuba. Sure, rock and roll has been there. But not too long ago, being a punk rocker, a metal head, a rocker, was discouraged. Solidarity Rock, with the support of Canadian musicians, hold benefit shows, raise awareness and funds, and collect gear they might not need anymore. A patch cord, guitar strings, an old amp, a bass, drum pieces, no donation is too great or small! The equipment is taken down to Cuba and distributed to the people who need it the most. In the past, something as simple as a guitar string could put an entire band on hold for a few weeks, while phone calls were made across the province(s) in Cuba looking for someone who might have a solution. While that is still the case in some parts of Cuba, things are changing, a lot. There is now equipment for bands to share, and people have access to music and expression like never before. The initiative has been a huge success.
Here is a write up from the AHS’s national page about the Vicious Cycles show that didn’t end up making it past two bands, because the power blew. They tried to re-route some juice from the street lights, but it was clear that it wasn’t going to happen. Either way, interesting words from the AHS site.
Banda canadiense Vicious Cycles.
Un viernes 13 con punk-rock en La Madriguera
Lázaro J. González González
La Madriguera, sede capitalina de la Asociación Hermanos Saíz, prepara para este viernes 13 a las seis de la tarde el gran concierto de punk-rock William Fabián in Memoriam. El espectáculo, que tendrá entrada libre, contará con la presencia de las bandas Kallejeros Kondenados, Limalla, Akupunktura, Eskoria, Gatillo, Arrabio y como invitados espaciales a la banda canadiense Vicious Cycles, de gira por Cuba en estos momentos.
El punk- rock es un género musical dentro del rock que emergió a mediados de los años 1970, caracterizado por su actitud independiente y amateur. En sus inicios, el punk era una música muy simple y cruda, a veces descuidada: un tipo de rock sencillo, con melodías simples de duraciones cortas, sonidos de guitarras amplificadas poco controlados o ruidosos, pocos arreglos e instrumentos, y, por lo general, de compases y tempos rápidos. A la vez, el punk ha creado una cultura: la de la libertad individual, que tiende a generar creencias en conceptos tales como el individualismo y el pensamiento libre.
William Fabián era el cantante líder de Escoria, agrupación que lideró ese movimiento musical en Cuba y falleció en el año 2010. A él se rinde este homenaje, el cual se realiza por segunda ocasión.
One Friday 13 with punk-rock at The Madriguera
J. Lazarus González González
El Madriguera, home of the Associacion Hermanos Saiz in the Cuban Captial, is preparing for a great punk-rock concert in memory of William Fabian, which goes on at 6:00 Friday January 13. The show, which will have free admission, will feature the bands Kallejera Kondenados, Limalla, Akupunktura, Eskoria, Gatillo, Arrabio and special guests from Canada, The Vicious Cycles, who are touring Cuba right now.
Punk-rock is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s, characterized by its independent and amateur attitude. In its beginnings, punk music was a very simple and crude, sometimes discounted, a simple type of music, with short songs, simple melodies, guitar sounds and loud, uncontrolled amplification. Few complex arangements or instruments, and generally bars of fast tempos. At the same time, punk has created a culture: that of individual freedom, which tends to create beliefs in concepts such as individualism and free thought.
William Fabian was the lead singer of Eskora, a group that led the musical movement in Cuba and died in 2010. This show is a tribute to him, which is done for a second time.
The Vicious Cycles ‘Solidarity Rock’ Cuban Tour Kick-off
With Rich Hope and his Evil Doers, AK-747s
Friday, Dec. 16, 9 p.m.
The Media Club, 695 Cambie
Tickets: $10 at the door
VANCOUVER — It’s almost a rock ’n’ roll Buena Vista Social Club.
In January, Vancouver rock ’n’ rollers The Vicious Cycles will embark on a tour of Cuba, performing alongside underground Cuban punk act Arrabio.
In the process, they will be helping a Cuban community organization secure new equipment for up and coming rock acts and music schools in a country that has been repressing rock ’n’ roll for decades.
The Vicious Cycles are the fifth Canadian band to head down to Cuba as part of Solidarity Rock, a charitable music initiative launched by a handful of Edmonton-based musicians and Cuban friends like William Garcia, a member of Arrabio who is handling logistics on the Cuban side through the Hermanos Saiz Association.
The Cycles are the first Vancouver band to make the trek to Cuba, playing seven shows in 10 days across the country.
bikers video
“It’s artists helping artists, musicians helping musicians,” Vicious Cycles bassist Rob Wright said. “It’s not just Canadian musicians helping Cuban musicians, it’s a true exchange.
“It’s about helping musicians find their own way. It’s not about any sort of political structure. We’re going over there to play rock ’n’ roll and to help others play rock ’n’ roll.”
The Vicious Cycles are a motorcycle-loving crew that released their first album The Strange and Terrible Saga of … this spring.
The band includes members of Raised By Wolves, The Blackjacks and Les Tabernacles and is known for its wild, sweaty performances.
For Wright, the opportunity to play for Harley-Davidson fans in Cuba was a no-brainer.
“The guys in Arrabio organized a meeting with the Harley-Davidson club in Trinidad,” Wright said. “They’re getting a whole bunch of Harleys to come out to our show, which should be pretty wild.”
Edmonton-based documentary filmmaker Drew McIntosh has been involved with Solidarity Rock since its inception in 2008, when he and Edmonton rock band 7 and 7 Is made their first trip to Cuba as part of the project.
Over the course of four tours, McIntosh has shot hours upon hours of footage that he hopes will eventually become a full-length documentary about the underground rock ’n’ roll scene in Cuba.
“The guys that play traditional salsa music and shake maracas for tourists make the money,” McIntosh said. “But there are these bands that are some of the best bands I’ve ever seen and they would never be invited to play big festivals in their own cities. We’re showing the world that Cuban rock ’n’ roll exists, and if we can start putting that stuff in music schools now, I think it will be an interesting legacy.”
So far, the Solidarity Rock project has donated a full band setup with P.A., amplifiers, drum kit and guitars to the Hermanos Saiz Association in Sancti Spiritus, and it has also provided instruments to various bands directly.
“There’s a thriving punk rock scene in four cities in the centre of the country,” McIntosh said. “For the last 16 years, there has been the same 10-12 guys playing that kind of music. Arrabio is part of that. They are the original surviving punk rockers that have been there the whole time.”
McIntosh added that he hoped this fifth tour would see Solidarity Rock expand into different chapters across Western Canada via groups based out of Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver.
“We want to break it into chapters that can take on their own autonomous projects,” McIntosh said.
“That way we can achieve more successes.”
The kickoff concert at the Media Club Friday night will also feature performances by Rich Hope and his Evil Doers and the AK-747s, as well as an exhibit featuring pictures by McIntosh and other photographers who have documented the Cuban rock ’n’ roll scene over the past four Solidarity Rock tours.
“In the long term, one of the goals of solidarity rock is to bring Arrabio to Canada to tour,” Wright said.
fmarchand@vancouversun.com
The Vicious Cycles (pictured) head to a seven-date/10 day-long Cuban tour with metallists Arrabio.
Photograph by: Photo Submitted, The Province
Similar to the former Soviet Union, post-revolution Cuba was not rocking and rolling. The global teenage bourgeousie’s music of choice failed both class and colonialism taste standards decreed by commie culturecrats. If you wanted to mosh not mambo, you did it by breaking the law.
As ever, the time-tested adage that what is forbidden is all the more desired proved true and underground rock music flourished.
Time passed and it became a bit easier to tune in and turn up if not drop out in Cuban society. The biggest problem was coming into the right gear to bring the noise, so most artists stuck with traditional acoustic brass and percussion combos playing to tourists. Since 2008, Edmonton, Alta.-based grass roots group Solidarity Rock has worked to establish connections between Canadian and Cuban bands in the city of Sancti Spiritus. To date, four tours by Canadian bands from Albterta to Cuba have enriched cross-cultural gigging and also delivered much needed equipement donations to musicians on the island nation. This year, Vancouver motorcycle punks the Vicious Cycles head to a seven-date/10 day-long Cuban tour with metallists Arrabio. The band features Solidarity Rock’s Cuban counterpart William Garcia who is booking the tour through the Hermanos Saiz Association. Most of the dates across the country will include local acts and the Havana date (Jan. 13) is an eight-group tribute to the late William Fabian of Eskoria, a popular punk unit. None of these acts is anywhere in the mainstream.
For the Vicious Cycles, the tour is a dream come true. Bassist Rob Wright is looking forward to the kickoff this weekend with Rich Hope & His Evil Doers and the AK-747s.
“We’ve been together about four years and haven’t toured anywhere but B.C. and Alberta,” says Wright. “Other members were in groups like the Blackjacks and Raised By Wolves, which did tour extensively in the U.S. as well, but this is a big deal.”
“Drew McIntosh, a key organizer from Solidarity Rock, is an old friend of mine from Edmonton and I really wanted to do this and he helped it happen. As far as I know, prior to this organization no Western bands were touring Cuba, they just did one-offs in Havana or Veradero.”
The five-piece combo’s full name is the Vicious Cycles Motorcycle Club. It specializes in high-energy punk that would put a Social Distortion fan in a good mood. The quintet has its riffs in a row. They have an album out titled the Strange and Terrible Saga Of with a cover depicting a bar brawl with colours-sporting bikers. Wright says that there is a subculture of punk rock motorcycle clubs in Vancouver now. And they ride a dizzying array of brands.
“The guys in the cover photo are good friends of ours and followers of the band called the Nightfighters. Then there is the all-female Majestic Unicorns, Filth Mode, the Scorpions — I probably left some out who will be pissed, sorry. It’s just neat that we have this under-the-radar thing happening.”
The Vicious Cycles also has some deep family ties. It’s Theramin and keyboard player Norman Anderson is the father of the drummer, Jared Anderson. Wright says it’s an unusual situation, but one that works just fine.
“The age range in this band is from 22 to 51 and we all get along great. It helps that Norman is kind of like the world’s oldest teenager. But really, we have day jobs and kid realities and the real goal is to just have a good time and make sure everyone else does.”
He expects that thrashing away in Cuba will wind up being one for the storybook to tell the family down the road. To listen to the Vicious Cycles, visit theviciouscycles.bandcamp.com. Solidarity Rock is at solidarityrock.tumblr.com.
Kids on Fire sat down with Stylus Magazine to talk about the Solidarity Rock project and their upcoming tour! Check it out.
