Callejeros

Callejeros (those people that are on the street, or stray dogs) is an Argentine rock band that gained notoriety when the nightclub where they were playing, Rep?blica Cromagnon, was set on fire during one of its shows, killing 194 attendees, in 2004.

The band have defined themselves as a rock and roll band and diversity of rates but with its own style. Callejeros has acknowledged musical influences: direct ones from Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, Creedence and The Beatles, but also from Pink Floyd, Le?n Gieco, Bob Marley, AC/DC, etc.

History

The band was formed in mid-1995 by a group of young people of Villa Celina, Greater Buenos Aires. They were known initially as R?o Verde ("Green River") and mostly played covers of Chuck Berry, Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Rolling Stones. At the end of 1996 the band changed its lineup and recruited new members. Given the extensive change to the original group, in January 1997, they changed their name to Callejeros. A new guitarist and a saxophonist came into the band between late 1999 and early 2000, and it is with this lineup that Callejeros recorded the three albums it has released to date.

In 2001 they recorded their first album, Sed ("Thirst"), in which they followed the rock format they had kept for years, but with the participation of sax player Juan Carbone, former member of Viejas Locas. A single came out of this album, Vicioso, jugador y mujeriego, and a video was made for it, but did not see much TV airtime.

Their second album, Presi?n ("Pressure"), also self-released, came out in 2003. It was premiered with a show at the Atlanta football stadium in Buenos Aires and it included fourteen songs, ranging in style from tango, ballad, rhythms of candombe (black music from Uruguay) and Latin rock up to classic rock'n'roll. This record made their name known in almost all the country and, to some degree, in Latin America. Not long after the release of the album the first single, Una nueva noche fr?a ("A New Cold Night"), was aired on radio and music TV stations during several months.

After playing at the Obras Sanitarias Stadium, known in Buenos Aires as the "temple of rock", in 2004, it seemed as if the band would reach far, because of the growth in such a short time. In a 6 months' span they went from drawing 1,000 people or less to play in 5,000 capacity arenas.

In late 2004 they released their third album, Rocanroles sin destino ("Rock'n'rolls Without a Destiny"). It did not had the "power" of previous albums, but more attention went into describing themselves, their lives, their career as musicians and the conflicts that fame brings. The album was played live twice: first, in C?rdoba, before 10,000 people, and then, in the Excursionistas football stadium with an audience of almost 15,000 people.

The Rep?blica Croma??n fire

The night of , 2004, the band was playing a concert at the club Rep?blica Cromagnon, when a flare set the roof on fire. The club was crowded and the emergency exits had been (illegally) locked. The fire spread and eventually killed 194 people, mostly due to burning of the respiratory tract and inhalation of carbon monoxide. Among the dead spectators were relatives of several band members, as well as the band manager's wife and the lead singer's girlfriend.

The band was investigated by the authorities regarding their responsibility for the tragedy, since it was well-known that the audience frequently made use of pyrotechnic devices during their shows, though in this case Callejeros had asked them not to, to no avail.

The return

After Rep?blica Cromagnon, Callejeros did not play for a long time, first due to their own decision, and then because of the opposition from the victims of the fire.

In May 2006 the band released their fourth album, Se?ales ("Signs"), which sold 20,000 copies on its release day. The band signed a contract with Pelo Music and had both previous albums re-released (Sed and Presi?n) by this company.

On , Callejeros appeared without prior announcement during a concert by the band J?venes Pordioseros in El Teatro, a club in Flores. The band had previously agreed not to go onstage, and the show was suspended by the management of the club. Later, some of the victims' relatives expressed mixed opinions; some claimed that the band "had the right to play" because there was no judicial order to keep them from doing so, while others called it "a mistake" or claimed that "they should be in prison". Until this day, the band has played 5 more times, always outside Buenos Aires city, since the tragedy. The last one, in Olavarria, Buenos Aires Province.

Members

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Original Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callejeros