Claudio
Fernando
Marcelo
Sergio
Incomplete biography of Los Rockas Surf
The beginning is not always at the start.
It was mid-November 1984, on one of those afternoons when the death of winter was imminent. The day was warm, foreshadowing a good summer, when two high school classmates, Claudio and Fernando, coincidentally met at the Artigas-Washington Library. To set the scene, this was just a few days before the General Elections in Uruguay, during the confirmed return to democracy. Claudio walked from the interdepartmental bus terminal at Arenal Grande and Mercedes to reach the library, where the bus from "El Pinar" dropped him off. It was a few blocks away, and as he walked, he couldn't help but notice the political propaganda saturating Montevideo, something a young person of that time was not accustomed to. Everything felt different—national rock music returned to the radios, thanks to a new generation of musicians, and in the printed press, those same bands were gaining more space each day.
Claudio arrived at the library, which at the time was the closest thing to Google or Wikipedia. He went to the magazine stand, knowing that the new issues of Rolling Stone would have arrived. He took the two latest issues and requested a cassette of Dick Dale. Later, he could listen to one by The Beach Boys, Seals and Croft, or The Beatles, which he would play on one of the tables equipped with cassette players on the sides. He sat down to read. He usually spent his afternoons there, searching for information about movies, music theory, guitar tabs, but that afternoon, his friend Fernando surprised him. It had been a while since they had seen each other, and among other things, Claudio mentioned that he had the idea of starting a surf music band. Fernando, a fan of that genre, something out of its time back then, wanted to be part of the project and lied. He said he knew how to play the bass and that he had always dreamed of forming a surf music band. Unaware of his friend's lie, Claudio also lied and said he had composed two songs. It was a half-lie, as at the age of 15 or 16, he had started composing a couple of surf-style melodies that he urgently needed to finish. That day, fueled by enthusiasm, he hummed them, which drew disapproving glances from the readers and a reprimand from one of the librarians. As usual, they left when the library closed, but this time with a dream in their hands. Fernando accompanied Claudio to the bus terminal, or rather the "Control de Arenal Grande," as it was called back then, and despite never having surfed, they bid farewell with the Shaka sign.
During the return journey, Claudio tried to imagine a name for the band. He knew they weren't surfers, but that wasn't a problem as hardly any of the surf music musicians in the world were actual surfers. Therefore, it didn't bother him, and he thought of a word that would represent them. He pictured himself on a surfboard and thought it would be as rough as a rock... and there it was, the idea came to him: Rocas, but spelled with "ck" as in Rock. The name would be: Los Rockas Surf. When he arrived home, he drew the name and revised the slow-paced song, probably adjusted some of the lyrics, and then completed the more upbeat one. These were the first two songs of the band: "Mi chica surfista" (My Surfer Girl), a song inspired by The Beach Boys' "Surfing Girl," and the surf swing titled "Un Rock de los Rockas" (A Rock by the Rockas).
From left to right: Marcelo Sena, Fernando Viera, Sergio Claro, and Claudio Moreno. Year 1985.
The first year of oneself
In the early days, some musicians passed through, including a 14-year-old drummer and a saxophonist whom Fernando liked to claim was the nephew of the famous orchestra conductor René Pietrafesa.
They collaborated on their first recordings with Riki Musso and Alvin (Álvaro Pintos) from the Cuarteto de Nos, among others, while the band still didn't have a fixed lineup. Various guest musicians contributed to shaping the songs. This continued until they met Marcelo Sena, the host of the radio program "Otros Latidos" on the Palacio de la Música station. Marcelo played the drums, and Los Rockas Surf were without a drummer, so they arranged to meet and rehearse. A few weeks later, they recorded one of their songs, "Iva Bruzonne," in the LP studio of the Cuarteto de Nos. The song was co-written by Fernando, and it was about a neighbor named Ivanna Bruzonne whom he was in love with but who never knew. Shortly after, Claudio enrolled in a medical representative course and met Sergio. They inevitably talked about music, and when Sergio found out that Los Rockas Surf didn't have a lead guitarist, he offered his services. Sergio knew many rock and roll riffs and beat arrangements, music closely related to the surf scene. After some demonstrations, everyone agreed that he should join the band. Thus, the original lineup of Los Rockas Surf was defined, led by Claudio Moreno (Guitar and vocals), with Fernando Viera (Bass and vocals), Marcelo Sena (Drums), and Sergio Claro (Guitar and vocals).
Soon, the Orfeo label, responsible for releasing the main Uruguayan rock bands, became interested in the proposal of these boys who seemed to go against the current trend. They were thrilled and signed a contract for two songs: "I'm sorry" and "Only Surf," which would be included in the fourth compilation of National Rock. The boys were very excited to share an album with the most popular bands of the time, and its release date was set for December 1986. Everything seemed perfect. They were assigned the best recording studio in Uruguay at the time: La Batuta. They were granted 10 hours of recording time, and the technicians were Hugo Jasa, Paco Grillo, and the producer was Jorge Galemire, three true icons of the music industry.
The result was good, as it couldn't be otherwise with such professionals. Everyone was satisfied with what they achieved within the given time frame. Now, they only had to wait for the release date. However, December came and went, and the compilation was not published due to financial problems at the label. In mid-January, Alfonso Carbone, the artistic director of Orfeo, informed them that the Vol. 3 compilation, the one preceding theirs, was delayed and would not be released until March or April, and that Vol. 4 would hit the market in July. This worried the boys because the summer was the main opportunity for their music to be heard. It was during those days that a host of a new program on Radio Independencia invited them to be on his show. They accepted the invitation, but due to their inexperience, they brought the tape with their latest recorded tracks, allowing them to be aired. What they didn't anticipate was that the operator would record the songs to insert them into the program's playlist. This quickly caught the attention of the label's artistic director, who called them and canceled their contract, considering it a serious offense to release material that hadn't been officially edited yet.
Los Rockas Surf, who were gaining attention with their demos on all the national rock programs with their groundbreaking music that stood out from the context at the time, left disappointed. They blamed each other for what had happened. Eventually, they drifted apart, without saying goodbye to the audience or even to themselves.
The beginning is not always at the start.
After thirty-six years, something inside them was ignited. Perhaps it was the version of "Un Rock de los Rockas" that Tito Sónico included in his musical project "Tito hace Surf Vol 1", or maybe it was simply destiny guiding them again. What is certain is that, after Claudio's call, the three friends, who had stopped seeing each other since then, agreed that the desire was always there and saw the possibility of reviving Los Rockas Surf. But this time, without Fernando, it was impossible to find him on the networks or in any corner of the world.
Los Rockas Surf were reborn, but this time, without Fernando, it was impossible to find him in the networks or in any corner of the world. They came back not only to make their dream come true, but also to prove to themselves that it doesn't matter where you are in life or how many years have passed.
This reunion taught them that dreams never expire, it all depends on how you persevere and if there is energy and a sincere will, you can do it. Even if everything seems lost.
