| Verona | |
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 Verona Photo Session, 2008
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Punto Fijo, Falcón, Venezuela |
| Genres | Rock |
| Years active | 2001 - Present |
| Labels | Independent |
| Website | Verona |
| Members | |
| Chevy Atari Ray Diaz Eduardo Goitia |
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Contents |
History
Verona is a rock band born in Punto Fijo at the end of the year 2000, under the initial formation of Chevy (guitars and vocals), Atari (guitar and back vocals), Paul Jatem (Bass guitar) and Eduardo (Drums). In 2001 they recorded their first EP "Delirium" which included former recordings from Chevy. Paul left the band in 2003 and was replaced by Adolfo Alcala. Adolfo was accredited in the composition of the first LP of Verona (Summer Consequence), but he left prior its recording. He was replaced by Ray in December 2003. By may of 2004, Verona released "Summer Consequence". Since then, the band still on the same formation and released their second LP, "Anywhere" in March 2008.
Moving to Caracas and Delirium Ep (2000 - 2002)
Verona began to record, in October 2001, "Delirium" and "Pagina Ven" as two of five songs that would be part of "Delirium EP", the rest of the songs were former recordings from Chevy's first solo proyect, those were: "Hoy", "Make a Wish" and "Automatic". This EP was never officially released, the band distributed the EP between friends and online through their first web page. By the end of that year, Verona moved to Caracas looking for better opportunities and places to perform leaving Punto Fijo behind.
Verona would pause its activities in 2002 due to different obligations of each member, they would be back in Caracas at the "Jim Morrison" Festival, this, would be their debut show in the Country's Capital.
Summer Consequence (2003 - 2004)
Verona recruited Adolfo Alcala right after Paul Jatem left the band in 2003. Adolfo would be an important member since he helped the band establish in the underground movement in the city. One of the most important shows of that year was the "Alma Mater Festival" where they left an excellent and memorable impression to the audience and press.
By the end of 2003, Adolfo left the band for academic reasons and was replaced by E.W.'s former bass player, Ray Diaz. Ray, wasn't to much involved with Verona's musical influences, but he turned out to fit very well with band as soon as he got in. He stated in 2003: "I'm not familiar with Verona's influences, but I will do my best to contribute in whatever I can". At this point, Ray wasn't confirmed to be a full-time member of Verona, but he was filling up with the bass for the upcoming shows and their first LP recording, "Summer Consequence". This new album was produced by Verona's first bass player, Paul Jatem and the band itself. It was released on May 20 of 2004.
Summer Consequence consists of 11 songs, it includes two re-mastered versions of "Make a Wish" and "Delirium" of the Delirium EP, these two songs had a better distribution with Summer Consequence since Delirium EP was not officially released. Chevy quoted: "We like this two songs, it would be a shame having them recorded and not give them the appropriate distribution". Summer Consequence got a positive unexpected impression in the specialized critics. Rolling Stone Latin America magazine, wrote several reviews and included this album as one the bests 50 albums of 2004.
By October 2004, as Ray was officially announced as a full-time member of the band, they started filming their first music video, the single "Beautiful" was chosen. Atari (also in charge of the band's image), was the director along with Vanessa Henriquez and VJ Zion. Beautiful's video debut on national television was on June 5 2004.
Anywhere and Mark of Excellence Single (2005 - 2008)
By mid 2005 Verona went back to the studio to record demos that in the end turned out as a LP. They recorded four tracks: "Wondering Mind", "Broken Promise", "I'm you" and a new wave version of "Make a Wish". "Wondering Mind" was the first song completely composed by the four members of the band.
By late 2005, Verona would take another big break. Eduardo and Ray joined for a couple of shows of their former bands, in the meantime Chevy and Atari were focused on solo recordings. Starting 2006, Verona continued recording their songs and finished by the end of that very same year. In the beginning, the album was thought to have two songs in Spanish, including a version of "Mourning Days" and "Dead or Alive" (Unreleased). Lately, "Dead or Alive" was excluded from the album and was replaced by "Mark of Excellence", which was composed by Atari and Chevy. Chevy stated: "We initially thought that recording something in spanish would work for us, we'd probably get radio airtime, but this is not what Verona is about". Atari followed: "In the other hand, Mark of Excellence defines this new process that we are going through, this is the music style we have always been looking for..." "Anywhere" included special guests appearances such as Håkan Löfdahl (Lead singer in the Swedish band The Last Hours), and Jean Carlo de Oliveira (Candy 66's Lead Singer). All tracks were mixed by Jean Carlo de Oliveira, except for "Mark of Excellence" (Mixed by Håkan Löfdahl) and "Piano for a Friend" (Mixed by Juan Carlos Nieto).
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"Mark of Excellence" was released on May 25, 2007. For the band's surprise, the song got airtime nation wide. Thanks to Mark of Excellence's airtime, Verona became the first Venezuelan English singing band to achieve this. Venezuela's laws states that: "local bands have to follow certain rules in order to get airtime, which include singing in Spanish. Airtime in the country is divided in two, 70% Spanish singing national bands and 30% for other languages and international bands". This single was included in that 30% competing with the best bands around the world. Mourning Days followed Mark of Excellence's footsteps and also received airtime as Anywhere's second single. On October 5 of 2007 Verona won an URBE award for “Best Non-Capital Band”. This means Verona was nominated and voted by the public as the best band in Venezuela that’s not from Caracas. Verona could not compete in the nomination for “Best Capital Band” since all band members are from another state. On March 20 of 2008, “Anywhere” was officially released and is currently being sold around the country and on the web. It has 12 tracks and it's on sale at Amazon.com, iTunes Store or by contacting the band through their official website. Urbe magazine (the most important alternative newspaper in the country) placed “Anywhere” in the top 5 albums in Venezuela. To support the release of "Anywhere", Verona started a national tour which also included 3 acoustic live performances in California and Florida (United States). A successful Stone Temple Pilots tribute in Caracas, sponsored by La Mega Radio Station, followed the tour.
Silent Night Cover and New Album Recording (2009 - present)
Verona´s been on a break since their last show last year, although they have been seen together in a few concerts in 2009; "Atari" did an special appearance playing with The Ataris in "Takeoffs and Landings" and "In this Diary" on July 22, when the Indiana band performed in Caracas as a part of their latin american tour.
The band also confirmed 3 shows for 2010, and occasionally joined in recording studios, for what could turn in the future their Next Album.
During the process of recording this new material, they took the opportunity and recorded a cover that they usually included in their December Set List; Josef Mohr´s "Silent Night". It was released for free download on December 3th, on Verona´s Official Web Page.
Meanwhile Ray and Eduardo joined Mike Delorean (a Solo Artist from Punto Fijo and former member of Eduardo´s First Band, Juliana) to record his first album which will be out sometime soon.
Members
Current members
- Chevy - Lead Vocals and Guitars.
- Atari - Guitars and Backing Vocals.
- Ray Diaz - Bass Guitars.
- Eduardo Goitia - Drums and Percussion.
Former members
- Paul Jatem: Bass Guitar.
- Adolfo Alcala: Bass Guitar.
Discography
- Delirium EP (2001).
- Summer Consequence (2004).
- Anywhere (2008).
External links
See also
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