Genres Comedy rock Labels EMI Genre Comedy rock | Years active 1995–1996 Associated acts Utopia Record label EMI | |
Origin Guarulhos, São Paulo, Brazil Past members Dinho
Samuel Reoli
Júlio Rasec
Sérgio Reoli
Bento Hinoto Members Alecsander Alves, Júlio Rasec, Alberto Hinoto, Samuel Reis de Oliveira, Sérgio Reis de Oliveira Albums Mamonas Ao Vivo, Atenção - Creuzebek: a Baixari, Mamonas Assassinas, Pelados em Santos, One: 16 Hits Profiles | ||
Mamonas Assassinas was a satirical Brazilian rock band. Their lyrics, music and live performances were as famous as their tragic end: on March 2, 1996, the plane in which they were flying crashed into the Cantareira mountain range, near São Paulo, causing the death of all the band members.
Contents
- Ganggajang meets mamonas assassinas
- Early years and major era
- The plane crash
- After the disaster
- Videography
- Members
- Songs
- References
The band's name carries a double-entendre as, in Portuguese mamonas can be either the name of the Castor oil plant, which contains the highly toxic comount ricin (their logo incorporated a castor bean) or the augmentative for mamas, meaning breasts (which were prominently pictured on the album cover). The band mentioned model Mari Alexandre as an influence to the name, and even translated the name into English as "Killer Big Breasts".
The musical style of Mamonas Assassinas members employed a humorous mixture between rock and a wide range of styles. They often borrowed elements from other music, among which were the main riff of the Portuguese Vira ("Vira-Vira"), Northeastern Brazilian rhythms like forró ("Jumento Celestino"), Mexican music ("Pelados em Santos"), heavy metal ("Débil Metal"), sertanejo ("Bois Don't Cry"), and even pagode ("Lá Vem o Alemão"). This combination can be easily checked at their videos, where various references to many cultures were found.
Ganggajang meets mamonas assassinas
Early years and major era
The band started its activities in 1989 without Dinho, in a band called Utopia, performing covers of Legião Urbana and Rush. Soon Dinho was incorporated, and Utopia performed in the suburbs of São Paulo. They even did release an album, but it sold less than 100 copies. Just as the band noticed the comedical intromissions and songs on their concerts were better accepted than the serious performances, the band decided to fully embrace the comedy on their music, including a change to a double entendre name. Their first demo reached Rafael, son of the artistic director of EMI-Odeon, João Augusto Soares. João Augusto hired the band afterwards
The plane crash
The band's successful 8-month career came to an end along with all band members' lives on March 2, 1996, due to a plane crash. After a show in Brasília, the band was flying to São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, in Guarulhos. The aircraft was a Learjet 25. The jet was on final approach to land on the runway 09R, but went-around. As it flew around the runway for a second attempt to land, it crashed into the Cantareira mountain range, at 23:16.
After the disaster
After the band's sudden end, their label released one live album and one posthumous album. They continued to be very famous in Brazil, and kept being influential to the culture.
Videography
Members
All of them were born in Guarulhos, except Dinho, who was born in Irecê, a town from Bahia state.
Songs
Vira-viraMamonas Assassinas · 1995
Robocop gayMamonas Assassinas · 1995
Pelados em SantosMamonas Assassinas · 1995