Tears for Fears in Brasil -Interview

Tears and Kooks International is so blessed to have quite a few multilingual fans. One of those is Andye (Nigerian-Portuguese)  and she translates reviews and videos from the various original languages into English for the stateside fans. Recently she e-met Brazillian born Karina Longo (@mrscarbohydrate) on Twitter while Tears For Fears was on a tour stop in Brasil. Karina was a great volunteer; stepping in during a very busy time. While Andye was translating videos and interviews from Mexico, etc Karina jumped in and translated the interview conducted by a local Brazillian media team. You can see it below in English. Thank you so much (@mrscarbohydrate) for your help! You are an official KOOK!! *Karina was also recently followed by Curt Smith on Twitter*

INTERVIEW WITH CURT SMITH / SHOUT (translated by Karina Longo & Andye Andinha moderator for (@papasfans))

ORIGINAL BY ELIO BANDERA FROM ZERO HORA (PORTO ALEGRE) / SEGUNDO CADERNO (http://www.clicrbs.com.br/especial/rs/clubedoassinantezh/19,617,3511615,Shout.html)

RESPONSIBLE for 80’S HITS SUCH AS “SHOUT” AND “SOWING THE SEEDS OF LOVE”,THE BRITISH DUO TEARS FOR FEARS WILL PLAY TOMORROW IN PORTO ALEGRE.

WITH 30 YEARS  IN THE MUSIC SCENE AND SEVERAL POP CLASSICS FROM THE 80’S AS PART OF THEIR CAREER, TEARS FOR FEARS HOLD THE STATUS OF BEING ONE OF THE FEW BANDS OF THEIR GENERATION WHO’VE PLAYED IN THE SOUTH OF BRAZIL.  TOMORROW (03/10), AT 9PM, PEPSI ON STAGE WILL WELCOME THE GROUP FOUNDED BY CURT SMITH (BASS AND VOCALS) AND ROLAND ORZABAL (GUITARS AND VOCALS), WHOSE NAME WAS INSPIRED ON ARTHUR JANOV’S PRIMAL SCREAM, A PSYCHOTERAPHIC METHOD WHICH CONSISTS ON REACHING OUT YOUR DEEPEST FEARS AND SET YOURSELF FREE THROUGH SCREAMS (AS “SHOUT” LYRICS SUGGEST: “SHOUT, SHOUT/LET IT ALL OUT”).

TEARS FOR FEARS’ POP SOUND WAS KNOWN FOR ACOUSTIC ELEMENTS, KEYBOARDS AND LYRICS SURROUNDING SELF-DISCOVERING THE NEED OF CHANGING YOURSELF AND EVEN LOVE. THE ALBUM ‘SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIR’, FROM 1985, BEST KNOWN FOR HITS SUCH AS EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD, HEAD OVER HEELS AND SHOUT (ALL OF WHICH ARE TO BE PLAYED AT THE GIG) REACHED THE TOP OF BILLBOARD.

IN THE EARLY 90’S, A FEW MONTHS AFTER THE RELEASE OF THE VERY WELL ACKNOWLEDGED THE SEEDS OF LOVE (1990), THE DUO’D SPLIT UP, EVEN THOUGH ORZABAL KEPT MAKING MUSIC UNDER THE NAME OF THE BAND AND DECIDED TO RELEASE TWO CDS WITHOUT CURT. IN EARLY 2000’S, CURT RETURNED TO THE BAND. THEIR LATEST STUDIO ALBUM, EVERYBODY LOVES A HAPPY ENDING WAS RELEASED IN 2004.

THE GIG IN PORTO ALEGRE OPENS THE BRAZILIAN TOUR.  ON THE SETLIST, SOWING THE SEEDS OF LOVE, PALE SHELTER, WOMAN IN CHAINS AND ADVICE FOR THE YOUNG AT HEART ARE VERY LIKELY TO BE PLAYED AS THEY WERE IN LIMA (PERU), WHERE TFF PLAYED LAST WEEK, SMITH SPOKE ON THE PHONE TO ZH.

ZH – AFTER 15 YEARS SINCE THE LAST TIME TFF PLAYED IN BRAZIL, YOU GUYS ARE COMING BACK TO PLAY CITIES YOU’VE NEVER BEEN BEFORE. WHAT’S YOUR EXPECTATIONS AND WHAT SHOULD tHE AUDIENCE EXPECT?

CURT SMITH – I’M REALLY ANXIOUS AND I HOPE THEY’RE GONNA BE GOOD GIGS, ESPECIALLY FOR THE REACTIONS WE’VE BEEN SEEING ON THE INTERNET. IT’S ALWAYS GREAT TO PLAY PLACES WHERE WE’VE NEVER BEEN BEFORE. RECENTLY, WE MADE A CONSCIOUS CHOICE OF THE PLACES WE’RE GOING TO PLAY AND NO ONE PUT US UNDER ANY KIND OF PRESSURE. FOR THIS TOUR, WE DECIDED TO MIX OUR MOST WELL-KNOWN SONGS WITH MORE STRUCTURED VERSIONS OF OTHERS.

ZH – WHAT DO YOU RECALL FROM THE CONCERTS YOU’VE PLAYED HERE BEFORE?

SMITH – I RECALL IT WAS A BIT CRAZY. I REMEMBER ONE RIO DE JANEIRO GIG (HOLLYWOOD ROCK, IN 1990) WHEN THERE WAS THIS MASSIVE STORM. ALL THE MUSICIANS AND THE CREW WERE REALLY SCARED OF BEING ELECTROCUTED AND WE HAD TO RUSH THE CONCERT A LITTLE BIT. BUT WE LIKED IT A LOT AND THE AUDIENCE WAS VERY RECEPTIVE.

ZH – WITH TEARS FOR FEARS ON TOUR IS IT SAFE TO SAY THAT IT INSPIRES YOU TO COMPOSE NEW SONGS?

SMITH – YEAH. ACTUALLY, WE ALREADY WROTE A FEW, BUT WE STILL DON’T HAVE ENOUGH MATERIAL TO RECORD ANYTHING. WHEN WE FINISH THE SOUTH AMERICAN TOUR, WE’RE GONNA START WORKING ON IT. I BELIEVE WE COULD PROBABLY FINISH A NEW ALBUM NEXT YEAR.

ZH – YOU’RE VERY KEEN ON SOCIAL NETWORKS, LIKE FACEBOOK AND TWITTER (@CURTSMITH), AND YOU ALSO PRESENT A LIVE MUSIC WEB SERIES (STRIPPED DOWN LIVE WITH CURT SMITH). DO YOU THINK THAT THE INTERNET CHANGED THE WAY YOU MAKE MUSIC?

SMITH – I BELIEVE IT DID, QUITE A LOT, AND IT ALSO HELPED ME TO FIND OUT HOW TO KEEP BEING AN ARTIST. IT BASICALLY STARTED WHEN I WAS LOOKING FOR A MUSICIAN. I FOUND THIS CELLO PLAYER (ZOË KEATING) THROUGH TWITTER, LISTENED TO HER MUSIC AND THEN INVITED HER TO RECORD A TRACK WITH ME. WE DID ‘ALL IS LOVE’ WITHOUT EVEN MEETING EACH OTHER IN PERSON. IT WAS A FUN EXPERIENCE, AND I INTEND TO DO IT AGAIN.

ZH – TALKING ABOUT TWITTER, BEFORE GOING TO LIMA, YOU WERE TWEETING ON MANCHESTER UNITED’S MATCH FOR THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE (CURT IS A VERY ENTHUSIASTIC SUPPORTER OF THE TEAM). DO YOU LIKE BRAZILIAN FOOTBALL AS WELL?

SMITH –WE’RE MORE RELAXED… (FRANKLY) NOW, WE KNOW WHAT WE REALLY WANT AND WE DON’T NEED TO QUESTION OTHER PEOPLE. QUITE HONESTLY, WE DO WHATEVER WE WANT TO DO WHEN IT COMES TO OUR RECORD COMPANIES, AND IT MAKES EVERYTHING EASIER FOR US.

–END OF INTERVIEW–

again, many thanks to Karina for her help. If anyone has any comments or questions (about the translation) please leave a reply.

*A gentle reminder, this is a fan generated blog. For official answers from the band please contact them directly using the resources found on Curt’s page. Contact (@curtsmith) on Twitter or Facebook. Curt also has a website: www.curtsmithofficial.com