NEW YORK (AP) — The band Måneskin together on a snakeskin-upholstered couch in a New York hotel exudes an infectious euphoria.
They’re coming off a surprise midday concert in Times Square, and they just found out that their Madison Square Garden show later in the week is sold out.
Pleasantly surprised, vocalist Damiano David said the news was “very special.”
“It’s one of the biggest places you can dream of performing,” he said.
That concert, Thursday night, will kick off the North American leg of their Rush! world tour. which began earlier this year.
At a time when rock bands seem to be in danger of extinction and most of the genre’s stars come from the previous millennium, Måneskin has become something of an anomaly.
The Italian quartet, which rose to fame in 2021 after an unexpected victory in the Eurovision Song Contest with its energetic rock anthem, “Zitti E Buoni”, seems to revive rock, or at least give it a breath of hope.
Bassist Victoria De Angelis says it was never intentional. Instead, the band was born out of “pure passion” between four friends who met in high school.
“I think for us this thing about making rock arose because we were very young,” he said.
They simply wanted to make music, without having the notion of breaking into the music business as a rock proposition.
“We grew up listening to the music our parents made. And then, when we started playing our instruments with our teachers and discovering rock and all the bands from the past. It’s something that really shaped us to be who we are today,” De Angelis said.
That osmosis with classic rock is present throughout the band. Guitarist Thomas Raggi knew he wanted to play rock after hearing what Jimi Hendrix could do with a Stratocaster.
“I want to revive the figure of the legendary guitarist a little,” Raggi said.
Drummer Ethan Torchio shares that sentiment and says his style is different, although influenced by ’70s and ’80s rock. “I just try to be modern and vintage at the same time,” he said.
Now, with three studio albums under their belt, the young rockers (David is the oldest at 24) are becoming a global phenomenon. As the band’s popularity continues to rise, De Angelis says that fame doesn’t affect her, but instead sees it as “a great adventure that we can share with each other.”
“I think we’re lucky because we met when we were really young, so our personalities basically developed together and we had this crazy experience together that made the bond between us even closer,” De Angelis said.
Although they can easily be confused with glam rockers from another era, due to their fashion and their anthems like “I Wanna Be Your Slave” or “Supermodel”, there is a strong sensuality in their music that goes back to that forbidden appeal of the early days of the rock ‘n’ roll with intimacy “turned up to 11” during their concerts. The band has amassed a global following led by its charismatic vocalist.
David attributes that vibe to the days when they played on the streets of Rome as teenagers.
“We had to get people’s attention. Then we saw that interacting and getting closer is something that really works,” David said.
That carried over to their live show where they often get closer to the audience. They have also brought fans to the stage.
“We try to find ways to get closer to people because you can really feel the energy. Plus, you can touch and see their faces and make them sing… it’s just sharing a fun moment for us,” David said.
The relationship between the band and the audience intensified during their South American dates, where the band was exposed to some of the most energetic audiences.
“People go crazy, they sing the lyrics all the time. They really scream at the top of their lungs. They slam. They surf en masse. It’s like maximum energy,” De Angelis said.
But as their fans continue to grow, along with the size of the forums they perform on, David admits that success comes with some challenges.
“It brings more fans, of course, and things like that, but it brings more enemies, more criticism and more expectations.”
But the band continues to resist.
“Very often, the public wants artists to always be the same. But I think it’s very, very unhealthy. That’s why it’s important to have the courage to continually experiment and change no matter what people are going to think,” David said.
2023-09-21 16:30:00
#Måneskin #continues #breathe #life #rock #Madison #Square #Garden
