I cannot imagine how Alejandro Larrandaburu felt to be up there on stage, fronting our Roaring Lion band, three weeks into making a life in Australia — from Uruguay — second time around. He spoke to the crowd at the Koala Tavern in Redlands, and said:
I would like to thank each and everyone of my Roaring Lion family, and you as well. This is my very first show in Australia. I am very happy and grateful.
There were murmurs of understanding followed by whistles and whoops, and as we started up the next song, everyone in the room was really with Ale, and with us. It felt great!
Preparation had been frantic. We are spread out between Brisbane, Gold Coast and Scenic Rim, and with work and kids and then finding an available studio at short notice (zero) or any other space which will allow noise. We ended up one weeknight in a Slacks Creek work space (Brisbane) and one Saturday morning in a park at Marine Parade (Gold Coast). Not very good images but you get the idea. It’s just a blog, yea?
Our interpretations of Bob Marley songs are often different from Ale’s. Maui is our musical director and lead guitarist, and he mashes quite a few songs together to save time and enable us to deliver the widest representation of Bob’s music as possible. So in rehearsal Ale was often caught out. “Oh, we end it just like that!” He would say, as we brutally transitioned to the next song without stopping. His homework was huge.
On the night he got his revenge! Up on stage Ale sometimes got carried away. He’s a seasoned musician leading his own band for some twenty years in Uruguay, and we had to wing it to follow his lead. Woo hoo! It was fun. Mostly…😅
The night was a triumph for everyone: the audience, the band, the venue and of course for Ale.
Below is a video from the audience (thank you Gwyn!) Now we will work on the June shows. Bye ❤️ Here are other posts about Roaring Lion.
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