Street roots., April 10, 2015, Page 8, Image 8

Page 8
News
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Street Roots •
r
d rigo
Amarante
“I am trying to tell a story that
is worth being told,” says the
Brazilian singer-songwriter who
brings his soul-searching
sounds to Portland this month
BY SUE ZALOKAR
STAFF W R IT E R
odrigo Amarante and I weren’t
connecting. He was late in receiving
my call for this interview, followed by ,
an afternoon of phone tag after he tracked
down the number for the Street Roots
office. In fact, I had pretty much written
him off and moved on for the day, when,
after a series of messages, we finally talked.
When I reached him, he was both grateful
and apologetic, saying it isn’t like him to
miss a calL But he had good reason.
H
Amarante - a Brazilian singer-songwriter
and musician living in Los Angeles — was
hacked the day before our conversation and
a week before he left for a tour. Someone
took over his e-mail account and sent out a
pretty convincing version of him that asked
his business manager to transfer all the
money that he had in his business account
to an account somewhere in Ohio. (I
assured him, as an Ohio native, that
although it is round on the ends and high in
the middle, folks from Ohio aren’t all bad).
Amarante was born in Rio de Janeiro. He
is part of the bands Los Hermanos,
Orquestra Imperial and Little Joy. He
released his first solo record “Cavalo” in
Brazil in 2013 and then in the United States
in 2014. His music is tender and honest - a
combination of his Brazilian roots, sonic
complexity and sparsity. His album “Cavalo’’
made NPR’s Bob Boilen’s best albums of
2014, coming in at No. 3.
Amarante will open for Portland’s own,
Neko Case at Revolution Hall as a part of
their grand opening, Saturday, April 18.
Sue Zalokar: Tell me about Butter. (A
small Harmony parlor guitar from the '30s).
Rodrigo Amarante: Oh! How did you
hear about Butter?
S.Z. I watched a Tiny Desk Concert you did
for NPR and you were playing this small
Harmony parlor guitar from the 30s and I
wondered i f it had some personal significance
for you.
R.A. Before I found that guitar, I was
already touring this record. It’s not a guitar
that I have owned for a number of years.
Butter was made in the 1920s. It was a
guitar that was destroyed, pretty much. I
have a friend who has a guitar shop here in
L.A. and what he does is grabs these old
guitars that have been neglected and fixes
them up and puts an electric guitar pickup
on them. This one in particular is an oddball
because it has Japanese, ’60s electric guitar
pickup, but the way (my friend) put it
together it sounds almost like a banjo. No
sustain. It’s very backyard sounding.
It is somewhat a cross with the classical
guitar, because it doesn’t have any sustain
and it sounds dark. But in a different way, it
is nothing like what you would expect a
Latin American to play. It sounds more like
some Kentucky backyard parlor guitar; So, I
thought that was great - another instance
where I can blur a line. It sounded perfect.
It blended all of these elements.
There is something interesting about the
way my record is perceived at first or the ,
tendencies for how it should be marketed or
viewed. I am aware of that confusion. It’s
part of my plan too - artistically, of course.
Commercially, I have no talent.
S.Z. What do you mean?
R.A. Making a record that has three
See AMARANTE, page 9