Magnetico Shines on Songs About the World
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Outsider Vocals has recently featured a few rock artists; including psych-rocker Derek Jordan (Derek Jordan – Humanist Review).
This time around is the band Magnetico, lead by Rafael Moreira. Both they and he are a popular artists, yet relatively unknown at the same time. The bio below will help explain exactly what that means.
Here is the rundown on what Magnetico offers:
Magnetico is fronted by lead vocalist and Gibson-endorsed guitarist Rafael (pronounced Hafael) Moreira, who began performing at age 6 in Brazil. Since then, he has performed as lead guitarist/backing vocalist with some of music’s most recognized artists, including Paul Stanley (KISS), P!nk, Don Felder (The Eagles), Christina Aguilera, Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), Stevie Wonder, Dave Navarro, Marc Anthony, Tommy Lee, Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge and international stars Vasco Rossi and Utada. Recognized for his virtuosity on guitar, Rafael gained his broad fan base while appearing in the House Band for CBS’s Rock Star: INXS and Rock Star: Supernova.
Rafael has [had] appearances on major television shows throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. Notable television appearances include Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Good Morning America. Rafael also gained national attention for his performances on American Idol’s “Rock Week” 2009, The American Music Awards, MTV’s Rock the Cradle and the 2009 ESPY Awards on ESPN (where he was featured on slide guitar with Wyclef Jean). Rafael also joined other renowned guitarists Joe Satriani, Steve Luthaker and Richie Kotzen to judge The Guitar Hero Competition.
Magnetico likes to experiment (live and in studio) with different professional musicians so that each person can contribute their own talents to Magnetico’s continuously evolving sound. Contributing musicians have also played with Whitesnake, Foreigner, Thin Lizzy, Five For Fighting, Missing Persons and Ringo Starr.
Judging by that bio, this band seems to scream mainstream. However, I’m willing to bet that the majority of you have never heard a thing about them.
While a lot of unknown bands are unknown for a reason (instrumental proficiency – or lack thereof – being one cause) Magnetico is not one of those at fault. One listen/watch of the video embedded below for ‘The Emperor’ will prove that.
Unlike some of the rock bands I have come to find intolerable (Staind, Godsmack, and Korn being three of them – just those names might be enough to make some of your shudder), Magnetico keeps their songs reasonably fast-paced. This is a both welcome and smart move in my part, as I find listening to those three aforementioned bands akin to trudging through wet cement.
‘Nothingness’ has an Alice in Chains/Stone Temple Pilots sound to it and ‘Avalance’ also keeps the album going full steam ahead as well. Vocally, if you took equal parts Scott Weiland, Chris Cornell, and Layne Staley and mashed them together, you’d end up with Rafael. Not bad, right?
With the right kind of exposure (such as a slot at the weekend festival I will be at on May 22nd and 23rd – Rock on the Range, in Columbus, Ohio) these guys could definitely break into the spotlight. They are too talented to be delegated strictly to late-night tv show gigs. Sorry, Jay.
Pick up your copy of Songs About the World and find out what I mean. Just make sure your 7 year-old doesn’t see the title of track #10, or you might have some ‘splainin to do, as Ricky Ricardo would put it (cue to click on one of the links located below).
Here is a sample of what the music you’ll find on that page has to offer. Rather than going into a song by song breakdown, this will be a bit more efficient on all levels:
For more information, visit http://www.magneticomusic.com, and the Magnetico MySpace Page.
All photos, music, and videos copyright of their respective owners. Used only for promotional purposes and to gain notoriety for the artists featured.
