Wednesday, April 01, 2009
by Ahrue Luster
We’re all very excited about the Russian shows since Ill Niño has never been there before. We’ve already heard from Jeff, the guitarist of Devil Driver that the crowds are amazing but travel and accommodations are going to be some of the worst that we’ll ever experience. I think we’re all confident that the shows will make up for it. Jeff was telling Diego that there would be an 11-hour train ride from Moscow to St. Petersburg. It’ll be hot, there won’t be any air conditioning in the train, the windows don’t open and nearly everyone chain smokes. Dave, Diego and I are non-smokers so I don’t think we’ll be enjoying the ride so much.
Russia is going through a transformation period right now. After the fall of communism and the rise of capitalism, the Russian economy went through a major crisis. Millions of people were plunged into poverty. Control of business went from state agencies to violent criminals with inside connections in government. These connections were made through assassinations and extortion. Corruption of government ran rampant. This was coupled with social unrest. Social services collapsed and the birthrate plummeted while the death rate skyrocketed. Things are gradually getting better but at this moment there is still extreme lawlessness. Criminal gangs and organized crime flourishes while murders and other violent crimes spiral out of control.
Before I left the States, my father had also told me about the new rising threat of Russian Nazi Skinhead gangs, who go around and brutally beat, stab and kill non-whites who’ve migrated to Russia from other countries. I checked out a few video news pieces about them on YouTube and sent the links to my bandmates. The ironic thing is that, in World War II, Nazi bullets killed more Russians than any other group of people. I guess that tells you something about the gang’s mentality. With all that said, I still want to do a little sightseeing while we are there. I love history and would really like to see Red Square and the Kremlin. Diego studied political science in college and soon after became an advocate for socialism, so he’d love to see that stuff, too.
The promoter informed us that, for our own safety, they will have to assign us armed security in order for us to do any sightseeing. Normally a band at our level doesn’t require, nor can afford, armed security, but there are some cases where it’s called for, such as this, and, for example, when we play in Central and South America.
South America is a mixture of extreme beauty and extreme ugliness. These polar opposite, in my opinion, are what give birth to so much passionate music, art and culture. The continent is sprinkled with relics and architecture influenced by the historic connection with Spain and Portugal, as well as that of the Pre-Colombian civilizations such as the Mayans and Incas. There are amazing natural wonders, vibrant and colorful cities, and breathtaking landscapes. However, the gap between the rich and the poor is larger in South America than on most other continents. This can be seen in many large South American cities where makeshift shantytowns lie adjacent to skyscrapers and upper-class luxury apartments. This huge gap between the “haves and the have-nots” is considered one of the major causes of crime in Latin America. Crime is becoming the biggest problem in Latin America. They are caught in a vicious circle, where economic growth is thwarted by high crime rates, and insufficient economic opportunity contributes to more crime. In most major cities, armed criminal gangs outnumber the police, so the military has to be called in to assist in battling drug lords and violent criminals. Citizens sometimes seek protection from criminal gangs because in some cases these gangs are more powerful than government.
Ill Niño does very well in all Spanish-speaking countries, especially those of South America, where we play to crowds that are from 2,000 to 4,000 people and sometimes more. Once, we headlined a festival in Mexico City called “Viva Latino,” which was held at a giant soccer stadium. That night, we played in front of seventy thousand people. The performance was broadcasted live to every Spanish-speaking country around the world, as well.
We’ve done record signing sessions in South American record stores that last for four hours or more, with lines of over a thousand people waiting to get signatures and meet us. In instances like this, the promoter will usually provide some sort of military police to make sure things don’t get out of control.
One time after a signing in a record store in a mall somewhere in Mexico City, I wanted to take a walk through the mall with the beautiful woman who would be my wife, Xylia. This was around the time that we had just started dating, so we were both “drunk” with love and infatuation. She happened to be visiting me while I was in Mexico City since we could barely be apart. As we started walking, a representative for our record label in South America stopped us and told us that we needed to be escorted by a security guard. So … we slowly strolled through the mall with our hands romantically interlocked, and about six steps behind us was a stone-faced military guard, dressed in fatigues and wielding a machine gun.
We played a show in Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuela is stunningly beautiful with lush tropical mountains and valleys, but also is one of the poorest and most volatile countries in South America. Venezuela is where our singer Christian grew up before moving to the States in his early teens. It was a special show for him since it was the first time Ill Niño was to play Venezuela. The show started out great, the fans were amazing, but there was one element that didn’t sit right with me during the entire show. And that was the fact that on either side of the stage, there was a military guard holding a shotgun. They were posted there for crowd control reasons. It’s a little different when you see these guys in Venezuela holding guns, than it is seeing military personnel in the States holding guns. When these guys are holding guns and you see the look in their eyes, you get the feeling that they’ve used them, that they’ve probably taken human lives.
The crowds at shows like this are usually pretty excitable and wild. During the show, my main worry was that some over-excited fan would try to climb up on the stage, to stage dive; the security would mistake his enthusiasm as a possible threat to the band and take the fan down with his shotgun. Our tour manager, Benjie, already had a meeting with the guards, and explained to them that the crowd was probably going to get pretty rowdy, climb on stage and stage dive, but that the band is ok with that. Even though the guards were briefed, I still couldn’t get the thought of what could happen out of my head. I knew that if the unlikely scenario actually played out, and a fan were to be killed by a military guard, a massive riot would have ensued, injuring and possibly killing more fans, guards and possibly band and crew members. I knew that the odds of that happening were very slim, but I was thinking of the possibility, nonetheless.
The show ended up being a great one, with little problems. The only thing that went wrong was a stage power issue due to faulty Third-World wiring, and that some of our belongings were stolen out of our dressing room while we were on stage.
It’s also very hard to find promoters who you can trust in South America. In the U.S., Europe, Australia or Japan, a promoter will give us a 20 percent deposit that goes towards our guarantee before we even arrive to play the show, and then we’ll receive the rest of the payment after the show has been played. Sometimes it won’t be ᾿til days later that we receive the remainder of our money because we’ve built a relationship and trust with that particular promoter over many years.
South America is more like the Wild West. There are new promoters all of the time. There are power struggles between existing promoters that sometimes lead to violence, kidnapping or even murder. I had a conversation with a member of another band who was scheduled to do a South American tour. When they arrived in South America the promoter representative met them at the airport and told them that the tour had been canceled because the promoter had been kidnapped. The promoter rep, who was also the brother of the promoter, was mailed the finger of the promoter as proof that he was being held. So…., need I say, in South America, we will demand a 50 percent deposit and the remainder to be transferred into our account by the time we arrive to play the show.
Here’s an example of the type of situation a band might find itself in with a South American promoter. This is actually what happened to us in Santiago, Chile. The show was at a venue that holds about 2500 people. It was sold out in advance and stuffed to the gills. We were sure it was packed well over capacity but of course the promoter was trying to tell us that he didn’t go over capacity so he wouldn’t have to share the extra money with us. The promoter was telling us that the rest of our guarantee would be in our account shortly; he had been saying this all day long. About half an hour before we were supposed to go on stage, the promoter said he had confirmation that the money had been transferred into our bank account. He thought that because we had our minds on the show at that point, we wouldn’t be as concerned about the money and we would play the show without getting paid.
Our manager Dave, who is also the Ill Niño’s drummer and who is ALWAYS thinking about the money …and is from Peru, called our bank. Our bank said that there had been no such transaction. So Dave told the promoter, in Spanish, that we were not going to set one foot on that stage until all of the money was in our account, and if we don’t go on stage, he will have a major riot on his hands. Some of these people saved their salary for months to be able to see this show, so they wouldn’t have been too happy if for some reason the show didn’t happen. It’s not like it is in America where the fans can just get a refund – the promoter would have taken the money and skipped town.
Five minutes before we were supposed to go on stage we finally received confirmation that the wire transfer went through. It was a little weird to go from a situation like that into entertainer mode within five minutes, but this was the first show of Ill Niño’s first-ever South American tour. The fans had been eagerly awaiting this day, this moment for years … and so had we. I actually think the situation only added to our already heightened adrenalin levels. This would end up being one of the most memorable shows Ill Niño has ever played.
Little things in the world bring me a greater feeling of satisfaction than to be able to bring our show to the people in the world that are less fortunate than us – to people who live in poverty, oppression, have suffered abuse or have had to see the horrors of extreme violence or war. These shows are the most special and the most rewarding to me. I know that we’re not making their living conditions any better, nor are we providing food, shelter, medical aid or protection to these people. But, when the kids in the audience look on stage and see other people who have come from similar backgrounds, from places like Venezuela, Peru and Brazil, and that have made it out of the “vicious circle”, when they hear and see the passion in the music that we’re playing, not only does it take them away from their problems for the hour or more that we’re on stage but, more importantly, it gives them ability to dream and it gives them hope. To me this is the most important kind of nourishment; this is nourishment for the soul.
So when I look at the Russian dates on our itinerary, I can’t help but think of the many times we’ve done shows like this in the past and how special those shows usually end up being. I know that the travel arrangements and accommodations are going to be rough, and there will be an element of danger, but we feel honored and privileged to have the opportunity to give our very best performance for our Russian fans. They deserve nothing less.
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