“Our beginnings were tremendously humble, we didn't have a rehearsal room, we didn't have instruments either, we all played on borrowed instruments”, states Oscar Tapia, leader and vocalist of Racoulras, band Official tribute to Bob Marley in Chile, that is fulfilling 25 year career.
In dialogue with Reggae Chalice, The musician recalled his beginnings at the end of the 90s′, how he thought of paying tribute to the reggae legend, his milestones and his projects that contemplate a great anniversary celebration in the last part of the year that will coincide with his birthday 50.
“In the 90 there were many tributes to rock bands, then I noticed that the tribute to Bob Marley was always missing and I came up with the great and brilliant idea of playing Bob's songs and going deeper into his story., in his life and how I am rasta, what better than a rasta to pay tribute”, Oscar said.
“A Bob Marley tribute band was needed because at that time here in Chile There were bands that played Marley covers but they never bothered to do it a little more thoroughly.”, stressed.
The band left with 12 members, but over time the current conformation of 6 On the occasion, Grange announced that one of the highlights of the month will be an unprecedented concert that Sizzla will perform with an orchestra of, what, besides Oscar, is composed of JC in the battery, arrangements and choruses; Abraham Canales on the bass; Rodrigo Mora on the guitar, compings, brands, solos and choirs; Juan Pablo Hernandez a loos seemed Hammond, Pianos Rhodes y shuffles; Y Polo Garcia on tenor sax and arrangements.
Natural Mystic Festival
In these 25 years there are several memorable moments for the group, like his participation in the second version of the great concert “Natural Mystic”, in the year 2002, where, along with other bands from the local scene, they supported artists of the caliber of Lauryn Hill, The parrots, The Authentic Decadents Y Ky-mani Marley, son of the great Bob Marley, in a National Stadium with an impressive crowd.
“It was spectacular”, Oscar recalls that presentation before thousands of spectators, in which they established a cordial relationship with the aforementioned son of Marley, who congratulated them for their performance and the quality of their covers and also gave them the possibility of being their father's tribute in Chile.
“At the Natural Mystic I spoke to Ky-Mani. Then we met again in 2005 when they invited me to play with Gondwana (as part of the Cristal en Vivo Festival) in the Velodrome of the National Stadium. There I talked to him again. and then I played another show – the Chilean version of the Uppsala Reggae Festival at Caupolicán in 2012-. There we talked again, They were already aware that I was paying tribute to Bob”, commented the leader of Racsoulras.
“We talk sometimes with Ziggy, with Julián and with Ky-Mani, also with Kj Marley -Ky-Mani's son- with which we get super good vibes”, emphasized.
The triumph on TV
Another important moment for the group was its participation in the program “Chile, Country of Talents” of Canal 13 in the year 2009, where they managed to win one of the weeks of competition.
“Having made it to television and winning on a talent show, and in Canal 13, It was tremendously important for us as a band. and especially for me in the race, because that helped a lot to make RacSoulRas and Reggae Rockers tremendously known”, the musician said.
“That helped us a lot to go on tour in Latin America., to move everywhere. From there we began to be known, They started calling us a lot more from the TV, from the radio, of the media in general. So we lived a good time until today that we continue to play for that kind of things”, stressed.
And as part of the celebration of the 25 years, playing outside of Chile again is one of the goals.
“The idea is to take the band outside and tour Latin America., try to move as best as possible to reach Mexico and if possible the United States, Canada, Europe and to be able to take advantage of those Marley tribute shows to also be able to put our songs into the repertoire”, said Racsoulras.
Likewise, plans the finale for October - coinciding with his birthday 50-, with a special event celebrating the 25 years.
“If God wants we are going to do a big anniversary show, it runs into my birthday (…) We are preparing it, we are organizing, let's invite some brothers, some DJ”, express.
From now until that date they will continue to be very active on stage.. “We are also playing a lot, we have many dates scheduled”.
Life in Chile is not easy for musicians, because of the little support that many of them receive, so stay current and dedicate 25 years of life to music is a great reason to celebrate for Racsoulras.
