Los Saicos
| Los Saicos | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Lima, Peru |
| Genres | Garage rock, protopunk, surf rock, punk rock |
| Years active | 1964–1966, 2006–2011, 2013–present |
| Labels | DisPerú, El Virrey, Electro Harmonix, Repsycheld Records, DINSA, MCA |
| Associated acts | Los Yorks |
| Past members | Erwin Flores (voice and guitar) Rolando "El Chino" Carpio (guitar) César "Papi" Castrillón (voice and bass) Francisco "Pancho" Guevara (drums and voice) |
Los Saicos is a garage rock band formed in 1964 in Lima, Peru, who have become recognized as global pioneers in punk rock. In a short amount of time during the 1960s, they became one of the most successful groups in their own country, fashioning a unique surf-influenced garage sound, that would anticipate certain aspects of the later punk rock movement of the 70s. In addition to composing their own songs, written by band members Erwin Flores and Rolando Carpio, they are sometimes mentioned as the first South American band to record exclusively their own material. They released six singles between 1965 and 1966, of which the best known are "Demolición", "Fugitivo de Alcatraz" and "El Entierro de los Gatos", which have become anthems in Peruvian rock and, over time, have led to the recognition of the band worldwide. Though they broke up in 1966, Los Saicos re-united in 2006, and have since continued to play occasional venues.
The band was formed in the middle class Lince district of Lima in 1964 by guitarist and vocalist, Erwin Flores and drummer, Francisco Guevara, who were just out of high school. They asked Roland "El Chino" Carpio, previously of the group Los Steivos to join them on lead guitar and also invited César "Papi" Castrillón, whom they taught to play bass. The band attempted to find a lead singer, and they auditioned several, but none proved satisfactory. So, they decided to have Erwin Flores and "Papi" Castrillón swap on lead vocals, with Flores singing the more rocking numbers in his rough, guttural voice and Castrillón handling the more melodic songs. Initially the name of their band was "Los Sadicos," however, perhaps to avoid being banned for suggesting sadism, they dropped the letter "d" from the name, resulting in "Los Saicos." They liked the way the new name suggested not only the popular battery-powered Seiko watch, but also the title of the famous Alfred Hitchcock thriller, Psycho.
The band began by playing mostly local venues. On one occasion they played to a packed crowd as one of the acts on the bill of a show being held at the Tauro Cinema, in which they caught the attention of some of the numerous journalists and music industry executives attending the Association of Music Journalists in Peru, being held at that time in Lima, who were present. In early 1965, they appeared on the popular TV Show, El Show del Diana on Channel 9. They were chosen as "best of the week" and received a recording contract with the DisPerú label. The first single that they released for the label featured the songs, "Come On" and "Ana."
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