Biography
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Years Active
1991 – present (33 years)
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Members
- Andrea Moretti
- Marco Masoni
- Matteo Amoroso
- Salvo Lazzara
GERMINALE is a band from Pisa, the city of the leaning tower in Tuscany (Italy); it was born in 1991 as a cover band, playing famous songs of Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Genesis (a complete version of "Supper's Ready" from "Foxtrot"!).
First line-up was formed by three kids from the same high school: Marco Masoni (voice; bass, acoustic guitars), Saverio Barsali (electric and classical guitar), Gabriele Guidi (Keyboards) and two Marco's old friends: Alessandro Toniolo (flute, voice) and Matteo Amoroso (drums).
Successively the drummer decided, because of his musical taste and lack of time, to play only with his metal band (prog-metal at the moment) "Athena" ; in spite of that he helped the band in concerts, sometimes playing together with another drummer.
In January 1993, when Gabriele found a "permanent" drummer in the jazz- player David Vecchioni, the band decided to make a record out of the music they created in 1992; after a month and a half in a studio the result was "Germinale" (Mellow Records - MMP 214), the first CD published in June 1994 by Mauro Moroni (a collector of progressive music from the whole world) and Ciro Perrino (famous new-age musician) for the Mellow Records in Sanremo (Im). Principal tracks: "Il Mago", "Soffi Sonori", "La Strega", "Germinale". Even if the band was at its first chance and practically unknown, the record had good results of sale and reviews in France, Canada, Japan, Korea, U.S.A. and Italy.
On Summer 1993 GERMINALE took part of several contest and Music Festivals in Tuscany and some .selection was won.
After other concerts and projects, Mario Giammetti, the maker of "DUSK - The Italian Genesis Magazine", contacted the band asking a song for a tribute album to the legendary english band. The result was "The Knife", a song from "Trespass" (1970) that the band already played live (a little faster, with a piano piece in the central part, a flute part from "Firth of Fifth" and Frank Zappa's voice!). The song was published in May 1995 in the double CD "The River of Constant Change - A Tribute to Genesis" (Mellow Records - MMP 270 A/B). This record had a great international result of sales (it was reissued) and reviews.
In January 1995, after some problems of line-up (the guitarist stopped playing and the keyboard player changed genre) two new members arrived: Andrea Moretti (keyboards) and Salvo Lazzara (electric guitar). With this new creative lymph the band made the 3/4 of the new album.
In June 1995 Mauro Moroni, the Mellow boss, and Stefano Covili from the magazine "Melodie e Dissonanze" asked the band to take part in another tribute album, this time for Van Der Graaf Generator.
So the band recorded in July at the great "Studiolab" in Cascina (PI) by Sergio Taglioni "Meurglys III (The Songwriter's Guild)", a song taken from "World Record" (1975) the 6th LP played by Peter Hammill's group. The song has been published in December l995 in the double CD "Eye-witness - A Tribute To VdGG" (Mellow Records - MMP 279A/B).
In September the band came back in studio to record its new things and the result was "…e il suo respiro ancora agita le onde…" ("…and his breathing is still moving the waves…"), another Mellow Records issue - MMP285 - which has been published in March 1996. In this new record there is a lot of genres and sounds, acoustic pieces, dissonances, pop, jazz., hard-rock and folk influences, classical and acid-jazz suggestions. Everything is melted up by a common root: five guys. with an age from 22 to 26, spell bounded by passion for music.
If some track have to be chosen, we'll take "Malcreanza" with a cross-over of styles and strange lyrics "Le Onde, respiro del mare", the song from which is taken the title of the album, with its first part very "Crimsonian" and a more relaxed second one; the lyrics are based on a novel by Reiner Maria Rilke and tells about a struggle, a challenge, the metaphor of fate that invites every human being day by day and the usual, inevitable defeat of one or another. "D'ombra, vapori e sabbia", instrumental with three different moments in evidence with the title (Shadow, steam and sand); "Dioniso Inquieto" a typical pop-song "Avant-grado", with its lyrics inspired by the life of Peter the great, Russian Zar. At the end of the CD, as a bonus-track, is a shorter version of "Meurglys III".
A 64 minutes album that won't probably make the history of rock but surely will stay in mind of people who loves good music. Maybe for this WEA-Italia took interest in it, proposing a great distribution.
GERMINALE will dedicate next months to concerts, interviews, radio and TV shows and maybe… writing some brand new songs.
The line-up:
Salvo Lazzara (Agrigento, 17/1/70): electric guitars, voice.
Marco Masoni (Pisa, 23/2/73): bass, acoustic guitars, mellotron, voice.
Andrea Moretti (Sarzana 28/12/73 ): acoustic piano, keyboards.
Alessandro Toniolo (Pisa, 15/6/71): flute, sax alto, voice.
David Vecchioni (Pisa, 24/9/69): drums, percussion.
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