Band : Area 313
Origin : Cuba
Genre :Progressive Rock
AREA 313 is formed in Holguín, Cuba, in beginning of May, 2003, by four former members of UNDERSIGHT, a highly recognized band within the Cuban rock –already extinct. Under the leadership of the keyboardist Marcel Soca, who decides to make this industrial rock project, counting with the experience given by their former band and moving in grounds with very few referents in the national territory, the original line-up was made by José Alfredo “Bonkó” González (lead vox), Jimmy Parra Morales (guitar and backing vox), Rafael López Leyva (drums) and Marcel Soca (keyboards, samples and programming). With barely a year of existence, they recorded a promo CD and a video clip with the track “Show Me What You Got”, which won the City Awards 2004 on the category of Audiovisuals, a fact that illustrates clearly the importance they give to the promotion and spreading of their music. Later on, the band loses Jimmy and Rafael, being in the need of using other players to appear in the TV program Cuerda Viva, in December, 2005. In the early days of January, 2006, the band renews with the entry of three former members of a little project named NEEDLE, Fabián “el Moro” Rodríguez (guitar and backing vox), Luis Raúl Vargas “el Negro” (bass), and a great percussionist from the East of Cuba, Ricardo Arencibia (drums). With a new musical style and changes in the sonority, playing some kind of progressive industrial rock very close to grunge and influenced by TOOL, ALICE IN CHAINS, DREAM THEATER, NINE INCH NAILS, DEFTONES, DEPECHE MODE, etc., they succeed on inserting a different sound in the rock spectrum of the city. In the very 2006, AREA 313 is nominated to the Cuerda Viva Awards on two categories: Best light rock demo and Best new band, together with bands already established, such as TENDENCIA, ZEUS, ESCAPE, HIPNOSIS, SOCIEDAD HAVANA BLUES, TENAZ, CHLOVER, HABORYM MASTEMA, JEFFREY DAHMER, AZOTOBACTER y MEPHISTO. The sole nomination took them into a big step within the Cuban metal. A few months later they release a demo entitled “A Shot In The Dark”, with a great success among the followers on gigs. By the end of August, 2006, AREA 313 starts the production of their second video clip, filmed at the famous Plaza de la Marqueta on the historical region of the city of Holguín, a project that could not be fulfilled due to budget reasons. In September of the same year they were invited to play in Las Tunas, a city with a large amount of heavy metal fans, sharing the stage with the locals PROTESIS. It was not an easy business to face that kind of audience; however, the tracks from “A Shot In The Dark” were well received by the metalheads, as well as the older songs. That same week, AREA 313 played in their home grounds on the framework of the Rock Festival Metal HG, displaying more comfortably the great work and progress of the band, also gaining a big amount of fans from the skate movement of the city and even from people unaware of rock. The year 2006 was a very productive year for the band, having to face however the loss of an important part of the rhythmic base. Raúl “el Negro” had to leave the band because of job plans outside the country. Those were hard times for AREA 313. A few months later, the vacant was filled with one of the followers. Yair Rodríguez “Yiro” assumes the bass since the beginning of April, 2007, being his debut during the May Pilgrimages of that year. In August, AREA 313 appears on the national TV network again, being interviewed in the program Para tocar el cielo, and in the corresponding edition of Metal HG they show to the audience a new facet in their work, including lyrics in Spanish and changes in most of their songs, pointing to a more commercial variant within their line. In May, 2008, AREA 313 is invited to the TV program Piso 6, and two weeks later they opened the Rock Festival Sonidos de la Ciudad, made in Camagüey. They are currently into the recording process of their third demo and finishing projects that will be son on the air…
Contact/ links
Myspace
http://www.myspace.com/area313
Reverbnation
https://www.reverbnation.com/area313
Myspace
http://www.myspace.com/area313
Reverbnation
https://www.reverbnation.com/area313