Fresno

A Brazilian emo pop/rock outfit hailing from Porto Alegre, Fresno were formed by school friends Leandro "Nego" Pereira (vocals) Lucas "Paraiba" Silveira (guitars), Gutavo "Vavo" Mantovani (guitars), and Pedro "Cuper" Cupertino (drums) in 1999. Bassist Bruno "Lezo" Teixeira joined soon after, and the five-piece was up and running. Their first demo EP, 2001's O Acaso do Erro, marked the beginning of their recording career, but turned out to be the end of the road for Pereira, who called it a day, with Silveira taking over on vocals. The band released its first album, Quarto dos Livros, in 2003, which was quickly followed by 2004's O Rio a Cidade a Arvore. Following the release of their third album, Ciano, bassist Bruno "Lezo" Teixeira left the group, and the band recruited Abril bassist Rodrigo Tavares to fill the empty roster slot. Fresno released the live album MTV Ao Vivio and won Best New Artist at the MTV Brazil Awards in 2007. The following year Fresno unleashed album number four, Redenção, which also turned out to be the last Fresno album to feature the talents of drummer Pedro Cupertino. He was soon replaced by Rodrigo "Bell" Ruschell. ~ Chris True