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AboutEverything began back in 1996 in Lisbon . João, David and Hugo went to the same school and they soon discovered that they had a lot in common, both musically and sportswise, since they all skated and surfed. Their favourite bands were Pennywise, Descendents, NOFX, Bad Religion or Millencolin. And a short time after they met, they had already decided to set up a punk rock band, which they called FONZIE . The name was taken from a TV soap opera they all liked at the time called "Happy Days".

In May 1997, Daniel joined the FONZIE to play bass and, after a few months of rehearsing and song writing, the first promo tape ("Bring me up") saw the light of day. Consisting of 4 songs, this first recording by the FONZIE soon caught the attention and fancy of many, and one in particular, the Ataque Sonoro publisher, invited the band to record a CD compiling all the material that the FONZIE had written until then. It was also at this time that the FONZIE changed bassist, with Jorge replacing Daniel.

Then, in May 1998, the FONZIE entered the Êxito studio in Lisbon and recorded a promo CD with 10 songs, a record they called "The Melo Pot". This first recording was a success and rapidly sold every copy, earning the band excellent reviews from all over the world. The period that followed was filled with concert after concert, many of which to sold-out audiences at the Ritz Club.

Two years later, and with a lot more experience and savvy, the FONZIE decided, once again, to change bassist, with Miguel taking the place of Jorge. And, in 2001, they took a giant step by travelling to Sweden to record their first album produced by Pelle Saether, famous for producing the records of bands on the Burning Heart/Epitaph label. "Built to Rock", that's what the eagerly awaited record was called, included special guest Ingemar Janson, lead singer of the No Fun At All. At about the same time, the FONZIE won an international competition promoted by the Swedish group, Millencolin, to elect the best Millencolin Cover Song, which opened many doors for them.

"Built to Rock" caught the attention of several publishers and agents from around the world, leading the FONZIE to sign, in 2002, with the US label, Jumpstart Records, followed by a contract with the Portuguese company Movieplay, the South African Barulho Records, the Japanese ULF Records, Godschild Records in Hong Kong and the Punk Nation from Belgium (Mons) .

"Built to Rock" was released in Portugal in April of that year. "Rock my Heart", Drive my vespa to the movies, I miss ya and Secret spot were the songs released as promotional singles. The video clips were made by the band itself, a remarkable fact, by today's standards! Summer was right around the corner, as were the Music Festivals. The FONZIE gave a lesson in punk rock on the Deconstruction Tour and at a number of national music festivals such as Sudoeste, Ilha do Ermal and Carviçais Rock where they performed next to such bands as Nickelback, Soulfly, Slipknot, The All-American Rejects, Therapy, among others.

Thanks to the distribution of "Built to Rock" in a number of record markets, the FONZIE embarked on a world tour which in 2002 took them to the US and then, in 2003, to Brazil, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. At the end of the tour, the band replaced their bass player yet again: out Miguel, in Carlos.

When they returned to Portugal, the FONZIE were greeted by the news of their having been nominated for the European Music Awards - MTV , in the category of Best Portuguese Act, a prize created for the first time in the 10-year life of MTV to honour outstanding Portuguese performers on the Portuguese music scene.

Until the end of 2003, the FONZIE holed up in the recording studio preparing the successor to "Built to Rock". And since you never change a winning team, the band went back to Sweden to record "WAKE UP CALL" with producer Pelle Saether, whose credits include, among others, the Hives, No Fun At All, International Noise Conspiracy and Millencolin whose lead singer, Nikola Sarcevic, agreed to participate in one of the songs on "WAKE UP CALL"!

In November, the FONZIE accepted an invitation from the cable TV programme, Sol Música, to perform at the Lisbon Hard Rock Cafe for the "Hard Rock Café Live" TV show, and made good use of the opportunity to play, for the first time live, some of their new material from "WAKE UP CALL", including ""GOTTA GET AWAY"", the album's lead single.

In January 2004, the FONZIE once again packed their bags and left for Los Angeles to shoot the video for ""GOTTA GET AWAY"". Unlike what had happened before, this time the band invited producer Darren Doane (Deftones, Blink 182, Pennywise, Thursday and many others) to do the first video for "WAKE UP CALL". The result was an entertaining video that tells the story of how a group of FONZIE fans kidnap the band, taking it from the mainstream scenario where it is recording the video to an underground scenario. Keep it punk videos, FONZIE !

Taking advantage of their stay in L.A., the FONZIE did a photo shoot to promote "WAKE UP CALL" with photographer, Joanne Smetts better know for working with Incubus in the album Morning View.

FONZIE are now ready to rock the world with "WAKE UP CALL" !!!In Europe by Punk Nation Records , In Japan by ULF/Bullion ,In Brasil by Highlightsounds Records, In Australia by Get up records and In Usa,Mexico and Canada by Megaforce Records ,The Legendary record Company that released Metallica's "Kill 'Em All" & "Ride The Lightning", Anthrax's "Among the Living" & "Persistence of Time", Overkill's "Under the Influence" Testament's "New Order" & "Practice What You Preach.


[From their official site]




The FONZIE are:

Hugo Maia - Vocals and Guitar
João Marques - Drums
Carlos Teixeira - Bass and Backing vocals
David Marques - Lead Guitar

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