Difference between revisions of "Divine Sinners"

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m (→‎Selected Videos on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SmV_MLcJrM Such A Lucky dame)
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If anyone ever deserved the term DIY – it’s without doubt the Gozitan rock band, '''Divine Sinners'''.  Consisting of songwriters '''Charles J. Attard''' and '''Frank Buhagiar''' along with percussionist '''Eugene Bajada''' and bass player '''Marvic Vella'''. Divine Sinners always did it themselves – writing, playing, singing and producing their own material.  Never really caring for the rules of the game, they recorded three CDs of original songs in a studio before even playing their first live gig.   
Consisting of songwriters '''Charles J. Attard''' and '''Frank Buhagiar''' along with percussionist '''Eugene Bajada''' and bass player '''Marvic Vella''', '''Divine Sinners''' hail from the island of Gozo. Divine Sinners always did it themselves – writing, playing, singing and producing their own material.  Never really caring for the rules of the game, they recorded three CDs of original songs in a studio before even playing their first live gig.   


Interestingly enough, Divine Sinners came into being when Charles was at a loss after having penned a stage comedy (which he was also directing at the time) he realized that he hadn’t thought out what music to use.  He had asked a friend of his to order an Anton Karas’ soundtrack CD of Carol Reed’s masterpiece, “The Third Man”.  When four days before the play’s performance, it was discovered that his friend had actually forgotten to order the CD, Charles simply took matters into his own hands and wrote a funny little ditty himself.  Deciding he didn’t care to sing the damned thing; he called on his friend Frank Buhagiar and asked him to do the honours (or dishonours, whichever way you look at it).
Divine Sinners came into being when Charles was at a loss what music to use for a stage comedy he wrote and was also directing, so he asked a friend to order a copy of Anton Karas’ soundtrack CD of Carol Reed’s masterpiece, “The Third Man”.  When four days before the play’s performance, it was discovered that no one ordered the CD, Charles simply took matters into his own hands and wrote a funny little ditty himself and asked his friend Frank to sing it.


As it happened, the song was better received than the play itself, thus Charles and Frank decided to keep meeting up, co-writing and playing their songs from there on.  It was round this time that they started going into a local Gozitan studio where they ended up recording their original material.  These CDs have never been put on sale, just given away to some close friends, relatives and anyone bonkers enough to ask for one – since with Charles and Frank, it was always just about two friends meeting and sharing their passion for music.
Since the song was better received than the play itself, Charles and Frank decided to keep meeting up, co-writing and playing their own songs.  It was round this time that they started going into a local Gozitan studio where they ended up recording their original material.  The albums '''"Laringitis"''' (2005), '''"Nowadays"''' (2007) and '''"Piece o’ Cake"''' (2009) were recorded around this time.  These albums can be acquired by contacting them on their facebook page.


Divine Sinners (the name is inspired by Dante’s La ''Divina Commedia'' which neither Charles nor Frank have actually read) started doing live gigs during the summer of 2009, playing the obligatory cover versions along with their original compositions.  The Divine Sinners sound is something which they like to describe as “folk-punk” blending the charming soothing sounds of traditional folk blues music along with the raw aggressive DIY simplicity of punk rock and grunge channeling it through pop thus creating their own unique sound.   
Divine Sinners (the name is inspired by Dante’s La ''Divina Commedia'' which neither Charles nor Frank have actually read) started doing live gigs as an acoustic duo during the summer of 2009, playing the obligatory cover versions along with their original compositions.  The Divine Sinners sound is something which they like to describe as “folk-punk” blending the charming soothing sounds of traditional folk blues music along with the raw aggressive DIY simplicity of punk rock and grunge channeling it through pop thus creating their own unique sound.   


In December 2009, they launched their youtube channel on the internet.  Done on a whim, they uploaded their original Christmas tune “Another Lonely Christmas” set to a funny video, which to date has had over four thousand views.  This is quite impressive when one considers the fact that the group has no managers or agents.  Filmed during a December evening of wine drinking with friends at Frank’s own garage (the wine drunk was actually made by Frank himself), '''“Another Lonely Christmas”''' is a hilarious cheap little music video set in a bar where a mad bouncer seems intent on kicking everyone out of the bar, most of the time for no reason at all!  While the video might be funny, the song described (not without a pinch of salt) the pain of spending a Christmas all depressed and alone.  A surreal moment in Divine Sinners’ gigs is when sometimes this song is requested and played no matter what time of year it is.  A ''Rock Night'' in August 2010 ended with a whole nightclub singing '''“Yeah, Hooray, it’s Christmas time”''' - proof of lunatics taking over the asylum! Since then, other songs have been uploaded on their youtube channel which can easily be accessed by simply typing Divine Sinners on the youtube search engine.
In December 2009, they launched their youtube channel on the internet.  Done on a whim, they uploaded their original Christmas tune “Another Lonely Christmas” set to a funny video.  Filmed during a December evening of wine drinking with friends at Frank’s own garage (the wine drunk was actually made by Frank himself), '''“Another Lonely Christmas”''' is a funny cheap little music video set in a bar where a mad bouncer seems intent on kicking everyone out of the bar, most of the time for no reason at all!  While the video might be funny, the song described (not without a pinch of salt) the pain of spending a Christmas all depressed and alone.  A surreal moment in Divine Sinners’ gigs is when sometimes this song is requested and played no matter what time of year it is.  A ''Rock Night'' in August 2010 ended with a whole nightclub singing '''“Yeah, Hooray, it’s Christmas time”‘‘‘.
November 2010 saw the addition of Eugene Bajada on percussion while Marvic Vella joined them on bass guitar in 2011.  Eugene (aka the '''Cajon of Chaos''') is well known around Gozo for his unique playing on a cajon built by himself and also as the founder of the '''Gozo Drum Tribe''' which is a local drumming community based in Gozo.  With his mop-top hair and left-handed bass playing, Marvic is the “Paul McCartney” of the band. Now a quartet, the Divine Sinners sound is finally full.  Filmed in a barn and starring special guest, '''Crescent the Goat''', '''"Cactus Rose"''' is the first video of Divine Sinners as a foursome.


2010 saw the addition of Eugene Bajada on percussion while Marvic Vella joined them on bass guitar in 2011.  Eugene (aka The '''Cajon of Chaos''') is well known around Gozo for his unique playing on a cajon built by himself. With his mop-top hair and left-handed bass playing, Marvic is the “Paul McCartney” of the band. Now a quartet, the Divine Sinners sound is finally full.  Filmed in a barn and starring special guest, '''Crescent the Goat''', '''"Cactus Rose"''' is the first video of Divine Sinners as a foursome.
In 2011, Divine Sinners were asked by stage director George Mizzi to write original songs for the Gozo Creative Theatre production of '''"Frank Wedekind’s"''' controversial teen coming of age tale '''Spring's Awakening'''.  Songs such as '''Growing Up is Such a Drag''', '''Doctor, Doctor''', '''Bye, Bye, Napoleon''' and '''Spanking the Monkey’’’ were written for this production which was staged on 26th and 27th November 2011.  '''Spanking the Monkey''' has become a regular number at Divine Sinners gigs which is frequently requested by fans during their shows.
 
Thanks to Steve Farrugia, then lead singer of local band Dry Connections, Divine Sinners took part in the '''Martial Arts Vrs Rock Bands in Aid of Puttinu Cares''' on 29th January 2012.  Steve joined the Sinners for a live rendition of Another Lonely Christmas during this show.
 
March 2012 saw the release of '''"Such a Lucky Dame"''' on youtube which was done to promote its inclusion in '''"Jon Lukas Woodenman’s Jukebox"''' radio show.  On 23rd April 2012, Divine Sinners were guests on '''"Martin Sapiano’s"''' '''"The Big Show"''' on Radio 101.
 
18th May 2012 saw Divine Sinners as guests in '''"Michael Bugeja’s"''' radio show '''"Rockna"'''  and the following day 19th May 2012, they performed a live set as part of the '''"Lejliet Lapsi, Notte Gozitana"'''.  Divine Sinners played their TV debut on '''"DJ Vision with Alfie Fabri"'''  on One TV in August 2012.
 
In order to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the first Maltese musical CD compilation, '''"Watching the Music"'''”, Michael Bugeja released the compilation '''"Rockna, Live & Unplugged"‘‘‘ with the Divine Sinners live unplugged performance of '''"Cactus Rose"''' being one of those included in this 13 track compilation.
 
Divine Sinners took part in '''"NYE in the City"''' at Independence Square, Victoria Gozo following '''"Winter Moods"'''.  2013 would also start with the Divine Sinners song '''"Bipolar Overdrive"''' being voted '''"Top Online Release 2012"''' in the '''"Muzika Mod Iehor ma’ Toni Sant"''' poll.  This was followed by Divine Sinners being guests on '''"The Cottonera Rock Show with Lito"''' where they were the first band to play live on that show.  The original songs '''"The Light in Your Window"''' and '''"Miss Julie (Perhaps)"''' were performed live for the first time on radio during this show.
 
11th March 2013 saw for the first time the release of a Divine Sinners song in Maltese entitled '''"Jekk Tfakkarni Ismek"'''  with music by Frank Buhagiar and lyrics by Charles J. Attard.  Another side project was the '''"Gozo Drum Tribe"''' release of the song '''"Sansales"''' masterminded by Divine Sinners percussionist Eugene Bajada.
 
At the time being, Divine Sinners are working on their fourth studio album which since a long time coming and with lots of material written and already half of it readily recorded, promises to be an epic one.


It seems like we might hear more in the future from the group named after an Italian epic poem none of them has ever read.
It seems like we might hear more in the future from the group named after an Italian epic poem none of them has ever read.




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* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kjW0B3yqW4 Cactus Rose]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kjW0B3yqW4 Cactus Rose]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SmV_MLcJrM Such a Lucky Dame]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCm59rBe_Fs Wild Cat]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBEaaFxpKpc  Bipolar Overdrive]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_vmgAfhqSo Cactus Rose (Live @ The Cottonera Rock Show)]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22CNuUxDYgQ The Light in Your Window (Live @ The Cottonera Rock Show)]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv4TvOO62m8 Miss Julie (Perhaps)(Live @ The Cottonera Rock Show)]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j3ltgEqWps Spanking the Monkey (Live @ NYE in the City)]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANpoJ5qrmik Jekk Tfakkarni Ismek]


==External links==
==External links==

Revision as of 13:19, 19 March 2013

Consisting of songwriters Charles J. Attard and Frank Buhagiar along with percussionist Eugene Bajada and bass player Marvic Vella, Divine Sinners hail from the island of Gozo. Divine Sinners always did it themselves – writing, playing, singing and producing their own material. Never really caring for the rules of the game, they recorded three CDs of original songs in a studio before even playing their first live gig. 

Divine Sinners came into being when Charles was at a loss what music to use for a stage comedy he wrote and was also directing, so he asked a friend to order a copy of Anton Karas’ soundtrack CD of Carol Reed’s masterpiece, “The Third Man”.  When four days before the play’s performance, it was discovered that no one ordered the CD, Charles simply took matters into his own hands and wrote a funny little ditty himself and asked his friend Frank to sing it.

Since the song was better received than the play itself, Charles and Frank decided to keep meeting up, co-writing and playing their own songs. It was round this time that they started going into a local Gozitan studio where they ended up recording their original material. The albums "Laringitis" (2005), "Nowadays" (2007) and "Piece o’ Cake" (2009) were recorded around this time. These albums can be acquired by contacting them on their facebook page.

Divine Sinners (the name is inspired by Dante’s La Divina Commedia which neither Charles nor Frank have actually read) started doing live gigs as an acoustic duo during the summer of 2009, playing the obligatory cover versions along with their original compositions. The Divine Sinners sound is something which they like to describe as “folk-punk” blending the charming soothing sounds of traditional folk blues music along with the raw aggressive DIY simplicity of punk rock and grunge channeling it through pop thus creating their own unique sound.

In December 2009, they launched their youtube channel on the internet. Done on a whim, they uploaded their original Christmas tune “Another Lonely Christmas” set to a funny video. Filmed during a December evening of wine drinking with friends at Frank’s own garage (the wine drunk was actually made by Frank himself), “Another Lonely Christmas” is a funny cheap little music video set in a bar where a mad bouncer seems intent on kicking everyone out of the bar, most of the time for no reason at all! While the video might be funny, the song described (not without a pinch of salt) the pain of spending a Christmas all depressed and alone. A surreal moment in Divine Sinners’ gigs is when sometimes this song is requested and played no matter what time of year it is. A Rock Night in August 2010 ended with a whole nightclub singing “Yeah, Hooray, it’s Christmas time”‘‘‘. November 2010 saw the addition of Eugene Bajada on percussion while Marvic Vella joined them on bass guitar in 2011. Eugene (aka the Cajon of Chaos) is well known around Gozo for his unique playing on a cajon built by himself and also as the founder of the Gozo Drum Tribe which is a local drumming community based in Gozo. With his mop-top hair and left-handed bass playing, Marvic is the “Paul McCartney” of the band. Now a quartet, the Divine Sinners sound is finally full. Filmed in a barn and starring special guest, Crescent the Goat, "Cactus Rose" is the first video of Divine Sinners as a foursome.

In 2011, Divine Sinners were asked by stage director George Mizzi to write original songs for the Gozo Creative Theatre production of "Frank Wedekind’s" controversial teen coming of age tale Spring's Awakening. Songs such as Growing Up is Such a Drag, Doctor, Doctor, Bye, Bye, Napoleon and Spanking the Monkey’’’ were written for this production which was staged on 26th and 27th November 2011. Spanking the Monkey has become a regular number at Divine Sinners gigs which is frequently requested by fans during their shows.

Thanks to Steve Farrugia, then lead singer of local band Dry Connections, Divine Sinners took part in the Martial Arts Vrs Rock Bands in Aid of Puttinu Cares on 29th January 2012. Steve joined the Sinners for a live rendition of Another Lonely Christmas during this show.

March 2012 saw the release of "Such a Lucky Dame" on youtube which was done to promote its inclusion in "Jon Lukas Woodenman’s Jukebox" radio show. On 23rd April 2012, Divine Sinners were guests on "Martin Sapiano’s" "The Big Show" on Radio 101.

18th May 2012 saw Divine Sinners as guests in "Michael Bugeja’s" radio show "Rockna" and the following day 19th May 2012, they performed a live set as part of the "Lejliet Lapsi, Notte Gozitana". Divine Sinners played their TV debut on "DJ Vision with Alfie Fabri" on One TV in August 2012.

In order to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the first Maltese musical CD compilation, "Watching the Music"”, Michael Bugeja released the compilation "Rockna, Live & Unplugged"‘‘‘ with the Divine Sinners live unplugged performance of "Cactus Rose" being one of those included in this 13 track compilation.

Divine Sinners took part in "NYE in the City" at Independence Square, Victoria Gozo following "Winter Moods". 2013 would also start with the Divine Sinners song "Bipolar Overdrive" being voted "Top Online Release 2012" in the "Muzika Mod Iehor ma’ Toni Sant" poll. This was followed by Divine Sinners being guests on "The Cottonera Rock Show with Lito" where they were the first band to play live on that show. The original songs "The Light in Your Window" and "Miss Julie (Perhaps)" were performed live for the first time on radio during this show.

11th March 2013 saw for the first time the release of a Divine Sinners song in Maltese entitled "Jekk Tfakkarni Ismek" with music by Frank Buhagiar and lyrics by Charles J. Attard. Another side project was the "Gozo Drum Tribe" release of the song "Sansales" masterminded by Divine Sinners percussionist Eugene Bajada.

At the time being, Divine Sinners are working on their fourth studio album which since a long time coming and with lots of material written and already half of it readily recorded, promises to be an epic one.

It seems like we might hear more in the future from the group named after an Italian epic poem none of them has ever read.





External links

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