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Paralamas started out as establishment-tweaking youngsters in the 1980s, but over two decades later the guys have become elder rock statesmen in Brazil. Herbert Vianna, Bi Ribeiro and Jo?úo Barone started the group in the early '80s, inspired by bands like the Police, the English Beat and the Specials. Their first two releases -- 1983's Cinema Mudo and 1984's O Passo Do Lui -- followed those inspirational bands' recipe for success: combining rock, ska and reggae in equal doses. But their 1986 release Selvagem saw the group finally dispensing with hero worship and finding their own voice. This record became their huge critical and commercial success and got them invited to perf! orm in Montreaux, Switzerland the following year. The band continued to release frenetically through the 1980s, and in 1992 they expanded their audience when they came out with an album sung entirely in Spanish. They continued to record through the 1990s, but in 2001 tragedy struck when Herbert Vianna was involved in a car accident which killed his wife and left Herbert in a wheelchair with impaired mental function. The group set up a studio in Herbert's house and recorded Longo Caminho there, believing that music was the best medicine for their sick and sad friend.
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