A recent article by concert promoter Eddie Cota in the Huffington Post, entitled “Costa Rica Turns Up the Music“, looked at the musical presentations during this year’s International Festival of the Arts (FIA). Mr. Cota is interested in signing musical acts from Central America to play in Los Angeles, where one of the highest concentrations of Central American immigrants reside (but not many Ticos).

At La Sabana Mr. Cota was impressed by Cocofunka’s performance at the FIA. He was specifically looking for bands that capture the ethnic sounds of Central America. While it is a matter of national pride when national acts go on tour and play abroad, what about bands that come to Costa Rica to begin their international tours? Over the last few years, various American rock bands have chosen Costa Rica as a testing ground for international debuts. In the past, that honor went to Canada and Mexico due to proximity and the likelihood of finding receptive audiences. What is driving American rock outfits to take the plunge and come to our country for their international debut?

As in much of what happens in rock music these days, everything has to do with marketing and promotion. If management of a band sees a good opportunity to play in Costa Rica, or elsewhere for that matter, they will take it. Looking at the work of Destiny Recordings and Stand Up Productions, for example, one can see that they are professional outfits that have managed to bring premier punk bands like Down by Law, Bouncing Souls, and recently The Lawrence Arms from Chicago. Those bands had already made their international debuts before Costa Rica, but if any American punk act would like to make their international live debut onstage in Costa Rica, Destiny and Stand Up would be their first choice.

Costa Rica may have the right mix of factors for bands to make their international debut in terms of getting visas and finding interested audiences. As discussed by former Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan, who played with Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready at the Luxe Lounge in Escazu last month, Costa Rica could be an ideal venue for international rock debuts. Writing for ESPN: The Life, Mr. McKagan explained:

“Costa Rica has been a sort of favorite go-to place for the rest of the world to vacation, and now Costa Rica is fast becoming a favorite stopover for rock bands, too.

Do the ticos (slang for Costa Rica natives) like […] rock music?

Answer: Yes. The proof was in the line around the block as our van pulled up to the side of the club. This is always good, when you see a “SOLD OUT” sign for two bands that no one really knows too much about. Like me checking out the scene, these ticos were just excited to get a chance to see what we were up to.”

Some of the American rock bands that chose Costa Rica for their international debut and lived to tell their story include the legendary Sublime from Southern California, Throw the Goat from a bit further up north in California, Perro Bravo -also from California, and DRTY LVRS from South Florida. Here’s a look at their international debuts in Costa Rica:

Sublime and Perro Bravo

The story of Sublime in Costa Rica is fondly remembered by the lucky Ticos who were able to witness vocalist and guitarist Brad Nowell live onstage in 1993. Mr. Nowell sadly passed away from a heroin overdose three years later. According to a Sublime historian, the story of how the band came to play in Costa Rica is rather interesting:

In 1993 the band had a bit of money from the sale of the rights to the song “All You Need” to “Fox Hunt“, an obscure video game that has a few strange distinctions that deserve their own bullet points:

• As a full motion video game, Fox Hunt had an odd cast that included George Lazenby -who is best known for playing James Bond in the classic On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Rob Lowe -who will star in a future movie about Casey Anthony, the late Gary Coleman, and a couple of Playboy bunnies. This video game was made into a film in 1996, and it was the first movie actually created utilizing footage from an interactive game.

• There’s also the matter of the amazing Fox Hunt soundtrack. Besides Sublime’s excellent “All You Need”, there are tracks by the King of the Surf Guitar Dick Dale, Faith No More, the Violent Femmes, Average White Band, the Poster Children, and more. An excellent and eclectic collection of songs for an otherwise obscure video game.

Apparently Sublime took the earnings from Fox Hunt and brought Mr. Nowell down to Costa Rica to dry out in 1993 and did not plan on performing. They were here to surf, relax and enjoy the country. They eventually played a gig with borrowed instruments at a bar in Alajuela. The recorded live performance of Leaving Babylon in Costa Rica can be found on the DVD collection Everything Under the Sun. Mr. Nowell would later immortalize Sublime’s trip to Costa Rica and his opportunity to practice Spanish (he loved Latin American culture) on his song “Caress Me Down“:

Me fui para Costa Rica para tomar y surfear

Platicaba con la raza ‘Cause they know who we are

Costa Rica is one of the links between Sublime and Perro Bravo. The band’s biography explains the association:

Miguel Happoldt of Perro Bravo began his musical adventure as a member of the group “Sublime”. He played with the group between 1991 and 1993 and produced and mixed the band’s first album “40. Oz. to Freedom “.
Miguel and Sublime founder Brad Nowell traveled to Costa Rica in 1993 and even played a show in Alajuela. By this time Miguel was not in the stage band but best friends with Nowell and his trusted producer. When the band returned to the States they recorded the bands 2nd album “Robbin’ the Hood“with Miguel at the helm again.

Perro Bravo’s international debut saw Mr. Happoldt and his new band members come to Costa Rica and play in Nosara and other spots in the Pacific coast in 2010. Perro Bravo then played to a packed house at the Latino Rock Cafe in San Jose.

Throw the Goat

This band from Idyllwild, California is named after a slang expression for the “sign of the horns” that is staple of live rock performances. Throw the Goat chose Costa Rica as their first international gig earlier this year at Sharky’s in Tamarindo Beach. According to the slush-rock band, the show was insane, and they borrowed equipment from local band The Leatherbacks. Such gestures by local bands also go a long way in motivating other groups to travel to Costa Rica for their international debut.

DRTY LVRS

Another factor that bands consider prior to taking the plunge into making their international debut is whether promoters will guarantee them an audience. One way that this can be accomplished is to feature the visiting bands along with planned events such as festivals and conventions that are already expected to bring audiences. Convention tourism is something that Costa Rica is actively exploring, and such was the focus of the recent Expotur.

DRTY LVRS found a captive audience at this year’s Boom Con, a convention for fans of comic books, underground comix, sci-fi films, computer animation, cosplay, and video game culture. The band from South Florida plays a style that is self-described as “dark electronic”, and at the time they came to Costa Rica they were promoting a hit song, R3D, on local radio station 104.7 Hit FM. The duo’s music had already been adopted by the fetish and Cosplay communities, and thus served as a suitable soundtrack for Tico Cosplayers who attended Boom Con.