Pala Velho

Pala Velho
Origin	Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Genres	Modern Folkloric Gaucho Music (Tchê Music)
Years active	1998–2006
Labels	ACIT, USA Discos
Members	Marcelo Dametto, Luciano Gradaschi, Bernardo Tisot, Cristiano Basso, Wagner Gehlen, Frederico Tisot

Pala Velho was a "tchê music" band (a modern version of traditional folkloric Brazilian gaucho music) from Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

The band started out in the mid 1990s and became very popular throughout Rio Grande do Sul competing with bands in the same genre such as Tchê Barbaridade. The band briefly became successful nationally and appeared on national television. To broaden their appeal, they reworked their music to be more pop-oriented and not have as much of a gaucho sound from instruments such as the accordion. The band also changed their style by wearing normal street clothing on their album covers instead of traditional gaucho garb. The band continued to exist in the early 2000s with some new members and the original lead singer/song writer, but soon disbanded in the middle of the decade.

The band recorded under the ACIT label and later the USA Discos label, but despite their past popularity are no longer mentioned on either labels' web site.

Original band members:

• Marcelo Dametto (lead singer, main song writer)
• Luciano Gradaschi (guitar and vocals)
• Bernardo Tisot (drums)
• Cristiano Basso (bass, vocals)
• Wagner Gehlen (accordion)
• Frederico Tisot (button accordion)

Selected discography:

• Sou Rio Grande (1998)
• Pala Velho (2000)
• Na Batida da Vanera (2003)
• Cara a Cara (2006)

External links

(Portuguese) Pala Velho playing "Primeiro Amor" in concert