The “SIMULACRO” of AC/DC Abruzzo

THE "SIMULACRO" (The Sacred Image of the Gods)

You all know about the day when the President and the Vicepresident made the historic decision to found AC/DC Abruzzo and start the Project. It was in Scranton, PA. on October 24, 2 days before the private gig in Wilkes Barre which witnessed the glorious come back of AC/DC.

But just few of you know about the secret meeting that took place in Abruzzo at the end of December 2008. It was the “Rustelle Elettriche” day (“Electrical Arrosticini”). On that occasion the AC/DC Abruzzo founding fathers invited AC/DC Italia staff to the Abruzzo headquarters to inform them about the Project and ask for their blessing. A sumptuous dinner offered by AC/DC Abruzzo followed, with Arrosticini, Pasta alla mugnaia, Tagliatelle all’uovo and Montepulciano D’Abruzzo wine. Numerous bottles of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

Toast with Montepulciano D'Abruzzo

Thumb's up for Project AC/DC Abruzzo

That night AC/DC Italia offered a special gift to AC/DC Abruzzo. The photo of the the first AC/DC's cover on Rolling Stone, printed from the original file. This magnificent collector’s item immediately became an object of devotion for AC/DC Abruzzo and was subsequently named “IL SIMULACRO” (The Sacred Image of the Gods). 

The gift

Inspiration from the Gods

The Stirring Committee then decided to carry this sacred image for the whole European Arena tour, from Oslo to Glasgow as an icon of protection and good omen. During the European tour the Simulacrum was showed to Brian, Malcolm and Angus on several occasions and they always showed their approval and gave us their blessing by adding their signatures to it. Brian in Stockholm, Angus in Prague, Malcolm in Dublin.

Raising our glasses to the Simulacro in Stockholm

Worshipping the Sacred Image

AC/DC Abruzzo's mobile office

A walk with the Simulacro in Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona

The Sacred Image had a powerful simbolic function for us in AC/DC Abruzzo and kept us going also during the most difficult moments of the indoor tour, especially in Milan, Spain and UK. The Simulacro was broken twice, in Bilbao and Glasgow but the Gods of Rock were always merciful with us and nothing evil happened. 

Finally, it returned to the President’s Office in Abruzzo, together with part of the other icons and relics gathered during this tour. 

It shall remain there for posterity.

From the Archives of AC/DC Abruzzo

AC/DC ABRUZZO BLOG PROVERB OF THE MONTH

"Li cos' allungh divent' scirp..."

ITA. "Le cose lunghe diventano serpenti"
ENG. (litteral translation) "Long things become snakes"

Here's another modern abruzzese version of the "Carpe Diem" (Seize the day) philosohy. However, in this proverb the stress is put on the negative consequences that excessive procrastination might have on people in the pursuit of their objectives and ambitions in life.

AC/DC ABRUZZO BLOG BLACK ICE TOUR - PHILLO Vs THE KOSP

The first AC/DC Abruzzo fan to challenge the mighty Kosp in a rock battle using the backtracks amp is PHILLO, our friend from Belgium, during one of his identity crisis due to the withdrawal from the AC/DC live tour and due to the use of heavy drugs.

Let's see how it goes:

PHILLO (claiming to be Angus Young)



THE KOSP



As you can see in the video, beside illegal drugs, Phillo also has an evident problem with Belgian beer...

But nice try! AHAHAHAH

THE KOSP RULES!!

AC/DC ABRUZZO TALKS ABOUT THE KOSP...

The Kosp

The President: "AC/DC Abruzzo is delighted to have the opportunity to work with a mentor and spiritual guide like the KOSP for the continuation of the AC/DC Black Ice World Tour. The KOSP has great charisma and sense of clarity. He started a cultural revolution in the way he conceives Rock'n'Roll and rock hardcore fan lifestyle. It's like he managed to bring back the traditional spirit of Rock'n'Roll excess from the '70s combining with business mentality, meticulous planning and new technologies. It's a privilege to work with him."

The Secretary General: "We met the Kosp for the first time in Stockholm, back in February after meeting Brian and Cliff. He was talking with his old friends, about all sorts of subjects with amazing naturalness, from guitar playing to girls pick-up techniques. Brian and Cliff just loved him. Then he took us to a club to celebrate the beginning of AC/DC European tour. We will never forget how many beautiful blond girls he had around him that night."

The President: "The true epiphany for us took place in Dublin last June. There, we really saw the Kosp at his best and we truly appreciated his rock'n'roll philosophy. Concerts, business, women, soft porn, guitars, luxury hotels, groupies, world travels... "

The Secretary General: "Beside being a guru and a pick up artist he's an incredible guitar player. He's also very humble. He doesn't have a band and prefers to operate "behind the scenes". He's a leader. We're privileged to know this man and work for him. He's very inspiring for us."

The President: "He will teach us how to redefine our lifestyle and live like rockstars. You don't need a band to do it. We believe this partnership will take Project AC/DC Abruzzo to the next level."

Rocco Siffredi: "He is the King Of Soft Porn!"

AC/DC Abruzzo with actor Rocco Siffredi

AC/DC ABRUZZO and KOSP PRODUCTIONS

It's official! AC/DC Abruzzo has just signed a deal with KOSP PRODUCTIONS!

Thanks to the friendship with ROCCO SIFFREDI and to the inspiration received from the last revolutionnary RAMMSTEIN's video, which redefined the notion of visual Rock'n'Roll excess, the boys of the AC/DC Abruzzo's Stirring Committee accepted the offer of KOSP PRODUCTIONS and will star in the next KOSP saga.

The movies are in pre-production and will be shot in several locations around Australia and Europe in 2010. More details to come.

The Stirring Committee on the set

AC/DC ABRUZZO BLOG - AMARCORD WILKES BARRE

Those who were there cannot easily forget what happened one year ago in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. And probably they never will. This small town, virtually in the middle of nowhere ,will remain forever in the hearts of the very few fans who gathered from all over the world to witness the historic comeback of AC/DC.

AC/DC Abruzzo's staff had made the promise just after the legendary gig at the Hammersmith Theatre in London on October 2003 to go anywhere AC/DC had decided to play the next show. That powerful rendering of If you Want Blood (You've got it) that night had just blown us away....

We had to wait for 5 years but we kept our word. As soon as the dates of the Black Ice World tour came out we secured our seats for the firs date of the tour Wilkes Barre using the first of a long list of Fan Club memberships. We didn't even know where this place was, somewhere on the East Coast for sure, but we put our faith in the Gods of Rock...

The real deal was the 1st night of the World Tour. We had to be the first to hear all the songs but then the rumours of a secret/private show, just a few days before the official kick off of the Black Ice tour caught our attention. Obviously we had to be there... We didn't win any contest but we did our duty of fans implementing our "Impossible is Nothing policy": we anticipated our flight, spent some time in NYC (we were actually there for the official release of the album on Oct 20), did some networking and finally got the confirmation that the "secret/private gig" (called "Dress Rehersal") was going to take place in Wilkes Barre. So Andrea and Matteo moved to Pennsylvania earlier, got to Scranton (and that's when it was decided to establish Project AC/DC Abruzzo) and then moved to Wilkes Barre where Marco from AC/DC Italia joined the party.

The day before the show Wilkes Barre looked like a Mecca for AC/DC fans. We could actually see all these AC/DC t-shirts. It really felt good. Then, when we started meeting people that we had met at the Hammersmith Theatre in 2003 (and I'm talking about the exclusive Soundcheck the previous day) the we understood that Wilkes Barre was going to be heaven on earth for us. It was going to be the final reward for those fans who had stood through thick and thin for 5 years waiting for AC/DC's comeback...

We had done our duty: we were in front of the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes Barre there on October 26, 2008 for AC/DC's come back BUT... WITHOUT TICKETS!!! Actually passes... How did we manage to get them? Well, maybe it was a fluke, maybe something else. As a matter of fact it was thanks to this interview...

See the crazy Italians (4 mins in)

Actually the interview was longer with lots of Italian spoken (including some jokes). Then when the interviewer asked the question: "How did you guys get tickets for the show?" and got the blunt answer "We don't have tickets for the show" the poor guy was shocked. People who came from Italy to the US for a show without tickets. We still remember his face. But we didn't win any contest, acdc.com didn't think we were worth to be rewarded with tickets so what were we supposed to do? Sit down and cry? Instead we took the bull by the horns, just like our ancestors used to do in the Abruzzo countryside, and improvised a desperate ticket hunt. But it was easier than expected. The rest is history... We were in.

The secret gig was something really special. In the same league of London 2003. That's for sure. Since the very first second when the R'n'R Train intro video was on the screens until the final "I salute you" by Brian, we felt that Rock'n'roll was back.... We had been actually the first in the world to have seen the boys back on stage for the first time in 5 years... And seeing Angus playing with his white shirt sleeve rolled up really had no price... We met lots of cool fans. Old friends and new friends from Us and back in Europe...

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Wilkes Barre, Wachovia Arena October 26, 2008

Rock 'n' Roll train

Hell ain't a bad place to be

Back in black

Dirty deeds

Thunderstruck

Hells bells

You shook me all night long

TNT

Black Ice

Whole lotta Rosie

Let there be rock

Highway to hell

For those about to rock

Then it came the first night of the World Tour. The OFFICIAL comeback of AC/DC for "mainstream" audience. Obviously we couldn't miss that either. And on the same day we had to witness one of the heaviest snowfall we could remember while driving back from NYC to Wilkes Barre. This time instead of the 2000 crazy fans from all over the world, as Brian had been kidding about, the previous night there was a real crowd. And it was a real Rock show! Angus had changed uniform and pace. The setlist was complete this time and we were the first in the world to hear Big Jack and Anything Goes!

After Wilkes Barre Marco and Andrea kept going for a few more dates in the States. The next step for Matteo and Stefano was going to be Europe, GA arenas, our home turf....

Wilkes Barre, Wachovia Arena October 28, 2008

Rock & Roll Train

Hell Ain't a Bad Place To be

Back In Black

Big Jack

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap

Thunderstruck

Black Ice

The Jack

Hells Bells

War Machine

Anything Goes

You Shook Me all night long

TNT

Whole lotta Rosie

Let There Be Rock

- encore-

Highway To Hell

For Those About To Rock

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

AC/DC ABRUZZO BLOG - AC/DC BACK IN TURIN, ITALY IN 2010?

In the end, the rumours circulating in the last few days about 2 major changes in the setlist (Go Down and Sin City instead of Dirty Deeds and Dog Eat Dog) unfortunately proved wrong. The setlist is still the same and AC/DC is still the most repetitive live rock band currently on tour... But we love them anyway, don't we!

As for the 2010 summer tour, beside the 6 dates in Germany rumoured on the eventim.de website and the concert in Paris Stade De France (apparently confirmed by the promoter) according to an article published on the Italian newspaper "LA STAMPA" AC/DC will play Stadio Comunale in Turin on June 8 and June 9 2010. If this is true, it would surely be the perfect treat for the Italian and International fans who could not attend the two memorable sold-out Italian shows in Milan last March..

As for AC/DC Abruzzo we will stick to the original "down under plan" anyway...
STAY TUNED!



Thanks to Elio

UPDATE: ROCCO AND THE HOT POTATOES

Since many of you asked us about Rocco we would like to add to the previous post that Roco is a truly eclectic artist and his works include music compilations, fashion clothes, books etc. He also took part in several advertisement campaigns. The most famous one was broadcast on national Italian Tvs a few years ago raising strong controversy in a peculiar country where it is normal that the Prime Minister meets the Pope on a day and prostitutes on the other... Ironically, it was for a brand of potato chips. Here's the whole story:

ROCCO AND THE HOT POTATOES