When Pepeu Gomes said he was called to Megadeth and Living Color [FLASHBACK]

In 2015, many Brazilian fans were surprised by the news that the guitarist Kiko Loureiro, then member of creekwould enter the Megadeth. However, long before that, the name of another national representative of the instrument was involved with the American band:Pepeu Gomes.

The Musician of Os New baianos, also enshrined in a solo career, said in an interview with the late drummer Arthur Franquini (Forgotten Boys), in the early 2000s, which received a proposal from the group led by Dave Mustaine. On the occasion, he also mentioned an invitation from the Living Color. Both, according to him, were rejected.

Initially, as transcribed by the Rolling Stone Brasil,Pepeu said he received an “indecent proposal” from the megadeth. The year was not revealed.

“I didn’t audition, in fact they made an indecent proposal. And I didn’t agree, because… maybe if they did it today I would even agree, but I was in another situation. I’m a very nationalist guy and I thought that Brazil needed me more at that moment than participating in the Megadeth. […] From what their producer tells me, they go on tour for a year. Is a long time. I couldn’t stay away from the family. And I’m very Brazilian. But I felt very flattered.”

Then, the guitarist said he was invited to be part of a reformulation of the Living Color. The band had broken up in 1995 and its activities were resumed in 2000, but with the original member Vernon Reid in the vacancy that the Brazilian said would be his.

“The drummer (Will Calhoun) called me, he is a friend of a common person in Rio. When he was in Brazil, we became friends, we went to Mangueira, I took him to several shows and he suggested my name. Through that friend, they sent a letter asking if I wanted to join Living. Thank you very much. I was in the middle of the acoustic tour I did for Trama. Turn around and master there’s always someone looking for Pepeu. But life is there, life is always starting over.”

Megadeth or Living Color?

Even during the interview, Pepeu Gomes said he’d rather play with the Living Color than with the megadeth. The reason would be exclusively related to sound.

“Although I like the Living Color than from Megadeth. I think that o Living Color has more swing. And I really like the drummer, he’s too much, too f#da. The proposal struck me more Living Colour.”

He was also invited to reflect on having space in the megadeth, a thrash metal band with very specific guitar lines.

“I would, you know why? Because he was going to arrive with a different proposal. I was going to arrive showing a guitar that they don’t know – or rather, don’t know. I would arrive playing in a way that they don’t know how to play like that. So they would freak out about it, you know? I would arrive doing a rock solo on the cavaquinho, they would go crazy. That’s what they saw at Rock in Rio and it caught their attention. I picked up the guitar, played, then picked up the smaller ukulele and did the same thing. The guy said to me: ‘wow, how do you do on four strings what we do on six?’. I say: ‘That’s right’.”

More details of the invitation

In 2015, during a chat promoted by Sesc Belenzinho and conducted by Charles Gavin (Titans)Pepeu Gomes was invited to recall the invitation. Quite at ease, the guitarist revealed more details of the proposal. The transcript is from the website Connected to Music.

“When they invited me to the megadeth, they sent a guy here. Then the guy said: ‘you’re going to earn so much per month, school for your children, go live in London’, because that was their base at the time. And he continued: ‘but here’s the thing, we do from one to thirty shows a month’. And I said: ‘and the fee is the same?’. The representative said, ‘you will earn monthly, about 25 thousand dollars’. So I sent him to ap#ta who gave birth to him. I turned my back and walked away. It was just like that. Then they invited me to Living Color, also in the same way. I don’t know, they keep calling me, they’re pointing to the wrong guy.”

Finally, the musician praised the choice of megadeth per Kiko Loureironewly announced at the time.

“Now they got it right, they called the Kiko Loureirowhich is the fuck, I even sent him a message.”