While Grand Bite isn’t commonly named among the first generation of Venezuelan heavy metal bands, the band were actually established before Resistencia and Arkangel had debuted. They have since become one of the more prolific Venezuelan metal bands of their era, delivering six albums full of solid traditional heavy metal with that bit of a bite that the band’s name promises. Guitarist and sole remaining original member Andrés Guzmán shares a glimpse into the band’s history and his own musical development.

“It was in 1976 when I saw a friend of mine carrying Kiss’ live double album ‘Alive’ one day”, Guzmán says. “The album cover, the look of the stage and the make-up of the band members immediately drew my attention. I asked him if I could borrow the album to listen to it, which resulted in me listening to it endless times, and I ended up totally addicted. From my teenage years onward, I started buying metal albums, from bands like Kiss, Judas Priest, AC/DC, and many more.

Back then, there was really only one shop in Caracas where you could buy various instruments and related accessories. That shop was in the Sabanda Grande, and it was called Buci. That’s where you could buy guitars from brands like Gibson and Fender.

Throughout my career, I played various guitars from different manufacturers. I remember walking past a music shop a couple of years ago, and I saw a Dean guitar, and I really liked the shape of its body, so I bought it immediately. I have been playing it for quite a few years now. I really love guitars with unconventional body shapes.”

A Growing Rock Movement

“I got to know Luis (Miguel Pérez, original Grand Bite singer and bassist) and Enrique (de Gregorio, original Grand Bite drummer) via a newspaper called El Universal. There was a section for buying and selling musical instruments in that news paper, but it also featured ads of musicians looking for bands to play with. We settled on playing classic heavy metal in early 1980, and that is what we will stick to, because that is the style we can really feel while writing.

At the time, there were precious few metal bands in our country, but around 1981, the scene and especially the audience in Venezuela had grown considerably. In my opinion, those days were the best days for Venezuelan rock music in general. By that time, Grand Bite had already been formed.

We were Caracas-based, but at the time, you could see a rock movement growing in about three other cities as well, all of which we have visited several times. And in all honesty: the differences weren’t all that big. I would say that they all had decent productions with good equipment, and the audiences were great.

We started recording our first songs in 1981 and 1982. From those first songs onward, we immediately agreed that the lyrics had to be Spanish, in order to get the messages in our music across in a very direct way. As expected, recording metal in our country was a fairly new concept for the recording studios as well as the studio engineers working there.

To be honest with you, that made it difficult to be happy with the results. In fact, the recordings for our first LP ‘Al Borde del Precipio’ (1985) were not very pleasant at all. The studio we recorded at had no experience whatsoever recording rock music, and we were arguing with the engineer all the time. However, I think we created something good considering the circumstances we had to deal with at the time.”

Cannot Give Up

“After Luis left the band around 1987, it was very difficult to find a new singer. We have held several auditions, and we eventually settled on Gianni Regmícoli, who also played keyboards, and he became the singer on our second album ‘Todos Hasta el Final’ (1990). By that point, we had signed to the record label Palacios-Rodven, and we would later release our fourth album ‘Profetas del Fin’ (2005) through Rodven-Líderes. Everything else we did has been released independently.

Producing and releasing independent releases is very difficult, both because of the costs and the work that goes into properly producing, promoting and distributing an album. However, we don’t really have a choice, because there are very few record labels who are interested in releasing rock music in our country, as they don’t think it is commercially viable.

There have been several times when I thought of quitting. But in all cases, less than a week went by before I had a guitar in my hands and started working on something once again. This is something I simply cannot give up; it’s a part of my life, and I carry it in my heart. At some point, I think there is a moment when you have to find musicians that share the same passions and ideals, musically as well as personally, and it has been that way in Grand Bite for quite a few years now.”

Waiting for the Right Moment

Although Guzmán is the only remaining original member in Grand Bite – though bassist Luis Ignacio Contreras has been with the band since 1987, albeit with a short interruption – the band is far from Guzmán with a bunch of hired guns. “For Grand Bite, we have always composed songs by having someone bring a riff or a part of a song to rehearsal”, Guzmán explains. “After that, the others come up with ideas to improve the initial idea, or to build upon it.

For the time being, we have decided to compose new singles one by one, and releasing them with accompanying video clips, like we have done with the song ‘Pesadilla Etílica’. After that, we will check and see if we want to release them as an album, as the music industry is going through a rough time all over the world.

As a musician and a composer, I have learned to wait for the right moment to write a song. Practically speaking, you can’t just tell yourself: I will be writing – let’s say – one, two or three songs per month. After all, songs tend to come out when you least expect them. Sometimes, I will just be practicing on guitar at home, and suddenly, a riff comes out that I happen to enjoy. The same goes for our lyrics, really.”

Hoping the Magic Will Return

“There are a lot of changes happening in the Venezuelan rock scene at the moment. Up until now, the eighties were the best time for rock music here, at least as far as the audiences are concerned. We hope that all that magic will return someday. There are plenty of bands of a high musical level in our country, so that certainly isn’t the issue.

Outside of Venezuela, I know that Grand Bite has a lot of fans in both Colombia and Argentina. We really hope that there will be opportunities to organize a few events in the rest of Latin-America someday soon.”

Many thanks to Ariah Records for their help setting up this interview.