Origins and training
Nicchio began playing percussion at age 12, in 1989, with the samba school Mocidade Alegre. His first parade took place on February 4, 1989, on Avenida Tiradentes in São Paulo, at daybreak.
Audiovisual record of the parade on Avenida Tiradentes in São Paulo.
From then on, he dedicated himself to learning different percussion instruments, including surdo, tamborim, cuíca and caixa. The experience at Mocidade Alegre was transformative enough that, in 1991, he enrolled at Conservatório Musical Antonino Simalha to study music theory and drum performance with teacher João Conde.
Still in 1991, he began rehearsing with friends in a cover band. In 1992, he taught himself guitar and, after intensive practice, began writing his first songs, which would become part of the foundation of Coitado do Próximo, with vocalist Mario Joe. The influence of São Paulo and international punk rock was visceral.
Declared influences from that period include Ramones, Misfits, The Clash, Bad Brains and Sex Pistols, as well as Magazine/Verminose, Garotos Podres, Inocentes, Ira! and 365 in Brazil.
Coitado do Próximo
In 1992, Marcelo Nicchio founded Coitado do Próximo, an original project in which he worked as composer and drummer. From the beginning, Nicchio and the vocalist formed the core of the project while the band moved through different lineups over the years. The group remained continuously active until its official end in 2003.
The first performance preserved on video took place on July 5, 1992, at Escola Estadual “Barão Homem de Mello”, Rua Alfredo Pujol, 1555, in Santana, São Paulo. The camera's own date-and-time stamp confirms the date of the recording. From 1993 onward, the band began playing more structured shows on the city's club circuit.
Destemidos Limonadas & Punkecas (Roberto Limonada)
In 1992, while Coitado do Próximo was still taking shape, a chance encounter widened Nicchio's musical horizon. One day, after skipping class and spending time reading newspapers at the newsstand run by his friend Márcio, Márcio called his attention to a man passing by: Roberto Sassano, known in the scene as Roberto Limonada — or simply Limonada.
Nicchio was between 15 and 16 years old and going through a period of personal disorientation after his parents' separation. He was already playing music and beginning to write songs, but he had not yet found a musical identity of his own. Becoming close to Roberto came to mean more than simply meeting a more experienced musician: it opened up a concrete possibility of belonging, repertoire and a life connected to punk rock.
Roberto owned an Esso gas station on Avenida Brás Leme, the same avenue where Nicchio lived, and played with Destemidos Limonadas & Punkecas. The band was about to perform at Café Piu Piu in Bexiga and had appeared with a photograph in the now-defunct Diário de São Paulo. Márcio opened the paper and pointed at the picture: Look who this guy is — look, they're right here.
The gas station itself also became material for the band's humor in “O Posto”, a double-entendre rock song preserved in a performance recorded by TV Cultura in São Paulo.
A friendship grew out of that conversation, held together above all by Ramones and punk rock. Nicchio still came from listening habits strongly shaped by thrash metal — with Ratos de Porão among his closest references — while Roberto had a deep knowledge of punk history and the local scene. Ramones, already a passion for Nicchio, were almost a religion to Limonada. Nicchio began spending time in the gas station office listening to the radio and talking about bands, records, shows and the São Paulo scene.
In June 1992, Roberto called to say that the Destemidos would be interviewed that night on Jô Soares Onze e Meia on SBT. For a teenager still trying to find his place, seeing on national television a punk band connected to someone who had just entered his life had a decisive effect: a world that had seemed distant suddenly felt close and possible.
During the same appearance, the Destemidos performed “Ela Só Gosta de Pizza”, the song that was already beginning to connect the band's trajectory with Kid Vinil's.
Live record of “Ela Só Gosta de Pizza” during the Destemidos appearance on the program.
The Destemidos already had a connection with Kid Vinil. The band's bassist was a longtime friend of Kid, who saw in “Ela Só Gosta de Pizza” a song strong enough to become part of his artistic comeback. The song entered the repertoire of Kid Vinil e Verminose and would become the most visible link between the two bands. That story would gain a chapter of its own in 1993, when Roberto took Nicchio to a Kid Vinil show at Café Piu Piu.
Nicchio's contact with the Destemidos continued through rehearsals and shows, including the Aeroanta circuit. Their influence also crossed directly into the repertoire of Coitado do Próximo: starting in 1993, the band began playing “Ela Só Gosta de Pizza” in rehearsals and live performances. On March 9, 1995, Limonada was among the biggest surprises at Nicchio's 18th-birthday party; in 1998, Coitado added a version of “Ali Babão”, by the Destemidos, which Nicchio remembers as one of the most applauded songs of that night and as drawing praise from Paulão de Carvalho; and around 2000/2001, Roberto was invited to join Coitado onstage at the Rock n Roll Bar, associated with Paulão and Velhas Virgens. The specific song from that guest appearance has not yet been identified in the archive.
Studio Rehearsals and First Shows
During 1993, Coitado do Próximo began rehearsing in professional studios, including Estúdio Druida in Vila Maria. Rehearsals generally took place late at night, even though part of the band — including Nicchio — worked during the day.
Preserved audio recording from a Coitado do Próximo rehearsal at Estúdio Druida in 1993.
Preserved audio recording from a Coitado do Próximo rehearsal at Estúdio Druida in 1993.
Preserved audio recording from a Coitado do Próximo rehearsal at Estúdio Druida in 1993.
Shows were booked in small venues and bars, with sets combining original songs and covers of bands such as Ramones, 365, Magazine, Garotos Podres, The Clash and Misfits, among others. The repertoire from that period also included “Ela Só Gosta de Pizza”, by Destemidos Limonadas & Punkecas, added after the connection with Roberto Limonada.
Kid Vinil & Verminose Show - Café Piu Piu
The connection between Destemidos Limonadas & Punkecas and Kid Vinil already existed when Nicchio met Roberto Limonada. The Destemidos' bassist was a longtime friend of Kid and, after hearing the band's repertoire, Kid saw in “Ela Só Gosta de Pizza” a song that could mark a new phase. He added the composition to the repertoire of Kid Vinil e Verminose, while also performing a version of “O Posto” at shows.
It was in this context that, in 1993, Roberto Limonada took Nicchio to Café Piu Piu, in Bexiga, to see Kid Vinil e Verminose. Nicchio had already attended a major pop concert — Roxette, with his then-girlfriend — but he remembers that night as the first rock show that truly felt like part of the world he was discovering.
The experience stretched through the night, roughly from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., with three separate band sets. Roberto also took Nicchio backstage, where he saw Kid up close in a punk aesthetic that remained fixed in his memory: punk clothing, moss-green boots with an almost vinyl-like appearance, red laces and a visual composition Nicchio remembers as having something almost Soviet about it. Onstage, Kid mixed his own repertoire with references such as the Ramones, including “Suzy Is a Headbanger”.
By then, “Ela Só Gosta de Pizza” was already part of Kid's repertoire. Months after that show, in 1993, Kid Vinil e Verminose appeared on Programa Livre, hosted by Serginho Groisman on SBT, presenting a more punk-rock version of the song as one of the main novelties of Kid's return to the media. Kid would also make guest appearances at Destemidos shows, publicly reinforcing the connection between the two projects.
Video records from Kid Vinil e Verminose's appearance on Programa Livre, hosted by Serginho Groisman on SBT, in 1993.
Before the release of a new album, “Ela Só Gosta de Pizza” had already circulated as a single and received airplay on São Paulo rock radio stations. In 1995, Kid Vinil released Xu-Pa-Ki, with the song among the album's ten tracks, consolidating on record a path that had begun years earlier in the São Paulo club circuit.
For Nicchio, that night at Café Piu Piu worked as a rite of passage. What Roberto had been introducing through conversations, records, radio and television became a physical experience: stage, backstage, audience, aesthetics and repertoire. Before long, that same circuit would stop being something observed from the outside and would begin to receive Coitado do Próximo itself.
First Demo Tape Recording - Estúdio Anonimato
In April and May 1994, two new original songs written by Marcelo Nicchio were taken into Estúdio Anonimato in São Paulo to record what became Coitado do Próximo’s first demo tape, later duplicated in hundreds of copies for promotional distribution.
Each side of the tape carried one song: Side A: Mulher SP; Side B: Pegue o Seu Celular.
Lineup: Mario Joe (vocals), Ricá (guitar and backing vocals), Henrique (bass), Marcelo Minduim (drums) and Adriano (harmonica).
Preserved cassette digitization of the first demo. The original master was recorded on ADAT; this copy reflects the sonic limitations of the cassette source and digitization.
Preserved digitization from the same 1994 demo tape, kept without restorative intervention.
Archive note: the sound quality reflects the digital copy currently available. The audio has been preserved without restoration in order to retain the historical record.
Part of the footage from these sessions survives. The currently published video is titled as 1993, but the correct year of the recording is 1994.
Surviving video excerpt from the recording sessions for the first demo tape.
Interviews with Kid Vinil on 97FM Rock
In April and May 1994, Coitado do Próximo recorded its first demo tape at Estúdio Anonimato: “Mulher SP” on side A and “Pegue o Seu Celular” on side B. That same year, Roberto Limonada took Nicchio to 97FM Rock and introduced him to Kid Vinil. The band was welcomed onto Kid's program and brought the newly recorded demo; it was during this appearance that “Mulher SP” was played on the radio for the first time.
Preserved recording from Coitado do Próximo's first appearance on Kid Vinil's program on 97FM Rock in 1994. Digital file preserved in Marcelo Nicchio's personal archive.
There was also a second appearance on the program, under very different circumstances. By then Coitado had opened several shows for 365 and had become friends with Finho, Ari, Junião and Mirão. Members of the two bands were at a bar with Mirão a few days before another show, talking about promotion. When they remembered that Kid Vinil was on the air at that very moment, someone suggested simply showing up at the station without an invitation to promote the show. Mirão, already a recognizable figure in São Paulo's punk scene, agreed to act as an informal guarantor for the adventure.
The group already knew the address and, at a time when access to the station was far less restricted, simply showed up. Kid told everyone to come in. Coitado arrived with an acoustic guitar and harmonica, Mirão promoted the show, and the visit ended with an acoustic version of “Pegue o Seu Celular”, performed live with voice, guitar and harmonica. The exact date of this second appearance has not yet been identified in the archive.
Coitado do Próximo therefore appeared twice on Kid Vinil's program on 97FM Rock: once as invited guests, bringing “Mulher SP” from the first demo; and once in the best punk spirit, arriving without an invitation to promote a show and performing “Pegue o Seu Celular” live.
São Paulo Circuit - Shows and Opening Sets for 365
Shows at venues including Aeroanta, Café Piu Piu, Café Aurora and La Bodega, as well as appearances and opening sets for the band 365.
First Album: Meu Querido Diário
First original album, recorded at Estúdio Asas in São Paulo and produced by Edson X. Marcelo Nicchio contributed to the concept and songwriting and recorded drums.
The album featured guest appearances by Paulão de Carvalho (Velhas Virgens), vocals; Finho (band 365), vocals; and Grupo Emosamba on the introductory vignette. Several videos from the recording sessions have been preserved.
The work was independently released on CD in 1998.
Playlist with preserved video records from the recording sessions for Coitado do Próximo's first album at Estúdio Asas in 1997.
Café Piu Piu Show (1998) and others
Live promotion in São Paulo and participation in an independent music festival at Cine Jóia in Rio de Janeiro. No surviving audiovisual record of the Cine Jóia appearance is currently known.
Coitado do Próximo performance at Café Piu-Piu, with guest appearances by Paulão de Carvalho of Velhas Virgens and Mario Joe.
Second Album: Eu Não Tô Nem Aí
Second album in the original cycle, produced by Fábio Badi. Marcelo Minduim recorded drums.
Recorded between December 1999 and February 2000 at Master Music and BHS studios, the CD edition contained eight tracks, combining original compositions and versions.
Released on CD in 2000, the album opened new opportunities for media appearances and live performances.
Technical credits
Track listing
- A Enchente — Marcelo Minduim / Ricardo Bicária.
- Filhinho Coronel — Marcelo Minduim / Ricardo Bicária.
- Estava Comigo — Marcelo Minduim.
- Mulher SP — Marcelo Minduim.
- Eu Não Tô Nem Aí — Fat Mike (NOFX); version: Marcelo Minduim.
- Você Merece — Marcelo Minduim.
- Ninguém Imaginava.
- Ciúmes — version of Ultraje a Rigor.
Personnel
- Vocals: Mario Joe.
- Guitars: Ricardo Bicária and Fábio Badi.
- Bass: Bel.
- Drums: Marcelo Minduim.
- Keyboards: Alexandre Totti.
Special guests
“Você Merece”: trumpet — Lucas Cavalcanti; saxophone — Alexandre Borges; trombone — Ricardo Guedes.
Recording and production
- Recording: Estúdio Master Music and Estúdio BHS — December 1999 to February 2000.
- Drum mixing: Paulo Anhaia — Estúdio Midas.
- Mixing: Fábio Badi.
- Production: Fábio Badi.
- Mastering: Rodrigo Castanho — Estúdio Midas.
Studios by session
- Estúdio Master Music: drums, vocals, backing vocals, choirs, brass and keyboards.
- Estúdio Midas: drum mixing — Paulo Anhaia.
- Estúdio BHS: guitars, bass and keyboards.
ETESP / FATEC Shows - Avenida Tiradentes
In June 2000, Coitado do Próximo performed at ETESP/FATEC on Avenida Tiradentes in São Paulo. On October 28, 2000, the band returned to the venue for its Halloween Party. An estimated audience of around 1,000 people is associated with these appearances.
Surviving video from the June show includes the afternoon soundcheck and two songs performed live that night.
The MP3 Era
During the same period as the release of the second record, free-distribution services such as Napster entered full operation. In that context, portals such as Submarino opened, in partnership with the Trama record label, download areas for Brazilian artists in MP3 format. For a period, one of the tracks being promoted, “Estava Comigo”, ranked among the leading songs by number of downloads.
Show at Olympia
Performance at the Olympia in São Paulo as the opening act for Os Paralamas do Sucesso, at a sold-out show with an estimated audience of about 6,000 people. Two audiovisual records survive publicly.
Two surviving records of Coitado do Próximo's performance at Olympia.
Folha de S.Paulo — “Órfãos do Rock”
The cover story published after Joey Ramone's death also belongs to Marcelo Nicchio's musical timeline: Ramones were among Coitado do Próximo's declared influences, and his appearance in Folha de S.Paulo records his perspective on punk, DIY practice and Brazil's underground scene.
Programa do Jô
Appearance on Programa do Jô, recorded and broadcast on the same day, June 27, 2001, by Rede Globo, with transmission through Rede Globo Internacional. Coitado do Próximo performed Estava Comigo, written by Marcelo Nicchio.
During the interview, Jô Soares joked about the band’s name by pretending that “Coitado do Próximo” was the title of the work rather than the band’s name. The joke was scripted and drew laughter in the studio.
Main record of the appearance, featuring “Estava Comigo”, broadcast by Rede Globo.
Five preserved behind-the-scenes records from Programa do Jô.
Continuous activity
After the Programa do Jô appearance, Coitado do Próximo remained active with shows and interviews until its official end in 2003.
End of the project
After a continuous trajectory beginning in 1992, the project officially ended in 2003.
Reunion - 20 years later
On December 21, 2023, after 20 years without a public performance, Coitado do Próximo returned to the stage at a closed event by Oitava Produções at Clube Cassasp in São Paulo.
Video records from a closed event by Oitava Produções at Clube Cassasp in São Paulo.