It's noon and Olaf Pla Gracia arrives at the Bar radiant, after his morning dip that, every day for the last three years, he has been taking in the waters of the Mediterranean. In the background, Gene Vincent's Bird doggin' and, to start, "a wheat beer, please."
"My father was a veterinarian in León and made a good living, but one night, responding to an emergency in a village, he drove off the road and crashed his car into a frozen river. He almost didn't make it, so he decided to look for a safer job and ended up here, in Barcelona, working for Bayer, improving the family's economic situation and sacrificing his beloved contact with nature," explains the regular, who arrived here in the early 70s and immediately answered the call of that incipient local R&R scene, but without ever losing the link with his hometown.
His first band was Los Insolventes, "with whom we played when I returned to León and with whom we even recorded an EP. I remember the farewell concert, in Ribadesella, Asturias, opening for Los Cardíacos and with some gorgeous go-go dancers," he laughs. But in 1987, due to a series of coincidences originating in the dressing rooms of the Bikini club, he founded Los Bidones, which has been his band ---with some intermittences--- ever since and with whom he has just released their second album, Tercer tiempo (Bidón).
Olaf Pla Gracia is working on a photographic book that compiles his experiences with R&R"I was an INEF student and a physical education teacher, and in my life, rugby has been very important. My mentor and coach was José Antonio Sancha, a fundamental name for Spanish rugby and the man who gave so many life lessons to so many of us. In every rugby match, there are three halves. The first two, on the field. The third, off the field, when the players of both teams fraternize and drink beer, setting aside any rivalries that may have arisen during the match.Hence the album title, which perfectly summarizes the playful character of Los Bidones:we barely rehearse and play on stage with a repertoire of raw R&R covers and original songs. We are installed in a perpetual third half!", he exclaims, as he sips his wheat beer and thinks of all those fans and the large number of friends ---"who are a treasure"--- who follow him on his adventures.
Photographic soul
To his musician, showman and athlete facets, Olaf Pla adds a third: photographer. "My great-grandfather was already a photographer and his son, Pepe Gracia, was too. In fact, he even has a street named after him in León." The local recalls the magic of his grandfather's darkroom, a magnetism that captivated him. "My mother, Belita, who is now 99, was also an amateur photographer. It's something we carry in the family."
---You've also dabbled in photography, haven't you?
---Yes, because in addition to black and white, which I've worked with personally, I honed my skills in color by doing travel and event reports for magazines like Custom Machines, Moto Clásica or Cáñamo," replies the musician, who finishes his wheat beer and asks to continue with "a good Guinness," before revealing a scoop: "I'm working on a photographic book that collects my experiences with R&R: concerts, motorcycles, people from the rocker scene. I hope the work sees the light this 2024. We have to keep playing!
Who said R&R was just about sound?
The city that has given him everything
The local feels indebted to Barcelona. "It has given me everything: R&R, motorcycles, sports, my profession and that sea where I swim every day on the shores of Barceloneta. I am in love with this city." In turn, his is one of the reference faces of its urban underground and subcultural mapping, associated with emblematic places like the Angelot, the Sidecar (where Los Bidones officially debuted 37 years ago) or the 99% Moto Bar.
In this love for Barcelona, there are some buts. "I am bothered by the bad manners, the lack of consideration here for the person next to you. I suppose it's something endemic to big cities, but I think that, in recent years, incivility in Barcelona has gotten worse," he laments with his black ale half-drunk.
---What hasn't gotten worse, but improves every day, is our culinary offer, in case you want to accompany what's left of the Guinness with something tasty.
Olaf Pla Gracia smiles broadly to the rhythm of Gene Vincent's Bluejean bop.
---I'm a set menu person, but a set menu with all the trimmings, with its wine and its dessert, huh?---, he replies.
---Well, you couldn't be in a more suitable Bar!
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