To Astino everything has changed. It was once a village, with a small bell tower, the church, the houses around it, many large families. Even that of Camillo «Pinocchio» Facchinettiwith a passion for Collodi born from the inclination to mischief. Camillo never sat still: he was a restless little boy. He’s been waiting a long time Rob, the alter ego that has grown up. Then one evening he went to visit him, the old and noisy wooden briefcase on his shoulders, with many questions in his mind.
The village of Astino
From the unexpected encounter between dream and memory, the autobiographical story of was born Rob
The autobiography of Roby Facchinettil
Facchinetti: «What a spectacle life is» (Sperling & Kupfer), 80 years of history (he was born on May 1st) lived with freshness of heart. Little Camillo wants to hear from Roby what he has never told: life, passions, loves. A tortuous, sincere path, between public and private, affections and career, from the apprenticeship of the Sixties to the stainless success of Pooh, friends forever. «My father had made that folder with his own hands. It’s one of the memories I’ve carried with me since I was a child. The roots of that season remain: I grew up in Astino. It was around one community, 8 families, some farmers, others not. Thanks to my parents I assimilated the values that have accompanied me throughout my life. The wooden folder is a symbol, and it is important in my life because it taught me something fundamental. When I went to school they could hear me coming from afar because of the noise she was making, so the teacher asked my mother to get me a normal folder like the others. We changed, I was disappointed, but at six years old I understood that life imposes rules. That object has remained within me even today that Astino has become a tourist destination, a center of culture.”
Music has accompanied Camillo since he was a child. Mother Emilia always listened to the radio, she adored Puccini.
«The transition from Camillo to Roby happens over time, and many small adventures, even the death of my little friend Angelo: the first pain that makes you grow up. I learn music from three important masters. My parents gave me an accordion, then a piano. I still go by my name when I start playing with I Monelli. Gino (Editor’s note: Frigeni) has a privileged place in my memories, even now that he is gone. I change my name when he starts working in the profession, when I leave the family environment. Roby worked better at the time.”
On one page you talk about “music that loves you”, what do you mean?
«Since I was a child I magically discovered that music gave me something fundamental. There were some passages that made me feel good. I was little but I felt something special. In my little head the music I liked loved me. Whoever loves you gives you a state of well-being and can make you feel happy.”
A feeling that he carried with him even later, when he started writing music, songs?
“Certain. Music then became a life companion. My mother understood that it was fundamental for me. She takes me to maestro Ravasio, then to the Bergamelli brothers, to Sala, the last maestro who followed me. I wanted to make music, the call was strong. I didn’t sleep there. At the Longuelo oratory I played football, but suddenly I stopped the game if I had to study the piece to take to the teacher. I had to learn it and there was nothing else that mattered more. The music was at the top of all my charts and continues to be.”
First an instrumentalist, on the accordion, on the keyboards, then she discovered her voice and began singing at the time of «Brennero ’66». The horizon widens, another adventure, the vocal one.
«The magic of every instrument lies in the possibility of transmitting sound, something that reaches the other. You communicate through sound. I didn’t pay attention to the voice even though I had always sung in the church choir. At a certain point, however, I began to reflect on the voice instrument. From “God of the Cities” onwards I worked a lot on the vocal aspect, on communication through vocality. I realized that I had what was needed. It’s not enough to just have a beautiful voice.”
The story is dotted with encounters: I Monelli, Pier Filippi and Les Copains, Valerio Negrini, the Pooh. «Little Katy» is the first great success, but Giancarlo Lucariello changes your life.
«He is the one who makes us understand that the team comes first. The Monellis had cleared me at a national level, but I still had to learn the job. Lucariello made Pooh make the leap in quality. With the Vedette record company we had recorded the first album “For those like us”, two years later, in ’68, we launched “Piccola Katy”. With “Mary Ann” we made our first Cantagiro. In 1970 we wrote the album “Memorie”, quite pretentious. It followed the trend of concept albums. We wanted to break the mold, but the record didn’t catch on. The success of “Little Katy” was waning and we were in crisis. The bands of the time cost a lot: they needed a vocal system, microphones, amplifiers, all the instruments, a van for transfers. To get the equipment you had to sign a lot of bills. So many bands got lost. The Poohs were also taking a risk, when a call came to my mother’s house, it was Lucariello. That phone call changed our lives.”
Certainly the professional one.
«Giancarlo taught us everything, we didn’t know much about the trade. He managed to make us understand that the rules matter more than anything else. No women or companions in the studio or on tour, the group must stay focused on the music, present themselves in public in a certain way. With him we understood the internal and external dynamics of the group. He is the one who structured us to last. Even today we follow his rules. We are punctual, we divide the work according to skills. I was responsible for the writing, Dodi for the arrangements, Stefano was the perfect organizer, Red the communicator.”
When «Parsifal» arrives, the Poohs are already established. Does that album change your perspective?
«With that album we gave another idea of our music. The path has changed since then, we still deal with that suite today. We proved that Pooh were capable of going beyond the song. “Parsifal” opens up other musical avenues.”
Many trips, many life lessons, then we return home to an extended family full of affection. Five children, seven grandchildren, Giovanna, his life partner.
«I had a busy professional life, but almost by miracle I managed to build and keep my family together. A safe harbor was needed. I grew up in a matriarchal family where values were passed down. My grandfather wanted everyone at the table. I also like having children and grandchildren around. Family is a value that I have carried with me since I was a child and I had that loud wooden schoolbag. Returning home after tours is returning to my roots, to my city, among my people. I have traveled to magical places, but I feel at home here in Bergamo.”
Her mother told her “never settle”: any advice you followed?
«Yes, I’m never happy with the things I do, even those I put my soul into. In the end I always think I could have given more. Then if there are tangible results I understand that I have done for the best. Success gives true meaning to the work you do.”
Do you have your own personal hit parade beyond music?
«The greatest successes are my children: Alessandra, Valentina, Francesco, Roberto, Giulia. Then there is my wife, an exceptional life partner, fantastic mother, now grandmother. She doesn’t like to appear, she prefers to stay one step behind. She understood my work, what it represents for me, it wasn’t obvious.”
The book also talks about lost friends, about “I will be reborn, you will be reborn” which focuses on the dramatic impact of the pandemic. Of the unbridgeable void that Stefano leaves. There is a thread that links the past to the future of «Parsifal», the work to come.
«The other night we finished mixing. The effort was monumental. I am happy. The work will have a reverse path: first the book and album come out, then the film arrives, later we will think about the theatrical production. Stefano wrote an extraordinary libretto, making the story more modern. The title is precisely “Parsifal Opera Nuova”».
