1999-2000: Early days Lucas, Gustavo, Leandro and Pedro met in high school and were part of the student council. After a meeting in late 1999 they had the idea to start a band so they could have fun doing
punk versions of pop hits of the time. Lucas and Gustavo played the guitar, Pedro had a drum kit and Leandro would be the singer. In December 4 of that year the band gathered for the first rehearsal session at Pedro's house, in
Porto Alegre. That day is regarded as "date of birth" of the band that would later call itself "Democratas" and ultimately "Fresno". The video for "Stonehenge" was the band's first, made as a university project (Lucas and former member Leandro still studied Advertising together at that point). It was shot mostly inside an apartment and on some streets of downtown
Porto Alegre, not showing the band.
2004-2005: O Rio, A Cidade, A Árvore In 2004 the second album is written and released:
O Rio, A Cidade, A Árvore, meaning "the river, the city, the tree" and referring to other uses of the word Fresno. This CD consolidated the band in the national independent music scene and the single "Onde Está" was a huge success. It was the band's first song to get consistent airplay, thus introducing Fresno to a bigger audience. In March 2012, to the surprise of most fans, bass player Rodrigo Tavares requested to leave the band to focus in his solo side project, Esteban. Mário Camelo, who had been supporting Fresno live since 2008 as a keyboard player, is now a fixed member in the band, and for now they are performing with the use of a pre-recorded bass track. There are no plans at this stage to seek a replacement for Tavares on bass. As of April 2012 the band announced they would start recording a new self-produced album.
Infinito was released in November 1 via
ITunes Store. The good reception amongst band fans resounded with the good critics, which praised the album for its ambitious sound. The songs were streamed in the band's YouTube channel. The lead single,
Infinito, was released with the first Brazilian music video with images shot in space.
2023 On 21 July 2023, Fresno released the single "Broken By You", a bilingual song (English/Portuguese) featuring English band
McFly. His album
Eu Nunca Fui Embora was included in the list of 50 best albums of 2024 by the
São Paulo Art Critics Association. ==Band members==