We Are The Thousand

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

When you have a dream to have one of your favorite bands perform in your town, how do you make that dream happen? In We Are The Thousand we witness not only that dream realized in the most spectacular way, but a movement that fuels the creation of a new musical force…because it’s more than just about the movement—it’s how that movement can create something bigger than the original dream.

In Cesena, a city and commune in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, Fabio Zaffagnini had a dream to bring the Foo Fighters to perform a concert. His friends and loved ones weren’t sure that it was possible, but they joined him to make the dream a reality. So, how does one bring the Foo Fighters to their town? Create a video of one thousand musicians performing one of the Foo Fighters biggest hits “Learn To Fly.” And so a dream, a crowdfunding campaign and a website aptly titled “rockin1000.com” was born to start the process. For the next year or so audition videos from all over come flooding in for the project. The Rockin’ 1000 begins to take shape and the music gurus are implemented to help the artists learn the song and to help the musicians evaluate skills. There is Augusta Trebeschi for voice, Claudio Cavallaro and Stefano Re for guitar, Alberto Paderni and Gabriele Borghi on drums and Biagio Esposito on bass. And, in turn, there will be two hundred and fifty singers, three hundred and fifty guitarists, one hundred and fifty drummers and one hundred and fifty bassists to participate in the project.

Come late July 2015, one thousand musicians come together at the Ippodromo Park in Cesena to perform “Learn To Fly.” As the time leads up to the actual video recording for the Foo Fighters, the musicians begin to bond and learn more about one another. From students to contractors, physicians to sea captains, everyone comes together and works together as one cohesive thousand-person band. As the nuances in each instrument are worked out, it then becomes time for Maestro Marco Sabiu to take the helm and “Learn To Fly” takes real flight. At the end of the video, Fabio Zaffagnini pleads his case to the Foo Fighters to come to Cesena—and it works! The Foo Fighters not only play Cesena to the Rockin’ 1000, they invite Fabio and his team to come to Walla Walla, Washington for a show to meet and officially agree to play Cesena as part of their tour. Fast-forward to one year after the Rockin’ 1000 performed “Learn To Fly,” they are now performing as their own band to a massive crowd.

Written and directed by Anita Rivaroli, We Are The Thousand started with a dream to bring the Foo Fighters to Cesena—but it is more than that. Zaffagnini created more than just his dream, he created a dream for all those who participated. The musicians bonded and formed a camaraderie that cannot be duplicated. When a snare would break, another musician offered to help fix it. Singers enthusiastically performing in groups into the microphones as though they were life-long friends. Guitarists and bassists becoming cohesive units with their groups. It was never solely about a well-known rock band. This became the story of how this group of musicians wanted to become their own band and celebrate their love of music with the world.

In the final scene of We Are The Thousand, we are witness to a beautiful image. Those same musicians who were strangers a year before now embrace one another as friends. The elder sea captain, whose dream was to buy an electric guitar and play live, is revered by his fellow musicians as he enters the arena. And once their first concert as the Rockin’ 1000 starts with those opening violin notes of “Bittersweet Symphony,” Fabio Zaffagnini’s dream is no longer just his—he has brought forth something much greater.

To learn more about the Rockin’ 1000 you can go to https://www.rockin1000.com/en/index.php. For the original “Learn to Fly” video and many others, please check out the Rockin’ 1000’s YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/c/Rockin1000_Official.