musicblogspace

Harmless Indifference

2011-01-10T22:41:00.004-05:00

Today I was at the Metropolitan avenue train station waiting for the G train and there was an old banjo player singing in a hoarse voice. When he stopped he asked if anyone had any requests, but as impossible as it might seem for a subway station at peak hour, everyone was quiet. Then he said:"Thanks for your harmless indifference. It proves you've adjusted to New York City," and then he kept playing.

Angry Music

2011-01-08T22:42:00.006-05:00

Yesterday I was listening to Nirvana after many years of having those records in the case. I've also been reading a book about Kurt Cobain by Charles R. Cross that's like a scrapbook. It has journal pages and Cobain´s pop-culture collection. It even has a polaroid picture of him in his Olympia apartment. A great collection of Cobain's stuff that shows him also like a graphic artist and collector.
Anyway, I remember I used to love Nirvana because when I was 13 I could drain all my anger through their music, and somehow, in my imagination, I remebered Kurt's voice louder and stronger than what it really is. Yesterday when I was listening to Bleach, In Utero, and Nevermind, I understood that his voice was weak, it sometimes even sounds like an adolescent, but his characher is so firm and strong, and he believed so strongly in his art that the music somehow turned into a secondary cast member in the means of delivering his thoughts. The energy and the meaning of the songs, and the merge of Cobain's music with Dave Grohol's and Novoselic's playing, reminded me that music is life.
The song that really took me back to my 13 year old anger relief was Heart Shaped Box so enjoy the video, which also came straight out from Cobain's imagination

THE WONDER MORTON CINEMA ORGAN: A TIME TRAVEL EXPERIENCE

2010-12-08T00:49:00.001-05:00

In 1928, five “Wonder Morton” cinema organs were installed in the New York metropolitan area. The organs were especially designed by the Robert Morton organ company for five Loew’s “Wonder Theaters” in order to accompany silent film screenings. After more than eight decades, cinema organ music seems like an extinct form of art. However, one of the “Wonder Morton Theater Organs” survives and plays constantly at the Jersey Loew’s theater attracting audiences of more than 1,100 people.

It was between 1990 and 1997 that The Garden State Organ Society decided to track down the last “Wonder Morton” organ that survived. Like most of the theater instruments that were built and used during the 1930’s, the “Wonder Morton” organ had been silenced and stored since the seventies because as audio and soundtracks were incorporated in movies, silent film screenings were no longer profitable.

“They started tearing down these big theaters because people’s interests changed. T.V came along, and people weren’t interested in this anymore, and if it was a theater that really wanted to make money, it had to show more than just one or two films at a time.” Explains organist Eric Fahner.

Still, in 1997, The Garden State Organ Society with the support of Bob Balfour, worked out a million dollar deal with a Chicago based pharmacist, and brought the organ back to the Jersey Loew’s Wonder Theater, a palace theater with a 3,200 people capacity that survived it’s fate of turning into office spaces because of a delay with the contractors.

And it was until July 14, 2007, after 10 years of volunteering restoration, under crew chief Bob Martin’s supervision, that the 1,799 pipes of the Jersey Loew’s “Wonder Morton” Theater Organ played again.

“The cinema organ is designed purely for the purpose of entertaining an audience, and its effects must be essentially pleasing.” Writes cinema organist Ben M. Hall in his book “The Cinema Organ”.

It was with the cinema organ, under the control of a single performer, that the first real virtual orchestra was created; it contains all the orchestral effects, drums and cymbals, chimes and glockenspiel, Xylophone and vibraphone, and all the extraordinary colors that were ideal for accompanying films.

Since the improvements on the theater organ developed by Robert Hope-Jones at the beginning of the XXth Century, every cinema organ includes a toy counter; which is a small section of its console that controls all the sound effects such as a door bell, phones ringing, trains strumming, sleigh bells, and sirens. Sounds that were the backbone of silent film screenings.

“You should have a big opening, where they show the title of the film, a very loud impression, and then, you drop back a bit and let the film take over.” Affirms Mr.Fahner, with a strong suggestive voice.

Mr. Fahner is a passionate organist that believes his job can only be fulfilled if he manages to capture the attention of at least five new listeners after every performance at the Loew’s Theater. Not a hard task if you consider that for $8 you can attend a classic silent film screening with live accompaniment inside a palace theater that still preserves its golden decorations, chandeliers, mirrors and Exit sign, a reminiscence of the beginning of a now endangered form of art: Silent film screenings with live theater organ accompaniment.

MOS VIDEO

The Jersey Loew's theater will have the following screenings during December 2010

Friday Dec 10 8PM “The muppets take Manhattan” $6 adults; $4 Kids & Seniors
Saturday Dec 11 starting at 6:30PM
Live concert and old fashioned Sing-Along followed by the 7:30PM screening of “Scrooge”
$7 adults; $5 Kids & seniors

JERSEY LOEW'S CINEMA ORGAN

2010-11-30T14:45:00.015-05:00

After a three year search in New York City I recently discovered the Jersey Loew's Theater, a Palace Theater that actually screens Silent Films with live accompaniment. The best part of it is that the music is played on a real Theater Organ. A very unique cinema organ because it is the only one that survived out of five that were especially commissioned by the five Loew's Theaters in 1928. It plays today thanks to the 10 year restoration lead by crew chief Bob Martin.
Here's my first attempt to making an audioslideshow that samples how the organ actually works, followed by the recording and explanation of part of the "Phantom of the Opera" original score explained and performed by organist Eric Fahner.

Here's the audio sample of the Wonder Morton Organ playing the "Pahntom of the Opera"

If you feel like listening to the organ playing live, here's the link to the map that shows how to get to the Jersey Loew's Theater from Downtown New York by public transportation
http://goo.gl/maps/Yj4e

DEVO: Bob Mothersbaugh hand slashed

2010-10-29T12:29:00.006-05:00

Devo's guitarrist Bob Mothersbaugh

What would be a better Halloween celebration than to go to a Devo concert in New York City?
Well, everything was ready to celebrate Halloween on Saturday Oct 30th at the Hammerstein Ballroom until last Wednesday when a press release announced that "A glass shard sliced Mothersbaugh’s right thumb to the bone, severing a tendon. He underwent immediate emergency surgery and is expected to make a full recovery after proper care and therapy".
So now we have no Devo concert and a free party...Nothing will make it up to me. I really wanted to see Devo live.
On the other hand I can't imagine how Bob Mothersbaugh must feel after the stupid accident. Although he looks happy. He's probably thinking that it could've been worse. At least he didn't loose his thumb! Remember how Rick Allen (Def Leppard's drummer) lost his arm in a car accident on Dec 31 1984?
Anyway, Devo's tour was postponed until Spring 2011 but "Founding Members Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale Will Still Attend Moogfest in Asheville, NC, to Accept Moog Innovation Award, On October 29th".
Oh, before I forget,they also say on the official Website to "Please mail any 'Get Well' cards & letters for Bob1 to:
AMY HUDSON
SPECTACLE ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
Attn: Get Well Bob1!
1100 Glendon Ave., Ste. 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90024"

POP-QUIZ

2010-10-23T16:11:00.005-05:00

And once again while CMJ and after more than 8 years people are still wondering about the future of music business regarding concerts, downloads, record sales,piracy, etc...
I'm kind of tired of the subject but here's a question related to it.
-What was unusual about Bowie's September 1996 release "Telling Lies"?

Well, it was the first -ever downloadable single by a major artist

SILENT MOVIES

2010-10-03T18:40:00.004-05:00

After more than two years of searching for theaters or festivals that would play silent movies with live accompaniment, I gave up my search, but just like everything else in life, things come to you when they're supposed to, and last week, while waiting for the bus, I saw the sign of a silent film screening with live organ accompaniment.
The screening was last night at the "Landmark Lowe's Jersey Theater" in New Jersey. They played the 1920's classic "The Mark of Zorro" and the live organist was Chris Elliott.
Of course I couldn't miss it, so I went there.
From the moment I stepped in the theater I knew it was going to be a time travel experience; The theater is old and elegant, with beautiful golden decorations and enormous lamps and nice little white lights that decorate the balconies, and although the theater is not very well maintained,you forget about those details because the atmosphere carries the weight of time, so even when you look in the mirror or the EXIT signs, you just travel to the beginning of the XXth Century.
As soon as you step into the screening room you see a giant screen with red velvet curtains that surround the white spotlight which only target is the microphone that comes out from the stage's wooden floor.
I sat down after getting my $1 pop corn and the music started playing, it was the Californian organist Chris Elliott popping out from the hole where the 1920's "Wonder Morton Theater pipe organ" keyboard is kept.
He played some Charlie Chaplin classic songs which on the organ sounded big and emotional.
After that the movie began.
The organ playing of Chris Elliott was impeccable, with enormous contrasts in dynamics orchestration, and tempos. His playing was so perfect that after 20 minutes you forget that it's a live performance, because the sync between the image and the audio is perfect!
The only thing that reminds you about the live performance is the stereo sound that the organ creates, because its 1799 pipes are distributed on both sides of the theater.
The only thing that I can say is that if you get the chance to ever watch a silent movie with live accompaniment, you should do it, because it's a real time travel experience and they don't write movie scores like those anymore,plus, they don't even make instruments like those organs any more, there are only 5 of those in the U.S, so it's completely worth it (not that it's expensive, the ticket was only $10).
Anyway, there will be another screening with live organ on Oct 23 at 8:20 p.m, it will be the horror movie "Nosteratu" and the ticket is only $8. The address to the the theater is 54 Journal square, Jersey city, NJ.

LOVE SPECTACLE

2010-08-28T21:35:00.007-05:00

I just got my hands on a copy of "Love Spectacle," a CD by Peter Litvin that I've been waiting for about six months.
I'm probably biased because I've been close to the process and waiting for it to be ready for so long that the first listen is going to sound perfect, and right now, as I listen to "wonders of the world" (track 10 of the 12 songs that Litvin delivers,) my only thought is how refreshing the music is.
After a year of listening to the Brooklyn "boom," some metal and electro-dance,pop, and of course, always listening to the radio, I finally hear something that stays in my brain without my head wanting to kick it out of there, but instead, inviting the songs to stay.
How refreshing is that?
When was the last time you actually felt that?
Well, I won't review "love Spectacle" because I have endless things to say about it, so I'm better listening to it.
Here's my favorite song: "Too much" although I wouldn't say this specific song is the x-ray of "love Spectacle."

If you want to check out other songs here's "Photograph"

I should've probably uploaded "Roller Coaster" which according to Litvin, has elements of every song that appears in the record, but I like other songs best (although it's hard to pick.)
If you still want more, click on the title of this post or go to the iTunes store.

LOW

2010-05-03T21:00:00.005-05:00

David Bowie's camping in my ears and I love it.
I remember my fixation with the movie "Labyrinth" when I was about nine. In this movie David Bowie plays Jareth the Gobling King, and as much as I truly suffered with the story, I remember my fascination for everything in it;the dark light, J. Connelli's bright eyes, Bowie's crystal ball, but above all, I was mesmerized by Bowie's character. No matter how evil he was, I was fascinated by him, and I wished he were meaner, because the meaner he was, the more intriguing he turned, and the more I liked him.
Anyway, I grew up and stopped thinking about the Gobling King, and then, I was into music, so he reappeared in my life, but as every band or musician in my life, he's there, but in a CD case or a hard drive. And as usual, I need to go back to the good ones, the real ones, and now, all I can listen to is "Low," the first of the "Berlin Trilogy" (1977), recorded in collaboration with Brian Eno, a record that's even more fascinating that the Gobbling King. This is a record where the bells come out of the speakers and ding by your side while a guitar sets the labyrinth lines, and meanwhile, your heart tunes up with the beat of the songs, specially in "weeping wall".
The textures that appear in "Low" are placed in such a way that the only word I find to describe them is perfect, just as perfect as the Gobling king's evilness. Because it recreates that same fascination I felt when I was nine years old; a true fantasy world that only great musicianship can achieve and deliver in reality.

MORE ABOUT MUSIC CRITICISM

2010-04-28T17:21:00.005-05:00

I can't help to spend my time thinking about music criticism. How "important" and well delivered is what X journalist is saying about something? How much I agree or disagree with his ideas?
While I'm not thinking about music journalism, I'm either listening to music, reading music books, or reading books about music journalism. But it turns even worse when I find a passage like the one I ran into today in "Killling yourself to live" by Chuck Klosterman:
"Right now, most Rock journalism is just mild criticism with Q&A attached; nobody learns anything (usually) and nothing new is created (ever)." I agree.
But, what am I doing about it?...
Nothing, because (and I'll have to quote Klosterman again), the truth is that popular culture works when "you allow yourself to be convinced you're sharing a reality that doesn't exist."

COLOMBIAN BAD TASTE GOING MAINSTREAM

2010-03-29T19:56:00.008-05:00

I usually try to keep my mouth shut when I listen to really bad music, but this time I have to let it out or I'll explode.
I just got the press release for a so-called Colombian "singer, artist", Juana Posse,and this is just the typical example of what happens in developing countries (although, giving it a second thought I guess it applies to all countries): good-looking people, with the right contacts, and some patient producer behind, think they're real musicians and end up showing the face for the "arts".
This really pisses me of because the truth is that this is tasteless, talentless, brainless people that just want fame and money doing something easy, and this is just what's happening all the time.
And the worst thing is that they sell her as a Cumbia artist, and Colombian Cumbia is a beautiful rhythm that Juana Posse is using to succeed with her mediocre fusion.
I'm sure her "single" plays all day in commercial radio stations in Colombia (of course I wonder how much payola they payed), but that's not the important thing here, what really bothers me, is that normal people end up thinking they actually like this music, and therefore they start asking for musical products that follow that line, and that is exactly the problem. How can we get rid of this mediocrity?
I'm not saying that commercial music is bad, because I love it, but it has to have quality and most important GOOD TASTE.
Here is Juana Posse's "single", which has stolen elements from every single hit since 1990

ROCK CRITICS: IT'S ALL REFURBISHED

2010-03-20T19:25:00.007-05:00

When I started studying Music I hated critics, despite the fact that Robert Schumann had his own publication (Journal) where he even "launched" Chopin, and I love Schumann and Chopin. Anyway,after studying classical piano I studied Journalism and thought music criticism wasn't as simple as it seemed, and today, after some years of reflecting about Music and Journalism I found this recommendation by Lester Bangs, which by the way,everyone is following except me. I guess is the only time I can thank I'm late:
"The only thing left to to mention before you embark on your career as a rock critic is that talent has absolutely nothing to do with it, so don't worry if you don't know how to write. Don't even worry if you can't put a simple declarative sentence together. Don't worry if you can only sign your name with an X. Anybody can do this shit; all it takes is a high level of unconsciousness and some ability to sling bullshit around. Also, the bullshit is ready-made; you don't even have to think it up, all you have to do is invest in a slingshot. All the word-type you need has already been written anyway. It's in old issues of Shakin' Street, Rolling Stone, Creem and all the rest; just sit around reading and re-reading the damn things all day and pretty soon you'll have whole paragraphs of old record reviews memorized, which is not only a good way to impress people at parties and girls you're trying to pick up with your erudition, but allows you to plagiarize at will...It's the same shit all over. Just stir and arrange it every once in a while."
Quote from Shakin Street, by Lester Bangs

MUSIC AND TORTURE

2010-03-17T20:36:00.003-05:00

I got this video and want to share it with you.
It's about interrogations using high volume music. Although I've heard that they use music for torture, the truth is that I wasn't sure if it was true or simply a myth. Here's a testimony.
"Filmed inside Cambridge University's anechoic chamber (designed to create total silence) and featuring former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Ruhal Ahmed, this short by Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin is a reflection on Ahmed's experiences whilst in detention (particularly how he was interrogated using high-volume music) and about the use of human sound on the body"

HENRY ROLLINS

2010-03-13T14:32:00.008-05:00

Last night I went to see Henry Rollins at Iriving Plaza talk about life, politics, sex, tolerance, traveling, music, LIFE...
it's hard to say something about someone that touches so many aspects of life in such a deep level and in such natural way.
I've read some of his books, I've heard some of his music (which by the way I don't like,) and I've heard him speak.
No one is as visceral as he is. The way he express his thoughts and experiences, and how he loves himself and makes fun of himself is just admirable.
One of the best experiences so far this year, I hope there were more people like him in the world.
He's the kind of person that will inspire you and make you think and reflect not only about your life, but he will open your eyes (and ears) and remind you that no matter what's going on in your life you can´t forget the world around you. He'll simply make you want to wear life out and be a nerd.
I want to have a friend like him.
He's the reason I'm posting again.
Thanks Henry

THE DEAD WEATHER: A HYENA PACK HUNT

2009-07-19T17:33:00.006-05:00

The Dead Weather held every breath of the audience last Friday.
The band that was born thanks to a jam session between Alison Mosshart (The Kills), guitar player Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age), bassist Jack Lawrence (The Raconteurs and The Greenhornes) and vocalist, guitarist and drummer, Jack White (The White Stripes y The Raconteurs), performed at it's best.
Aside from their exquisite music, their energy was tight and strong, not to say aggressive. Their perfect domain of climax and their movements and strenght on stage reminded me of the way hyenas hunt.
They moved as a pack, playing every note at it's best, which made their blues-punk high energy rock sound tight and ensembeled where no one is more important than the other, creating a pack that turned the audience into their defenseless prey.

That said here are some pictures and videos.
Enjoy

MOBY BLIPS: "WAIT FOR ME" OUT TODAY

2009-06-29T14:53:00.005-05:00

Today's out Moby's new album under his new label "little idiot," which is also the name of Moby's "quasi self-portrait,"as he describes it; a cartoon that he created when he was 19 years old and had to draw cartoons in the bags of "Johnnys,"the record store he worked for at the time.
I don't own "Wait for me" yet, but I watched the animated videos that Moby calls Blips, "a 30 second animated music video". Off course Little idiot is always present in the 16 music videos that correspond to each track of the record.
As I said before I don't own the music yet, but from what I heard, I can tell this is the first explicit political record Moby has completed. I'll buy it and let you know what I think, but for now here are my three favorite videos.
You can watch all of them @ http://vimeo.com/channels/waitforme#5058546 and you can buy the music in whichever format you like here:
http://www.townsend-records.co.uk/sites/moby

BEIRUT

2009-05-19T21:34:00.005-05:00

Every once in a while I mention music and politics. Well, here comes again. I don't know if you're aware of what's going on in Palestine, but Israel has taken over almost all their territory. If you take a look to a picture of Palestine and the Israeli occupation, this is what you'll see

Anyway, the relation with music comes here...very abstract, or maybe not?
Last Thursday (May14) a new hospital for Palestinian refugees was inaugurated in Beirut (Lebanon), and as a coincidence, I just got a great concert of the band Beirut. They performed in February @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg and I missed them because it was sold out, but things come to me when they're supposed to, and I'll share them with you, so here's a part of Beirut's beautiful concert, but before you click, think about all the interesting things they do with fusion (to give you an idea, here's a quote from their myspace: "a trumpet from Paris, farfisa organ, accordion, piano, ukelele, mandolin, glockenspiel, violin, cello, tambourine, The air powered organ I bought on twelth street, Congo drum donated from the neighbors....A broken microphone stolen from the university of new mexico...."), in this concert they even covered "Brazil". I wish the same would happen in real life

Watch the full concert at baeblemusic.com

HUMMING ANNULS LOUDNESS

2009-05-10T19:07:00.000-05:00

So here's the deal. I'm obsessed with New York's loudness. It really affects me, and I think it's probably affecting my hearing. The train, the sirens (ambulances and firetrucks), trucks, motorcicles, people, jackhammers, etc... Everything's loud, and although it's almost unbeliaveble that we can still hear the birds singing, I've got a tip for you; hum when it's loud.
"Humans have a small muscle in the middle ear that contracts upon hearing loud sounds. Pulling that chain of bones makes ears less efficient sound conductors. humming causes this contraction inside the ear, so sounds from the enviroment aren't as potent, providing a natural defense. If you are walking past a loud construction site or find yourself under a low-flying airplane, hum until the noise is over."
This is a quote from an article featured this month in "Making Music" magazine.

COLOMBIA IN SXSW

2009-03-18T21:49:00.000-05:00

Some of my favorite Colombian bands are attending SXSW 2009 (South by Sidewest music festival. Texas) and I can't help to want to brag about it becuase the truth is that I'm very happy that this music is finally hitting world venues, specially after I've seen them grow.
These bands are the result of hard work by profesional Colombian musicians that have invested all their energy in making something worth listening to.
My "editor pics" for the Colombian bands will be Bomba Estereo, Monareta,Verde3, Cho Quib Town and Diva Gash. There will also be other bands that don't match my taste but I'll name them anyway: Doctor Krapula, Ratón Perez, and Poper.
You can check out some of their videos and if you want to go to the SXSW website, click on the title of this post.
Enjoy good Colombian Music!
they'll be performing @ Speakeasy (412 Congress Av)

BRAIN TRUST

2009-03-17T09:27:00.000-05:00

On a recent "Discover" magazine, they published on the last page "20 things you don't know about time". I've always had a hard time thinking that music is an event that occurs in time, because, what if time as we know it didn't exist?. Anyway, I'm pretty sure music EXISTS, but what if you read this?:

"time is an illusion, Lunchtime doubly so," joked Douglas Adams in The Hitchhicker's guide to the galaxy. Scientist aren't laughing, though. Some speculative new physiscs theories suggest that time emerges from a more fundamental-and timeless-reality."

DEVOTCHKA/CLARE and THE REASONS

2009-01-25T16:26:00.000-05:00

Last night I went to Webster music hall to see Devotchka, a Denver based indie quartet that merges rock with Russian and Mexican music.

Although the format they use is not common, it serves perfect the repetitive music they perform specially when Jeanie Schroder plays the sousaphone. I was impressed by the versatile musicians in the band because they play multiple instruments and that gives the band a very specific and original sound. A very interesting show, specially when the dancer came out.

The sound was pretty bad;poorly equalized but the energy of the band was enough to make the audience jump and toast with Nick (the singer that sings like Bono).
Clare & the reassons (Pic by Andres Villaveces)
Although I went to see Devotchka I loved the opening act, Clare and the reasons who will perform @ the Abrons art centre on Jan. 31st.
Besides the music, Clare & the reasons have a great visual stage performance, not only because they all appear dressed in red but because they also use simple twinkle lights that combined with their amazing format (string quartet, voice,guitar, bass, xilophone, baroque flute, keys, and tambourine) create an intimate atmosphere.
They performed a baroque-like cover of "everybody wants to rule the world" and I taped it for you, but before you take a look to the video I'll just quote some of their Myspace description, something I find very sureal.
"About Clare and The Reasons
First, Clare writes songs.
Then she brings them to the Reasons' test lab. There, the songs are submitted to a series of intense treatments and tests until they become what some people call: "lush and sinfully beautiful". This process named in the scientific community "Reasonitis Polymorpheus Synthesis" or RPS, lead to the making of "The Movie" (Frogstand Records) their debut album. (no known side effects. FDA approval pending).

But who is this Clare anyway?

She was born on the island of Martha's Vineyard, in a vegetable garden amongst the most incredible tomatoes grown by her mother Sheila. Her father, music innovator Geoff Muldaur, introduced her to artists such as Mildred Bailey, Bessie Smith and Sam Cooke. Clare rode hundreds and hundreds of horses and listened to these inspiring musicians on her walkman while working in the barn.

One day, she rode her horse all the way to Berklee College of Music. With a handsome scholarship she was able to study jazz arranging and composition. There, she met now long time collaborator Olivier Manchon. On their first encounter, he made her cry and then they got married."

POP-QUIZ

2009-01-24T14:40:00.000-05:00

Well we finally got Obama! and that's the reason I've been thinking about politics and have a question for you...a little old but the related artists have a lot for 2009 plus the answer applies for today so here's my question.
What was the name of the politically charged package tour featuring Pearl Jam, REM and Bruce Springsteen that crossed North America in the run-up to the 2004 election?

funny huh?
VOTE FOR CHANGE

A DEVILISH DUET

2009-01-14T22:55:00.000-05:00

Colombian harpist Edmar Castañeda and American drummer Mark Guiliana performed together as a duet for the first time last December @ Rose bar in Williamsburg.
I've seen each musician perform before but I've never seen them together. As Castañeda said: "we met in Israel and we both where amazed by each other's playing so we decided to get together."
This duet is a very interesting musical and cultural combination because Edmar plays Arpa llanera (plains' harp), which is a typical Colombian and Venezuelan instrument used to play música llanera(and it's not a diatonic instrument), while Mark is a jazz drummer who happens to love rock and reggae music but who demonstrated to be able to master the 6/8 rhythm in a unique, almost South American way, and that's the base for this duet.
Although Edmar started playing música llanera, he has developed a special technique for the harp and has brought his skill to jazz and world music without leaving his roots behind.
The chemistry of Castañeda and Guiliana is so special and virtuous that evokes a typical cliché: the traditional pact with the Devil.
This interesting batter of cultures and experimentation (Castañeda uses guitar pedals for the harp) brings me to "Florentino y el Diablo," a traditional canción llanera where the mithycal power of this South American musical genre is embodied by the counterpoint which is not treated as in the classical repertory but as a duel, just like in the hottest jam session, bringing this music to a universal understanding, in this case the encounter with this unbelievable duet.
Here are some videos for you to enjoy

I found this video on youtube. It's Edmar Castañeda performing with Now V.S Now

SCRATCH: A TURNTABLISM DOCUMENTARY

2009-01-07T20:05:00.000-05:00

I want to share a documentary on scratch that I recently discovered thanks to Carlos Solano.
Enjoy!

SCRATCH: A TURNTABLISM DOCUMENTARY 1 OF 5
Uploaded by Top-Notch112

SCRATCH: A TURNTABLISM DOCUMENTARY 2 OF 5
Uploaded by Top-Notch112

SCRATCH: A TURNTABLISM DOCUMENTARY 3 OF 5
Uploaded by Top-Notch112

SCRATCH: A TURNTABLISM DOCUMENTARY 4 OF 5
Uploaded by Top-Notch112

SCRATCH: A TURNTABLISM DOCUMENTARY 5 OF 5
Uploaded by Top-Notch112

"MY FUNNY BUSINESS": MATISYAHU

2009-01-01T22:34:00.000-05:00

I don't like religious music or proselytizm, but when music's good it stands above everything, even words. Last Sunday (Dec 28) I went to see Matisyahu @ the Music hall of Williamsburg; Great sound, great venue, good musicians, and great energy once the opening act was over because that was BAD, really bad.
I've come to the conclusion that in music, once the technical aspects are exceeded, it is all about the energy, and relegious or not, the energy that night was special.
Jewish reggae might sound like a contradiction, but these days everything merges and Matisyahu knows exactly how to do it, no wonder he said it was his "funny business" when he tried to anounce a ringtone code.
It was very exciting to see souch a diverse crowd attending the same concert, just imagine the dough of people that wanted to listen to Reggae, drum n' bass, hip hop, Jew chants, middle Eastern instruments, free music (including a bike handlebar with different bells and horns), and beatbox in the same show, and not happy with that, Matisyahu brought 5 guests and performed for 3 hours.
Here are some pics and videos I'd like to share with you

PERRY FARRELL

2008-12-29T22:54:00.000-05:00

I was walking by the Lower East side with a friend and we saw a picture on a bus stop of Perry Farrell (Jane's addiction front man) on a John Varvatos ad.
Nice ad by the way.
Here's a video of Perry Farrell and Jane's addiction

JASON LINDNER: The MoogeyMan

2008-12-14T18:29:00.000-05:00

There is a lot to say about Jason Lindner (JL). As Chick Corea said: he's a "musical universe".
Everytime I seem to forget what a great musician he is, he decides to refresh my memory with a better performance.
It's not only the fact that he plays with different formats that can start with a solo and grow to a big band, or the fact that he may perform with acoustic sounds (instruments) as well as sound effects and elecronic instruments, but even if he plays a simple melody or the most complex rhythm it will always sound natural.
JL is so daring that he merges everything with his playing. I'm sure that if you really pay attention to his music you'll be able to listen to life juncture or the most basic human emotions, or maybe, just have fun with the music; simple beautiful and cool music.
Even if you are familiar with JL's style, he'll always be able to surprise you with his warm sound.
I couldn't pick a favorite project in which he's involved but I love the live performances with Baba Israel who's encharged of dub poetics and beatbox on Now V.S. Now, a project with Panagiotis Andreou on bass, Mark Guiliana on drums and sometimes Avishai Cohen on trumpet and effects. (I really recommend the special with Now v.s Now they broadcasted on NPR) Now V.S. Now will release a recording next spring -I can't wait-

Anyway, I saw JL's Big band for the first time about a month ago @the new Zinc bar and I've been meaning to write this post for a while but just did it today.
Let's leave the music speak for itself. Here's a video of Jason Lindner's big band and if you like it I strongly suggest you go to his web page by clicking on the title of this post and also go to his myspace http://www.myspace.com/jasonlindner and listen to Monserrate, a beautiful song which I guess has something to do with Bogotá, Colombia.
Enjoy the video

COVER ART CENSORSHIP...FILLING THE BRIM

2008-12-11T23:05:00.000-05:00

The germand band Scorpions released Virgin Killer under RCA Records label in 1976 but the cover art created souch controversy that they had to create an alternative cover so the reissue was under Polydor, Capitol records.
on 2008, 32 years later, the UK's Internet Watch Foundation(IWF)banned the original cover image on Wikipedia for a while. Can you believe that?-I'm not going to write on this subject because this will turn into a really long post. I have very strong thoughts on this subject- The IWF argued that they wanted to keep children's porn out of sight, and that's ok, but why censor an art cover that only music lovers remember?.
Although guitar player Rudolf Schenker accepted that we're living other times, "We wouldn't release a cover like this today.Infant pornography is terrible. But we where living other times. It wasn't a problem then." After a big controversy and the fact that some text was banned too (it really makes me angry, specially comming from a so-called first world country),last Tuesday they decided to back down on their censorship decision.
Just a little example of what free expression and free press are today

Here's a little background on the original cover art for Virgin Killer
The image was designed by Steffan Böhle, and the girl on the cover is the daughter of Böhle's niece who was photographed by Michael von Gimut.
This was what Rudolf Schenker said on the art cover:
"We didn't actually have the idea. It was the record company. The record company guys were like, 'Even if we have to go to jail, there's no question that we'll release that.' On the song 'Virgin Killer', time is the virgin killer. But then, when we had to do the interviews about it, we said 'Look, listen to the lyrics and then you'll know what we're talking about. We're using this only to get attention. That's what we do.' Even the girl, when we met her fifteen years later, had no problem with the cover. Growing up in Europe, sexuality, of course not with children, was very normal. The lyrics really say it all. Time is the virgin killer. A kid comes into the world very naive, they lose that naiveness and then go into this life losing all of this getting into trouble. That was the basic idea about all of it."

POP-QUIZ or should I say PUNK QUIZ?

2008-12-09T18:30:00.000-05:00

Ok, I promise I'll drop the punk subject because I know I can get obnoxious, but one last thing...
What inspired The Ramones' band name?
Well, that Paul Ramon was an early pseudonym used by Paul McCartney. You didn't knew that, did you?

"We're living in the age of the IPhone and this shit still happens" WHAT THE PUNK?

2008-12-07T16:50:00.000-05:00

I've always wondered if I'm a punk spirit who happened to have been born in the wrong decade, but as we all know, New York is the best city in the world, and last night I had the chance to try a sip of what would've been if I had actually been around while the New York punk scene was hangin' out in 1982 @ A7.
"We where the right age at the rigt time. Anything seemed possible in NY then, and maybe it was.Until reality began to set in a few years later in the late 80s (you know...responsability, drug addiction, etc.) We had the time of our lives. Wether we came from good or bad families, educated or not, we found each other and hung. Really hung. And laughed...a lot. Although I wasn't in the original line-up of Borscht, they were(and are) like brothers to me, and I was eith them all the way, starting with Chappaquiddick+5. Places like A7 and CBGB (and quite a few others) were our own little world. Although I've read that punk was never about escape, looking back not from this point, I can see how it was. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. We created our own thing from the bottom up, from our gut, with our hearts. I can't speak for all the guys in Borscht, but I think they'd agree with me. And we're still laughing. I love these guys, and all four of us are grateful for the opportunity to play. (...)" said a member of Borscht, one of my favorite bands that played last night and dedicated their set to the memory of Adam Nodelman, Borscht bassist.
Borscht set
After listening to 4 bands I understood that I'm clearly not a punk lost soul, and although I enjoy hard core music and I loved their scene, I guess I'll never be able to understand them completely because I'll always be an outsider.
Besides observations like "It's 2 fucking chords all the time!" by a young guy on the stairs while heading to another stage, and the fact that I can't imaine how hard it is to fill a 15 min. set with songs that last between 30 seconds and 1 minute at aprox. 250 BPM (beats per minute) -and that'll definitely explain the sweat-
I'm never going to be able to fully understand punk. Anyway, my love for music is clearly marked by their energy, their musical structure, and their thoughts. I'm just a daughter of my time, not a regular one because I felt like the feedback that was sounding las night to which a guitar player said:"We're living in the age of the IPhone and this shit still happens"...

Here are some pics, quotes, and videos from last night (37 bands together) remembering the A7 scene and the music that changed NYC playing @ the Knitting Factory, a venue that's celebrating it's 20th anniversary and the end of its days in Manhattan because they're re-locating to Brooklyn.
"To somebody like me who never went to their high school reunion or prom, or to a lot of us who were high school drop outs, misfits or black sheep, this is as close as it gets to a high school reunion for any of us. That club opened up my eyes to a whole different way of looking at things. I was coming from a neighborhood that was full of conformity and to hear a band like Reagan Youth sing about things that I was concerned about as a young teenager was really important to me. I was looking up to guys who were like big brothers to me and they were just kids themselves...we were all just kids...with a lot of inspiration and issues and concerns...and some of us still do...but in general it was a very positive experience, especially as a 13 year old, to simply be part of ot" Kevin Kash/Adam 12

"I found the A7 by accident, on a flier that I found on the ground on 2nd ave. my best friend and I were looking for fun and trouble; we found it...the best club in the whole world. $3 admission at the door with your LESRAMAS (Lower East Side musical appreciation society) card. How cool the owner dave was to put up a dozen bands in a room that brought a whole scene together. the coolest people I've ever hung with. Some shows we fought for our lives not to suffocate and loved every minute of it. Bad Brains, Black Flag in my living room and it only got better..." Kenny Waste/Urban Waste
I have trouble uploading pics and videos again...
Anyway, here's the list of the bands that performed
-STAGE 1-
FATAL RAGE
76% UNCERTAIN
PAYLOAD
JERRY'S KIDS
ANTIDOTE
PURE HELL
ISM
URBAN WASTE
THE ABUSED
FALSE PROPHETS
NIHILISTICS
VIRUS
-STAGE2-
ARMED CITIZENS
ADAM 12
BORSCHT
RAPID DEPLOYMENT
SEXUAL SUICIDE
FED UP
VIOLEN SOCIETY
ULTRAVIOLENCE
BUTCH LUST
MAJOR CONFLICT
SUX (AOD)
REAGAN YOUTH
-STAGE3-
ICU
MODERN CLITZ
REASON TO FIGHT
WASTE MANAGEMENT
DISGRACE
LOST GENERATION
CARDIAC ARREST
GOVERNMENT WARNING
KRIEG KOPF
PSYCHO
OPPRESSED/BETRAYED
BLACKOUT SHOPPERS
US CHAOS

"The only things that survive are cockroaches and twinkies" said Reagan Youth's front man.

If you want to read more click on the title of this post and you'll go to the Village Voice article "Back to the shoebox" by Tony Rettman

LAST NIGHT'S DREAM:VOLVER

2008-12-02T23:20:00.001-05:00

Last night I had one of those dreams when you're not sure if things really happened or you made them up and turned out just to be a dream. I spent all day recovering from it because it really got to me. Those dreams are almost like a memory. Just a little reminder of something you once where able to feel although it might have been 20 years ago and you almost forgot that once upon a time you where in fact, able to feel that, and those feelings actually inhabited your feel-like dynamic spectrum.
But the most shocking thing with last night's dream is that I actually have a song that perfectly matches the feeling. I've never been able to match a song in souch a perfect way, so off course it'll be a mauve tango by Carlos Gardel with Lyrics by Alfredo Le Pera, and in a perfect version by Adriana Varela.
So here's the perfect song that describes my dream.
VOLVER

POP-QUIZ x 3

2008-11-28T23:07:00.000-05:00

Here are 3 pop-quiz questions.
1.This one's a little technichal but I'm thinking of Thelonious Monk.
-What's the only song Thelonious Monk wrote in 3/4?

Well, "Ugly beauty"

2.Now I'm thinking of spoken, shouted, whispered and sampled intros, so what are the songs for this?

-"I know when to go out. I know when to stay in. Get things done"

1983!! David Bowie "Modern Love". I love this song!!!!
Here's the song with better audio

-"OK, Tokyo, South America, Australia, France, Germany, UK!"
This is a pretty shitty song, but here's a hint: Two top musicians who had the worst results working together. Here's the proof

Mick Jagger and David Bowie "Dancing in the street".
Have you ever seen a worst duet in history? I bet you have. hahaha

MAKE IT SOUND LIKE THE OCEAN: HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIMI HENDRIX

2008-11-27T19:46:00.000-05:00

Eventhough everyone's eating turkey or tofurkey on thanksgiving day, here's a little rock n' roll reminder.
The so called best guitar player of all times, James Marshall Hendrix, was born on November 27 1942.
On october 16 1968 the double album electric ladyland was released. This was the third and final album of the Jimi Hendrix experience.
I'm not going to review it because many things have been said about electric ladyland, about the summer of love and 1968's music in general, so eventhough it's a great album by one of the best musicians of all time, and used the best technology from the US and the best technology from teh UK, this is just a brief reminder for you to be aware of the date.
Here's All along the watchtower live version. Bob Dylan's original song coverd by Hendrix on electric ladyland

IT'S ALL ABOUT MOBY

2008-11-27T16:27:00.000-05:00

As usual Moby can't stop 'till he gets enough!. As eclectic as he is, last Monday (November 24) Moby released his album Last nigt remixed. A remix by Brooklyn-based DFA Records signees, who re-imagined Last Night's original album that was released earlier this year. I just heard some of the new mixes @ http://www.myspace.com/thisislastnight.
This is a good record, so good that Moby answered to Peter Gaston when he asked him about the track "I like to move in here" remixed by Holy Ghost the following: "It wasn't so much a remix, as they actually re-recorded the entire song. They even hired a horn section and a new singer. I like the original, but I actually prefer their version."
Good new version by the way. Everything points to the rave rebirth thanks to AC Slater the Bushwick-Broklyn based DJ/producer who remixed my favorite song of Last night:"The stars".
AC Slater is as Moby called him the "re-inventor of the old rave aesthetic".
You can hear to the remix here: http://www.myspace.com/theacslater and warm up
for next Saturday December 13 Degenerates party. My favorite dance party in which this time Moby will be dj-ing with AC slater, Drop the lime and JDH+Dave P, this time they'll spin @ le Poisson Rouge not @ Hiro Ballroom as they used to.
See you there.

Here's another remix of "I like tomove in here" I found on Youtube. Pretty minimal techno elements that match my taste on music.

MUSIC INVASION

2008-11-23T21:13:00.000-05:00

I planned to blog on las Friday's concert: Jason Lindner's big band @ new Zinc bar but I haven't been able to stop humming "it swell" a song by Jeff Taylor.
It seems Jeff Taylor's music has invaded my brain because besides the catchy and very sticky melodies and warm harmonies, I can't seem to be able to come down from the feeling I cought last Saturday.
Can't believe I missed him at CMJ because here's what he wrote on that night
"Friday, October 24, 2008
CMJ Blog ’08
Whoa... Last night was crazy.
We played 205 Christie on Thursday.
Equipment was flying around the stage, I knocked myself in the forehead with my telecaster, started bleeding...
I may have had a couple too many....
Blurrrrrr........
-----------
Hope you had a good time if you were out in the audience; it was a blast up on stage.
Had lots of fun with 'Progress,' a new song where I get to stomp around on effects pedals.
Thanks for supporting, see you at Rockwood on Saturday for an 11pm show!
Yours,
Jeff"

Here's a video of It Swell with Thing (Mark Guiliana's trio)@ Rockwood

If you want to listen to Jeff Taylor's music click on the title of this post

MARK GUILIANA'S THING

2008-11-22T17:24:00.000-05:00

The thing with Mark Guiliana's music is that it's based on good taste and deep emotion.
Beyond the technical aspects, which he clearly controls, he's the type of musician that transfers life to music and viceversa.
Nothing's evident but everything's there. It's as if he had chosen my favorite elements of music and merged them to play with the THING (his trio with Nir Felder on guitar and Malcom Kirby on bass), but that's not the only thing that strikes me about Guiliana's music.
He can play different genres but his stamp's always there, not in an narcissistic way but to serve his energy and the music.
Honesty is what you'll percieve if you listen to him, and to me that makes Mark Guiliana NYC's best drummer.
That being said, here's a video of the solo he played last night to end his concert @ Rockwood music hall.

you can check out Mark Guiliana's music by clicking the title of this post

THOUGHTS ON WRITING ABOUT MUSIC

2008-11-22T15:19:00.000-05:00

I think I shouldn't admit this but recently I got to the conclusion and finally understood that there are not perfect words that could possibly describe music.
That's the reason I stopped bloggin' for a while.
Anyway, there are many ways of communication and music is the most direct way for me, but I also want to share my thoughts with words so that's why I'm back and I'll keep writing and sharing my perspective with whoever wants to read...

QUESTION 6

2008-11-05T19:00:00.000-05:00

Barak Obama was elected which makes me believe in human kind. I'm optimistic, and hopefully racial attacks will cease, and there may be peace, as Dee Dee Bridgewater sang while collecting founds for Obama's campaign. But singers and racial conflict have always been related and here comes my question:

Which 1964 song was Nina Simone's response to the killing of Medgar Evers by a white gang?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GpOGtGCLyk

Mississipi Goddam
Medgar Evers was a civil rights activists from Mississipi and was murdered by Byron De La Beckwith, a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

And now that we're into songs related with human rights listen to this classic.
Strange fruit, an anthem that can be one of the firs anti racism songs remembered, specially in Billie Holiday's voice

ROCK AL PARQUE HAS BEGUN

2008-11-02T16:05:00.000-05:00

The most important rock festival in South America is taking place this weekend in Bogotá, Colombia (Nov1,2,3). The free "Rock al parque" festival in it's XIV version started yesterday with the metal day which is the day that attracts more public. 80 thousand people went yesterday to see the local bands and the international bands that included Paradise Lost and Carcass (England), Ratos de Porao (Brazil), and Muscaria (Ecuador). The other 13 bands that played yesterday where local and national bands. For the record Colombia is a very strong country on metal music production.
It's a shame I'm not in Bogotá for Rock al parque and eventhough I never go to the metal day, it's a shame I couldn't see Koyi K Utho, a Bogtá based band that has played 5 times in different versions of this fest. and that's sponsored by GIBSON guitars.
Today and tomorrow are my favorite days of the festival because the two stages will present diverse music souch as 1280 almas, a rock legend from Bogotá, Gondwana, Nawal and Sargento García for the reggae-tropical lovers, la Kinky Beat (Spain), Black rebel motorcycle club (U.S.A) and BLOC PARTY!!! (England).It's really bad that I'll miss Bloc party's show, specially now when they just released their new album...
In terms of organization and weather conditions (it's an outdoors fest)I really hope this year's Rock al parque is better than last year's because last year an unexpected ice-rain storm fell upon Bogotá and chaos ruled because besides the fact that the park was covered with ice rain (10 c.m) people went CRAZY (remember that Colombia has no seasons so we're not used to those types of "natural hazards").
And now that we're into natural phenomenons this year the slogan for Rock al parque is: "Rock for the water and the earth". Maybe some of Radiohead's and Al Gore's global warming awareness is filtering to the south. Anyway, I'll have to wait to see some of the youtube videos and maybe share them with you because this year's Rock al Parque will present 37 national bands and 15 international bands. We'll just have to wait to see how it went and while we do, let's check out some videos:
Bloc Party

LAST YEAR'S ICE-RAIN AND CANCELLATION OF THE PRESENTATIONS

GONDWANA

Koyi K Utho

For the official website of Rock Al Parque click on the title of this post

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2008-10-31T09:48:00.000-05:00

I saw this on youtube and I can't keep it to myself because I want you to laugh with me on this creepy day.
A cheesy Cumbia Colombiana to celebrate
Que viva Colombia!
Salud!!

MUSIC UNDER NY

2008-10-30T21:24:00.000-05:00

You better start turning your ipod off while you catch the train because there's a lot going on under New York.
Today I randomly took off on Atlantic Av train stop which transfers to Atlantic-Pacific in Brooklyn, and while I was walking I had the good fortune to hear the Alex LoDico ensemble. This trombonist leads different ensembles and today what really made me stop and listen was Kazuki Kitamori's alto saxophone solo. I've never seen a street musician playing the way he did. UNBELIAVABLE!!! and the band was just the Real thing. They where really swingin' 'till they drop. I guess they all follow their band leader's advice who said to NPR "You see the crowd...you get the beat right, you touch their heart. You try to put everything in that one note; the whole world in that one note."
I wish I had my camera but I din't. Good thing youtube exists so here's a video with Kazuki playing

For more info on Music on the MTA go to http://www.mta.info/mta/aft/muny/bios_samples.html?l=-2112758760
And if you want to know more about trombone player Alex Lodico here's his page
www.alexlodico.com

CHINESE DEMOCRACY COMMING SOON

2008-10-28T16:33:00.000-05:00

Chinese Democracy - Guns N Roses
On November 25 Chinese Democracy will finally be released, Axl Rose anounced. This is not the first time this has been said, so we'll just have to cross our fingers and don't promise anything until it's true or we'll be in trouble just like Dr Pepper's representatives. 7 months ago Dr Pepper's representatives announced that they would give a free soda to everyone in the United States if the record came out...and now, things have changed. Anyway, everybody is saying that "Chinese Democracy is the most anticipated album in rock n' roll history" as Steve Baltin wrote for the Rolling Stone on January 17/08, but besides the fact that the last recording with original tracks released by Guns N' Roses was in 1991 "Use your Illusion I&II" (Which I LOVE) what's the fuss all about?
First of all, there are only two original gunners left in the band; Dizzy Reed (Keyboards) and Axl because in the 90's they got in a legal fight and Axl Rose got to keep the name of the band, so after some months besides the name and the beginning of the so called Chinese Democracy which has been in the studio for over 14 years there was nothing left of Guns N' Roses.
Axl dared to say that this album is going to be big and different and he said: "some of the arrangements are kind of like Queen", so we'll have to wait...just a little longer...
The truth is that without Slash with his guitar signature and the energy of Matt Sorum who hits the drums with his fists it's going to be very tough to feel the original energy of Guns N' Roses.

THE SAME BOAT CROSSING THE SAME RIVER

2008-10-25T14:19:00.000-05:00

On Saturday Oct 18th the Keith Jarrett trio played @ Carnegie hall. I went to see this legendary concert because when I first listened to jazz music I was into great pianists souch as Jarrett but the truth is my taste has changed and my perception of the trio was a shock to me.
The three musicians, Jarrett (piano), Jack DeJohnette (drums) and Gary Peacock (bass) are masters of their instruments and eventhough I'm sorry to admit it, I went to a very boaring concert. This was one of the concerts on my list of great music to see live, but after 5 songs and Keith's comments I had enough.
Beyond their skill on their instruments, which is close to perfection, and the fact that their dinamic range is infinite, the polifonic statemets, as well as their communication (which we should take for granted because they've been playing together for 25 years), there was nothing left for me in terms of expression and sensibility.
Sometimes perfect music doesn't touch you and that's exactly what happened to me last Saturday.
There was nothing new in terms of musical statements, I really felt as if I was watching a video taped 20 years ago. The only thing that made me feel something were the comments that Jarret did to the audience, and it wasn't a good feeling because this man believes that because he plays the piano in a perfect way he's a superior person...But Mr. Jarrett, let me tell you that life and music are not about that.
I'lljust quote his words so you can understand what I'm talking about:
"I just want to say I'm not going to say anything tonight" was his opening statement. As if we where there to hear him speak...And it would've been better if he had kept his mouth shut.
Later on he burped this: "don't listen to anybody tell you what energy source we need"
???? What???????
but then he ended his statements with this: "I'm sorry to be the one to say it but this is the world's best trio"
I'm surprised that there was space in the Carnegie Hall to fit Keith Jarrett's EGO and a bunch of people who admire his music mastery in terms of polifony, dinamics, technique, etc...but the truth is I had enough of this narcissistic pianist.

CAN WE GO BACK WHERE WE BEGAN?

2008-10-21T19:51:00.000-05:00

CD RELEASE
Oct 23
Freddy's Backroom (485 Dean Street Brooklyn, NY 11215 That's the corner of Dean Street and 6th Avenue in Brooklyn.phone: 718.622.7035)
@ 9 p.m.

If someone asked me how to define The Karl Walters Jr Trio's music I'd say something like Motion-Static music. Sometimes when you listen to them you feel as if time didn't exist, but suddenly things will have a turning point where all the time that you didn't thought was there is catching up. That's the core of this Motion-Static merge that Matt Ferry on Drums, Westbrook Johnson on Trombone and Pedals, and Keegan Schelling Bass and Pedals added up. This moody trio explores different sonorities that encircle simple musical textures and aggresive New York behavior expresed by electric motionless sounds.
The intriguing part after listening to their music came when I read their notes:
"Can We Go Back Where We Began?" If so, could we keep all that we've learned in getting here? Would our new knowledge rebirth our old places? Or would we walk the same paths, take the same turns, and arrive again here?And if we could reach a new place from our old beginnings, would our present place become "where we began"? Upon arriving at this new place, would we only desire to return here, to where we began?
So, while you reflect on the idea you can listen to their music

Fluxura by The Karl Walters Jr Trio

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

2008-10-20T09:36:00.000-05:00

If you read my entry on The Cure's concert on July 20th you're aware that as usual I couldn't upload my video. The good thing's that life's always sending me unexpected things like the "Just like Heaven" video I shot that day. The thing is my friend Pedro, who I met at that concert, uploaded the video on youtube for my b-day so here's posted for all of you, a little late but it's still worth watching.

QUESTION 5

2008-10-18T11:23:00.000-05:00

Pop-quiz again. Now that I have b-days on my mind because I'm turning 28 today I want to ask you something:
What was the firs video screened on MTV?

Obviously!!
Video Killed the radio star by the Buggles

MUSIC-POLITICS-MUSIC

2008-10-15T20:34:00.000-05:00

These days there's a lot to say about music and politics. John McCain has been sued by the Foo Fighters for using their song "My Heroe" in rallies, and last month the band Heart demanded that the McCain campaign stop playing its song “Barracuda” in public appearances by Sarah Palin. At the same time musicians are gathering in NYC to found raise for Barak Obama's campaign. But to open the relationship between music and politics I was checking out DJ Olive's myspace because I love his music. I met him in SIM, the free music workshop I took in August and it turns out that all the music I love has a weird way of relating so he's playing a set next Friday Oct 17 at The Bunker. Anyway, I went to his myspace and this picture caught my eye

Woodie Guthrie
I went to his home page and this is the first quote you see
"A folk song is what's wrong and how to fix it or it could be
who's hungry and where their mouth is or
who's out of work and where the job is or
who's broke and where the money is or
who's carrying a gun and where the peace is.”

If you click on the title of this post you'll automatically go to his page. And if you want to check out DJ Olive go to http://www.myspace.com/theaudiojanitor

MUSIC MATH

2008-10-14T22:22:00.000-05:00

All the 3.1416 (Pi...I guess my computer has that sign hidden so I wouldn't even think about using it), the Fibonacci series, and perfect proportion on music that's shown in master classical works was lost with some rock musicians that forgot how to count. I just want to see where you're standing so let's start with my math pop-quiz for today.
Multiply The Beatles' days in a week by the number of times The Doors want you to love them

yes, pretty simple uh?
8*2=16 ( I guess my comp's hidding my multiplication sign also)
Greetings,
The stupid Alien

SANTA MARADONA: THE PASSION OF LIFE

2008-10-13T16:00:00.000-05:00

I'm not a football fan, but last Saturday Colombia lost a match again. Nothing new for the last 5 years. My friends who are football freaks felt defeated and to feel better they played the classic 1994 match 5-0 Colombia-Argentina.
Afterwards they showed me a video that inspired me for this post.
Music's life, football's life, life is passion but LIFE IS LIFE!
Take a look to Diego Armando Maradona dancing to Life is Life during a warm up and you'll understand why they say, well, that music's life

YOU CAN'T FIND IT ANYWHERE...YET

2008-10-09T18:27:00.000-05:00

Pianist, composer, singer and drummer Dave Treut just recorded with his band "Clarify"@58 North six media labs (58N6ML) over the last week. Last night they had a viedeo shoot while they played his songs @ 58N6ML and I enjoyed being there.
Lots of different sounds and infinite influences make Treut's music interesting because despite the fact of the unexpected mixture, his music is authentic, and I say it in a good way, because more authenticity doesn't necessarily means more brilliant. In Treut's case I enjoyed the blend of his grunge-alternative voice with his simple rhodes chords, his rage drumming, and his "nothing's nothing, everything's everything" lyrics. Besides Dave's music and stage jumping between the Rhodes and the drum set, I had a great time listening to his unbelievable band(2 guitars, bass, drums, trombone, trumpet, barit. sax and tenor sax).
You should listen to Dave Treut's new songs to understand better what I'm trying to say. Unfortunately, I had my small camera and the video has the worst sound... and image...hahaha, and I've been trying to upload the video for over 4 hours and nothin'..., so maybe next time.
You can check out David Treut's myspace: http://www.myspace.com/davetreut

QUESTION 4

2008-10-08T16:27:00.000-05:00

I've had a lot of things during the week so for now, let's keep it up with my Pop-Quiz.

The first Lennon/McCartney song to enter the US charts was a cover. Which song and by whom?

Believe it or not: "From me to you" by Del Shannon

POLITICS CAN ALWAYS USE SOME MUSIC

2008-10-02T20:34:00.000-05:00

Artists reflect our society, they're the living (or dead) product of an enviroment, a society, and a historic period. I've always criticized artists, specially musicians, who are unaware of politics and current affairs, but last night I learned that great artists always know where they're standing.
Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dianne Reeves, Joe Lovano, Roy Haynes, Brad Mehldau, Roy Hargrove, Christian McBride, Stanley Jordan, Kurt Elling, Hank Jones, Charlie Hunter, Doug Wamble, Bilal/Robert Glasper, Stefon Harris, Jeff “Tain" Watts,and Roberta Gambarini performed last night @ the Kaufmann Concert Hall (Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street NYC) @ 7:30 p.m. They performed without charging for a cause in which they all believe: All proceeds benefit the Obama For America Presidential Campaign.
The concert was produced by Jazz for America's Future, a foundation that was created to support musicians and their art.

Last night was a long evening that showed passion, love and evoked hope. Listening to these amazing musicians play live made me believe there's still some people in the world who believe in change and above all in PEACE!.
Last night they collected more than 65.000 U.S dollars for Obama's presidential campaign, but beyond the political convictions there was a greater lesson:
tolerance and togeatherness is the way to find peace and tranquility.
These amazing artists set the example playing jazz together, and they did their best and set an admirable example for the world.
That's why I'd like to say: politics can always learn something from great music.
Just take a look @ the video.

As usual I couldn't upload the other videos so I'll upload them on my next entry.
I hope you enjoy!...and please reflect on PEACE, and afterwards, MAKING PEACE A REALITY. Please!
There will be another concert on Oct.7 @8:00 p.m. It'll be @ SOB (www.sobs.com) 212 243 49 40 @ 204 Varick St @ W. Houston.
The artist that'll be performing are:
Maiysha, Arturo O'Farril, Claudia Acuña, Alyson Williams and Geri Allen.
Donations start: $50

FOLLOW THE PURPLE LIGHT ROAD TO UGA BOOGA

2008-09-29T19:30:00.000-05:00

When I first got to New York City I thought I would find the best Dj's in the world, but I confirmed my ignorance on electronic music when I got here and found a very poor techno music scene.
Bad taste is the rule for booked Dj's in NYC, and after some months of searching, and thanks to a friend, I came across Wolf+Lamb:Zev Eisenberg and Gadi Mizrahi, two Newyorkers who come from Egyptian and Jew cultures who had to find their own venue to perform decent techno. They created "The first label of it's kind, Wolf + Lamb Music a label designed as a no-frills distribution medium that reflected their ideals: a simple, single release oriented, open source music label offering free source downloads for all releases."
I wouldn't say they play straight ahead minimal techno because their BPM (beats per minute) are slower and they use some nice warm extra layers and a special characteristic bass, specially Gadi, who played a remarkable set the second weekend of September. But besides the sub-genre names, they're heading a nice electronic music field that needs more "good taste" explorers.
Last Saturday Wolf+Lamb reached their party number 50. I hope they keep it up.
If you want to find their catalogue go to beatport.com or to their homepage http://www.wolflambmusic.com
Just click on the title of this post and you'll be there.

QUESTION3

2008-09-28T21:11:00.000-05:00

I'd like to post something on Wolf+Lamb but I'm tired and I haven't downloaded the pics, I guess I'll do it during the week so for now let's continue with my "pop-quiz". Today I'm into CLASSIC SINGLES.

Which David Bowie song was a Top20 hit in two different versions, seven years apart?

And the sigle is...
"John, I'm only dancing"

Here's the single version:

IS THIS MUSIC?

2008-09-25T18:06:00.000-05:00

I randomly bumped with the following video

Is this possible? I haven't made up my mind. Is it amazing or just a waste of time?
I give he/she the credit: It's very boring to find the pitch on a phone. Actually I thought most of them where A (la). is this music?
I'm speechless...not even, I'm like this:

imagen what was going trough the phone player's head.
¡SALUD!

QUESTION2

2008-09-24T22:15:00.000-05:00

More "pop-quiz". Today I chose another COVER ART question on one of my favorite bands: RADIOHEAD but before I forget here's the link to listen to a concert from their last tour. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94315732

Under what pseudonym has Thom Yorke designed sleeves for Radiohead releases?

Thocky.

The pics I uploaded are part of the limited edition that was presented in a red hard bound book filled with illustrations by Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke who used the pseudonym. This Cover Art won the Grammy.

MESSAGE FROM TRENT REZNOR

2008-09-22T20:33:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I still don't understand why NIN cancelled some of their South American shows but today I got this on my e-mail and I want to share it with you because when I got it I felt guilty for my previous post but I'm not exactly sure why. (Colombian fans showed their interest on the band so I shouldn't feel bad...). Anyway, here's the message:

Message from Trent:

Hello everyone.
I'd like to thank everyone for a very successful year so far in the world of Nine Inch Nails. I'm enjoying my couple of weeks off between legs of our Lights In The Sky tour and got to thinking... "wouldn't it be fun to send out a survey to everyone that's shown interest in NIN?" Well, that's not exactly how it went, but regardless - here it is. As we've moved from the familiar world of record labels and BS into the unknown world of doing everything yourself, we've realized it would benefit us and our ability to interact with you if we knew more about what you want, what you like, what you look like naked, etc. I know it's a pain in the ass but we'd truly appreciate it if you'd take a minute and help us out. As an incentive, everyone who completes the survey will be able to download a video of live performance from this most recent tour (and I know what's going through your little minds right now: "I'll just grab this off a torrent site and not have to fill out the survey!!!" and guess what? You will be able to do just that and BEAT THE SYSTEM!!!! NIN=pwn3d!!!)
BUT
What if we were to select some of those that DO complete the survey and provide them with something really cool? I'm not saying we'll ever get around to it, but if we did maybe something like signed stuff, flying someone to a show somewhere in the world, a magic amulet that makes you invisible, a date with Jeordie White (condoms supplied of course), you know - something cool. See, you'd miss that opportunity AND be a cheater.
Do the right thing - help us out. You'll feel better.

Thank you and I've had too much caffeine this morning,
Trent

Visit here to take the survey:
https://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=1049187

NIN CONCERT CANCELLED

2008-09-19T18:12:00.001-05:00

Pic. by raquel Castaño

Everybody's upset because NIN's concert that was programmed for Oct. 12 2008 was cancelled in Bogotá, Colombia (South America).
There was a lot of speculation about the cancelation but Alfredo villaveces, Evenpro's representative was clear when he said that it was the band who decided to cancel the concert because it's not a profitable show if you think about the production expenses and all the equipment that needs to be transported and stored for the show.
Yes, it's true it's easier to have the gig in the U.S, but what about the music? and the fans? and the experience?. I guess some people forget about the beauty of art when money comes in the way, and I'm not saying they should loose money, but WHAT ABOUT THE MUSIC?
Well, NIN also cancelled their shows in Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre and Trent Reznor wouldn't dare to talk to Colombian media.
So, eventhough I like NIN's music, it looks like they've forgotten about it and this is just bussines, so here's something I want you to think about. Specially you colombian NIN fans (just so you stop blaming Evenpro):
It's true Trent Reznor is responsible for creating the first industrial album to sell a million copies with Pretty Hate Machine in which he wrote the songs, coproduced and played every instrument. But beyond that, and the fact that you can enjoy NIN's music for purely enterteinment and not a critical experience, what's the ultimate creation of Reznor?.
Really, I mean, we're talking about a guy that described himself in 1997 in a Spin interview like this: "I'm boring...and I kind of made this pact with myself that I would just be honest(...)I am 31. I was born in Pennsylvania. I wasn't a male prostitute. I'm not gay. My tongue is my own. It's not like a Marilyn Manson situation".
So I guess I agree with Melissa Maerz (senior editor of Rolling Stone) when she says that "ultimately the most interesting art reznor has ever created is Marilyn Manson".
So yes, the show was canceled but still, Marilyn Manson WAS in Bogotá. So no worries.

QUESTION 1

2008-09-19T18:12:00.000-05:00

More questions on COVER ART.
Which John Lennon album sleeve features his own childhood drawings?

Walls and bridges

QUESTION

2008-09-18T17:48:00.000-05:00

Usually I hate quizes and questions, specially when they're related with music but yesterday I bought Uncut, a great magazine, and it came with a little book that made me laugh like an idiot. It's a little book called The Uncut Inquisition: The ultimate music and movie quiz book. Just with that name it took me a day to decide to open it, but when I read it I loved it. I found it very funny and I found interesting things in it, that's why I'll be posting some of these questions in my blog just to share them with you. It'll be my new trend. A question and an answer.
For my deffense, I'll only post questions that I found usefull, like things that appear on cereal boxes..he he he, or things that relate to my favorite artists. Off course if you have any suggestions I'm always open but for now let's begin with COVER ART:

Which Blur album sleeve was creation of graffiti artist Banksy?

Yes, Think Tank!!!

PICTURES OF YOU BY THE CURE

2008-09-17T20:37:00.000-05:00

Let's keep the blue feeling. Here's The Cure with a nice sad song.
I like what they say on the info: "An alternate video version from 1990 released by The Cure. Only aired a few times; this is a gift to all real cure fans..." at least this is a living legend... because I'm still grieving R.Wright

WET REALITY:RICHARD WRIGHT'S DEAD

2008-09-16T16:25:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I read the bad news: Richard Wright's dead. Today I was walking on 12 street and 1 av. and saw this graffiti that show my feelings.

"Music was our drug" said Richard Wright, Pink Floyd's keyboard player who died yesterday (Monday, Sept.15). He had cancer.
I will not write an obituary. I'll be brief, these last five years many of my favorite musicians have died. It's the law of life... But still it's hard to know.
One of my favorite keyboard players is dead. He inspired me, and in a way determined my sound, and also, was ahead of time with some of the things he did. R.Wright's not going to be one of the musicians I love and had the chance to see live. I wish at least I'd seen him on a bad concert, even in the fake 2005's live 8...shiiiiit.
O.k, prepare to read the phrase You'll see and hear a 1.000 times: R.Wright wrote the Great gig in the sky the 4th track on "The dark side of the moon" Pink Floyd's record that sold about 40 million copies.
Well, We all know that music pretty well, here's some of Wright's music from Wet Dream

And here's a nice video I found

LUCÍA PULIDO WANING MOON

2008-09-11T18:43:00.000-05:00

In This video: Stomu Takeishi on bass and Lucía pulido on cuatro and voice. They where playing Tonada de Luna Llena, at the Encuentro de Música Colombiana in NYC, Nov. 2007.

In November last year I heard Lucía Pulido for the first time and she made me cry. Lucía is a Colombian singer that stands out not only for her special approach to music, but also for being an authentic folclore interpreter. Basically, she's the REAL THING and not a folclore thief.
I'll explain the term folclore thief: I've found, as a Colombian musician, that many Colombians exit my country and come to NY or go somewhere else to study music. Meanwhile,they discover what real and authentic folclore lovers have known for centuries; Colombian music is aesthetic, unique, beautiful, and good, so, what these thiefs do is sell our ethnic and folk music by learning some songs while being in another country. They exploit our songs playing them with no respect, or spirit, or tradition, or even accuracy. Meanwhile they take the opportunity to make money and allege to be unique, rare, and even special, but the truth is they're only a cheap fake.
Being that said, Lucía's music is the opposite of that definition. Lucía is a complete and true musician that brings the listener to the essence of Colombian music from an intimate and modern approach. Lucía works with outstanding musicians like bassist Stomu Takeishi, drummer Ted Poor, and clarinetist and flutist Adam Holker all under guitarrist Sebastián Cruz's gudance.
I really recommend Lucía Pulido's most recent recording "Waning moon"/"Luna menguante" which will be released September 16th and you can find under the label Adventure Music (www.adventure-music.com).

REAL SOUL BY BROTHER JOSCEPHUS

2008-09-07T21:43:00.000-05:00

Last Friday I went to the Sullivan Hall to a great concert. It was Brother Joscephus and the live revival revolution orchestra. I've never heard them before but the arrangements as well as the tight sound of the ensemble where perfect. The good thing is that they know exactly how to balance old tradition with new, and as they state on their myspace: "Brother Joscephus offers the best gospel-style music without the bothersome "subservience to Jesus" part. Throw in a liberal amount of Ray Charles/Al Green/Otis Redding soul and some good ol' roots rock and you've got a perfect stew simmered to porchswing perfection". My favorite musician was the music director, pianist and arranger...Whom I forgot his name but it's the guy in the second picture, and he is a great musician and performer and it also took me a while to recognize him after the show because without the sunglasses and the white colthes looked as a complete different person.
If you wan to listen to their music go to http://www.myspace.com/brotherjoscephus

DEGENERATES ARE BACK...FINALLY

2008-09-07T12:19:00.000-05:00

After a long break my favorite party's back. Moby and Aaron J of Brazilian girls. Yeah!
Don't forget it's Thursday September 18 @ Hiro Ballroom 371 w16th street. At 9th Av.

COOL SIGN

2008-09-06T23:59:00.001-05:00

I saw this sign @ Sullivan Hall. Every auditoriun should have one. I just bought a new small camera and this is the first pic I post with my new Polaroid...I'll upload some of the other pictures I shot yesterday later

THE EARPLUG MYTH

2008-09-06T11:45:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was at a very loud concert and a friend asked me if I smoked. I was courious about the question so he told me that cigarette filters worked as good earplugs. I thought this was the perfect soulution for loud situations. I woke up today and did my research. This is what I found.

EXAMPLE:
"Using some Malboro extralight filters we conducted a quick experiment to see just how effective they might be. The results:They afford no protection below 500Hz and about 6 Db @ 500, 12 Db @ 1000, and 22 Db @ 2000, just like you would expect from a leaky earplug. It is also important to note that the numbers above are only for filters sized exactly right and sealed tightly around the perimeter of the ear canal. Since the diameter of a cigarette filter is only about 8 mm, they are on the small size for most of the population" (found @ audiology online. Hearing protection)

CONCLUSION:
"DO NOT expect any benefit from such non-standard earplugs as cotton, cigarette filters, putty, gum and even empty bullet casings (on the shooting range). They present multiple risks to your hearing because they don't effectively attenuate sound, they are uncomfortable and they are unhygienic" (found @ www.hear-it.org)

"Make-shift protectors, such as cigarette filters, cotton, or bullet casings do NOT protect you and are not hygienic" (found @ Army webpage)

ANARCHIST SOUND SPONSORED BY ANDY WARHOL

2008-09-04T20:03:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's true I should know these things but I didn't, so I'm thrilled 'cause I just found out Andy Warhol was manager and self proclaimed PRODUCER! of The Velvet Underground. Can you imagine? I knew the sixties where surrealistic but this is just too much. Warhol got the Velvets a deal with Verve records and he was labeled as their producer,liberating the band so they could explore their raw sound.
Now, lets go back.
By 1965 Warhol was VU's manager and he also suggested that the band featured the german-born singer Nico, so the Velvets recorded in three days in New York City their debut album "The Velvet Underground and Nico" which was released in May 1967.
The symbiosis between Warhol and VU is shown in "a symphony of sound" a video that captured a rehearsal of the band at The Factory in NYC with Nico and her son Ari which off course was filmed by Warhol.
Here's the Youtube video for you to watch

SHAI MAESTRO

2008-09-01T05:04:00.000-05:00

Israeli pianist Shai Maestro at the Blue Note while performing in Avishai Cohen's trio.
He was listening to Avishai's solo that later was joined by drummer Mark Guiliana

MORE LOVE WE GET,MORE LOVE YOU GET

2008-09-01T04:43:00.000-05:00

"More love we get, more love you get" said bassist Avishai Cohen last night during his last performance at the NYC's Blue Note where he presented his most recent recording "Gently disturbed". The trio,with Shai Maestro on piano and Mark Guiliana on drums, played music so intimately that a spiritual vibe got into me, specially when they presented "Eleven Wives" where Mark, as usual, extended on an impressive solo, not only as a virtuoso but also as an explorer of the spiritual mood that the music lead to.
Bass intros. as well as Shai's introduction to the last tune they played ("Nunu"), explored extreme dinamics in the pianissimo range and brought to life the intimate sound of souls.

Here´s a picture of Shai while listening to Avishai's solo that was then joined by Mark...Shit...as usual I can't seem to upload it. I guess I'll have to hang it on my next entry

BROOKLYN NIGHTS

2008-08-30T15:24:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had a gig at Freddy's backroom and this is the guy that went before us. His name is Jesse.

MUSIC THAT FITS THE WEATHER

2008-08-20T16:39:00.000-05:00

Bajofondo performance last Friday at Summerstage (Central Park NYC) was very intense.
After a rainy afternoon the band showed as usual the best they had.Santaolalla, composer of award winning soudtracks souch as Brokeback mountain and Diarios de motocicleta, said it: "esta música es perfecta para este clima" (This music fits the weather) or something like that. Eventhough I was unconfortable because I was soaked and all the tall Newyorkers (or visitors) where in front of me, the concert was worth it. The band is better live than on a CD, and the energy I got from them is more uplifting that the usual tango music. It's a very interesting and original art form that comes straight from Argentina and Urugay.
Here´s a video. Hope you enjoy!

NYC'S ROCK N' ROLL HALL OF FAME

2008-08-15T12:51:00.000-05:00

In November 2008, the Rock N' Roll hall of fame plans to open an annex in 76 Mercer Street in Manhattan.
The actual space is in Cleveland and was opened to the public in 1995, eventhough the foundation started in 1983 by a group of music executives.
The point of opening an annex in NYC is to call attention to the Cleveland exhibit that's visited by half a million people per year.
For now, in the 25.000 square-foot annex there'll be Jonny Ramone's and Eric Clapton's guitars, a CBGB's Phonebooth and Bruce Springsteen's first car, a yellow 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible.

KANYE'S GOT IT ALL

2008-08-12T21:52:00.000-05:00

Kanye West,the nine times Grammy award winner, has one of the best web music pages I've seen.
I'm not talking about his music, who personally I don't like, but this man knows exactly what he's doing.
The page's designed by Takashi Murakami, the japanese artist and exponent of global fan-geek culture who made Kanye UniverseCity as a crayon-colored cartoon. As VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN wrote for the Nwe York Times: "an ever-expanding metropolis on the order of Shanghai".
Kanye's web page also has a blog, videos, music, photos, tour dates, and everything you want to know.
Check it out and have fun

http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com

DESTINO

2008-08-03T16:18:00.000-05:00

In 1946 Salvador Dalí and Walt Disney worked on the animation for "Destino", a song by the Mexican composer Armando Domínguez. After 8 months of work the project wasn't finished so in 2003 it was completed under the direction of Dominique Monterey.
Sometimes I feel like this sureal movie.
Here´s an abstract I found on youtube.

PRUEBA

2008-07-06T18:52:00.000-05:00

JUST LIKE HEAVEN

2008-06-21T13:27:00.000-05:00

Last night I went to one of my dream concerts: The Cure.
I'd like to share with you some thoughts, but also some videos and some pictures, so if you missed it, here´s a little bit of it.
Robert Smith consecrated as a legend last night. His sureal domain of music and audience are the most admireable qualities that this artist has. He´s been able to hold The Cure together for decades and the sound as well as the show was timeless, not only because some songs had the essence that could bring me back to the early videos, and with that I mean all the feeling that I could recieve from this music when I was 13 years old, but also because that concept and that feeling is still alive and felt more contemporary than ever.
I'm not going to review the show, I just want to share some thoughts.
The combination of the bass player with his punk style, the guitar player that looket as if he'd just come out of a Miller comic, the drum player as an hybrid pop 80's star and singer and guitarist, the tender freak Robert Smith, was the perfect blend for a 50 song set list that returned me to my primitive feelings and thoughts. Pure human sensibility that lasted for ever and that ended with the pop encore, the retro encore and the real encore:Killing an Arab.
I just want to say that to me,in a very special way, real artists consecrate themselves as my philosophers so here are some of The Cure's teachings.
I wish my videos where a little shorter and had less definition so I could share the ones I taped, but as I've been trying to upload them for a week and they're very heavy, here are some youtube videos I found for you.

VINYL RETURNS. THE PROS AND CONS

2008-06-08T12:53:00.000-05:00

last Rolling Stone Issue presented an article by David Browne titled Vinyl Returns in the age of MP3. The article listed the increase in vinyl production and sales by bands like Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Elvis Costello and Catpower, as well as the increase in turnetables' sales. But beyond what the article presents there are some questions that popped into my head.
First: Radiohead and their green tours main challenge as opposed to their production of vinyl records which compared to CDs and MP3 materials are less friendly with the enviroment. So in spanish you'd say: "lo que hacen con la mano lo borran con el codo" which in english would be something like: what you write with your hand you erase with yor elbow, or something like that. So, what's the point in all the effort they invest in the live tours earth fiendly venues and equipment if the real concept, which I undertand is to be friendly with the enviroment, is not taken beyond a tour?. Maybe it's hard to believe comming from a band I admire like Radiohead and specially Thom Yorke, but is it still all about the money?. Because as we all know, vinyl is selling.
Second:All the experts talk about the warm sound of vinyl, and I agree, but being realistic, what's the percentage of people that really care about the warm sound?, so as they well cite in the article, vinyl sales have a celing. And maybe it's just a trend that would only last for real music lovers (melomanos).
Third and most important of all to me, and something the article doesn't even mention. The vinyl trend is a great way to redescover old records that made history and that had concepts that mainstream music has forgotten. Let's say jazz recordings which in my experience, sound very different in digital format that in analog, or classic recordings that we all well know souch as Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Hendrix, Beatle's Saergent Pepper's lonely hearts club band,etc...which not only made history with the music concept and sound but with the art that came with music. So, will the vinyl return bring all the good music and the profound creative concept as well as the old fashioned sound back?
Hopefully it will, at least while the trend lasts.

MORE MOBY

2008-06-05T19:53:00.001-05:00

Last remix

LSD IN ROCK N' ROLL

2008-06-01T21:38:00.000-05:00

I've been reading a lot of interviews and books written by musicians that've made history in rock music. All of them describe their experience with drugs, specially LSD. It's just something undeniable that in a way, framed a period in history and because of that, framed musicians, and as a result, their music. If you're interested check out more youtube videos or some rolling Stone's (magazine) interviews.
Remember: LSD was legal

John Lennon's audio interview

Dr. Albert Hofmann. LSD "The Beyond within"

PLAYLIST

2008-05-22T20:33:00.000-05:00

Encontré esta aplicación para armar playlists.
www.playlist.com
Les dejo seis canciones que he estado oyendo en estos dias

data="http://www.myplaylist.org/mc/mp3player-othersite.swf?config=http://www.myplaylist.org/mc/config/config_purple.xml&mywidth=435&myheight=270&playlist_url=http://www.myplaylist.org/loadplaylist.php?playlist=32556263">

value="http://www.myplaylist.org/mc/mp3player-othersite.swf?config=http://www.myplaylist.org/mc/config/config_purple.xml&mywidth=435&myheight=270&playlist_url=http://www.myplaylist.org/loadplaylist.php?playlist=32556263">

Dick Oatts: A Living Legend

2008-05-17T14:39:00.000-05:00

Last week I went to the CUNY (City College of New York) jazz festival and they had saxophonist Dick Oatts as special guest. This man is a living legend, check it out.

MOBY: best DJ set Apr.3/2008

2008-05-10T23:37:00.000-05:00

This is one of Moby's best DJ sets I've ever seen. Hiro Ballroom, the best Degenerate pary I've been to. Loved Mehdi's set too.
Here it is...Moby...Enjoy!
Focus on the music (not the image)

LA MONARETA

2008-05-10T23:32:00.000-05:00

Hace tiempo no escribía, lo siento. Lo peor es que tengo muchas cosas por decir pero bueno, esto es lo primero y es corto porque tengo tendinitis y no quiero escribir porque me duele. Un video de la Monareta que encontrè buscando el 205 Club de NYC.

Son colombianos y son muy buenos

Monareta @ 205 Bar NYC (Remezcla)

BASSOON IN JAZZ

2008-04-26T12:19:00.000-05:00

JAZZ: TODAY

2008-04-22T21:15:00.000-05:00

The jazz world has lost many of its great figures in the past year, not only musicians but also producers and high executives that believed in jazz. Although it's been a great loss for all of us (the jazz lovers), there's a new brood that's making and playing real jazz with all it's tradition but with all it's new sounds,and by this I mean the inclusion of lots and lots of experimentation. It's not easy to find this visionaries but they exist and I had the pleasure to hear them on Monday night at the Blue Note (New York). It really made me happy to see that this club is opening it`s doors to musicians that are experimenting with new sounds such as the Jason Lindner's band.
The concert was full of energy, as the usual concerts of Mr. Lindner are, but the most stunning thing to hear was the incorporation of new technologies into jazz music, as well as rediscovering a new repertoire that in a certain way, although I'm sure it's not a conscious thing that Mr. Lindner did, they're including movie songs into their performances souch as the Kill Bill song they played last night. And that's exactly what the traditional jazzmen did at their time with the "Standards".
The band that Mr. Lindner brought together was a perfect blending. Avishai Cohen playing trumpet with his 1.000 effects, Panaiotis Andreou playing bass and singing beautiful mediterranean and middle Eastern tunes, and off course, Jason Lindner on the piano, Nord Electro, Moog and synths.
It was a great experience to hear them play and a great relief to know this musicians will continue to develop a music that's been loosing it's icons because their time on this world came to an end.
No wonder why Chick Corea called Mr. Lindner a "musical universe"
Thanks for your music and your energy Jason!

NEW YORK HAS IT'S OWN SOUNDTRACK

2008-04-06T15:34:00.000-05:00

Just listen to the milieu and its enviroment

ANTOINE DOUFUR, INTO YOUR HEART

2008-03-24T13:55:00.000-05:00

De la misma onda que Andy McKee. Música perfecta para un domingo a las 6 de la tarde.

LA 33

2008-03-18T22:32:00.000-05:00

Un pedazo del concierto del lunes 17 de marzo en la Ciudad Teatro.
La pantera Mambo de la 33

¡QUE NIVEL!

2008-03-15T14:55:00.000-05:00

Anoche por fin Bogotá se sintió como una ciudad cultural. Hace mucho tiempo no tenía que decidir a qué concierto ir y anoche me pasó. EL Huevo Atómico, La Real Charanga y La Mojarra en la Ciudad Teatro presentándose dentro del marco del XI Festival Iberoamericano.
Lo primero que que debo decir es que el nivel musical de estas tres bandas es altísimo, así como sus puestas en escena, pero por primera vez el sonido estuvo impecable. Los ingenieros del Café de la Comedia (uno de los pabellones de Corferias) dejaron que los músicos se oyeran en un balance casi perfecto. La batería de Nicolás Mendez al tocar con El Huevo Atómico además de resaltar su nivel como músico, mostró que la banda no se equivocó al escoger su ingeniero de sonido. Es verdad que a estas alturas uno como público no debería agrdecer un buen sonido, pero con respecto al nivel bogotano de ingenieros es raro encontrar un sonido como el de anoche. Lo mismo pasó con Andrés Muñoz, el ingeniero de La Real Charanga que anoche lanzó su segundo disco, "Charanga Capital" con una puesta en escena muy original usando videos y mostrando que la música popular y de baile puede ir un paso más adelante. Juan Carlos Lozada supo escoger muy bien las bandas que se presentaron anoche dentro del marco del Festival, y es de esperarse que esto siga pasando en nuestra ciudad porque las bandas están sonando y demostrando el talento, ahora lo que falta es buscar estos espacios para que se detenga la fuga de talentos colombianos. ¡Que Nivel! y gracias a los músicos por seguir creyendo

VIOLETA. NUEVO DISCO DE VIETATO

2008-03-01T15:32:00.000-05:00

El miércoles 27 de febrero en el Teatro Libre de Bogotá, Vietato lanzó su segunda producción: "Violeta".
Después de tres años de trabajo, Vietato pudo sacar su nuevo disco en el que los sonidos grabados son reproducidos en vivo con una energía incomparable. Seguramente por eso Phil Vinall decidió ser el productor de la banda, después de haber trabajado con Placebo y Radiohead, entre otros. El complemento de Camilo Lucena en la guitarra, John Barragán en la batería, Diego Amorocho en la voz y la guitarra, Santiago Mejía en el bajo y en la voz y Alejandro Vergara en los teclados hace que Vietato sea uno de los grupos que marca la vanguardia en el rock colombiano, por no decir lationamericano.

Dejo el video de Más Palabras, la única canción que encontré de Vietato en Youtube, que no aparece en el segundo disco, pero si quieren oír lo nuevo vayan a www.myspace.com/vietatomusic

¿QUE PASA CON EL ARTE LATINOAMERICANO?

2008-03-01T15:06:00.000-05:00

Gullermo Habacuc Vargas, quien se hace llamar artista, expuso esto el año pasado:

Es verdad que el arte debe transmitir emociones, eso no se puede negar, pero hasta qué punto hemos llegado. ¿Será que este hondureño es TAN creativo que tiene que hacer sufrir a un perro para lograr transmitir algo con su "arte"?
Lo preocupante es que por esta "obra" fue invitado a participar en la Bienal centroamericana de arte de 2008, por lo que debe repetir su "exposición".

Hay una recolección de firmas para detener a Guillermo Vargas Habacuc y a los "artistas" que lo apoyan. http://www.petitiononline.com/13031953

No puedo creer lo que está pasando con la CREATIVIDAD y con el mundo del arte en latinoamérica.

KNOCKING ON HEAVEN'S DOOR. GUNS N' ROSES VERSION

2008-02-26T18:53:00.000-05:00

Mi versión favorita de la canción de Bob Dylan/ Dylan's song most POWERFUL version!

MÚSICA PARA HACER PATRIA.Daniel Díaz.

2008-02-26T17:22:00.002-05:00

Nacido en una familia de músicos, Daniel Díaz empezó a tocar violín desde los cinco años bajo la supervisión de su papá, Valentín. Después de un largo entrenamiento clásico, Daniel, quien trabajaba en la Orquesta Sinfónica nacional, decidió apostarle todo a su proyecto de música popular; “La Real Charanga”, una orquesta de 11 músicos que hoy en día es la única charanga con la que cuenta Bogotá.

Bajo la dirección de Daniel,“La Real Charanga” ya se ha llevado el primer puesto en el festival de salsa al parque y el premio a “mejor tema inédito” en jazz al parque del año pasado, pero eso no es suficiente para su director, quien a sus 30 años ha hecho parte de numerosas grabaciones entre las que se encuentran los dos discos de su charanga; “Real charanga” de 2005 y “Charanga Capital” de 2007.

Para celebrar los cinco años de vida de “La Real Charanga”, Daniel, decidió hacer el lanzamiento de este segundo trabajo el próximo 14 de marzo en el marco del festival iberoamericano de teatro, porque en sus propias palabras es “el escenario perfecto para mostrar una música que le hace homenaje a Bogotá, porque así es que se hace patria”.

Esperen en la próxima entrada la reseña del disco

UNPURE VIDEO T.H.E Music Review

2008-02-22T10:58:00.000-05:00

MUSIC REVIEW
Lanzamiento video Unpure T.H.E

Ya es normal el movimiento de masas que tiene T.H.E, la única banda de new brit pop que existe en Bogotá. Anoche lanzaron su video de “Unpure” en “Rosario” un bar en Usaquén.
Como siempre la banda sonó impecable aunque vale decir que el sonido en vivo estuvo muy malo como suele pasar en este tipo de escenarios. A ver si los ingenieros dejan de creerse estrellas y arreglan aunque sea las cosas mínimas;el feedback y el bajo a todo volumen.
La banda tocó muchas de sus canciones nuevas que tienen un sonido más sucio que las que aparecen en su primer disco. Yo no las concía y me gusta el contraste que logran porque tienen un sonido más oscuro que contrasta con la Voz de Oscar que me impresionó con el manejo del instrumento que tiene porque se convierte en el color indispensable para T.H.E.
Andrés está haciendo unos redobles en la batería mucho más interesantes y los cortes suenan muy bien con Douglas en el bajo. Además, la energía que tiene Douglas en el escenario es contagiosa y me gusta la nueva actitud de Charry quien también se está contagiando de la energía de Andrés y de Douglas. Anoche tocaron “Bitter sweet symphony” de “The Verve”, un cover con el que Charry mostró su habilidad en el manejo de los efectos de la guitarra. La mejor versión fue la de “Trip Dog” y para cerrar el concierto no podían faltar las canciones que los llevaron a ser conocidos; “Up on the moon”, “Become” y “Aim at me”, que seguramente por la emoción tocaron en un tiempo acelerado. Sufrí un poco viendo a Oscar cantar las palabras a esta velocidad, pero como siempre ¡la rockearon!

40 AÑOS DE LA ORQUESTA FILARMÓNICA DE BOGOTÁ

2008-02-10T19:56:00.000-05:00

Esto lo escribí en julio o agosto del año pasado para ARCADIA pero les llegó pauta y se quedó sin publicar así que aquí lo dejo.

40 años de la Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá
LA EXPERIENCIA NO SE IMPROVISA

Por Andrea Baquero
“Una tradición verdadera no es el testimonio de un pasado transcurrido, es una fuerza viviente que anima e informa al presente”.
Igor Stravinsky

Este mes la Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá (OFB) cumple 40 años. La Filarmónica, que anualmente presenta más de 150 funciones ante unas 300mil personas, celebrará su aniversario el próximo 18 de agosto a las 4 de la tarde con un concierto en el teatro Jorge Eliécer Gaitán de Bogotá en el que se reunirán más de 400 músicos y se presentarán obras de J. Sibelius y Germán Borda. El costo para los espectadores será de 6.000 pesos.

En 1966 nació la Fundación Filarmónica Colombiana con el propósito de difundir el repertorio sinfónico nacional y universal bajo el lema “el arte debe cumplir una función social”. En agosto del 67, los miembros de la Fundación: Belisario Betancur, Jaime Glottmann, Francisco Yesid Triana, Alberto Zalamea, Frank Preuss, Hernando Santos Castillo y Lucía Salgado, cayeron en cuenta de que para poder llevar la música sinfónica a un público más amplio y presentar la música “clásica” en lugares menos tradicionales, era necesario contar con un presupuesto que se les salía de las manos. Por esta razón, buscaron apoyo del distrito y en 1967, gracias al acuerdo Número 71 con el concejo, la OFB obtuvo el estatus del que goza hoy en día, un establecimiento público, pero completamente autónomo, financiado por la administración central dependiente de la Alcaldía Mayor de Bogotá.

Gracias al acuerdo, la OFB se convirtió en la única orquesta colombiana que se financia en un 99% con recursos estatales, aunque para tener más ingresos, ofrece servicios al sector privado, tiene una amplia colección de discos a la venta, cobra por sus presentaciones semanales y recibe donaciones.

El comienzo de la actividad musical de la OFB coincidió con la construcción del auditorio León de Greiff de la Universidad Nacional, en el que se ha llevado a cabo la labor de la Orquesta en forma continua y permanente. Sin embargo, el auditorio, mediante un convenio de la Universidad Nacional, sigue siendo la sede provisional de la Filarmónica y se ha convertido en el principal centro de su actividad sinfónica. En el León de Greiff, la OFB ensaya todas las mañanas y presenta los conciertos habituales de los sábados en la tarde. Adicionalmente, la OFB se presenta los viernes en la noche en el auditorio Fabio Lozano de la Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano.

El 19 de agosto del 68 con motivo del congreso eucarístico, durante la alcaldía de Virgilio Barco Vargas y bajo la dirección de los maestros Raúl García y Mario Posada, se presentó la primera actuación de la OFB en el Teatro Colón de Bogotá y registró lleno total.

Con el solista colombiano Frank Preuss y el director invitado de la Filarmónica de Buffalo, Melvin Strauss. se dio oficialmente inicio a la actividad musical de la OFB, con un programa que contaba con el Himno Nacional de Colombia, obras de J.S.Bach, W.A Mozart, Marco Aurelio Vanegas, B.Bartók y el concierto en mi menor Op.64 para violín y orquesta de F.Mendelssohn.

La actividad de la OFB no ha cesado durante estos 40 años y ha tenido como directores titulares a figuras de la talla del colombiano Jaime León, el chileno Francisco Rettig, el búlgaro Dimitr Manolov, y el norteamericano Irwin Hoffman. Actualmente, el director titular de la OFB es el mexicano-español Eduardo Diazmuñoz (54), quien ha sido nominado dos veces al premio Grammy y estudió con Leonard Bernstein.

Aunque en 1968 la planta inicial de la OFB era de 38 músicos, hoy en día la orquesta cuenta con 100 músicos de los cuales 17 son extranjeros, y muchos de los instrumentistas están vinculados a la orquesta desde sus primeros años de funcionamiento. Esto se convierte en una “situación dura para los músicos que quieren entrar a la orquesta, pero tiene sus razones para defenderlo, porque aunque puede haber mejores músicos afuera, es natural que eso pase en una sociedad. Además la experiencia no se puede improvisar”, asegura Ricardo Jaramillo (42), director asistente.

La tradición y experiencia que tiene la OFB muestra su fortaleza en interpretaciones del repertorio del siglo XIX, como la música de Mahler, Bruckner y Tchaicovsky, así como de los grandes compositores colombianos, B.Atheortúa, José A. Morales y Jesús Pinzón Urrea.

La elección del repertorio está a cargo del director titular, el director asistente, el director gerente, el concertino y dos músicos jefes de grupo. “La Orquesta debe mantener sus fortalezas y arreglar sus deficiencias”, asegura Jaramillo, sin embargo, “al escoger el repertorio se piensa en el público, pero también se piensa en la música contemporánea que no se puede recesar porque no se deben descuidar los estrenos”, afirma Miguel Cortés (42), director gerente.

En lo que lleva corrido del año la OFB ya ha estrenado cinco obras: dos polacas, una mexicana, una colombiana y una de Tayikistán, entre las que se encuentra el concierto “tango, rock viola”, composición del músico tayiko Benjamin Yusupov encargada por el violinista ruso Maxim Vengerov. El estreno se hizo en Colombia a nivel de América el pasado 17 de mayo en el auditorio Fabio Lozano bajo la dirección de Ricardo Jaramillo. La presentación del concierto contó con la actuación de Kraken, la bailarina Gina Medina y el violista venezolano, jefe de grupo de la OFB, Aníbal Dos Santos.

Yusupov, quien estuvo cinco días en Colombia para presenciar el estreno de su obra, se refirió a la OFB. “Para mí fue un gran placer trabajar con la orquesta y con Aníbal Dos Santos, quien es un gran intérprete de viola y Colombia puede estar orgullosa de él”.

Sin embrago, con respecto al espacio en el que se presentó su concierto y la inversión que se hizo en luces y montaje, Yusupov explicó que “desafortunadamente el auditorio era muy pequeño, y no estaba diseñado para este propósito, por lo que hubo muchas personas que no pudieron apreciar el baile del tango”.

Y es que la difusión de esta música debe contar con suficiente dinero debido a los espacios requeridos y a la cantidad de personas que están vinculadas en los proyectos. Por ejemplo, la Orquesta Filarmónica de Nueva York, cuenta con 50 millones de dólares anuales, que en su mayoría provienen del sector privado, la Orquesta Sinfónica de Jerusalén contaba con un presupuesto estatal de 3.6 millones de dólares (según sus integrantes, el presupuesto más bajo del mundo), pero por un recorte del 60% fue cerrada en junio de este año después de 70 años de funcionamiento, y la OFB recibe 15.000 millones de pesos anuales por parte del Distrito (seis millones de dólares).

La reforma administrativa que se hizo durante la alcaldía de Luis Eduardo Garzón, reagrupó las instituciones de recreación y deporte y el Instituto Distrital de Cultura y Turismo bajo la misma entidad, la Secretaría de Cultura, Recreación y Deporte que está a cargo de la abogada y cantante lírica Martha Senn, quien explica que “este año por motivo de la transición a la secretaría nueva, se seguirán ejecutando los recursos para la Orquesta”, pero aclaró que “se fortalecerán los institutos para asumir el tema presupuestal de la Orquesta, que para el 2008 va a tener en función de la reforma un fortalecimiento económico, sin importar quién sea el próximo alcalde”.

Aunque el presupuesto que se destinará a la OFB no se ha estipulado todavía, el hecho de que los ingresos se incrementen significa una tranquilidad para su funcionamiento, aunque “en estos trabajos siempre existen riesgos grandes, pero uno se va curtiendo con el tiempo”, como afirma con una sonrisa Ricardo Jaramillo.

Y es que aunque mantener una orquesta dedicada a la música sinfónica parezca un gasto para el distrito, la verdad es que es una inversión, teniendo en cuenta que por medio de esta, se emplean más de 100 músicos, y se logra difundir y preservar el patrimonio cultural, así como sensibilizar a la sociedad frente a temas musicales y extra musicales.

El sector privado ya empezó a tomar conciencia sobre lo importante que es apoyar la música sinfónica, como el empresario Lorenzo Kling Mazuera, quien está patrocinando la producción del DVD del Réquiem de G.Verdi bajo la batuta del maestro colombiano Andrés Orozco, director asociado de la OFB, que trabaja directamente con la Orquesta Filarmónica de Viena. El DVD fue rodado el pasado 4 de abril en Bogotá y se estrenará en septiembre de este año con una producción de 1.000 copias.

Aunque al principio se pensaban celebrar los 40 años de actividad de la OFB con el lanzamiento del DVD, la producción no alcanzó a estar lista, por lo que el 18 de agosto se reunirán fundadores y figuras que han estado vinculadas a la Orquesta desde su fundación, como los maestros Frank Preuss, primer concertino de la OFB, Mario Posada, concertino y director en los años 70, Raúl García, director musical durante 20 años, y María Cristina Sánchez, directora y gerente durante la consolidación de la Orquesta. Para esta ocasión se presentará un concierto que contará con la participación de la violinista francesa Virgine Robilliard quien interpretará el concierto en re menor para violín de J.Sibelius.

Además, la OFB lanzará ese mismo día una colección de cuatro discos compactos que recopila los 40 mejores temas de música colombiana que ha grabado la orquesta. Esta colección contará también con un tributo especial a los maestros José A. Morales y Lucho Bermúdez.

RECUADROS
DIFERENCIA ENTRE ORQUESTA SINFÓNICA Y FILARMÓNICA
La diferencia entre una orquesta sinfónica y filarmónica se determina por la proveniencia de sus ingresos, no por su conformación musical, teniendo en cuenta que las dos agrupaciones cuentan con una composición orquestal idéntica, por lo que el repertorio que interpretan puede ser el mismo. La tradición apunta a que las orquestas sinfónicas estén patrocinadas con recursos del gobierno, mientras que las orquestas filarmónicas se sostienen con recursos del sector privado, aunque en Colombia el patrocinio de las orquestas es contrario a la tradición. La Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá se sostiene en un 99% con recursos del Distrito, mientras que la Orquesta Sinfónica de Colombia, se sostiene con recursos del sector privado.

DISCOGRAFÍA
La Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá (OFB), tiene una larga trayectoria en producciones discográficas. En sus comienzos la OFB trabajaba de la mano con Sonolux, Discos Fonosema o Caracol Radio, Televisión. Actualmente las grabaciones de la OFB son producciones completamente independientes, en las que se puede resaltar la calidad de audio. Por ejemplo el disco “Kraken Filarmónico” fue masterizado en los estudios de Abbey Road (Inglaterra), el mismo estudio en que se grabó el “Sgt. Pepper´s Lonely Hearts Club Band” de Los Beatles y “The Dark Side Of The Moon” de Pink Floyd. El catálogo de las grabaciones de la OFB está disponible en su página web www.filarmonicabogota.gov.co, en la sede principal de la Orquesta, Calle 39 Bis N0 14-57, o en el teléfono 2883466 de Bogotá.

CRÓNICA. MARCHANDO DETRÁS DE LA BANDA "THE HALL EFFECT"

2008-01-31T12:29:00.000-05:00

Esta es una crónica que escribí en noviembre de 2006. La hice con un grupo de rock que me gusta mucho y en ese entonces no eran conocidos. Cuando la escribí apenas tenían 7.960 visitas en su página de myspace. Hoy tienen 134.359 visitas.
Igual es una banda que me gusta mucho y hacer la crónica fue una buena experiencia.

MARCHANDO DETRÁS DE LA BANDA
“THE HALL EFFECT” (T.H.E)
Por: Andrea Baquero

La gente aplaude y pide más: “¡otra, otra!”. Un eco de chiflidos retumba en la bóveda de ladrillo que hay en el techo, en la que se alcanza a ver el humo subir pero que después sale por las puertas de la terraza que queda tras el escenario.
Oscar se voltea lentamente para esperar la mirada cómplice de Charry, esa que determina si la que acaban de tocar fue realmente la última canción.

Todo concluye cuando Charry se descuelga la guitarra y la pone sobre la base, para luego agarrar su botella de agua Manantial. Este movimiento lo hace también Douglas pero con el bajo, mientras que Andrés suelta las baquetas.
Oscar ya ha dado las gracias al público por haber venido.

En ese minuto, mientras la banda deja de tocar, el escenario se llena de personas que quieren hablar con cada uno de los integrantes. Los abrazan, les aprietan la mano, y les hacen todo tipo de comentarios; los felicitan, les preguntan las marcas de los instrumentos, les piden el número telefónico, autógrafos, y no es raro ver a cualquiera de ellos entre dos mujeres posando para una foto.

Esta es la rutina que T.H.E. repite noche tras noche en sus toques. Es la única banda de “new brit rock” (un estilo que surgió a principio de los años 90 en Inglaterra, que fusiona el Rock & Roll con el Rock alternativo norteamericano) que hay en Bogotá sonando por estos días y están próximos a lanzar su nuevo disco independiente.

“Drogas, sexo y rock & roll” es la trilogía que uno esperaría encontrar en una banda como esta, pero el panorama es el siguiente: drogas…nada, sexo...en el público, especialmente el que insinúan las mujeres que los miran, y rock & roll…del bueno, sobre todo cuando llegan a “Come Together” de los “Beatles”. Mientras tocan esta canción se levanta un bosque de cigarrillos que bailan en el aire, y la gente grita: Come together/right now/over me, para darle espacio al clásico sonido del bajo que soporta las palabras.

Al terminar la canción, mientras la gente aplaude, Oscar, como siempre, se toma un trago de brandy para dar las gracias y dice que son un “público muy bueno”. Salen voces desde la multitud que gritan “Become”, el primer éxito de la banda que sonó en Radioactiva, la emisora de rock en Bogotá, y que todavía se mantiene en el rock 20 (listado de éxitos en emisoras locales).

A veces la tocan en versión acústica, pero esto depende de los efectos que Charry tenga disponibles, ya que sus equipos tienden a fallar un 80% de las veces. Es común verlo tranquilo durante la prueba de sonido porque todo está funcionando, y encontrárselo después de la primera parte del concierto, revisando los cables y las conexiones de sus equipos porque algo está molestando.
Aparecen los acordes de la guitarra. 12 compases que introducen la canción “Become”, y que evocan la sonoridad del “new brit rock”. La gente canta con Oscar: I say hello/but you´re not here/the thing I wanted the most/ And there is nothing but tears. Para el segundo verso ya el coro de los espectadores supera la voz del cantante, y con el hello/hello que corresponde, se comprueba el carácter del público capitalino que siempre quiere cantar más fuerte que la voz líder. De hecho, Oscar ya se puede dar el lujo de no cantar algunas partes de la canción, porque el público se la sabe y la corea mientras suenan las cuartas de la guitarra que se parecen al sonido de un sintetizador.

La atmósfera se calienta, huele a sudor y a cerveza. Los dos cocineros que están detrás de la barra, marcan el pulso con pinchos de madera, como si fueran unas baquetas. La gente se sube en las sillas para cantar y responder con los brazos a los gestos de Oscar y Douglas, mientras siguen tocando éxitos comerciales que han influido en su gusto musical. “No rain”, “I will survive”, “Elevation”, “Lemon tree” y “Smoke on the water”, que son solo algunos de los 200 covers del repertorio de la banda, que cuando empezó en “Hard Rock Café” se hacía llamar “D-Mic”.

Finalmente The Hall Effect “es una teoría física que yo encontré en un libro. Como se veía y como sonaba me pareció del carajo y gracias a Andreita (la novia de Oscar) nos dimos cuenta que tenía las iniciales T.H.E. Nos pareció perfecto”, dice Charry.

Muchas de las personas que van a los toques de esta banda ya los han oído antes, la mayoría por Radioactiva, y otros en vivo en la “Hamburguesería”, en Play T.V (canal de música) o en Internet en la página de “My space” de la banda (www.myspace.com/thehalleffect), que tiene en promedio cien visitantes diarios, sumando hoy 7.960 cibernautas.

De las 150 personas que caben en el lugar hay 60 que los conocen y que están hoy sábado en “London Calling” (Bar al estilo Inglés que queda en Usaquén, Cll. 120 con Cra. séptima) porque hoy tocan ellos.

Alexandra, una de las seguidoras de T.H.E, que vino al toque, dice que “en estos espacios se mueven muchas cosas. Hay muchos intereses detrás de la banda, gustos musicales y personales”, mientras señala a una amiga.

Durante el concierto, es frecuente oír conversaciones que hablan de lo bien que suena la banda. De pronto el público se paraliza con algún solo de guitarra, y las mujeres hablan entre ellas: “Me enamoré de estos manes”, “Pase rápido que no les quiero dar la espalda”, mientras que los hombres conversan: “mire ese bajista, ¡toca mucho!”, y “el guitarrista es un monstruo”.

Hay una mesa al frente del escenario en la que está Claudia, la novia de Andrés. Ella sonríe constantemente, así las mujeres abracen a su novio o le pidan el teléfono. Sin embargo, siempre comenta algo con Paola que no le quita los ojos de encima a Oscar, y cada vez que él canta, ella sonríe tímidamente. En esta misma mesa está Maribel, una amiga de la banda que los acompaña desde que los conoció en “Hard Rock Café”, cuando trabajaba como mesera. Ella los ayuda a enrollar cables, y a guardar los equipos después del toque. Se ha convertido en una roady (personas contratadas para cargar los equipos) voluntaria, junto con Claudia, Camila y Andrea. “Aparecen cuando uno las necesita”, dice Charry.

Hoy, Claudia llevó al toque dos anuarios del colegio, el “Lincoln”. En los anuarios de 1993 y 1994, sale la foto de Charry en sexto grado, pero Charry sonríe y dice: “Siempre salgo en sexto porque me lo tiré tres veces”. En el anuario del 94, aparece una foto en blanco y negro de su primera banda, en ese entonces “Wendy”.

Ricardo, que es el fan más consagrado de T.H.E, y que se reencontró con Andrés que era de su colegio, se ha convertido en amigo de Douglas. “Un día que la banda salía de tocar de la ‘Hamburguesería’ de Usaquén, salimos para ‘London Calling’ (que queda a cuatro cuadras). Douglas me pidió que le llevara el bajo, entonces salí antes que él a comprar cigarrillos y se me acercaron dos mujeres muy bonitas a preguntarme si yo era el bajista de la banda, así que les dije que sí y les conté toda la historia del grupo. Las dos quedaron convencidas”.

En la mayoría de los toques está Ricardo, que se sabe todas las canciones del grupo, y que mientras canta no puede evitar sonreír y levantar su dedo como si quisiera llegar hasta el techo, especialmente cuando oye “Up on the moon”, su canción favorita de T.H.E.

La lista de las canciones que van a tocar en cada concierto la definen en la prueba de sonido, dependiendo de los efectos de la guitarra que funcionen, y aunque muchas son de grupos reconocidos, sus interpretaciones siempre llevan sello propio. Los “uuu” de Oscar cuando usa el falsete, la guitarra de Charry que parece que tuviera un teclado en el fondo, los redobles de Andrés, que van acompañados de la aceleración del tempo, y los solos de Douglas.

Al terminar el toque, Oscar asegura que lo importante es “hacer lo que a uno le gusta porque si uno se siente bien con algo, lo va a hacer bien, solo hacen falta las ganas y mucha suerte”. Explica que hay que ponerle el corazón, y que lo comprobó cuando su mamá le dijo: “ mi hijito, yo no entiendo lo que dice esa canción, pero suena tan lindo…”.
El rock nació en inglés y por eso ellos componen en esta lengua, además es un idioma muy directo, es perfecto para expresar sus ideas.

T.H.E es una banda auténtica y original, que suena bien porque nadie quiere sobresalir, por eso se ven y se oyen compactos. Además, las funciones musicales y extra musicales se las distribuyen entre los cuatro, y aunque no son equitativas, “todo se hace por la música”.

PRUEBA DE SONIDO

Charry lleva los equipos de la banda en su carro, un Mazda 3 23 blanco, al que no le abre la puerta del copiloto y al que le tiene que sujetar el baúl con un palo para que no se cierre.

Empieza a bajar cosas, y cuando agarra la caja de 8 kilos en la que carga los Racks (equipos para los efectos), la manija de la caja se baja machucándolo. Su reacción es rápida. Apoya la caja suavemente, saca la mano y se chupa el dedo índice. Esta escena se repite a menudo en su vida, pero hoy le falta por bajar: dos amplificadores, tres bases de batería, una maleta verde de “Benetton”, en la que carga unas pedaleras y cables, “el muerto” (donde van las partes metálicas de la batería), y un maletín de plástico transparente en el que lleva más rigs (accesorios).

A las cinco de la tarde, después de almorzar, Charry empieza a acomodar los equipos en el escenario oscuro, iluminado por el efecto de contraluz que se forma por la ventana. Saca cada cable que viene enrollado perfectamente y va conectando sus equipos.

A las 5:45 llega Andrés. Lo primero que saca es el tapete que desprende un olor a cerveza, cigarrillo y sudor que está impregnado en el azul de la alfombra que cubre tres cuartos de la tarima. Una vez acomodado, Charry se me acerca para decirme suavemente: “Andrés es uno de los bateristas precavidos que anda con su tapete. Ese es uno de los karmas de ser baterista”.
Vuelve a revisar sus equipos conectados y dice: “no me gusta que Douglas se ponga a hacer show y se olvide de la música, para mí lo primero es que la banda suene bien”, mientras pelea con el cable de su controlador, que tiene dos pedales y 18 botones.
Andrés le contesta: “Yo lo único que quiero es tocar”, y termina de montar los platillos de la batería que está en el centro del escenario. Mientras tanto, suena una canción de aterciopelados. Andrés mueve sus dreads, lleva el pulso con sus piernas, y pregunta: ¿Qué es baracunatana?, ¿qué es guaricha? Y suelta una carcajada cuando dice: “el guitarrista es un abuelito, siempre hay que darle la razón porque los abuelitos son como niños”.
Charry contesta: ¿Qué dijo?, ¿Que el guitarrista lo sabe todo? Y sonríe.
Luego se sientan y Charry toma agua mientras Douglas, que acaba de llegar eufórico porque al fin registró el nombre de la banda, desempaca el bajo para conectarse.

Andrés se me acercó y me regaló unos tapones para oídos. Yo no entendí y le pregunté por qué no se los ponía él, así que me dijo que “Un día estaba tocando en ‘Beer station’ y Maribel, una amiga, estaba al lado de la batería. Estaba tan cerca que se le reventó el oído. Desde ese día, siempre llevo tapones para darle a los amigos”.

Hablamos un rato sobre la cicatriz que tiene en el mentón, la que se hizo a los diez años cuando se cayó de una bicicleta. Luego le pregunté por su novia y me dijo: “Primero lo primero: el rock & roll. Una persona que se relaciona con un músico tiene que entender que la música va primero”.

Oscar llega a las 6:10 p.m, viene vestido con una camiseta de rayas delgadas negras y blancas en sentido horizontal, una bufanda también de rayas negras y blancas, pero gruesas, una chaqueta negra, unos converse que alguna vez fueron negros, un pantalón negro y un cinturón de rayas gruesas negras con blanco, que tiene una hebilla plateada con dos corcheas grabadas. Saluda y va a conectar su micrófono. Empieza la prueba de sonido.

Hoy Charry está más tranquilo, porque uno de sus racks, el que era de Pete Willis, el guitarrista de “Def Leppard”, ya no está molestando. De hecho hoy nisiquiera sirve, así que puede tocar relajado porque se dio cuenta del problema antes del concierto y no durante. Y aunque se ve su cara menos seria que de costumbre dice: “más problemas para mí”.

Oscar se aleja del escenario para oír a la banda, y va hasta la consola para ecualizar los micrófonos. Después de pasar seis canciones completas, Claudia, Paola y las meseras, aplauden. El sonido está probado. Ya están todos listos para empezar el toque a las 10:30 de la noche.

Rubén Blades hablando sobre sus colaboraciones con Sting, Lou Reed y Bob Dylan

2008-01-28T20:48:00.001-05:00

Por si acaso no se ve el video, este es el link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcGC5Hn7ZsU

FREE MUSIC

2008-01-28T20:19:00.000-05:00

Después de unos cuantos días pude volver a entrar a mi cuenta.
Aunque me encanta la tecnología hay muchas veces que me queda grande. Pero uno de los beneficios aunque a veces no me funciona es poder descargar música LEGAL y ¡GRATIS!.
Gracias a "Radiohead" más personas entendieron el concepto de la distribución de la música libre. Ellos con su última producción: "Rainbow" dejaron que cada persona pagara lo que quisiera por descargar la música.
Sin embargo, todo el mérito no se le puede dar a esta banda inglesa porque hace cuatro años, el músico panameño Rubén Blades había aplicado este mismo concepto.
Y aprovechando el tema de música libre y nuevos conceptos, recomiendo el show de este increíble músico panameño.
Es un programa en el que habla sobre su música, sobre música nueva y sobre lo que sus seguidores le preguntan.
De hecho, en el programa número 10 habla sobre el concepto de pagar lo que se quiera por la música porque el negocio de la música cambió, pero ese es otro tema sobre el que escribiré luego.
El show de Rubén Blades se puede descargar gratuitamente en la tienda de itunes, se puede ver en youtube o en su página. www.rubenblades.com
De todas formas dejo el link en youtube de uno de sus shows
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz_lM5hTAtg

VIDEO GREENWOOD

2008-01-24T11:42:00.000-05:00