Cunao

This week has been inspirational as far as music goes. I'm really liking what new music is out there at the moment, but also revisiting classic albums that inspired... correction, CHANGED my life.  And that was really fun.

So this got me thinking about a new fun side-project that I will post right here on this blog.  The idea came from KCRW's Guest DJ program and as I wondered about my own playlist if I was a guest on that program I also wondered about what some of my artist friends would put down on their list.

SO,  Look out for it I'll be posting some podcast type recordings right here with my own Guest DJ spots.

Meanwhile here is one of the new groups that I'm really digging right now - They're The Alabama Shakes, and guess what? They're actually form Alabama. 

Well there you have it, hope you enjoyed.

I know many of us have already seen Martin Scorcese's Film Hugo by now so many will be familiar with Georges Melies.  But if you have not watched one of Melies original films you're still missing out.  Here is one that probably astounded viewers at the start of the 20th century.  It's remarkable even now and even more so, it's inspiring. 

Melies style fell into obscurity once talkies started being made, and musicians in many ways are facing a similar challenge in the music business today- A changing landscape with lots of uncertainty about the future.  Still, many films that followed Melies also became classics and quite a few have profoundly affected me. So, watching this little original work is like taking a step back and reminding myself why I'm making music and realizing that people will continue to create inspiring work into the future somehow. Corny? perhaps, but fulfilling none the less.

My suggestion: Enjoy the film and continue making music!

until next time!

It's been a week of performances for me.  Last Wednesday I played with Family Cave at CENTRAL SAPC in Santa Monica. Well, now it's upon us, the RED CAT Theatre performance with Alexx Shilling and dancers Dorothy Chen and Ian Isles. I have composed and edited sound for the piece.

Los Angeles artists present new works and works-in-progress in this ongoing program curated to offer audiences an interdisciplinary mix of dynamic performances, while giving experimental artists a creative platform to investigate new ideas and new directions for their work. This edition of Studio was curated with guest curators Laurel Kishi and Melanie Rios Glaser, and features the following original works:

ALEXX MAKES DANCES: THIS DANCE IS STOLEN
Choreographer Alexandra Shilling fashions a rock-and-roll love letter to David Byrne as two women appropriate movement from his iconic performance in Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense. Experimenting with forms of accumulation and de-accumulation, their “stolen” dance confronts the celebrated role of the frontman.

Photos by: Olivia Hemaratanatorn

Another moment of inspiration and awe at the power of Art, this time by Banksy- The dude is on point and probably understands better than anyone else what the new Digital Age means for artists- musicians included.  In fact for this post I will simply steal, repost and let his words and images speak for themselves.

Laters- Cuñao

People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you.

You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.

Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.

You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs.

- Banksy   

Hey guys. So I am playing a solo acoustic show at Good Hurt on April 5th at 9pm.
So I hope to see you guys there! Also It's free if I put you on the guest list!

So to be put on the guest list just email me here.

As you know Trabajo Y Ron is an electronic album. But underneath all the digital blitz, there are simple and folky songs.  It's in this format that you'll hear these tunes plus a bunch of new material.

I am also performing on other projects so check the "Shows" page for more detail

My literary hero and author of 100 years of solitude turn 85!
I only hope he will soon deliver the second half of his autobiography.

The first half of his life is told in his personal account "Living To Tell The Tale".  It begins the story from his early years in Aracataca, Colombia through his university days and early journalistic adventures. He details "El Bogotazo", a violent clash between conservatives and liberals which was spurred by the assassination of Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, the incumbent presidential candidate of Colombia. The violence would last a few years and be known as "La Violencia".

Marquez's account of his days during El Bogotazo were the inspiration for the song Gaitan from "Trabajo Y Ron"
So yeah... he was a big influence on me!

Here's the song Gaitan

Theatricality in Music

Tonight March 2, 2012 is the one night event of Alexx Shilling's performance at UCLA Glorya Kaufman Hall as part of her second year graduate program. The show is produced by her and two other MFA student at UCLA. I have worked on the music creating a live sound design and original music along with borrowed material.  Alexx is presenting a new work titled "This dance is Stolen"

The subject tackled with this piece really hit home- she has taken a David Byrne concert and extracted the theatricality of his stage moves.  It got me thinking of how even the most subtle natural movements we make  on stage become choreography or has the potential to at least.  I also feel this dance piece travels much deeper thematically and touches on what it means to perform, or why we do it!  Truly inspiring!

If you have a chance to see it tonight go for it, but since I'm posting this TODAY! it might be too short notice. You can still catch a performance of it though:

March 31st, & April 1st 2012  8:30pm
REDCAT Studio: Spring 2012

For more info and tickets go here

Come and check out another Cuñao collaboration with the talented choreographer and experience something completely different than the Latin music you get here.
I'll leave you with this little video trailer for the UCLA Performance tonight.

Back Flash Forward Trailer from alexx makes dances on Vimeo.

Today is a leap day!

yay!

Life is precious and beautiful!

Yet lately so much is happening around us that hints at a so much unhappiness and in many different levels. Hey look, I recognize that emotional states are transient and not everlasting, but what I am talking about is an underlying discomfort for the conditions we live in- kind of like being sick, sort of.  It can't all be blamed on one or two things but I do think a big culprit is our constant search for material wealth.

Now let me say that I don't think there is anything wrong with working hard for a better life. A more comfortable life, that yes includes more wealth and the financial freedom to follow the interest our hearts desire.  But I get the feeling that at some point in the last few decades, our society in general traded in the idea that “money can afford us a more comfortable life” for “Money is happiness at all cost”.

I'm not the first to point this out, nor am I some authority on this, but in this past few months we've witnessed the Occupy Wall Street movement, The middle east uprising and following Syrian protests the killings of innocent citizens, and yes, a European financial crisis.  That's all big stuff that in some way or another is related to power and ultimately money and wealth.  

People are hurting… for a variety of reasons but in our struggle to acquire more we  have become less sensitive to other people's pains; and to some degree our own as well.  We've disconnected. And this makes me real sad. I can’t even express the weight I’ve felt this week over the state of our current affairs.

But in light of all the drama we’re living, I think it’s more important than ever for artist to speak their minds and make their own sense of what is happening around us.  I think in many ways art and music is one the very few ways that can really help individuals change our emotional well being for the better.  SO, I’m encouraging EVERYONE to write their own thoughts and sing their own songs. Would love to hear some of the thing other people do or write to cheer themselves up.

I’ll leave you with the translated lyrics of the song “Encantado” from Trabajo Y Ron since I think it’s very appropriate for this little ramble.  You can listen to the Spanish version here as well.

Delighted

I am lacking something and I wonder what it is?
If my happiness depend on an object
I wonder what is happening inside of me, I can’t tell
But if I buy my toy I’ll forget about everything.

I wish I could buy just another toy
I could really enjoy just another toy
I wish I could find just another toy
And that I can be delighted

Do you have toy, your status symbol
The god of jaguars and goddess of the elements
It burns the details and melts reality
And everything is consecrated with real money

I wish I could buy just another toy
I could really enjoy just another toy
I wish I could find just another toy
And that I can be delighted

For the LOVEBIRDS:

I'll just leave you with one of the best love songs ever written. It's a corta-vena by my compatriota Ecuatoriano Julio Jaramillo.

Happy Valentino!

All you beat lover of the world and lovers of world beats- Check out this blog Generation Bass they have some really cool music and since last year they have their own digital label and it's quite satisfying.

You can check them out at WWW.GENERATIONBASS.COM

Here is a little tidbit from their blog.

Fleck & Fish Finger - "Rude Profile" (Pan Agnostix Flamenco-Step remix) by SixDegreesRecords

My new year's resolution was to play out more and run more.  So far, I've been successful at both. I'll be ready for that half marathon in early February.

As for playing out, Family Cave- my American Folk rock band with whom I play bass already played a show at Good Hurt in Venice, CA. And we have a few other gigs lined up in the next few months. 

But Cuñao is starting to play out as well. I am very happy to have found Tia Chucha's (www.tiachucha.com).

Tia Chucha's is a community center in Sylmar, CA. They hold an open mic night every Friday as well as host a Noche de Arte Y Poesia on the first two Wednesday of every month.

So far I've gotten a nice reception from the dedicated people who regularly attend. It is a community of Latin poets, musicians, and activist that support each other.

And They're also a Book Store!  awesome place!

TIA CHUCHAS

www.tiachucha.com

I cannot overstate how much "Musica Del Recuerdo" is important in the lives of Ecuadorians!
I'm serious! So, this post I want to introduce you to a few of the songs that are staples of this "memories music". I'll give you my top three.

First, no musica del recuerdo song is complete without this song: "Mi Viejo".
A classic by the Argentinean singer, this song is a tribute to our "old man".  This is a beautiful but sad depiction as we see our fathers age right before our eyes.  Makes me cry every time and hear it and want to call my pops!

Second on our list is Los Iracundos- The Uruguayan group were the Rolling Stones of Latin ballads and this song tears it up:  Marionetas de Carton

Third, but not least is Leodan.  His high pitched voice crooned its way in the hearts of Latin Americans.  One of my favorites is "El Amor Y La Felicidad"

I must confess that this music permeates every Cuñao song. This list is not anywhere near complete, but wanted to give you a shortlist. What are your favorites?

First of all Happy New Year!

This past weekend I had one of those sleepless nights and I was not out partying.  Instead, I stayed up all night listening to independent artist via bandcamp.

I must say that there are some truly amazing musicians out there. Now, like everyone else I only have a certain threshold for listening to new music.  See the thing is when I listen to something new i put in a lot of focus and energy IF I get past listening to the first few bars.  So you can imagine after a few hours, I'm burn out.

But the other night I stayed way past my bedtime and had a blast listening to thing from Electronic Latin folk, African hip hop, to some cool covers. And while I may have been hallucinating due to lack of sleep, my ears were still with it and grooving along to a lot of what I've heard. So Bandcamp thank you! you have made it really easy for musicians to be able to share their music and for people who are looking for new music to find it! I love their interface.

Speaking of Covers here's one that's hot on the web right now!

Enjoy and until next time.

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