Salt Petal

    LA based band Salt Petal, captured my attention with their perfect blend of lounge, rock, ska, Argentenian folk and a variety of other latin rythms.  Their song  "hot days" takes my imagination to a hot summer day in a tropical island where  people are dancing  on sand soft as powdered sugar.  

  Salt Petal formed around late 2008, and  consist of 5 memebers including Autumn Harrison (vocal/accordian), Rodrigo Gonzalez (guitar), Jesse Herrera (bass), Hirro Nakano (drums) and Danyna Richards (Trumpet). 

 For more information on Salt Petal you can go to http://www.saltpetal.com/

   

p.s.- If you dig their sound you might also like some of the following artist. Gal Costa, Os Mutantes, Pink Martini, Les Hommes, Nicola Conte, Quarteto em Cy.

  

Teleradio Donoso

  I was listening to some tunes about a week ago on Lastfm, when I came across the Chilean group Teleradio Donoso. The groovy yet still rockin band appeared in the Chilean music scene in 2005. Their first album "Gran Santiago," was released in 2007 and produced by themselves.  In 2008 the came out with their second album "Bailar y llorar." A year later the members announced the disband of Teleradio Donoso to pursue solo projects. 

If you would like to purchase some of their music you can go to amazon or if you want to check out their old myspace you can go to http://www.myspace.com/teleradiodonoso.

recent caricatures

These are some  recsent caricatures I drew. Enjoy!

Bay Area Bands

  The Bay area is filled with talented musicians, here is a taste of some of the local bands. Check them out. 

   

Corazon Atomico- medicina

   Salinas

http://www.myspace.com/corazonatomico2008

The Groggs- you're gonna leave me

Santa Cruz

http://www.facebook.com/thagroggs

Up all night

Santa Cruz

http://www.facebook.com/usaUpAllNight?sk=wall&filter=12

The Subtle Tease- Spoken in the dream of the night

Watsonville Ca

http://www.reverbnation.com/thesubtletease

The Red Light District- I'm Rich

Santa Cruz

http://www.facebook.com/RedlightDistrictSC?sk=info

Grito Dolores 

Watsonville Ca

http://www.myspace.com/gritodolores

The Trims- The Breeze

San Jose Ca

http://www.thetrims.net/The_Trims/Home.html

Moon Cadillac - Party People

Watsonville/Santa Cruz

http://www.facebook.com/moon.cadillac

myspace.com/mooncadillac

The old with the new

  When all out of ideas, we mix different genres to make something new out of something old. It could sound like the 89 earthquake and destroy your ears or be like breathe of fresh air. These are a few good songs that  mixed a little swing jazz, with more modern dance beats. Some are remixes of old artist, and some are originals. Enjoy!

Gabin - Du op du op (remix of Ella Fitzgerald- it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing)

Gabin-http://www.gabinonline.com/news.php?lang=IT

Ella Fitzgerald-http://www.ellafitzgerald.com/

Mr. Scruff - Get a move on (Moon Dog- Birds Lament

Mr. Scruff-http://www.mrscruff.com/showscreen.php?site_id=9&screentype=site&screenid=9

Parov Stelar - Catgroove

http://www.parovstelar.com/

Gramophonedzie- Why don't you do right remix of "Peggy Lee"
http://www.gramophonedzie.com/
Peggy Lee-http://www.peggylee.com/

Caravan Palace- Jolie Coquine
http://www.myspace.com/caravanpalace

Elijah Pfotenhauer

  Santa Cruz local Elijah Pfotenhauer, born on 1980, studied at Cal Arts, Valencia and Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz. His work is a balanced mix and blend of organic/natural elements with mechanical man made technology. Elijah personally utilizes painting and visual art to engage and uplift the community. He believes that art is the tool to unite people across lines of age, race, sex and general socio economic backgrounds.

  Elijah's work has been shown at a variety of galleries in the bay area including: The Hide Gallery, The Mill, Mama Buzz and 4th Street Triumph. In addition he also has murals across California, Europe and Asia.

   For more info you can view his website at http://www.paintedladder.com/about-2/

Funky here, funky there, funky everywhere

   As a musician/artist, I feel that listening to artist from the past is very important. They help extend our music vocabulary and skills. 
   I also feel it is important to share good music with the rest of the world. Good music shouldn't be kept a secret, that would be selfish. It should be spread like a virus.
  But sadyly there is so much good music out there that hasn't got the exposure it deserves. Todays post is about 70's funk bands that you probably haven't heard of. Enjoy!

MARIJATA  - NO CONDITION IS PERMANENT

1977

THE FUNKEES- AKULA OWU

Nigeria Special 70-76

HARUOMI HOSONO- BARA TO YAJYU "ROSE AND BEAST"

Japan 1973 album - Hosono

Osvaldo Rodriguez y Los 5 U 4

 late 70's 

d

Some old doodles and ideas.

   Sometimes when I can't think of what to draw or paint, I go back and look at my old sketchbooks to see if there are any ideas that i can develope or improve. These are some old doodles or ideas from about 2 to 6 years back. 

Adanowsky

  Adan Jodorowsky aka "Adanowski" was born October 1979 in France. The actor/director/musician is the son of Chilean/French film director Alejandro Jodorowsky. As an actor,  Adanowsky  won the "Saturn Award " in 1989 for best performance by a young actor, in one of his fathers films called "Santa Sangre."

  Adanowski started playing piano at the age of 6. At 7 he met James Brown (who was a friend of his brother) at a concert backstage. Brown taught Adanowsky to dance like him.  He was also given a few guitar lessons by George Harrison of the Beatles. 

  In 2006 he released his first solo album Étoile Éternelle  with the hit single "L'idole"  which was also released in Spanish as "el idolo."  For more info about Adanowsky go to http://adanowsky.free.fr/

jake shimabukuro

  Last Saturday, my girlfriend Nico invited me to check out a show at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz. She received 2 free tickets to see Jake Shimabukuro, who is one of the best Ukalele players in the world. At first I was thinking "I like Hawaiian music, but can I take a whole concert of a solo ukalele artist? And how complex can a ukalele get?"  

  As soon as I hear Jake play, my eyebrows flew off my face. Especially when he covered Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. He redefines the sound of a 4 string 2 octave ukalele and takes this instrument to a whole new level. Jake has earned comparison to the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis. Listening to him live was like taking a trip around the world. 

  Jake Shimabukuro was raised in Hawaii and began playing the Ukalele at the age of 4. Starting with traditional Hawaiian music, Jake later started listening to Rock, top 40's and all other genres of music. Although he would get inspiration from hearing Van Halen or Hendrix tunes, his biggest influences are not musicians. Bruce Lee and Bill Cosby are his biggest influences. “Bruce Lee’s philosophy on martial arts was that it was simply a form of human expression,” says Jake. “And he didn’t believe in sticking to one ‘style.’ He studied all forms and was open to everything. And Bill Cosby – now here was a performer who just sat in a chair with a microphone, and brought joy to millions with his stories. He connects with an audience like no other.”

  For more information about Jake Shimabukuro go to http://jakeshimabukuro.com/home/    

  

Caricatures in feb

  Here's a few pics of some recent caricatures I drew recently.  Enjoy!

Los Dynamite

  Los Dynamite is an indie rock band from Mexico. The band met in high school and started playing music together ever since. Los Dynamite started getting recognition after their single "TV"  was on a Cell phone comercial in 2005.  

David La Chapelle

  David LaChapelle began his photography career in the 1980's  when he began to showcase his work at galleries in New York. His work caught the eyes of many including Andy Warhol, who later offered David his first job as a photographer for interview magazine. 

  LaChapelle's captivating images have been on the covers and pages of Italian Vogue, French Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Rolling Stone and i-D.

  I am a big fan of his vivid colors and surreal influenced images that can take you through a carnaval of emotions. Have a look.

  To see more of LaChapelle's work go to http://www.davidlachapelle.com/ 

Joe Bluhm

    When it comes to drawing extreme caricatures, I would have to say Joe Bluhm is one of my favorites.  Check out some of these hillarious caricatures by him.

To see more of Joe Bluhm's art and caricatures go to website or blog. 

Classics in Spanish

   Growing up in Watsonville California, I was exposed to a variety of Spanish music. Take a tour of the different styles of Spanish music I grew up listening to. 

Los Felinos -El Callejon del Romance (baladas romanticas)

La Sonora Santanera- La Boa (Danson)

Benny More- Me voy pal pueblo (spanish folk)

Perez Prado- Mambo Lupita(Mambo)

Julio Jaramillo- Nuestro juramento (Boleros)

Julio Jaramillo- Sombras Nada Mas (Bolero Ranchero)

Buena Vista Social Club- Dos Gardenias (ballada romantica cubana)

Jose Jose- Una mañana (Romanticas)

Vicente Fernandez- Mujeres divinas (Rancheras) 

Los Angeles Azules- Como te voy a olvidar (cumbia)

Hombres G- Sufre Mamon (Rock en Español)

Lupita D'Alessio- Mi Corazon gitano (balada romantica)

Julio Iglesias- Rio Rebelde (balada)

Banda Macho- La culebra (banda)

Juan Gabriel- no tengo dinero (balada ritmica)

Los Teen Pops- Popotito (Rock n Roll)

Los Xochimilcas- Boogie Woogie (rock n roll/swing)

Carlos Gardel - tiempos viejos (tango)

Bajo Fondo Compilation

  When it comes to music compilations,  Bajofondo Tango Club would have to be on my top 10 list.  It was released in 2002 by Vibra Records. This compiliation has an eclectic mix of French House, Argentenian Tango, Trip hop, Chillout and Drum and Bass.  Here are some of the artist they feature. 

1. "Montserrat" by Orquesta del Plata– 5:10
2. "En mí / Soledad" by Campo– 4:07
3. "Los Tangueros" by Orquesta del Plata - 5:12
4. "Mi Corazón" by Campo – 4:24
5. "Maroma" by Emilio Kauderer – 4:44
6. "Perfume" by Luciano Supervielle, remixed by Campo – 5:26
7. "Vacío" by Didi Gutman– 2:48
8. "Esperándote" by Moviola– 4:13
9. "Naranjo En Flor" by Campo featuring Verónica Loza – 4:38
10. "Bruma" by Moviola – 6:13
11. "Éxodo II" by Juan Blas– 5:15
12. "Duro y Parejo" by Moviola - 5:26
13. "Forma" by Luciano Supervielle - 3:54
14. "El Sonido de la Milonga" by Campo - 5:33
15. "Av. de Mayo" by Diego Vainer Fantasías Animadas - 5:42
16. "Ese Cielo Azul" by Luciano Supervielle - 6:05 bonus track

Luciano Supervielle

Orchesta de plata- Montserrat

 If you would like to purchase this compilation, you can purchase it here

Art show at Somos gallery

  Last friday I went to support my friend Pepe Nunez at "Somos" art gallery located at 262 Main st. Salinas. Somos carries various genres of art: ranging from pop surrealism, tattoo, car culture, street, graphic art. They also carry prints, vinyl toys, and apparel created by many accomplished artist. Check out some of the pieces I saw this past friday.  

Watercolor and ink by Pepe Nunez

 Alex Pardee

 Alex Pardee

 Alex Pardee

 Shaun Nel

 Somos gallery

 Alex Pardee

Alex Pardee link

Shaun Nel

Shaun Nel Link

 Edu Cerro- O'Reilly's Tattoo

 Edu Cerro- O'Reilly's Tattoo

Edu link

  For more information on Somo's monthly art show's, visit  Somos gallery link