march 2009

LIVE EN VIVOMarch 2009

Magazine

LOS LOBOSReturn to Monterey Bay

Interview with Steve Berlin

AMPED UP LIVE

MUSIC FEST 2009Comes to the Fox Theater

SmokeStormRyan BisioChels Del CastilloMonte Negro

Long Distance Rockers

@Risk Art GalleryBringing hope to Salinas

Wise MusicWise MusicSalinas CASalinas CA

“Music From The SoulLong Live The Blues & Rock N’ Roll

For all your eventsPublic•Private•Community Support

Check Out August SkyCheck Out August Skywww.augustsky.netwww.augustsky.net

my space.com/augustskyrocksmy space.com/augustskyrocks& youtube.com& youtube.com

Classic Rock • Blues • August Sky Originals

Live En Vivo Magazine March 2009 Contents

9

4 Chels Folk on the raise

5 Ryan Bisio

The Rose Side of The Thorn

6 Monte Negro Bilingual Rockers

6

8 Vent

Long Distance Rockers

9 Los Lobos Interview with Steve Berlin

11 Smokestorm

Smoken Rock ‘n’ Roll!

12 @Risk Gallery

Gallery Bring Hope to Salinas

13 Band Show Case

14 Bio - Del Castillo

Flamenco Music Latin Style

Live En Vivo Magazine740 Spencer St

Monterey, Ca 93940www.liveenvivo.com

Rick BáezPublisher

Editor, Sales, [email protected]

831-676-7248

Contributing writersRyan PaganJuan Galow

Vanessa GarciaYoshi De La PazHernán Fisgón

Krista K.

Graphics/Layout

Rick Báez

Bill D.

www.liveenvivo.com

myspace.com/liveenvivo

Monte Negro

Los Lobos

Matt Masih

Ty Olive

Los Teliche

Wasted Noise

Live En Vivo Magazine March 2009 3

12@Risk Gallery Salinas

There are some artists who make you see the

beauty of innocence, and open your eyes to a

world you thought you knew. There are some

artists who make you appreciate the simple beauty

of a girl and her guitar, singing songs she wrote in

her bedroom years before, but has been hesitant to

unleash until now.

Chels is a girl one might recognize by her earthy

fashion sense, or by her studious nature, and up un-

til a few months ago, no one would have suspected

the amount of talent lying beneath. Once an average

high school student, Chels is quickly becoming a hit

with Monterey audiences, performing at Monterey

Live!, and Giovane’s Restaurant in Salinas.

With a large folk storytelling angle, one can’t help

but hear a little Regina Spektor in Chel’s voice and

a little Dylan in her guitar. Although shy, she has a

very unique vocal sound, making full use of syllables

and the “shape” of her words, creating songs that are

easy to understand (which is great for her genre), and

a style all her own. It is not uncommon for her fans

to sing along to songs like “Sales Demon”, written

by Chels herself.

Wherever her shows, a loyal fan base is sure to ap-

pear, comprising of high school friends, and some-

times members of The Mystery Lights, a Monterey

band, fronted by singer Mike Brandon. Some sing

along, others marvel at just how different a seem-

ingly ordinary setup can be.

Live en Vivo: Tell me a little about your-

self.

Chels: I am a 19 year old lady from

Prunedale. I am going to MPC full-time,

and also working there as an English

tutor. I love people and their emotions,

every single one. I love to travel. After

graduating High School, I took a year off

school, worked my butt off, and was able

to get myself to Europe for 3 months of

madness.

LEV: Europe? That’s pretty amazing.

What did you do there?

C: Europe was amazing indeed. I back-

packed solo for three months. It was a

surreal mixture of madness, confusion,

euphoria, revelation, loneliness, and self-

discovery. I started in the Netherlands,

Amsterdam of course (laughs), and then

made my way to Belgium, France, Spain,

back through France, all over Germany,

somehow took a wrong turn to Austria.

Then to Italy, then back up to Switzer-

land, then back to Italy, hopped on a fer-

ry to Greece, checked out some islands,

headed back to Italy, back up to Austria,

then to Germany and finally back to

Amsterdam to fly home. I saw wonder-

ful things and met wonderful people that

I still keep in touch with.

LEV: What genre of music do you con-

sider your work to be?

C: I think my sound would mostly closely relate to

folk. I’m really not sure. That’s why on the top of my

Myspace, where bands must list three genres, I put,

“other/acoustic/other”...

LEV: Who are your major influences?

C: Major influences change all the time. I listen to a

lot of music, but its usually life experiences I endure

or observe that influence my music. I never really

have a specific artist in mind when I create a song.

But some of my all-time favorite artists that might

have influenced me are Regina Spektor, Joni Mitch-

ell, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Ani Difranco, Joan

Baez, Kelly O (from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Patti

Smith.

LEV: Do you play with anyone else, or are you

strictly solo?

C: I’ve played around with a couple friends, nothing

too serious. Did a fun Patti Smith cover of “Gloria”

with the Mystery Lights a few times. I’m definitely

open to playing with others.

LEV: Any plans to sign to a label?

C: No idea.

LEV: What instruments do you play, make and

model-wise?

C: My guitar is an Ovation Celebrity, acoustic/elec-

tric.

LEV: Where have you performed? What are your

favorite venues?

C: I’ve performed at a few small cafes in the bay

area, The Lounge Underground on Cannery Row,

Monterey Live! on Alvarado Street, Giovane’s in Sa-

linas, and my old high school’s talent show (laughs).

LEV: Do you have any upcoming shows?

C: My next show is Monterey Live! on the 19th of

this month. Wow! That’s tomorrow. I’m also playing

during Hartnell’s V-Day Celebration in a play on the

22nd and the 28th of this month (February).

LEV: Which songs do you perform most

frequently?

C: I think my favorite songs to play are Sales Demon

and A Series of Method, both my own.

I always write out a play list, and then I usually mess

it all up during the show (laughs). I can play for up to

two hours, maybe more (laughs).

LEV: Do you ever play any covers?

C: I usually play a couple cover songs in the shows.

Maybe a Regina Spektor or Nancy Jones cover, or

some random old folk song my mom taught me years

ago.

LEV: Do you write all of your own songs?

I write all of my own songs.

LEV: What are some of the major themes,

or topics?

C: The theme or topic... My mental state, dreams,

situations, relationships, madness, perfection, sto-

ries, and everything. The themes change from song

to song, and yes, I assume they will continue to

change.

LEV: What are your rehearsals generally like?

C: My rehearsals consist of me and my guitar, in my

bedroom, whenever I feel like it, very spontaneous.

LEV: What has been your biggest challenge as a

solo artist? Have you been able to overcome that

challenge?

C: I think stage fright was my biggest challenge. I

my hands were shaking during my first few shows

(laughs). I still get nervous, but not nearly as bad

as before. I definitely could be more comfortable

though.

LEV: You seem pretty comfortable on stage. Any

tips for people with stage fright?

C: I seem comfortable on stage? I guess I’m faking

it okay (laughs). Didn’t really think I was a pro at

it. I still get nervous. To snap out of it, I tell myself,

“What’s the point?” I’ve become more careless to-

wards people’s thoughts of me. I am who I am.

LEV: What advice do you have for people who

want to form their own bands?

C: Don’t take it too seriously, and let the opportu-

nities present themselves to you. Let your creativity

flow. Write what you want and love, not what you

think other people will want and love.

LEV: How can prospective fans gain access to

your music? Do you have a website with sample

songs or a demo CD?

C:No demo CD yet... maybe sometime soon... the

website to listen to some songs and get all the info is

www. myspace. com/chelseaschreibermusic

LEV: Any last words?

C: I love you!

CHELS BELLSUp and Coming to a Venue

Near YouBy Juan Garlow

4 Live En Vivo Magazine March 2009

Amidst the array of artists who play regularly at Monterey Live is Ryan Bisio. His music is a sweet and soulful blend of acoustic guitar, piano balladry, blues, folk, and jazz. This singer/song-

writer started his musical career playing piano at the age of six, which he won, interestingly enough, in the Junior Olympics. As a child, the clas-sically trained artist began playing Beethoven and Frederic Chopin, was influenced by Michael Jackson, inspired to play guitar by Dave Mathews’ Crash, and is somehow highly moved by the gloomy and sinister sound-ing Tom Waits. Bisio’s love for the written word as a talented writer also produces touching, poignant, and emotional lyrics that anyone can easily melt to if they’ve ever been in love. Bisio’s first album, Sketches, released in 2005, is described as sketches of the portrait he would later make in his songwriting. He depicts that album as being made deliberately rough, the way a painter sketches a portrait he will eventually paint, because as he puts it, “I wasn’t a painter then.”

Well, if he didn’t consider himself a painter then, he is definitely one now. His new album, Rose Side of the Thorn, is set for release in early April. It’s a musical collection of 16 songs from the last 3 ! years of his life, as he describes them touching upon an array of spectrums, genres, emo-tions, and stories. The album title symbolizes the “good and bad, black and white, the rose and the thorn, the honesty of life,” and the two sides of everything as there is “no love without pain, you can’t have joy without sorrow.” Bisio’s songs were first introduced in Europe last year when he played both music and basketball professionally in Copenhagen. Fortunately for us in the Monterey Bay you can listen to his new album monthly at Monterey Live. His performances are intimate, captivating, and endearing, as the artist contains the ability to both lull the audience

in melodic performance, and crack a joke or two between songs. He incorporates the groove oriented, tap-your-feet, guitar playing influence of Dave Mathews with the gentle and heartrending inspiration of Elliot Smith. It’s no surprise that Bisio is a talented songwriter because he is also a talented writer in general, avidly writing short sto-ries and letters to friends and family. “If I’m not writing in general I’m probably not writing songs.” With each song containing its own per-sonality, he listens to his music as it tells him what to write. “I treat my songs like people, I treat them the way that I would want to be treated, they all have different personalities, they were all conceived in different places…they’ve all been born in different ways and I have to treat them differently and I have to make them all get along with each other which isn’t always easy.” Now that a good amount of Rose Side of the Thorn has been introduced to audi-ences in Europe and Monterey, Ryan Bi-sio will be touring it this spring in Seattle, San Diego, Chicago, Denver, and other

spots in between. I asked Ryan what ultimately moves him as an artist and what allows to him to constantly create such moving music. Simply put, he said “I do it to perform, I do it to express, I do it to try to heal people. I do it to try to make them feel good. And in the end it makes myself feel like…my-self.”Check out Ryan Bisio before he goes on tour March 4th at Monterey Live 414 Alvarado Street. Show starts at 8:30pm.Rose Side of the Thorn available soon!www.RyanBisio.comwww.myspace.com/ryanbisio

“I treat my songs like people, I treat them the

way that I would want to be treated”

Singer Songwriter Ryan Bisio

Captivates Audiences from the Rose Side of

the ThornBy Vanessa Garcia

Photos by Nic Coury

Live En Vivo Magazine March 2009

If you missed the Monte Negro concert last month

at the Banker’s Casino in Salinas, you missed one

hell of a show. The night started off with Sali-

nas band Los Teliches, followed by Nina Azufre and

Fatima from Los Angeles. If you’re into head banging

Spanish rock check these guys out the next time

they’re in town. Fatima broke out the mosh pits

and warmed up the crowd for headliner Monte

Negro, also from Los Angeles.

Monte Negro is the first bilingual Spanish rock

band to get signed with a major record label,

Epic Records. Their songs are also playing on

both KROQ, “Give Me Love (No Llores”), and

Super Estrella “Me Duele No Estar Junto a Ti”,

and has been getting mad play on MTVTr3s.

The all ages crowd, thanks to Aguas Brothers

Entertainment, was treated to an intimate perfor-

mance by the newly signed band as lead singer

Kinski Rodriguez sang his heart out, literally in

front of your face. In fact, his performance was

so close to the audience he at one point spun a lucky

girl around in the front row. He had the crowd dancing

and jumping around as crazy and as fast as was he was,

rolling around, jumping in the air, and screaming his

lyrics into the faces of the super amped crowd.

In addition to the alternative rock, new wave, jazz,

and reggae on their latest album Cicatrix, Monte Ne-

gro also, to my surprise, performed a few cover songs.

Among which included “Break on Through to the Oth-

er Side,” that seemed to have come out of nowhere. It

took me a second to realize it was The Doors as Kinski

rolled around the stage belching out the lyrics. Simply

put, it gave me goose bumps. The cherry on top was

their last song, the cumbia “La Negra Tomasa,” forced

out of them as the crowd shouted “Otra! Otra!” Their

cover was to a Tee. How many bands do you know can

get you rocking out one minute to The Doors and then

bust out with a hip shaking cumbia the next? None

I’ve heard so far. Monte Negro is a band you can’t

categorize because they play various genres of music

while their lyrics effortlessly and poetically flow from

English to Spanish.

I was fortunate enough to speak with Kinski Rodriguez

on their album Cicatrix, the following are excerpts

from our interview.

Lev: Can you tell me what your influences were for

this album Cicatrix?

KR: “Right now we’re doing eclectic rock. Cumbia,

reggae, alternative rock…that’s what gives it a little

twist, it’s not so much alternative rock or punk….We

have what I like to say the best of both worlds because

I listen to Los Fabulosos Cadillac’s, Maldita Vecindad,

Café Tacuba, a lot of just Mexican rock, but a lot of Ar-

gentinean stuff too...I grew up with a lot of Anglo rock,

The Clash and The Cure, one of my favorite bands,

and then cumbia and salsa and reggae. All this stuff

that is very eclectic or that is not so much rock. My

father was a mariachi singer. I grew up singing maria-

chi songs. And all that stuff filters through somehow

and you appropriate certain elements of music that you

like…When you listen to the album Cicatrix that’s part

of the appeal I think. It’s not so much square, it’s a

thread of different sounds, but it’s not also a collage.

We’re trying to do something that’s an amalgamation,

if you will, of elements that we’re fusing well

together.”

Lev: I’ve been listening to your album a lot lately

and everything flows so well together. How do you

decide when you’re writing songs, what lyrics are in

Spanish and what’s in English?

KR: “I actually don’t. I don’t think like that. It’s very

organic and that’s precisely why I was saying in es-

sence…sometime things are. Just like when you’re

in love, you don’t know you’re in love, you just feel

it. If you have to describe you’re in love I don’t think

you could do it. You could attempt to do it…I grew up

here. I came here when I was ten, I grew up in Mexi-

co. And I’ve always been into both cultures, more so

multiculturally. I never think, you know ‘this is from

India so I’m not going to listen to it because I don’t

speak the language.’ I’m thinking ‘what feeling does

music give you?’ Because ultimately for me music is

about transcending. Language, unfortunately is a

barrier when trying to explain things. But when-

ever I write things it just comes out. Sometimes

things remind me of, I don’t know Pedro Infante

or Caifanes and I’m like ‘ok I’m glad that’s Span-

ish’ and sometimes I listen to something that’s

very Clash so I listen to it in English. It’s not

something that’s preconceived in a sense or pre-

fabricated, it’s just organic. It comes out how it

is. Like with Me Duele, I had the chorus first and

I was like ‘set me up while I’m waiting…’ and

then I was writing something else. I started writ-

ing in Spanish. That’s the first song we wrote

actually. That was the bridge. Cause I had the

chorus and then I did the verses, and I did it in

Spanish and English and at first everyone was

like ‘whoa I don’t know’ and I was like ‘yeah it

sounds good.’ And so that took me from there.

Give Me Love , the No Llores came after that. And

also it’s the same thing.

You could say ‘don’t cry,’ and no lllores is so much

more melancholic, to me It’s just natural.

MONTE NEGRO - Bringing a Bicultural Cocktail of Canción to the Salinas ValleyBy Vanessa Gracia


LEV: What does your album’s name Cicatrix mean?

KR: “Cicatrix in English means the same thing as cicatriz with a z in Spanish. I was

trying to get this metaphor of a scar. Each song is a scar, and each song represents

a sort of scar. I think that which does not kill you makes you stronger. We over-

came this period in our lives and then we put these songs on, and I wanted to call it

Cicatrix… I thought what an appropriate title to have it tied out with bilingualism.

We think this culture is so different but in essence the culture’s pretty similar and

music makes you a human being. .. I like the metaphor for pain. Scars can come

in many forms. Sometimes psychological, sometimes those hurt more. Sometimes

someone breaks your heart and it’s not so much you can see it. Sometime I use the

image of the heart raw because it you can’t see it. People can’t say ‘oh, she has a

broken heart.’ Sometimes it’s mental and sometimes it’s physical. So all those are

cicatrizes. Cicatrizes make you who you are to a degree. But like I said it’s a beau-

tiful thing….humans in general. For me it’s overcoming that period of darkness

and pain. That’s why I wrote Give me Love because I think if you inject yourself

with love eventually you’ll overcome anything. It sounds idealist, ‘love, love.’ But

love is a powerful tool...with that you heal your scars, with love. You kind of rise

like the phoenix from the ashes. You’re reborn again if you are willing to overcome

certain things that life gave you. It’s your responsibility as an individual and say

you’re not going to hit someone back because you were hit. You just choose a dif-

ferent path. That’s your karma in life. I personally feel being a responsible human

being is acknowledging what you’ve gone through and overcoming it.

LEV: How long have you been writing songs?

KR: “I’ve written songs all my life…I’ve always loved the notion of poetry and

music coming together. My favorite artists have always been poets, William Blake,

Pablo Neruda, and writers in general, Isabel Allende, Garcia-Marquez, you name

them. And also musicians in general. But I think it’s a beautiful combination for me

to create a feeling and then put some poetry over it…Being able to relate to the peo-

ple, and suffering and such. I think that’s why art is powerful. All the people that

came to see the show tonight, some of them are parents, some of them are waiters,

some of them are bus boys, some of them pick fruit, who the fuck knows, students.

And music doesn’t have that sort of hierarchy. If you have money to pay the ticket

you’re in. You enjoy the show however you enjoy it…for me music is a form of

democracy that’s emancipating in a sense, you know, it just kind of sets you free. If

you go to a show and you have a chip on your shoulder it’s on you, but if you go to

a show and you wanna dance your ass off, there’s no preconceived notions, you just

go and enjoy the show. That’s why talking about music is so dangerous because

it’s like ‘I wrote this song’ but what do you make of it? I never explain my music.

Music doesn’t have an explanation. You give it an explanation. Music to me is a

puzzle. If you don’t play and you’re not a part of it then how can you get involved?

A song that I wrote about solitude you might think ‘what a beautiful song, it re-

minds me of my grandmother.’ That’s the beauty of it, man. It’s subjective. You

give it whatever meaning you apply to it… You take it and it’s yours. Sometimes at

the end of the day songs aren’t ours…people give them their own twist.”

Monte Negro is currently on tour. Be sure to check them out the next time they roll

through, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Check them out Live at The Planet Ultralounge In Monterey April 3, 20092110 N. Fremont St, Monterey Ca

Grab Monte Negro’s latest album Cicatrix available on itunes.www.montenegrotocks.com

www.myspace.com/montenegrorocks


Vent is a band made of members who wanted something, well, a little differ-ent. The members don’t all live near

each other, in fact, they don’t all even live in the same state. But like a musical equivalent to a jigsaw puzzle, when all the pieces come together, everything becomes clear. As they ex-plain it, they wanted to have a band where every member has a voice, they can play the type of rock they like, and no one is the “leader”.

Vent plays a lot of their own music, all of which is full of their unique energy. However, they are also an accomplished cover band, playing mu-sic from Nirvana to Nine Inch Nails, from The Beatles to Marilyn Manson. What makes them different from a lot of other cover bands though is that they don’t set out to exactly replicate the songs they cover. Lead singer Kosh isn’t try-ing to ape Trent Reznor’s voice, and guitarist Markus Yamamoto isn’t going to try to mimic the improvs of Eddie Van Halen. They, along with bassist Junior Diaz and drummer John-Michael, are themselves on stage, letting their own styles emerge. The result is a new twist on familiar favorites. When asked why they play so many cover gigs when their own music is awe-some enough, they say it’s fun to have the whole crowd singing along and getting excited to hear a favorite song played live.

The band has shared the stage with a number of great bands and musicians, including Bret Michaels, Pat Travers, and Metallica. One story that really sticks out though, is when they got to play with Kid Rock. They were playing at the Cantina Grill in Hollister, Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson were there as part of a wedding tour, and the stars were aligned just right. For one

night only, Kid Rock jammed out with Vent, in a total surprise to the crowd. The night led to Vent getting some free press from Star magazine. Af-ter getting to rock out with a musical icon and open for some of the biggest names in rock, what’s next on the wish list for Vent? I asked them exactly that. “We’d love to go on a major tour. Something like an Ozzfest or a Lollapaloo-za would be amazing, a major music festival is something we’d really like to do.”

Vent doesn’t play rock for the fame though, they play for the fans. I asked the band what the en-joy most about music, and they replied,”When the crowd is getting off, the camaraderie

between us as a band, and the connection be-tween us and the crowd.” Being in the audience at their show, you can tell that music isn’t just their hobby, it’s their art, it’s what drives them. As they explained, they don’t work on cars, they don’t play golf, they play music. In fact, even when they’re not playing music, they’re in-volved with it. Drummer John-Michael is a DJ on local radio station 104.3 The Hippo where he presides over the classic rock airwaves every weekday from 10 A.M. to 3 P.M. If you’re more of a weekend rock warrior, he’s also in the booth on Sundays from 11 to 4. As for the rest of the band, you can find out more about them and hear some of their original tracks on their website, http://www.ventrocks.com/ or if you’re more of a social butterfly, check out their myspace pro-file at www.myspace.com/ventrocks2006 and send them a friend request.

VENTBy Ryan Pagan

Vent areKosh - Vocals & GuitarJohn Michael - DrumsJr “D” - Bass & VocalsMarkus J. Yamamoto - Guitar, Guitar Synth, Sampler, Programmer & Vocals

View Vent online atwww.VENTROCKS.comwww.myspace.com/ventrocks2006


Los Lobos is a band that’s hard to categorize. On the one hand, they play

rock music, but then in the same set, they’ll play traditional Mexican folk

songs. They might slip in some 70’s punk rock, or cover some Bob Dylan.

They’ve been college rock sensations, and seen mainstream success. You might

have heard their music in films like La Bamba or Desperado, but your kids or

nieces and nephews might have heard them play the theme song to Handy Manny

on the Disney Channel.

Live En Vivo got the chance to interview Steve Berlin, who plays saxophone and

Keyboards for Los Lobos. When asked about his start in music, Berlin says, “I

was lucky enough to grow up in the 60’s and 70’s when there was so much good

music being played. I started out by playing in bands with guys I knew. They

were a lot better than me at first, so I had fun learning from them and improving.

I found myself in those situations a lot, being able to play with people I could

learn from, and that made me better at what I was doing.” Berlin was playing with

a group called the Blasters when he met the guys from Los Lobos, and through

playing together, they formed bonds that would lead to Berlin joining the band.

Berlin says that the band has a diverse set of influences, but he draws his own

from artists such as Otis Rush and B.B. King. He also says, “Every time I hear

good bands I am influenced by them. Anytime I hear something I like, it drives

me to try new things. TV, books, anything that’ll get me thinking about the world

in a different way inspires me, and that affects my music.” Berlin says he doesn’t

have a favorite genre that Los Lobos plays, that he enjoys pretty much everything

they touch. When pressed on what his favorite thing about their music was, he

replied,”I look forward to the transitions. There’s...I say this with as much mod-

esty as possible...there’s not a lot of bands out there that can transition from 200

year old folk songs to contemporary rock, and everything else we do.”

That diversity might be why Los Lobos gets attention from such big names as

Robert Rodriguez and Bill Clinton. I asked Berlin what some of his favorite gigs

were, and he told me about how Los Lobos got to play for the inauguration of

President Clinton in 1992. Says Berlin, “It felt like a moment of hope and poten-

tial, and it was a special gig. Just being in DC at that time, it was like being at the

fall of the Berlin wall or something, I really enjoyed it. On the other end of the

spectrum, we played a gig in Portland, Oregon recently and it was a more intimate

setting. A lot of our friends were there, so that was nice for us. Also the Jazzfest

in New Orleans, we’ll be playing that again, and that’s always a special gig. It’s a

big one.”

Looking over the band’s tour schedule, you’ll notice cities like Las Vegas, San

Francisco, and New York City. They make a bit of a detour, playing Vegas and

then coming all the way to Santa Cruz before heading back to Nevada to play

at Harrah’s in Stateline the next day. I asked why they felt it was so important

to play at the Catalyst on this tour that they’d come out of their way. Berlin

replied,”We’ve got a lot of friends here. And we’re blessed enough to have a lot

of people there that like our music and we always receive a warm welcome every

time we’re in the area, so we like playing those shows.”

The band’s most recent project was to re-interpret some classic Disney songs like

“Cruella DeVille” and “The Tiki Tiki Room”. He says, “It’s great to hear people

who grew up with those songs say that they like our versions, and that it reminds

them of their childhood. And then their kids are listening to us play those songs

and they like it, and that’s cool that our music can touch different generations. It’s

a good feeling.”

To close out the interview, I asked if there was anything left that he’s been want-

ing to do musically and hasn’t had the chance to. His response? “I’ve been so

blessed to have done everything I’ve been able to do in my life. I’m very thankful

for having the opportunity to work with so many great people. For the 30th an-

niversary, we got to invite all these people that we look up to and play with them.

It was great.”

Los Lobos plays in Santa Cruz at the Catalyst on March 6, 2009.

Los LobosInterview with Steve Berlinby Ryan Pagan


Gold Flame Records is proud to announce the inauguration of Amped Up Live Music Festival. An independent music

festival and collaboration by participating artist in an effort to showcase some of the Latin Al-ternative music scene’s most exciting and hard working bands.The participating bands and artists have endured a long working career, proving that hard work and dedication is the only way to succeed in the hard and strenuous music and arts field.The festival will be a series of events beginning in the Monterey County where local favorites Delirio will be the headlining act and supported by some of the area breakthrough bands.“You’ve always been told to do what you love. But what you love, is going to be the hardest goal to accomplish…but we are willing to fight the uphill battle,” says Edgar Escobedo lead singer of Latin Alternative band Delirio. The featured bands of Amped Up Live have shared the stage with many well know interna-tional acts and have been featured on various TV and Radio programming throughout the US and Mexico. Their music has charted in various radio charts and have been recognized by vari-ous industry awards. All of their success has come by the independent work of the artists. The purpose of this festival is to showcase some of the areas best and most hard working bands in a quality music venue as well as quality pro-duction at an affordable price for the entire com-munity to enjoy. The Latin Alternative music scene lacks quality music festivals and these hard working artists see an opportunity to create something very spe-cial and hope to tour the music festival to vari-ous cities adding more talented and hard work-ing artists to the roster.

AMPED LIVEA NEW INDEPENDENT MUSIC FESTIVAL

READY TO ROCK MONTEREY COUNTY

AMPED LIVE

Featuring Salinas band

Delirio

www.myspace.com/delirioband

YNEZ – Los Angeles, CA

Menores – Las Vegas, NV

Corazon Atomico – Salinas, CA

Dueños Del Sueño – Salinas, CA

Also Featuring

Amped Up Live Music Fest 2009

The Fox Theater

241 Main St. Salinas, CA 93901

March 14, 2009 6:30pm

Presale Tickets $11

At Door $15

ALL AGES

Presale Tickets available at:

Myspace.com/ampeduplivemusicfest

Contact

Gold Flame Records

Cell. 702-755-6957


Smokestorm, the Salinas band rock band that knows what rock and roll is all about, good hard classic style riffs, and the deep

soul vocals of Chris Choate clearly make the band a clear stand out. The bands from the heart music and performances have elevated them to the top of the local music scene, with electric-fiying performences at Givonnes in Salinas, and Montery live in Monterey. The bands musical influences are diverse from classic bands like the doors, The Eagles, to Johnny Cash, and Nir-vana, yet despite these influences band produces a sound entirely all their own, a true intication of talent, and it rocks!.We interview Chris Choate, vocalist and guitar-ist for Smokestorm over the web to discuss SS music and its direction.

LEV: Whats’behind the name smoke storm? Chris: Ha, the first time we played Monterey Live everybody thought we were some 420, stoner band that only plays reggae. Nothing against any of that but I actually came up with the name from a few different concepts. One was the way the fog looks when it’s rolling into the Salinas Valley, it looks like a SmokeStorm is approaching. Another image that I see when I think of a SmokeStorm is the footage from 9/11. I mean imagine being down the block from the trade center and being engulfed in dust, that’s a SmokeStorm!

LEV: What would you call your music, what type is it? Chris: We are mainly alt rock. On stage I say we range from folky to funky so I think we are pret-

ty diverse. Some of our songs are a little slower more chord based while some of our songs are more riff based and a lot more uptempo. Each new song one of our band members brings in is different than the previous one so we are con-stantly changing depending on the music that songwriter has been listening to lately.

LEV:what to hope to get across with your music and lyrics?Chris: Just a few of the common themes fo-cus on having a good time, believing in your-self and triumphing over adversity. I just really want people to enjoy themselves at our shows or when listening to our music so however they want to use is cool with me.

LEV: Do have an album out, where can we get it? Chris: We recently recorded a live five song demo which is available through our myspace and at our shows. What the future holds is at this time unknown.

LEV: What is your favorite local venue? what do you like about it? Chris: I really like the intimate setting at Mon-terey Live and they really try to get the best bands coming through the area to play there, but I have to say my favorite is Giovanne’s in Salinas. Primarily because it feels like home, I have family in the neighborhood and they have great food!

LEV: Do you a have a good following? Chris:I like to think we have a great following. While we may not have the most people come

out to our shows, we are working on that and the ones who do are awesome!

LEV: Whats your favorite Smokestorm song ? Chris:I think everybody in the band probably has a different favorite song but if I had to choose one I think I’d go with “ARE YOU ALIVE!” LEV: Whats changed if any changes since you started playing together? Chris:Well Shawn Capps (guitars), Cliff Pilcher (drums) and Chris Chafauros (bass) have been playing together for half a dozen years now. They were all in a band called Exiled Poets when the lead singer moved and they were forced to explore different options. That’s where I came in. I had a few songs written from my time as a bassist in another band and we’ve added some more originals to total about eleven now. In terms of changes though we really haven’t had any. These songs are all original creative ideas from the four of us.

LEV: Where to want to take your music?Chris: Wherever it goes man. Song ideas come in waves and, as ARE YOU ALIVE says, “grab a board and you can ride”. Whatever themes are floating through our minds when we write are the ones that come out into a song. Wherever that takes we shall follow.

myspace.com/smokestormmusic

Smokestorm

Smoking Rock’n” Roll

Hernán Fisgón

SmokeStorms Smoking Rock ‘n RollBy Hernán Fisgón


As I rolled up Soledad Street in Salinas’

Chinatown on a rainy Friday night, I’d

be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit scared.

Driving down Soledad Street the black and

white buildings glittered in the rain, although

the streetlights never came on. Amidst the dark

and colorless buildings two store-

fronts illuminated a tiny portion of

the sidewalk, glowing among the

darkness of street. One was Doro-

thy’s Kitchen, the other the @risk

Gallery.

Walking inside was like being

Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz as she

stepped out the house and into the

overwhelming color of the graf-

fiti art on the walls. The theme

was Bob Marley’s birthday and his

message of One Love, befitting to

the Valentine’s Day weekend. The

murals were created by a group of

Salinas high school students, mem-

bers of the Urban Art Camp at the @

Risk Gallery.

Margarita Caracheo, one of the leaders of the

Urban Art Camp, explained that she met a few

of her students on the bus, offered them a le-

gal and safe place to put up graffiti art, and

the group has been growing ever since, mostly

through word of mouth. The @risk Gallery is

giving these students an alternative to the gang

life of the streets by offering them a place where

they can express themselves creatively, and are

cared for in the support system of the gallery.

In addition to the art classes the gallery offers,

the students also have access to a counselor for

drug and psychological issues, and will be tak-

ing field trips to art schools. Every week the

students work on different art projects. Cara-

cheo says it’s giving the kids the notion that

there’s more to life than gangs and hustling as

they cultivate their art skills and self esteem as

a group.

The @risk Gallery will also be show-

casing prison art, farmworker art, and

art directed towards social awareness.

Moreover, the gallery would also like

to open its space up as a free studio

for local artists. So local artists…give

‘em a call.

Being located on Soledad Street has

made it difficult to pull in a crowd, ex-

plains Caracheo, because of the reputa-

tion Chinatown has in the community.

However, the youth and vibrant colors

of the gallery gives Salinas hope, not

only for the beatification and revital-

ization of Chinatown, but for Salinas’

youth as well. If there was any time to

pull in the youth off the streets and into

the healing powers of art, it’s now.

For more information on the @risk gallery, or if

you’re a local artist seeking a free space, contact

Margarita Caracheo at 455-5964 or email

[email protected]

@Risk Gallery

Brings Color to ChinatownBy Vanessa Garcia

Photos By Vaness Garcia

ARTS


Matt Masih and The Messengers. The Santa Cruz based band deliv-

ers music that is a rich melt-ing pot of musical influences.Pop, funk, Soul are , are crafted into a good vibe producing blend of upbeat music that captivates the listener regardless of musical taste.

Up coming Matt Masih shows:March 19tht, the Catalyst Santa Cruz 8pm

March 21, Monterey Live, Mon-terey 8pm

EP: Matt Masihavailable on itunes

myspace.com/mattmasihmusic

Matt Masih & The MessengersSanta Cruz

La banda Los Tiliches

sigue rompiendo barreras

con la fusion de musica

rock, blues, ska, reggea y mas.

La banda Proyecta lyricamente

el centimiento del amor, justicia

social, y casos de la vida real

que relacionan con el mundo en-

tero! La Banda Los Tiliches esta

compuesta de tres hermanos,

Mario, Ricardo, y William! Con

solo 3 anos de nacimiento, La

bando a tocado mas de 50 Show

cubriendo desde el norte hasta

el sur de california comartiendo

ruido con sentimiento! Los Tili-

ches Tocando “LA PARADA”

Los Tiliches sobre la redwww.myspace.com/lostiliches

Los TilichesChualar

Wasted noise: The 7 piece

Salinas band, fuses reg-

gae guitar riffs with ska,

punk, and rock into into upbeat

rythms that both rock you and up-

lift you at the same time.

The band which originally came

together in 2005 as a cover band,

and has maintained the current line

up since 2007 Since then have be-

come a popular act giving energet-

ic performances of original songs,

at both local venues and outside the

Monterey bay.

“what we want out of our music is

mostly to give positive vibes to our

fans and keep having fun while

doing it....”

Wasted Noise

Up Coming Local Shows:

April 18 Giovannes Salinas

April 21 Soledad Car Show

Soledad

www.myspace.com/wastednoise

Wasted NoiseSalinas

Ty Oliver, A fantastic gui-tarist from Santa Cruz, whos melodic licks and

riffs that take you on sonic jour-neys, produced by clean yet emotion filled fret work that

truly makes his guitar sing.Although his work may sound remind of you Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, once you lis-ten to him, you can easily see that he has a style all his own.His most recent album “Heart-Strings” is available on itunsand Cdbaby.com

Ty Oliver on the web attyolivermusic.com &www.myspace.com/tyoliver

Ty OliverSanta Cruz

Band ShowCaseShowcasing the best music of Monterey Bay

DEL CASTILLO has become a sym-bol of the cross-cultural power of music with their eclectic blend of Fla-

menco, Rock, Latin, Blues, and World music.

It all began in late 2000 when Rick and Mark del Castillo decided to put together an album of Latin/Flamenco-style songs for their parents and friends in their hometown of Brownsville, Tex-as. The brothers, who had always played electric guitar in separate rock bands, had never played together and for the first time ever they began collaborating on songs on acoustic guitars.

Their good friend, vocalist/guitarist Alex Ruiz, began adding lyrics to the brothers’ instrumen-tals, and soon after, the other band members joined them. After receiving positive and encour-aging responses from everyone who heard the songs they created together, the project began to evolve into a real band. Del Castillo was born!

They began writing material fusing many styles and influences, all the while retaining a solid Latin element, and in late 2001 they de-cided to test the waters as a live performance band. They played their first show in Austin, Texas, where they all live, and simultane-ously, they released their first CD, Brothers of the Castle. Both the performance and CD re-ceived rave reviews from fans and critics alike.

In early 2002, the Austin American Statesman wrote, “…For a band that played its first gig only six months ago, Del Castillo is, indeed, going places.” Encouraged by the immediate response and acceptance, they started playing

regular shows in Austin and quickly built a fol-lowing. In March of that year, they received the first of what would be many awards that would follow at the Austin Music Awards during South By Southwest – “Best World Music Band” and “Best Mexican/Traditional Latino Band.”

During that time, the band had met filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, and he was now studying guitar with Rick. He invited Rick to contribute guitar on the soundtrack of his film “Spy Kids 3D: Game Over,” and at the premier of the film in Austin in 2003 the band performed live with Robert joining Rick and Mark on guitar.

All the while, the band continued to write and record new songs, and in late 2002 they re-leased their follow-up CD, Vida, which took them to the next level. The Austin Chronicle wrote, “…if Vida is proof, their road to fame will be as short as an I-35 entrance ramp.” Robert filmed the band’s performance at the CD release party for Vida for a live DVD.

By 2003, Del Castillo had become one of Austin’s most popular bands and they swept the Austin Music Awards that year, winning seven awards including “Band of the Year” and “Album of the Year” for Vida. They continued to work with Robert, and Rick, Mark, and Alex contributed music on his next film, “Once Upon a Time in Mexico.” In addition to the music, Alex ap-peared in the film. The premier for the film was held in New York that year and Del Castillo per-formed live, joined on stage by Robert, Antonio Banderas, Cheech Marin, and Patricia Vonne.

The Del Castillo LIVE DVD, filmed and ed-ited by Robert Rodriguez, was released in early 2004. Also that year, Quentin Tarrantino used a Del Castillo song in “Kill Bill, Vol. 2,” per-formed by Chingon, Robert Rodriguez’ musi-cal collective of some of his closest musical compadres, including members of Del Castillo. Del Castillo, with Robert, performed as Chin-gon at the premier of the film in Los Angeles.

By now, the band was performing with great success throughout Texas. They joined the ros-ter of CAA in 2004, which opened the door for extensive touring across the country, play-ing shows with such artists as Ozomatli, Los Lonely Boys, Los Lobos, Kinky, deSol, and others. They toured non-stop through 2006. They performed at three of Willie Nelson’s 4th

Of July Picnics, and at Eric Clapton’s Cross-roads Guitar Festival, and they have made nu-merous national and local TV appearances.

Brotherhood, the band’s third CD, was re-leased in the Spring of 2006 and it was im-mediately acclaimed by the media across the board. Billboard Magazine said, “…Whether Del Castillo works in Spanish or English, it rocks righteously…They pull together Latin music’s romance and rock’s grit.” At SXSW 2007, Brotherhood won “Album of the Year” at the 2006/2007 Austin Music Awards. The band continues to tour throughout the country, thriving on performing live and building new audiences, and songwriting and recording are a priority during breaks in their tour schedule.

www.delcastillomusic.com

www.myspace.com/delcastillo

BIO - Del Castillo

Flamenco Latin Style That Rocks


DEL CASTILLO se ha convertido en un símbolo para la música multicultural con su mezcla ecléctica de flamenco, rock,

latino, y blues. Todo comenzó a finales del año 2000 cuando Rick y Mark del Castillo decidieron crear un álbum con un estilo latino y flamenco para sus familiares y amigos en su cuidad natal de Brownsville, Texas. Los hermanos quienes siempre tocaron la guitarra eléctrica pero en distintas bandas de rock, nunca habían tenido la oportunidad de tocar juntos, y por primera vez empezaron a crear música juntos utilizando la guitarra acústica. Su muy buen amigo, el vocal-ista Alex Ruiz empezó a escribir canciones para acompañar la música de los hermanos, y así se fueron uniendo los otros integrantes de la banda.

Después de recibir una respuesta muy positiva de todas aquellas personas que escuchaban su músi-ca, la banda Del Castillo surgió! Del Castillo de-cidió fusionar diferentes influencias y estilos de música pero siempre teniendo en mente su raíz de música Latina. A finales del 2001 decidieron denominarse como banda de música en vivo y así fue como llegaron a Austin, Texas “la capital de la música en vivo,” tocando por primera vez juntos. Este mismo año lanzaron su primer dis-co, “Brothers of the Castle”, el cual recibió criti-cas muy favorables departe de sus seguidores.

En agosto del 2002 el periódico Austin Ameri-can Statesman publico: “Para ser un grupo que comenzó a tocar en vivo solamente hace 6 me-ses, Del Castillo definitivamente tiene un buen futuro.” Animados por la aceptación y respuesta tan positiva de la gente y la prensa, el grupo decidió tocar frecuentemente en Austin donde rápidamente fueron dejando su nombre muy en alto. En Marzo de este mismo año recibieron su primer premio en los “Austin Music Award” en esta misma cuidad por “Mejor banda de Música Mundial” y “Mejor banda de Música Mexicana/Tradicional.” En esta misma época

Del Castillo fue introducido al famoso direc-tor de cine Robert Rodríguez, quien empezó a aprender a tocar la guitarra con Rick. Así fue como Rick toco la guitarra en la banda sonora de la película “Spy Kids 3D: Game Over” Y en el estreno de la película aquí en Austin, Del Castillo tuvo la oportunidad de tocar en vivo, y Robert, el director de cine, acompaño a Rick y Mark en la guitarra. Durante su recorrido la banda continúo escribiendo y grabando mate-rial nuevo para el público, y a finales del 2002 lanzaron su segundo disco “Vida,” el cual los llevo a un nivel nunca imaginado. El periódico Austin Chronicle publico: si el disco “Vida” es la prueba, su carretera a la fama va a ser tan corta como la rampa para entrar a la interes-tatal 35.” El director de cine Robert Rodri-guez grabo la presentación en vivo en la fiesta del lanzamiento de el disco “Vida” y así fue como sacaron su primer DVD grabado en vivo.

En el 2003 Del Castillo fue otorgado con 7 pre-mios a la música en los Premios “Austin Music Awards” dos de ellos fueron “Mejor Banda del Año” y “Álbum del Año” por el disco “Vida”. Rick, Mark y Alex siguieron trabajando con Robert Rodríguez, y grabaron de nuevo la banda sonora de otra de sus películas esta vez “Once upon a time in México.” Además de crear la música para esta película, Alex actuó. Esta vez el estreno de la película fue en Nueva York en donde Del Castillo toco en vivo y en donde se unieron junto a ellos en el escenario: Antonio Banderas, Cheech Marin, y Patricia Vonne, entre otros. El DVD “Del Castillo en Vivo” editado y grabado por el mismo Robert Rodríguez fue lanzado a principios del 2004. Este mismo año Quentin Tarrantino utilizo una de las canciones de esta banda en su película “ Kill Bill, Vol. 2” interpretada por Chingon y Robert Rodriguez. Del Castillo junto con Robert y Chingon cantaron en vivo en el es-treno de la película en la cuidad de Los Angeles.

Hoy día, la banda es muy exitosa en todo Tex-as. Se unieron a la lista del CAA, una agencia creada para artistas, en el 2004. Y esto les abrió las puertas para irse de gira por todo el país to-cando en concierto con artistas como: Ozomatli, Los Lonely Boys, Los Lobos, Kinky, deSol, en-tre otros. En el 2006 estuvieron de gira sin parar y tocaron en tres de los conciertos de Willie Nel-son para el picnic del 4 de Julio y en el festival de la guitarra de Eric Clapton. Esto les trajo mucha fama en los medios de televisión en todo el país.

Biografíca- Del Castillo

Un Estilo Latino Y Flamenca

www.delcastillomusic.com

www.myspace.com/delcastillo


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Documents

monterey live

live en vivomarch

chels voice

risk gallery gallery

monterey band

contents94 chels folk

live music fest

high school friends