Band Crush: Come to the dark side The Manichean is here.

By: Z

They might sound all dark and mysterious at first by their name but with each passing day, it seems they sure are one of the acts you can’t miss in town. They belong to Houston’s Press quality musicians list located in the area. Progressive, overly dramatic rock with narrative threads plus progressive poppers, as they describe it, is what we listen to whenever you catch The Manichean.

The Manichean is a Texan progressive rock band from Houston, formed in 2001 currently based in the Montrose Area. Founded by vocalist Cory Sinclair and guitarist Justice Tirapelli-Jamail as “A Kerosene Saga” finding people along the way and right musicians they became what is now The Manichean, the band blends in various influences such as Herman Hesse and Ayn Rand writings, The Deftones, Faith no more, Screaming Trees’ Mark Lanegan, Return of the Frog Queen, the album and The Mars Volta.

Cory Sinclair (left) and Justice Tirapelli-Jamail (right) by Matt Adams 

They are known for their energetic live shows, Kinetic’s band crush of June at the Free Press Summer Fest, Houston Press Awards Best New Act nominee as well as Best Progressive Rock Band in 2010.

The Kinetic Crew bumped into Cory and Justice at the Empire, their office had a nice, interesting, talk and graciously asked them a few questions. These are their answers.

Kinetic Crew:  First of all, Why The Manichean?

Cory Sinclair: Obscurity, reverence, intellectual-arousal.

Justice Tirapelli: It’s history, a very dark and interesting one. I also appreciate the fact that it’s both singular and plural... Like me.

CS: Like Justice the person *or* ‘Justice’ the concept?

JT: Correct-ish…

KC: Did you guys all start as The Manichean?

CS: No. Justice and I began as ‘A Kerosene Saga’, but changed that when it was decided to expand and shift thematic elements. Still, the material written while under this former moniker has been adapted to ‘The Manichean’.

KC: Who plays what? Names and instruments?

Current Roster

Cory Sinclair – Voice, words

Justice Tirapelli-Jamail – Guitar, composition

Ash Big Cash – Bass

Gustavo Roman Navarro Campos Conrado Bazurto Bonilla Butron – Violin / fiddle

Dylan Tirapelli-Jamail – Drums

Sean Spiller – Guitar, keys

Cory Wilson – Saxophone / horns

But we love working with multiple musicians while in the studio.

The Manichean at Mango's by Matt Adams  

KC: Do you rather play a certain style/model/brand/color?

JT:   I’m not exactly sure if you are referring to the music or a guitar perhaps, (ha ha yes we meant guitar!) but in either case it doesn’t really matter to me what style/model/brand/color it is. If what I’m playing feels right then I’ll keep going with it until it takes me to wherever it chooses.

KC:  How did The Manichean come together? How long have you known each other?

JT: Following a bond between Cory and I that started when I was in high school and blossomed into ‘A Kerosene Saga’ (initially just the two of us covering ‘Neutral Milk Hotel’ songs with Cory’s poetry stringing a narrative between them), different people sort of just started falling into the places that they were always meant to fill, making what is now ‘The Manichean’. Upon meeting Gustavo (violin) after a play in which he and Cory had acted, the fiddle was the first addition to the music besides acoustic guitar and voice. Everyone else began working with us within the past two years. Between meeting Ash BigCash (bass) and Cory Wilson (sax) in bars, working with Sean Spiller (guitar, keys) initially as an engineer on our ‘Whispers’ EP, and having an amazing drummer, Dylan Tirapelli-Jamail as my brother and friend, we’ve all just sort of come together in a spectacular way. I speak for both Cory and myself when I say that we couldn’t have better people, or better musicians with us than we do now.

CS: True. And the extended family of musicians we record with are equally as important in their talents.

KC: Do you have a record label?

JT:  We are currently unsigned; however we released the‘Whispers’ EP under our own label, ‘Lacerus’. It’s not a working label by any means, simply a visage that made sense to us until perhaps something comes along.

CS: Yes, Lacerus is something of a specter of ourselves.

KC:  Any favorite venues?

JT: We have had the pleasure of playing all over the place in Houston and Austin, TX. After a long beginner’s period of taking any shows that came our way we’ve covered a large number of the primary venues in Houston. Helios (now AvantGarden) is amongst our favorite, purely for the intimate feel that comes with such a small room jam-packed full of sweaty people. The space allows for a lot of energy to be thrown back and forth, and we feed off of that.

CS: Definitely AvantGarden, it’s so wonderfully aristocratic-bohemian. I would also be excited to play the new Free Press / Pegstar owned FITZGERALD’S once that’s all up and running. Do read – (http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2010/07/free_press_summer_fest_team_ta.php)

KC: Crowd's favorite song?

CS: I think that most people’s favorite live song at this point is ‘Lacerus’. It’s powerful and rapid, yet graceful.

JT: I’d have to agree. It feels as though people have really grasped onto that song in a great way. I like that such a large group of our listeners seem to feel so connected to ‘Lacerus’ in particular, seeing as it’s about the darker side of human nature and how awful people can be.

CS: I think we made it so pretty so that people might reflect upon the darker side of human nature. Mmm.

KC: Do you play your own material or any covers?

JT: All original music, all original words.

CS: All original words, all original music.

KC: Who does the writing? What do your songs talk about?

JT: Our writing process is equally collaborative and separated. Generally I'll be playing either alone or around Cory and if something that I end up playing stands out to me then I'll expound upon it. I may record an initial idea on Cory's MacBook as soon as it hits me or I'll work on it for a significant period of time before going to him and saying, "Here are all these parts to an idea I showed you a while back". Once I hand whatever I've got off to Cory, he spends time culminating the vocal melody and the story begins to come to fruition. Each time we get together to create we either start something new or pick up something we’ve been working out on our own and arrange, rearrange and over-think it until we hit a wall or decide we shouldn’t drink anymore. Eventually we feel comfortable enough handing it off to the musicians for them to put their individual stank on it and it becomes what it is. The music tends to occasionally change bit by bit over time. As far as what the songs talk about…

CS: This is the ‘Whispers Saga’, yet to be described across the next three albums. The explanation is in the words… Just read the words.

KC: Producer/band or anyone you'd love to work with?

CS: Clint Mansell (from “Pop will eat itself”), Cedric & Omar of ‘The Mars Volta’, ‘Two Star Symphony’ of Houston.

JT: I would also love to work with the above mentioned and would only add the desire for a visual collaboration with Darren Aronofsky (Director of “Requiem for a Dream”) or upon seeing the cinematography in “Mister Lonely” Harmony Korine.

CS: Harmony Korine?! That would be quite the spectacle. Did you hear about Terry Gilliam directing “Arcade Fire” live at Madison Square Garden? Devine.

KC: Favorite band experience of all times?

JT: Nothing immediately comes to mind, but our performing at Free Press Summerfest in 2009 is definitely up there. It was, and continues to be the largest crowd we’ve played to. I’ve yet to experience anything during any other performance quite akin to it. The ‘Whispers’ EP release show at Mango’s is way up there as well. I felt a lot of love for us at that show.

CS: My favorite times with ‘The Manichean’ come forth with every performance, so I believe every time you see me after a show, or in the studio, that is the best day of my life.

The Manichean at Free Press Summer 2009 by Matt Adams

KC: Worst?

JT: Cinco De Mayo of 2009. We were scheduled to play a free show at this warehouse and we were last on the bill AND we were running sound with our PA. I’d watch the bands and between sets I’d walk to the bar just down the street and get a shot and a drink. I did this too many times. Following these mistakes, the band that was supposed to play before us was about to go on and the police showed up to the warehouse following a noise complaint. Naturally, I took this as a reason for me to go back to the bar, besides, the show was cancelled, right? WRONG. They moved ‘Muhammad Ali’ and us to Mango’s to finish the show. To make the rest of a long story short, I was babysat until I effectively trashed our performance and illegally smoked half a pack of cigarettes inside of the bar. Even after arguing with different members of my band about my extremely poor form, I thought the show went great. That is, until the following day when I saw the video footage that had been taken of the show, and me, all night. That was my last show fail.

CS: Yea, dummy… Mine was the time we killed a drifter to get an erection.

KC: What is to you the ‘Music-making process’?

CS: Getting drunk with Justice.

JT: Getting Cory with drunk… wait… whuh?

KC: Ha ha ha

KC: How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?

JT: Our music has evolved a very great deal since the two of us began ‘A Kerosene Saga’. What began as nothing more than guitar and vocals has transformed into an organism that presents at times up to nine musicians playing live. ‘The Manichean’ has taken every day that it has been alive to grow into what it is now. What Cory and I are striving for is creating something limitless, something without boundaries. At this point we can do whatever we want with the songs and the poems to create whichever form of performance we desire. We try to make it as unexpected and awe-inspiring as we can. If ‘A Kerosene Saga’ was the basic, simplistic seed, then ‘The Manichean’ is the plant that is constantly evolving from that seed and is never the same in any stage it takes on.

CS: Botany reference like ‘Whoa!’

KC: What has been your biggest challenge as a band?

CS: Self-management.

JT: Keeping Cory clothed around children.

KC: What's the ultimate direction for your band?

CS: Cross-art form collaboration, widespread panic.

JT: Napoleonistic domination with taller people in charge and a bigger tolerance to arsenic.

SC:  …That sentence is rife with incongruity.

JT: Shut up.

KC: What advice do you have for young musicians who want to form their own bands?

JT: Take every opportunity that comes your way if it gives you the chance to further your music, don’t shy away from something because it’s different or unconventional, and when approaching anything constantly be asking yourself, “What is the overall gain?” If there is no gain there is no point, unless you’re just out to have fun. And that’s cool, too.

CS: Keep writing. Write with as many other people as you can. Write alone. Just keep writing.

KC: When's your next show?

CS: We just performed at the 2010 Houston Press Music Awards

Showcase. The Showcase had over 60 local acts and a few national acts spread across eleven stages along the Washington Avenue corridor. This also was our last performance for a significant amount of time as we will be recording the second part of the ‘Whispers Saga’, our first LP.

KC: Where do we get your music?

CS: iTunes, Bandcamp, CDBaby.com… It’s pretty easy to find.

KC: Anything you'd like to add?

CS: I’d like to say the words ‘At The Drive-In’…

JT: As far as new releases from ‘The Manichean’, we will be releasing ‘Lacerus’ as a single with a number of remixes of the song crafted by several extremely talented Texan musicians sometime this fall – more information is soon to come. In addition to that, we will be returning to the studio toward the end of September to record our next addition to the ‘Whispers Saga’. This LP entitled ‘Your Kerosene Eyes’ will be a prologue of sorts, our Chapter Zero. It will be deeply rooted in our origin and more stripped down than our previous recording. To record this particular album we will be traveling a short distance to Pozo Hondo Studios, a residential recording studio in Round Top, TX. We’ll be staying there for a week to materialize the new full-length. You can expect for the album to be released before the spring of 2018…

CS: Word.

For more info check out the following links:

www.myspace.com/themanichean

http://themanichean.com/

www.facebook.com/pages/the-manichean

www.twitter.com/themanichean

SPIN IT! : Q&A part 2: DJ Dus

We heard of DJ DUS from a friend of a friend of a bunch of friends, which made us be so eager to see him play live so when we actually got to check him out at SXSW '09 at Creekside we were so happy that he did not only meet our expectations but went beyond and blew our minds. Blending Hip hop with Cumbia and making it appealing to any crowd! The Kinetic Crew asked him some questions and here are his answers.

K: Why DJ Dus?

D: My name is dusty and i've never been one for fancy stage names.. even tho now i wish i could add a T to the end.. i unno 

K: Have you always used that as your alias?

D: yup, since i was born. 

K: Your hood:

D: downtown corpitos texas 

K: Projects worked on:

D: Did a remix for los kumbia kings back in the day, produced paula deanda's album for arista records and sold like 400,000 records, did some stuff for dj kane's albums, produced and wrote for LA CONQUISTA an all girl band from monterrey, and now im doing my own label AMERICANO and am working with hip hop and alternative latin groups from TEXAS 

K: What kinda music do we jam to when you’re spinning?

D: electro cumbia and club hip hop.. crunk i guess 

K: How old where you when you started spinning?

D: 12 

K: Are you on a record label?

D: AMERICANO. 

K: What do you use when you dj (Serato, Diital dj, Ableton, Tracktor, etc.)?

D: serato itch and ableton 7 

K: Why do you use that?

D: cus i can add beats to the songs im playing live on ableton and skratch and mix with serato all at the same time 

K: Where can we see you spin?

D: with the peligrosa crew in austin texas. or at a neighborhood bar in corpus christi! 

K: Where can we catch you next?

D: ill be up for peligrosa in august 

K: Name of a must have track on your set:

D: enemigo publico #1 

K: Who’s coming up with crazy power jams right now?

D: thats easy: toy selectah, dj orion, and dj panik 

K: Partner you’d love to work with:

D: toy selectah! 

K: How has producing music evolved since you first began doing it?

D: i used to make beats strictly on my mpc2000, i would have to sample the records into the mpc, chop them up and then play them to the tempo on the mpc, bounce those tracks to a recorder, then layer it, then go to a big studio and record the artist, go to another studio to mix and master.. now i can do it all in my laptop. 

K: What has been your biggest challenge as a dj/producer so far?

D: not being shy about my music and actually playing it out instead of just making it for my ipod.

K: Favorite dj experience of all times so far?

D: mmm sxsw was cool but i didnt get any good time slots really... pachanga fest in austin was fun as hell, i did that set like a band would, i even stopped the set a few times and talked to the crowd, it was fun. cinco de mayo here in corpus was freaking nuts 

K: Worst request ever:

D: lady gaga "telephone"

K: Most cliché track played by djs right now? 

D: "my chick bad" by ludacris, freakin banger! haha i love it tho

K: What’s the advice you would give young upcoming dj producers who are barely steping into the music business?

D: drop as much music as u can, dont hold back ur bangers cus noone will ever hear them. I had the best unsigned band ever and we never showed anyone our stuff, and then we disbanded and noone ever will (el sancho)

K: Where do we get your music?

D: djdus.bandcamp.com 

K: Anything you’d like to add?

D: support anything local.  

Catch DJ Dus at Club Deville 900 Red River st. Austin, TX $3 21+

For more on Dus check out:
www.djdus.com
http://www.myspace.com/dustyoliveira
http://www.facebook.com/pages/DJ-DUS/106184423128
http://twitter.com/djdus

The Must See: Titan Arum

BY: Z

Titan Arum is town!

What is Titan Arum? Titan Arum (believe it or not it means “ugly penis” o.O) but besides that it’s a flower and belongs to the group of the largest flowers in the world!!  Even though you can find it in many botanic gardens in the around the globe, it belongs to the Tropical forests of Sumatra only.  She’s known as the “Stinky Flower” or “The Corpse Flower” due to its smell.

The Corpse Flower is 7 to 10ft tall and from 5 to 6ft in circumference when it blooms, its bract or outer leaf is green and has the shape of a loaf French bread, when it booms its stretch is hollow and purple-ish.

Houston has it’s very own Stinky Flower at Houston Museum of Natural Science, they’ve named her Lois and for the next week you can see and smell for yourself one of the slinkiest flowers in the world, first explorers say this was a “Man Eating Plant”, the HMNS  will keep The Cockrell Butterfly Center open 24 when she blooms, Louis was expected to be in full bloom on the weekend of July 9-11^th but this flower is totally unpredictable, so keep an eye on her because it will only bloom once in a lifetime.

“We’ve had ours for over six years now and this is the first time it has bloomed, we’re very lucky. She might be the largest, smelliest flower in the world but its beauty is unparallel” said Dr. Nancy Greig.

Don’t miss out on checking out one of the rarest flowers in the world brought to you. The HMNS will be open around the clock for you to come have a look at this beauty, tickets are $8 and discounts may apply so no excuses! Schedule your visit here http://store.hmns.org/Default.aspx?dspgrp=5

See you guys there.

Pictures by Kim Montgomery check out her blog here: http://whitegirlridingthebus.blogspot.com/2010/02/white-girl-riding-bus-will-debut-on.html

Spin it! : Q&A part 1: Sonora.

We met Sonora a few months ago, but got to actually see him spin at Sonido Mundial in one of the clubs in San Antonio, TX in late May. We wanted to share with you his cumbia rhythms that will keep you dancing all night long. Check out his work on www.myspace.com/soycumbia. Here's a little about Sonora.  

K: Why Sonora?

S: It means "loud" in Spanish. so if you personally knew me, you'd understand.

K: Have you always used that as your alias?
S:Sonora Longoria, I could just use my full name DJ Joseph Albert Perez De Longoria ha ha. :)

K:Your hood: 
S:At the moment I currently reside in San Antonio TX.


K: Projects worked on:
S: Right now I'm finishing up a digital release for "Cabeza Netlabel" .working on an EP/mix for late summer and producing some tracks for a couple artists.


K: What kinda music do we jam to when you’re spinning?
S: besides cumbia and all of its sub genres, everything can range from African riddims to soca to kuduro to baile funk and dirty tropical bass. Its a trip, its like expressing adhd through music.


K: How old where you when you started spinning? 
S:16? around there.


K: What do you use when you spin (Serato, Digital DJ, Ableton, Tracktor, etc.)?
S: I PREFER serato, but have had to play on just about everything. I'll rock an ableton set time to time though.


K: Where can we catch you next? 
S:Will be heading to north Carolina and DC in July, and Houston with Mexicans With Guns in August.


K: Name of a must have track on your set: 
S: Fauna - Mira (hongo x hongo) that track will always set things off. never fails.


K: Who’s coming up with crazy power jams right now? 
S: A lot of homies are really coming out with fire. peligrosa boys Orion and Dus, Uproot Andy, and my boy MWG


K: Partner you’d love to work with: 
S: Lido Pimienta (girls got mad talent, big things from her in the future!)


K: How has producing music evolved since you first began doing it? 
S: When I was 13 i was making screwed and chopped music, now I'm bouncing all over sounds the world has to      offer.


K: What has been your biggest challenge as a DJ/producer so far? 
S: In my opinion i think its the "what makes you different from EVERYONE else" part. Finding your own sound and what makes it you, and yours.


K: Favorite DJ experience of all times so far?
S: Playing and opening up for the craziest show put together, Tormenta Tropical SXSW 2010. That was like the dream team of tropical/cumbia heads, sharing the decks with Oro11 Disco Shawn, Isa GT, Chief Boima, Maluca, nguzunguzu, toy selectah, lvis1990, poirer, kingdom. this list goes on. 


K: Worst request ever: 
S: i think everyone has gotten there share of lady caca. but the WORST thing anyone has ever asked/requested from me was "i don't understand what they're saying can you play something in English, something like new order"


K: Most cliché track played by djs right now? 
S: i wouldn't call it cliche, but i would say just about everyone has and probly always will include nguzunguzu's "el bebe ambiente"  that track is a heavy  hitter! they actually blew the power out at sxsw with that track


K:What’s the advice you would give young upcoming DJ producers who are barely stepping into the music business? 
S: have fun. 


K: Where do we get your music? 
S:you can check out my soundcloud at soundcloud.com/sonoraaa or sonoralongoria.tumblr.com for updates on
where you can find some stuff, or just do it up google style.




Sonora will be playing with Mexican with Gunz in August in Houston, TX. Dates and Venues to be confirmed soon.

   

Free Press Summer Fest brought it!

By: Z

I played sick on June 5th and 6th at work so i could go to the Festival, the heat was terrible even though i was wearing sunblock but hey! we're in Texas and great shows awaited. The Festival was amazing!! The Line up was great awesome artists from local bands to well known around the country and Europe rocked Eleanor Tinsley Park like it had never been before.

I barely made it to Medeski Martin and Wood who started the party with a much different sound than before while almost at the same time Houston-based Perseph1 (have a listen www.myspace.com/perseph1) was rocking the 29-95 stage. Yokomono, representing my hood, jammed their tunes while everyone dance to them, I'm glad i got to see Shina Rae at the KTRU Stage, i didn't wanna miss her. One of the things i loved was to see The wild Moccasins, which is one of my favorite local bands sharing the stage with Ra Ra Riot followed by every one's favorite Kid Sister at the Main Stage. Girl Talk was insane, we all got on the stage and danced, toilet paper everywhere, his set included Ciara's "My Goodies" Gun's n Roses "Paradise City" and Dr. Dre's "Next Episode" At one point Gillis aka Girl Talk lost his shirt, got on the DJ table and said "Houston dance or go home" the crowd went crazy trying to keep up with Gillis losing more than their shirts.

New bands i enjoyed: The Eastern sea.

All time favorite djs: Fat Tony, Squincy Jones, Fixture, Damon Allen, Fredster, Grrrl Parts and Dayta.

We had a blast on Sunday, people spread picnic blankets over the hillside to enjoy post-rock band Lymbyc System at the Main Stage following Uh huh her, which  I've always liked playing at the Main Stage, it didn't rain but poured during Lucero's performance. Canadian band Stars had the stage full of white roses while they play new tunes to promote their coming album "The 5 ghosts".  

The "special guest" was Bun B and Slim Thug although we already knew this weeks before the festival, they surprised us with the performance they put on, showing why they're Houston's underground kings. Their show lasted an hour, Slim thug starting off with "Yo it's hot as fuck but i came to party" pimping out the stage with "i ain't heard of that" "Thug from around the way" and of course "Three Kings" which fit perfect to a transition, Bun B's set was next, he's a local artist supporter, he shows up at any hip hop gig in town and people still can't believe he's there. He performed songs like "Big Pimping" and "International Players Anthem"

Flaming Lips was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. what a show! We all know about their shows, right? If you don't let me describe it to you, there are always psychedelic lights, bubbles and confetti with drug-free and drugged fans having a blast jamming to songs like "The Fear" dancing among balloons, what i had no idea of was the way they were gonna get on the stage in which was coming out of a woman's womb and Houston welcomed them excited to see them play. It had been 10 years since The Flaming Lips last came to town.

The Lips played "Worm Mountain" to open their set and suddenly there we were from confetti cannons, to humongous balloons in which Wayne got in and walked over the crowds hands, bear costumes and dozens of dancers. They also played old tunes like "In the morning of the magicians" The Lips front man asked the crowd to feel love in the air and smoke weed, apologizing for their 10 year absence. People actually played an important part while the Lips performed "I can be a frog" making animal noises to break out with laser giant hands for "The Science of sleep" to close the show with "Do you realize" Eleanor Tinsley filled with confetti, everyone came together, what a way to close the two day festival.

New band crush: The Manichean

Local band favorite of all times: Tax the wolf.

Band we wanted to perform at FPSF: The Live Lights

                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                        The Manichean at FPSF '10

I've been to many festivals and I'm so glad Free Press Summer Fest didn't disappoint me, even though it rained, mostly on the second day and we became mud-people the festival was amazing, local bands playing next to the best, the shows were on time, stages were on point and food and drink vendors were everywhere. I'm glad to know Houston wants good shows!

Pictures by Breakfast on tour

Bonnaroo, say what?

Yeah, Bonnaroo, for those who don’t know (I didn’t) Bonnaroo is a Music and Arts Festival held annually in the city of Manchester, TN. (Tennessee? Random? Heck Yes!) The Great Stage Park is the place, multiple stages of live music including reggae, country, electronica, hip hop, gospel, alternative, Americana, folk, etc. (So eclectic, I love it!) Craftsmen and Artisans have on sale their unique and awesome work, which I think it’s pretty cool. Boonnaroo was named the “Best Festival” by the Rolling Stone Magazine in 2008 calling it “The ultimate over the top summer festival”. This year’s Bonnaroo will start rocking our summer from June 10th to June 13th, every year close to 80, 000 souls gather in the countryside to tear it up!
First held in 2002, with only 72 bands and artists on their lineup, Bonnaroo had a major success and has been that way for the past 8 years. In 2004 Bonnaroo had scheduled 2 Latin alternative bands for the first time, which were The Lonely Boys and Los Lobos. Bonnaroo has grown throughout the years from only less than half of the acts for this year’s festival, 8 years ago to 160 + on 2010.
Bonnaroo has gone all out for this year’s Latin alternative lineup, there will actually be a special tent featuring some of the best Latin Alternative acts these days, Nacional Records, who has already joined forces with Bonnaroo in the past, has been invited to assist at this year’s Bonnaroo for the Latino Alternativo lineup, so all day long on Saturday attendees will be jamming to awesome music from the Latin Alternative scene, plus djs, visual arts and more. Grammy award winners Los Angeles basedOzomatli *will be headliners at this tent and not only that but they’ll also be mc’s during the whole day, also Los *Amigos Invisibles (Venezuela),Aterciopelados (Colombia), Nortec Collective: presents Bostich y Fussible(Mexico), Mexican Institute of Sound (Mexico), Bomba Estereo (Colombia), who is on the top 5 bands to check out at Bonnaroo by Spin Magazine.
Bonnaroo is not done! If you are like me and love soccer, they’re screening World Cup matches over the weekend on the Field of Dreams on large screen projections of matches! Don’t you just love it? Don’t miss it!
For schedules, info, music and arts, tickets, activities + attractions, FAQ’s, contests and more check out www.bonnaroo.com or www.indieoma.com/

La Maldita Vecindad from a white girls perspective.

By Sindy Lagunas and E. C. Girls

I was excited to hear that one of my favorite Mexican rock bands, La Maldita Vecindad, would be playing at the House of Blues.

NAME: La Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del 5to Patio (The damned neighborhood and the son's of the fifth patio.)

BIRTHDATE: Mexico City 1985

SOUNDS LIKE: Rock, Ska, and a bit of Mexican bolero.

WARDROBE: Pachuco ALL ABOUT: Adventures, dilemmas, delivering a positive message of peace and improvement in all societies. This was definitely one of the craziest Latin shows i have attended in a while. The energy was loud and the audience was eager to hear them play. It was around song #3 that Shannon and Mary found me, I must admit that i was nervous to invite them. I wasn't sure if they would like it or how they would react to the guys in Mexican wrestling masks and the loud aggressive girls. When i turned and saw them having a killer time all my worries melted away and went back to the screaming and dancing like the other nuts.

In between songs the singer would say a couple positive words, mostly about peace on earth, unity, and the best of all, "STOP THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN"

I left the House of Blues soaked in beer, sore form all the pushing, and filled with great vibes from the people

Mary:

Knowing absolutely nothing about the band i was about to see other than Sindy mentioning that we should review it for the blog,  I finally entered the main concert hall after a mazeof halls and elevators leading form the plush and over the top Foundation Room  at the House of Blues.

The confusing and somewhat questionable route to getting to my destination made me feel as though i was going further down the rabbit hole, one step behind Alice herself.
Once the last door opened i Could hear the crowd, sense the energy of the fans as the rhythmic sounds of the aforementioned band ingested my being. I walked into a large performance space and was at once seized by th "Malditas" energys and endorphins. As i tried to ignore the energetic rotation of the mosh pit (yes, I said mosh pit!) in front of the stage i noticed the singer. He was jumping into the air, and skanking hard core, fueling an already ecstatic audience.

I was enchanted. I scanned the stage more carefully. The singer was wearing a wife beater with wide hanging trousers akin to the zoot suit style of the 20's, all whilst dancing up a storm in a pair of black and white tipped shoes. Near by the saxophonist played his part invigorating us with his sax solo riffs while clad in long black trench coat matching his long black hair.
These guys were stylish, musically trained and knew how to pout on a performance while having fun themselves. The band also consisted of a trumpet player, keyboard player, bassist and lead guitarist. The upbeat Latin ska style melody fed the hungry crowd and kept them going.

Upon finding Sindy standing center stage with her camera, Shannon and i joined in the fun. We were located directly between the stage and the mosh pit, our elbows only protecting us from the wave of equally if not more enchanted crowd going crazy. What a show!!! Crowd-surfing ensued the entire time as well as the rain of water and beer that was being thrown across the crowd. We danced, we cheered, we skanked and clapped our hands in the air as though possessed by a spell. I saw the largest man ever get carried by the crowd to the stage to the humorous dismay of the stage bouncers who caught all the crowd-surfers. The look on the fatty's face was of sheer accomplishment and disbelief. More than a few guys were sporting Mexican wrestling masks sans shirts, bringing to mind Jack Black in Nacho Libre thus adding to the hilarity of this sweaty and outrageous wonderland.
As i left the show, my clothes drenched in sweat and beer, my left elbow slightly skinned, my hair matted to my face, i couldn't help but feel as though i had truly been wonderful.

Shannon Pipper:

There's nothingn that i love more than my city, but music trumps Montrose and sometimes that means venturing out into the unknown... downtown. The Maldita had a message and i heard it loud and clear, streaming through the speakers, straight into my heart.
Music is love. Love is universal.

My kitchen Spanish is quite pathetic and it barely gets me through a work day. Needless to say, i probably only understood six words during the whole show and one of them was "Houston". That didn't seem to matter. I understood the passion that the lead singer spoke with. I felt his heart beat as he spoke between songs to the crowd who got louder and louder with every word he said. I understood the music because it knows no ethnicity, embracing anyone who will reciprocate the emotion.

Would i go back? Heck yess! i would and you guys are coming with me. After the show, our praises continue. We have told everyone and anyone about the show. The bruises i proudly sported for days have faded, leaving no proof of how we let go and got swallowed up by the Maldita Madness.

Source http://ecmontrosegirls.blogspot.com/ thanks to Shannon, Sindy and Mary. Y'all rule.