Monthly Archive for May, 2008

Grupo Mambo series: Cadaques

Grupo Mambo went to Cuba Libre last night to watch the vibrant and rhythmic Latin band Cadaques. Having residency at Cuba Libre every Wednesday at 9pm, they put on an outstanding, full of energy show. The gypsy kings-esque sounding grupo entertains the bar frequenters and some even get up to dance (as the night and alcohol intake progresses). All their songs are written by front-man Hector Vasquez, who also plays Flamenco guitar. The other enthusiastic members include: Jayme Munoz on Flamenco Guitar, Steve Metz on Drums/Cajon, and Dan Mowery on Bass who are all dressed in their casual best.

The band was very friendly and was more than happy to grant us an interview. Interesting tidbits were uncovered.

Cadaques has been together for ten years , they formed when “they became tired of their other bands.” Hector and Jayme have had a long term relationship since they were both in college, adding the rest of the band was a team effort. They pride themselves on “never playing the same song twice”, as they play everything by ear and do not believe in set lists.

The band’s big influence is Flamenco music and Spanish guitarists like Vicente Amigos. Hector’s lyrical inspiration comes from Mexican poetry and that of La nina pastori. Since the Austin Latino music venues are few they have plans to reach a wider audience by singing in English. Their dream is

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to tour all over the U.S. and would like that to be the next step after the release of their album. The release date for their next album is September 2008 (no pressure guys) which may include guest appearances by friends from other bands, like Jose from Grupo Fantasma. The album will also feature a more complete instrumental repertoire with horns and a keyboard.

Check them out at www.cadaques.us or at their Myspace page.

Grupo Mambo Series: Rock y Roll Radio

Rock y Roll Radio (RRR) officially launches today!

According to their press release, RRR will have interviews, music and opinion, the anti-alternative. As a two-hour weekly radio show spotlighting music from U.S. Latino acts and International artists, hosts Paul Saucido and Dacia Saenz will entertain the masses in a new kind of show.

Grupo Mambo met with ME Television’s Latin music director and “Sonido Boombox” host Paul Saucido last week at Jo’s Coffee.

The Interview

Paul has been fed up with the portrayal of Latino Music in the airwaves and is ready to start a change. The importing of emerging latin music and exclusion of Latino bands at music festivals has inspired him to find a way to give U.S.-based Latino acts a chance.

This includes bands like Grupo Fantasma, Los Lobos, Maneja Beto, Montoya and Motel which are some of Paul’s personal favorites. His solution to this problem?

After waiting around for a solution and not getting one, he decided to start his own show. It will be aired on the internet and called Rock y Rolly Radio.

The show , according to Paul will have many layers. He wants to “call out” things that people dont see all the time, he wants to reach all over the world and get 70-80% of Latino bands heard, he wants to talk about the days latino culture news, and he wants the feel to be like that of Howard Stern’s show on E!.

Each playlist featured in the show will be tailored to the dia’s guest. There is a local music, oldies and request section in each show. “Each listener will get a music lesson everyday,” said Saucido. His ultimate goal is to reach syndication, but that comes later.

Paul Saucido’s Rock y Roll Radio airs today on http://www.diasmuertos.com/rrr.

Introducing……..Gruuupoooo Maaaamboooo!

Introducing the exciting new Latino music band, Grupo Mambo!

Just kidding!

We are just a bunch of interns at Mercury Mambo that are way smarter than anyone out there about Latino music!

We are here to introduce you to Cup O’ Mambo and to the local Latino music scene in the lovely Austin, Texas.

We understand the importance of embracing and learning about the Latino music culture and its diverse sounds found in the local music scene and want to share it with the world.

It is officially Latino Music Month, and we are here to show you the different flavors of la musica latina. Our goal is to attend as many Latino music concerts in the month of May and blog about them. Ultimately, we will post video footage, pictures and exclusive backstage interviews with the bands.

Stay tuned!

We are: Matt: guitar (the real world account coordinator), Rudy: vox, Amanda: drums, Angelica: accordion, Grecia: bass

Not pictured (but still in the field): Angie and Luisa

Peace!