The Rise of Bang Data

Dave Lopez, Deuce Eclipse & Caipo

Being from the Bay Area I have the opportunity to attend so many fantastic events and I get to meet amazing people along the way. About a year and a half ago while I was working on a TV assignment to cover the Café Tacvba show in Oakland, Rocky the General Manager from Union Rocker introduced me to Juan Manuel Caipo, one of the band members from a San Francisco band called Bang Data. At the time I didn’t know about the band, other than the band members Caipo had been part of Orixa, Dave Lopez was with Flypside (one of my favorite bands when I was in college) and Deuce Eclipse was a well recognized Bay Area artist.
 
Bang Data has been slowly but surely making its way into shows all over the Bay Area and establishing a great name for themselves. It was during one of the many shows I attended that I was able to catch a live set and I was blown away. Not every band (especially if they are an opening act) is able to get people’s full attention and get them to dance and get into party mode but Bang Data does that and more. Their shows are filled with different rhythms from hip-hop, reggae, cumbia & rock and that is what makes their fusion of sounds so unique. 2010 was quite a busy and successful year for the band 2011 is shaping up to be even busier. Bang Data is definitely a band you ought to know in 2011!
 
Last night I had the chance to have a candid phone interview with Juan Manuel Caipo as he was heading to San Francisco. Check out my interview with Caipo and pay attention to find out of a surprise Caipo has exclusively for YOU my readers.


Enjoy!

  Interview with Caipo from Bang Data by thechroniclesofazu 

Nachos & Mexico City Love

Earlier today I had a TV assignment with my Union Rocker fam bam. I was scheduled to interview Mexican rock band DLD (formerly known as Dildo.) Although I don’t get nervous about doing interviews I always think about whether or not that particular band or artist will be friendly or accessible.

DLD is currently on a promotional tour in lieu of their 4th CD titled Por Encima (Above) and their promotional tour took them to places like TJ, Salinas, LA, Las Vegas and others. This morning they had a meet and greet with fans and the press at a restaurant in Santa Clara called Mexicali Grill.

I was so pleased to have attended the meet and greet, despite the fact that the guys were exhausted from the show the night before they were such good sports, they did not put a time limit on the interview, they interacted with everyone in attendance, took pictures and were beyond nice with us (the press.) Bands and artists don’t often realize that they are at the top of the fame game because of their fans, without them buying their CDs and attending their concerts they would be irrelevant in the music industry and also to the press.

The guys from DLD treated us great, after the meet and great we even had lunch with them. I mean, who can say that you shared nachos and beers with a bad ass band who, mind you played at Vive Latino and outnumbered none other than Deftones during their simultaneous presentation at the Mexican festival (which is the equivalent to Coachella.)

DLD will play the Teatro Metropolitano in Mexico City and plan to come back to the Bay in November, don’t forget to check out their music on myspace, you can also check out their youtube page and watch their podcasts. If you want to buy their latest CD Por Encima, check out this site.

As the meet and great came to an end, I sat down with Francisco Familiar (lead singer and guitarist) and he took the time to chit chat with me about the band. For all my Spanish speaking readers, check out my chit chat with Francisco (over nachos and beer), enjoy!

  Entrevista con Paco de DLD by themusicchroniclesofazu

Credits: Union Rocker, DLD Mexico & Mexicali Grill

Ximena Sariñana (a singer you ought to know)

My liking towards Ximena Sariñana started when I was a tween and I used to watch novelas with my grandma. I had to be around 11 or 12 and here I was glued to the TV watching the Mexican soap operas Luz Clarita & Gotita de Amor (soap operas she was part of.) Who would have ever thought that some 15 years later I would be interviewing her?

She disappeared from her soap operas momentum and I came across her again when in 2002 I watched the movie Amar te Duele where she played a part and had also written and sang for the movie soundtrack. Well, fast forward to the year 2008 and I stumbled upon her latest facet, a CD titled Mediocre. If you haven’t checked it out I definitively recommend it! She has that jazzy, mellow vibe and her voice is worth listening to live.

Ximena performed at the Red Devil Lounge on May 18th and I was lucky enough to interview her (courtesy of UNION ROCKER) right after her sound check. She talked about her miniseries of acoustic concerts which brought her to San Francisco. Ximena also talked about how excited she was to perform these types of concerts which are more intimate and bring her closer to her fans. She has been working on a new album which is due to be out early next year (and to you all my non-Spanish speaking readers, her new CD will have songs in English.)

Ximena is all about twitter and myspace (yes, she still personally checks it) and is very into writing blogs to keep her fans updated about what she is up to, her time off, the things that inspire her songs and the music she listens to. On her myspace blogs she is known for letting her readers know about specific bands she is listening to at that moment, her taste is very eclectic, from Led Zepellin, Gorillaz, The XX, Little Dragon and even Gustavo Cerati.  When I asked her how is it that she decides to listen to a particular band, she told me that she is a very visual person. If she likes the artwork on the cover she is most likely to buy the CD (yes, the actual hard copy, no itunes here.) 

  
She was so sweet to interview and I must say that I was a bit nervous because I didn’t know what to expect, what if she was a mean one like the characters she portrays in her movies and before in the novelas she was part of. To the contrary she was humble and willing to talk to the UNION ROCKER crew even though she had been on the road for the past 8 hours coming from LA. The concert was simply breathtaking, her voice is so gorgeous; I was so pleased to have been there and I cannot wait till her new CD comes out, yes, I will have to wait for almost another year but I know it will be worth the wait.

From her past CD Mediocre here are the songs I recommend: Vidas Paralelas, Un Error, Medicre, Un Error (my absolute favorite), Reforma, La Tina and Monitor (a cover/duet with Mexican band Volovan.)
 
You have to check out her pages (facebook, myspace & twitter) :)