LAMC 2005 IN NEW YORK CITY

Photos and text by Michael Jones

In its sixth year, The Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) returned to New York City on August 3rd
after a two year exile on the west coast.  The annual, four-day conference, was based in NYC’s historic
Puck Building in SoHo, and featured panels for musicians and industry reps.  Daily topics included titles
like, “Hey, how did this dollar get into my pocket?” a discussion about digital revenue streams, and “You
can’t have to have it if you don’t know it exists,” which discussed the importance of marketing and promotion. 

Of course, the LAMC is most famous for providing a stage for the new sounds of Latin music to be presented, and this year was no exception.  “Rock, hip-hop, electronica, funk, punk and everything in between,” was the motto.  The following is a brief description of the first three days at this year’s LAMC. 

Wednesday August 3, 2005 at the Mercury Lounge

The first night of the conference featured an “Indie Band Showdown” at the Mercury Lounge in Manhattan’s
East Village.  These groups represented emerging talent from the U.S., Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Latin America.  The seven bands featured were Cuban Cowboys, Sóniko, Santos de Los Angeles, Popvert, Pacha, Orixa, and Delux.  The small club was packed to the limit and people were being turned away at the door.  Inside the scene felt like a typical night at an East Village party spot.  It was dark and loud and the crowd responded with dancing and shouting to their favorite act. 

The winner of the competition was Pacha (Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic).  Not only did the group win bragging rights, but they also won some gear and 1,000 copies of their demo, to be pressed as part of the package.  The young, multi-ethnic band featured a vocalista and played funky electronica with live drums, guitars and bass.  Pacha also featured a talented musician who switched between flute and trumpet, playing solos and adding atmospheric textures to their upbeat sound.  Check out APWW’s report on this year’s LAMC to hear how it felt to be the winning band that night.

Thursday August 4, 2005

Thanks to LAMC organizers Josh Norek (also of Hip Hop Hoodios fame) and Marine Allouch, the LAMC offers press access to most of the performers by scheduling interviews during the daytime at the Puck Building. 

APWW was pleased to get personal time with electro-funk rock pranksters Plastilina Mosh, Mexican singer song-writer and DJ Sara Valenzuela, Puerto Rico’s new wave rockers Circo, Mexico’s power-pop group Natalia y la Forquetina, and Andrea Echeverri from Colombia’s multi-Grammy nominated, trailblazing group Aterciopelados.

Andrea Echeverri could very well be considered the matriarch of the Latin alternative music scene.  Since 1990 Aterciopelados has been creating Colombian genre-busting music, infusing its sound with rock, reggae, funk, Latin folk, cumbia and electronica.   She told APWW that her most recent self-titled release is not the beginning of a solo career.  Long-time musical companion Hector Buitrago produced the album and other members of Aterciopelados play on the CD. 

“Its just an opportunity for me to express more of myself,” she said.  It is also something of a love letter to her recently born daughter, Milagros.  She says that Aterciopelados’ next release will be mainly Hector’s creation.
   
In addition to the panels and press time, the second day featured four events for live music.  There was an indie band showcase at Virgin Mega in Union Square where singer Sara Valenzuela played songs from her just released CD “Lado Este.”  Later in the evening Venezuelan party band, Los Amigos Invisibles played “Summer Nights at El Museo” in Spanish Harlem.  At the same time Tribeca’s famous S.O.B’s hosted “The LAMC Acoustic Writer’s Showcase.”  This event featured performances by eleven different acts in just two hours (each act was allowed to perform two songs). 

The performers were Orixa, Miami’s Javier Garcia, Coral, Cuba’s Roberto Poveda, Circo, Sara Valenzuela, Natalia y la Forquetina, Peru’s Livido, solo act Ana Laan from Spain, Aterciopelados, and Plastilina Mosh.

The Bowery Ballroom Showcase

All of us at the LAMC had to make a mad dash from SOB’s to the Bowery Ballroom to catch the headlining showcase.  Now with their full bands Javier Garcia, Grammy nominees Circo (Circus) from Puerto Rico, quadruple Grammy nominee Natalia y La Forquetina, and Argentine rockers Catupecu Machu rocked the house.  This was a full-on, standing room only show with the performers on a high stage under a dramatic light show.  Lead singer and guitar player Javier Garcia’s group featured a horn section, drums, bass, keys, and an enigmatic percussionist that gave his music a distinctively Cuban connection.  He is promoting his latest release 13.

Circo’s lead singer Fofe Abreu has a large, colorful fish tattooed on the side of his shaved head.  He  has been around the scene for a while, but has only recently been signed to Universal.  Circo’s release En el Cielo de Tu Boca (In the Sky of Your Mouth), has a distinctively 80’s, new wave feel.  His powerful voice is like a cousin to British singer Morrissey’s, defiantly proud in the face of the most popular sound in his native Puerto Rico:  Raggaeton.  This being the venue for the alternative, the crowd loved Circo’s sound. 

Next up was Natalia y La Forquetina led by petite, 19-year-old Natalia Lafourcade.  Playing guitar and dressed in a skirt and Pippi Longstocking T-shirt she belted it out over her power-pop band.  She made her premeire at LAMC when she was 14 years old, and with her latest release, Casa, she seems to have solidified her place in the scene.  The press mobbed her at the Puck Building and the crowd sang her lyrics at the Bowery Ballroom.

Topping off the night at the Bowery Ballroom was Catupecu Machu, a four-man rock group from Argentina led by Ruiz Diaz Fernando.  They are known for their heavy sound.   Used to massive sold-out stadium shows in Buenos Aries, they hope to widen support for their 2004 release, El Número Imperfecto.

Friday August 5, 2005 Celebrate Brooklyn!
 
With informative panels and new contacts to make all day and great music and new friends to meet all night, who needs sleep?  The Celebrate Brooklyn Festival in Prospect Park was home to the LAMC’s second showcase event.  The featured acts were Miami’s teen-queen JD Natasha, Plastilina Mosh, and Mexican electro-rockers Kinky.  The psycho sounds and antics of Plastilina Mosh (“P-Mosh” to those in the know) make them the dynamic duo and darlings of the LAMC.  The “duo” is founding members Alejandro Rosso and Juanes Gonzalez. 

They reported to Afropop Worldwide that they almost never plan out a set and rely on the moment and audience to define their evening’s performance.  They came out rockin’ to their eponymous theme song and then weaved their way through a mix of rock, disco, and electronic music improvisation.  The P-Mosh boys jumped all over the place, switching instruments as they went.  Their instrumentation featured guitars, drums, bass and several synthesizers including a mini-Moog.     

Kinky meshes hard rock, funk, electronic sounds, and super-processed vocals into a tight musical package.  The lead singer Gilberto Cerezo also plays guitar and a turntable.  In a tall cowboy hat with his ax slung low, the bassist covered the stage in a prowling lurch.  Ulises Lozano, plays the synths and also comes forward to play an accordion on a few songs.  Their high-energy music, with its thick atmospheres and heavy beat is a lot of fun to listen and dance to.  Brooklyn loved this funky performance and the band came out for three encores. 

Now living in LA, and still riding on the wings of their 2003 release Atlas,  they are at the top of their game
working with producer Chris Allison and engineer Thom Russo.  At the sound check prior to the show, Afropop learned from Tom Baumgartner (Kinky’s road manager) that the band has been very hard at work writing and rehearsing songs for a new release.  Interestingly, during a conversation with Ulises, Afropop was reminded that Kinky won the LAMC’s “Indie Band Showdown” five years ago, catapulting the band into wider recognition.  Today they have two albums under their belt, three Grammys nominations, and have played for as many as 70,000 people in a single show (San Siro Stadium, Milan).  That should give Pacha (this year’s winner) something to look forward to if they play their cards right.  It also proves the effectiveness of the LAMC’s goal in general – to get the music to the people and the people to the music.