New song on MP3.com by Mariachi band I recorded in a bar

Recently I was in Guadalajara, Mexico on a business trip; I rented a
car and drove over the mountain to the small town of Ajijic on Lake
Chapala. At a party, I heard and made a recording of an amazing band
of terrific musicians. I posted a copy of one of their pieces on
MP3.com yesterday, in the Mariachi section, under
http://www.mp3.com/OmarBandeleros . Take a listen and let me know
what you think; I swear I hear some 7:4's 11:8's, and other
microtones in their playing.

Omar y los Bandeleros play every Friday night for the wealthy retired
Americans in Ajijic, mostly Mariachi Music in the Moonlight at the
Posada in town. But on Saturday nights they move to the school gym
off the town square and step up the tempo.

Omar is the band's leader, and tuba player. His wife Angelina plays
the piccolo. Omar is tall and thin and has a neatly trimmed mustache.
Angelina has let her weight get away from her, and is pushing 120
kilos, easy. Earlier, on the night these recordings were made,
Angelina and Omar had been fighting over something. Enrique, the lead
trumpeter said it was over Omar losing money at the cock fights.
Roberto, the bongo player, felt that Angelina was angry over Omar
spending all Friday afternoon helping the new guitar player, Rosa,
learn the changes in his shuffle. Angelina felt the new changes were
not all for the good, if you know what I mean.

Omar wanted to diffuse the situation by playing some romantic music
with Angelina, and that is how this tune starts. Francesco the
marimba player begins the tune with a gently rocking ostinato in C
major otonality. Omar entices Angelina to join in with a sweet bass
line on his tuba. Hector and his trombone section join in to
complement the sound. When Rosa joins in on guitar, the pace quickens
rapidly. Pretty soon the tempo and the heat rise as it becomes clear
Angelina wants more than sweet music from Omar. The group is rocking
through some bizarre changes at 150 bpm.

After this recording was made, Omar left the stage with Angelina, and
the remainder of the band finished out the set without them. Rosa was
asked to leave the band the next day, and has been hanging out in
Colorado with a guy named Nelson in Durango, driving a Suburban into
town every day to pick up her mail and her royalty checks. Omar
continues to lead the band every weekend, but Angelina is thinking of
quitting to join the Guadalajara Philharmonic. She says she is going
to be the next Latin Herbie Mann, with or without Omar.

I'm not sure where the group first learned to tune their marimba to
the Partch 43 tone scale. Rosa the guitarist found her axe in a
dumpster outside Peteluma and quickly fell in love with the big
chords made possible with the otonality. Omar just likes the chance
to show off his embouchure, if you know what I mean.

I hope to post more recording of Omar, once I've cleaned the
tequila out of my Sony Minidisc recorder. %}

Prent Rodgers
Mercer Island, WA
The Milli Vanilli Capital of the Northwest

Prent, you rascal!

Prent Rogers is a BIG FAT LIAR!!!

(actually, this recording confirms the fact that he's never one to myth an opportunity. so good to have people like this around...)

`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`'`
Real Life: Orchestral Percussionist
Web Life: "Corporeal Meadows" - about Harry Partch
http://www.corporeal.com/

--- In tuning@egroups.com, "Prent Rodgers" <prodgers@i...> wrote:

http://www.egroups.com/message/tuning/14309

> Prent Rodgers
> Mercer Island, WA
> The Milli Vanilli Capital of the Northwest

I love Prent Rodgers music. Well... even THIS!

__________ _____ __ __ _
Joseph Pehrson

[Prent wrote:]
>http://www.mp3.com/OmarBandeleros

Wow, Prent! What a group! Amazing, too: I counted at least 24 band
members in the group picture, yet they keep their music very tight,
almost as if far fewer instruments were playing.

I think we should send the mp3.com people down to Ajijic to get more
recordings of this amazing blend of Mariachi and microtonal. I wonder,
though, if the band will ever be the same without Rosa... do you think
she could be tempted back?

JdL

[Prent wrote:]
>http://www.mp3.com/OmarBandeleros

I just wanted to add that it saddens me that, even in the smallest
corners of the world, the human dramas of betrayal, jealosy, and (most
importantly) lust, are played out again and again. How can we be
optimistic when at every turn these same tortured tribulations transpire
without end?

Yet, I suppose, considering the beauty of the music coming out of
Ajijic (that's pronounced "ah-hee-heek", right Prent?), we should simply
focus on the good, the lurking human desire to transcend. Beyond this,
we can always hope that Omar will decide to keep his embouchure under
control, instead of seeking constantly for new instruments upon which to
apply it.

JdL

> From: "Prent Rodgers" <prodgers@ibm.net>
>
> http://www.mp3.com/OmarBandeleros

Bravo! A masterpiece! Let us know when their first record is released. ;-)

--
David J. Finnamore
Nashville, TN, USA
http://personal.bna.bellsouth.net/bna/d/f/dfin/index.html
--