Fusion Magazine #113

STEVE LAWLER

NICK WARREN

AC SLATER

MARK FARINA

& DJ SCRATCH

JAZZY JEFF

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STEVE LAWLER

NICK WARREN

AC SLATER

MARK FARINA

#113

& DJ SCRATCH

JAZZY JEFF

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Oscar Castañeda — oscar@thefusionmag.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Alex Durán — alexduran@thefusionmag.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR COPY EDITOR SALES

Rafael A. Revilla — rrevilla@thefusionmag.com

Daniel Salas — dbsalas@thefusionmag.com

Oscar Castañeda Sr — oscarc@hefusionmag.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS & COLLABORATORS: Bjorzh Znchz, Beto Moran, Ben Santana, Zach Hansen, Valeria Contreras, Ramón Quintana Woodstock, Keru Motocaca, Isabel Aleman.

GRAPHIC DESIGN Oscar Castañeda

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A DECADE OF DANCING!

10 YEARS OF LATE NITE SOCIAL CLUB WORDS:

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ZACH HANSEN

S

ince the start of the century, no one in El Paso has thrown parties quite like Joe and Alex Nava.

The brothers "El Paso natives" along with an extended family of friends, fellow DJs, fans and followers who make up their Late Nite Social Club, have for nearly 20 years kept dance music alive and bumping along the border. From their early guerrilla raves to their current home base, Club Here I Love You, LNSC is paving the way and pushing the envelope for the next generation, paying forward the halcyon days of El Paso’s underground scene.

Through it all, Joe said they’ve stayed inspired by those first parties and earliest introductions to underground music— literally, underground.

“The scene was out of this world when I started going to parties,” he said of the early 2000s scene. “The place that inspired me and has continued to inspire me was a place named The Ohm Lounge, which was an underground, all-night rave club in the basement of The Plaza Theater. That will forever keep me inspired. That was about a decade before starting LNSC.” Before the ubiquity of cellphones and the rise of social media, Joe said, “We relied on each other to find out what the locations or who the headliners were. I remember it felt like every bit of the experience was passed on by older friends who had been doing it before I got in. From how I learned to dance, to how I eventually would come to dress, was all inspired by other OG DJs, dancers and ravers.”

When he decided to make his own move into booking shows, Joe said he received a warm welcome from those who came before.

“I remember going to some of my hero promoters and asking for their blessings to start doing my own parties,” Joe recalled.

“Everyone was always so loving and welcoming to me: from DJ Rich and the BSP crew, to Labwerks which was run by fellow LNSC DJ Maci and his then-partner Ray Mendoza, DJ brothers like Vinn-E and DJ Dan-E were great teachers to me.”

After throwing parties under different monikers—Bubble Productions, Deepdown, Bonus Beats Music, Bossa Soundsystem and Broken Hearts Club among them—Late Nite Social Club was officially formed in 2007.

“After a small hiatus...I started to get the itch again to throw some parties,” Joe said. “I felt there was a lot missing in the scene at the

time, and I started to build the concept of Late Nite Social Club. The idea was to create more of a membership club where we would use off-the-cuff locations, which we had done in the past, and grow a membership where we could communicate the locations without having to promote it.”

Their vision in mind, it was time to set a roster; with a wealth of talent in town, curation, rather than quantity, the key.

“The original lineup consisted of myself, DJ Rich, Hector (Funk Parties), Big O, DJ Polar, Slow Hands aka my brother Alex, and LNSC Rob,” Joe said. “Others that have been part of our lineup include Jason O, Cult Heroes, Maci, Glitterface, and our brother the Kid Smalls aka Soulbomber.”

The first party—a tribute to one of Joe’s musical heroes, Arthur Russell—was named GO BANG; its first guest was James Curd, followed by Peanut Butter Wolf, Prince Language, Pace Rock, Mark Farina, Madlib, J Rocc and others.

Of those early years, Joe said, “I think we were doing something no one had successfully done before, and that was having such a diverse and eclectic series,” Joe said. “I would say about half of the crowd was going to these parties because they knew they were going to be a blast, rather than for the headliner, which allowed us to take many chances with guests.”

Their first few parties were thrown in the desert, but soon LNSC moved on to gigs in downtown nightclubs, bars and handful of “warehouses all spread around downtown we won’t go into detail about,” Joe said laughing. In time, Joe was holding down residencies at the original Club 101 on Union Plaza, the nearby, long-gone E9 Nightclub and Capone’s on San Antonio.

After making its debut at Dominic’s Italian Restaurant, LNSC has called home The Lowbrow Palace, The Network, The Tango Room inside The Garden at Union Plaza and 1914. Today, in the space that once held 1914 and the crew’s infamous Bumpswing parties, Late Nite Social Club makes its home at the brothers’ Club Here I Love You, a home base after more than a decade as nomads.

“He had known that we were looking to do something, and he pitched the idea of me taking over,” Joe said. “After about a year of him pitching it, I finally decided we just had to do it and figure out details later.”

Three years on, Club Here I Love You has hosted some of the world’s top house, techno, tech-house, trance and disco artists—some bigger names, others less-known, but all chosen with the brothers’ constant, curatorial spirit, extending well beyond dance music.

“Before I got into house music, I was a huge hip-hop head; my brother was always into indie bands and eventually got me into it too, so we were always into different genres of music,” Joe said. “Naturally, when we opened our place, we needed that to echo that. We plan to build and put more focus into that this year.”

LNSC’s 10-year anniversary is going strong; house legends Mood II Swing rocked the club Valentine’s Day, Rybo took control of the club for “The Love Hangover” the next day, and the mushroom jazz maestro himself, Mark Farina, will take over the decks open to close on Feb. 28th.

Still to come are UK house veterans Nick Warren (March 6th), Steve Lawler (March 15th), turntable legends DJ Jazzy Jeff and DJ Scratch on their “Vinyl Destination” tour (March 14th) and making his El Paso debut for the club’s 3-year anniversary, Audion live on March 28th.

Those are just the bigger names set to come through Club Here I Love You in the coming months; most other days of the week you can find some the area’s most talented local DJs, producers, bands and musicians on stage, backlit by the club’s signature neon heart.

“We want to be able to give all the up and comers and new ravers or bands or whatever you are, a cool place to go,” Joe said. “We also haven’t even gotten started when it comes to the club, and what other possible clubs or bars we might be opening. The goal is to always break the mold and push the envelope. We have a lot more work to do!”

As for what’s to come, “That’s totally a secret!” 

“When we opened CHILY, we had been moving around town for about 15 years—it was time we built our hub,” Joe said of their motivation to open the club. When the club formerly occupying the space (1914) was set to close its shutter, the owner came to Joe with an idea.

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DJ

SCRATCH WORDS:

DANIEL SALAS

L

egendary turntable wizard and producer DJ Scratch is headed to El Paso as part of the the Vinyl Destination 45 Tour.

Scratch’s contribution to hip-hop and music as a whole was a factor to its development with his masterful turntable style and prowess as well as being a producer, being part of the iconic EPMD and producing songs on classic hip-hop albums by Busta Rhymes, 50 Cent, Method Man & Redman, LL Cool J and The Roots to name a few.

Scratch has earned various awards for DJing and producing, having several Grammy nominations. Along with DJ Jazzy Jeff and other guest DJs, the Brooklyn based DJ is digging in the crates and dusting off the wax of his personal record collection to bring to El Paso an all vinyl set.

Scratch speaks with Fusion Magazine on the heels of his visit.

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Can you tell us why vinyl is special, and what roll had it played in your DJ and music career?

Vinyl is the essence, it sounds better. I’ve been on turntables since the 70s, it is my career.

You’ve been able to see the technological shifts in ways to experience music through the years, access to music (internet, downloading, apps) and the different formats DJs are now using more commonly than vinyl. What do you think about where we are today as far as appreciating the craftsmanship of music itself?

I think the appreciation is because of the individual DJ, not because of the technology. Jeff and I skill set was formed before the technology. So that’s why our craftsmanship is appreciated. Because we can be skillful on vinyl or digital.

What particular moment was the deciding factor when you knew you wanted to be a Dj? When I saw that playing music makes people happy. A great set can change someone’s mood who might be going through hard times.

Who is coming out on the Vinyl Destination 45 Tour and what are they bringing to the table?

We haven’t decided as of yet, but Jeff and I are more than enough to rock the house.

What kind of preparation goes on before the tour?

For me, just packing my records and making sure they’re clean to avoid skipping.

You guys got in the tour bus and hit the road last year, any good record finds this tour?

Absolutely, I found a lot of gems to play and to make beats with.

Do you have a holy grail record you still haven’t found?

I have a few, but I’ll tell you one. I’m still looking for a copy of “Hung Up” by Salt.

What experience do you want to get across with the Vinyl Destination 45 Tour?

I just want people to put their phones away and enjoy the music, grab someone and dance. 

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STEVE

LAWLER F

WORDS: ZAK HANSEN

or almost 3 decades, DJ and producer Steve Lawler has been moving dance-floors around the world. During the early 1990s as a teenager in Birmingham, England, Lawler gained notoriety for his illegal raves thrown in tunnels beneath the busy M24 motorway. In short order, these parties were topping 500 guests, and Lawler soon found himself behind the decks in proper clubs, never leaving behind the passion behind those infamous parties.

In the years since, Lawler’s become one of the world’s most sought-after DJs for his workmanlike ethic and wide-ranging taste in music. With residencies at renowned clubs like The End in London, Twilo in Miami and Space in Ibiza (where he handily earned the title The King of Space), Lawler is also a regular on the festival circuit, a regular at the likes of Creamfields, Parkline, Lovebox and Hideout Croatia.

As an artist, Lawler’s music has been released by top-tier labels including R&S Records, Systematic, Drumcode, Harthouse, Cocoon, MBF, OVUM, Sci+Tec, Tsuba, Be As One, Kostbar, Soma, Hot Creations, 8bit, Moon Harbour, Knee Deep in Sound and Play it, Say it, along with his own VIVaMUSiC. As label boss, Lawler’s released tracks from the likes of Jamie Jones, Reboot, Audiofly, Simon Baker, Davide Squillace, Bushwacka, Livio & Roby, Ilario Alicante, Tiefschwarz, Waze & Odyssey, Doorly, Denney and Christoph. His VIVa Warriors—just Warriors now—is the flagship event of Sankeys Ibiza, held each Sunday of the season with a stunning roster of guests.

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Do you remember the first time in your life a song really grabbed your attention, inspired you to make music?

Yes I do, it was first hearing the song by New Order called “Blue Monday”—now an all-time classic record, but back then in the late 80s, hearing music being produced essentially by electric machines was all new, and this record just resonated with me, I have no idea why but it just sounded like what I had been waiting for; I was 17 and just left school, so this was the beginning of not just my attitude towards music, but also towards culture.

How did you first get into the scene? What inspired you to start DJing, and what were some of those earliest gigs like?

I was collecting music from the age of 15. When all my friends were going to soccer matches, I was saving to buy vinyl. Music was just my thing. It felt like a way to be myself, to express and to escape. So being a DJ was what came as a natural progression. I worked on an illegal radio station when I was 18. I worked in a record store when I was 19. So DJing was just the obvious part of my passion for music.

You’ve been DJing for more than 2 decades, from your famed teenage-guerilla parties under the M24, to some of the biggest festival stages and most esteemed clubs in the world. Where do you feel most at home?

In clubs—of course I love big events, a festival—but as a DJ who believes music is about expression and losing yourself, that music is to experience, not just listen to. That’s how I feel and in a club environment— you can be more creative and more expressive.

As someone who’s thrown literally thousands of them, what are the ingredients for a great party?

First and foremost, people. A good crowd of music lovers who will set the atmosphere, excitement; people being excited creates good vibes. Then of course the sound and the lights. The tools to create another world. These are without a doubt the most important because essentially you can throw a party anywhere as long as you have the above ingredients right. Your party will be amazing no matter where it is.

When you’re choosing music, what grabs you about a track? What do you look for, when you look for new (or revisited) music?

It’s all about the groove for me, it always has been.

This is the foundation of what both house music and techno were built on: creating that relentless groove so the listeners can get locked in and only then start to lose themselves.

VIVa MUSiC has been turning out killer tracks for

more than 10 years, and releases music from some of today’s best; what’s ahead for the label in 2020?

Any releases you can tease?

Thank you. We have some incredible stuff lined up from all 3 of the labels—VIVa MUSiC / VIVa LIMITED and iVAV Recordings. We have Themba, Maur, John Digweed, Darius Syrossian, East End Dubs, Leon, Jesse Perez, Nathan Barato and Guti, to name a few.

What was the impetus to start VIVa MUSiC in the first place? What did you want to accomplish with the label? How about for yourself? Can we expect new music in 2020?

When I started VIVa MUSiC in 2006, I wanted to be the first person in dance music that started a digitalonly label, as that’s where I saw things going, and I was the first and made a big statement about doing it; I had a lot of critics slagging me off for doing so, but I was right—look today, 99% of labels are digital only.

Yes I have several productions lined up for this year and some of them on VIVa MUSiC. I have a track called “Screw” / “Jus Sayin (Ecstasy)” / “In Da Club.”

In your time DJing and producing, electronic and dance music has undergone some huge changes.

What do you think of the state of things now, with dance music making millions on festival stages? Is it a mixed bag?

The positive is, our music is touching millions of people and this is and has always been a long dream of mine. The negative is, the more something happens, sometimes it means the quality of it gets more and more diluted. There are definitely far too many DJs out there that actually can’t DJ, and far too many fakesters out there not making their own music, and far too many promoters out there putting on shows to solely make money. You just have to keep true to yourself and make your choices wisely.

Looking back, what do you miss about the “old” days in the dance/electronic music scene? Looking ahead, what do you love about the new era, and where do you see things going from here?

Looking back, I don’t miss anything, really. I suppose the authenticity of certain things is lacking in today’s music industry, but in general there are some incredible things happening with music and events… all in all times are great. A great time to be alive. I’m a futurist, not nostalgic. This is where my hunger to stay at the forefront comes from.

A true performer and music-lover through and through, Lawler brings his dynamic style to El Paso on March 15 at Club Here I Love You, part of Late Nite Social Club’s 10-Year Anniversary series. Don’t sleep on this one—grab tickets at www.nightout.com.

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SPINNING LIFE WITH MARK FARINA

W

WORDS:

ISABEL ALEMAN

hat makes a good DJ? Somebody who knows about music, somebody who can make you dance, somebody who knows how to keep things fresh? Legendary DJ Mark Farina has been in the game for decades. He also pioneered mushroom jazz, which is still popular today. We had the opportunity to talk to the Chicago house legend, and ask him where he got his start and how different DJing is today.

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What is your origin story and how did you become a DJ that you are today?

I grew up in Chicago, which is a good place to be growing up in the 80s for a DJ, and I’m 50 years old, so you know, I graduated high school in 1987 in the Chicago area. My friends and I started going to teen clubs in the Chicago area when it was like 18 and under, that is what they had back then, and that’s where we first saw DJs when we were sophomores in high school.

Also in Chicago on the radio there were DJ mixes all the time on the main urban stations. WBMX and WGCI would have mixes and we would sit there with our cassette players and record DJ mixes, and also at the time in music clubs they were still in that 80s period— there was a lot of new wave and industrial music, like Depeche Mode and Ministry.

On the radio at that time was all early house mixes; like the DJs were the Hot Mix Five and Jack Master Funk, and all the early first generation of Chicago House DJs, so we would go in between the 2. Some of the clubs we would go to at that age there would be one room that would be a new wave room, and another room that was a house room, so we would go back and forth. I think seing DJs play records at a young age especially when you’re interested in that sort of format and concept is a great bonus to be able to go to clubs and stand next to a DJ and see what they’re doing.

So we sort of picked up on that, and one of my friends his dad had a little Radio Shack mixer that he used when he had theme parties in the basement, like toga parties, and you get on the microphone and talk. So we saw this mixer there, after we saw DJs using a mixer. So we would use the mixer and I would bring my turntables over to his house—back when you get like a stereo setup, and a turntable cassette deck, and a receiver, and speakers, and you would have 2 tables—and we would hook it up to this mixer and we started mixing. So we were like sophomores in high school and the turntables didn’t have any pitch control or anything like that. So yeah, you just use your finger and we sped up the record and slow it down and you know that’s how we started DJing. We’d save our lunch money and buy records and you know, that’s how I grew from there.

Do you remember who gave you your opportunity to do your first DJ set?

It was at Club Medusa. I met a DJ there who was the regular named Terry Martin and he was coming out of the club. This was back when you know, the vinyl days, so also back in this time frame in Chicago, DJs would play all night. There wasn’t this multiple set existence like we have nowadays. Back then, it was always one DJ does the whole night, so it’d be like 10pm to 4 in the morning.

carrying a whole bunch of records, unlike today you can stroll into a club with headphones and a USB stick. So I saw this guy standing outside of a club with all these records and I’m like, “Hey you’re the DJ in there!” and started hanging out in the DJ booth. I was interested in mixing and it was at Medusa’s, but I kind of got my foot in the door.

Back then, Chicago DJ booths we’re kind of off-limits unless you knew somebody in there. Back then it was a thing to have DJ booths with doors you couldn’t just walk up to a DJ; in a lot of places in the 80s it was sort of a closed-off thing. It was like an unwritten law you don’t pester the DJ so that sort of allowed me by meeting him to hang out in a DJ booth. And I think one night, I was making a comment it was like the peak of the night, crowded room, I don’t know like a good 600 people and I was saying, “I think you should play one song,” and he’s like, “Why don’t you get it, you play.” He just left the booth and left me. I was like…I hadn’t played out anywhere anything like this I was completely nervous and shaking. He eventually came back after 1 or 2 songs. He put me on the spot and it was definitely pretty nerve-wracking. To start DJing in the middle of the night to a full crowd unexpectedly was a pretty eye-opening experience.

As a DJ what does your work say about you and how do you want a crowd to feel when they go to a Farina show?

I’m grateful that I’ve been doing it for so long and trying to keep my standards the whole time, I’m trying to find new music and bring up the good oldies that people might have forgotten, and in terms of people on the dance floor, I always want people just to explore their own world, give them a musical path to do their own thing, give them a good soundtrack to explore their imagination.

Can you talk Fusion magazine something not too many people know about you?

I was a big soccer player from the age of 4 to University; I was on the University of Arizona Soccer team and then eventually had to stop playing soccer because soccer and club life didn’t go well together. You know you have a game at 10 in the morning and you were out DJing until 4 in the morning, and that didn’t go so well. So then I switch colleges from the University of Arizona to Columbia College in Chicago and they didn’t have an official soccer team at that University sanction, so then it kind of worked out. 

Go fill up the dance floor and be sure to catch Mark Farina at CLUB HERE I LOVE YOU February 28th.

So he was coming out of a club, he had a delivery-man-kindof trolley full of like 4 crates of records. It was pretty obvious back then who the DJ was because they obviously would be

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CASSANDRO T

TXT:

GOLPES, BENDICIONES Y JOTERÍA.

BJORZH ZNCHZ

engo una amiga que fue una estrella del transformismo hace más de veinte años, su época más salvaje fue en Cd. Juárez, donde la vida nocturna de aquellos años estaba repleta de personajes y de anécdotas que solo sus protagonistas tienen la valentía de constatar y recordar. Ella cuenta sobre un chico que a pesar de su corta estatura sobresalía entre la multitud por su fama, la sentencia era muy clara: “No te metas con él que este si te pone una madriza”.

Ese chico era Saúl Armendáriz, un tipo nacido en El Paso que poco a poco estaba haciéndose de renombre en las arenas de lucha libre del todo el país. Con una imagen totalmente femenina, de medias y maquillaje Cassandro, como se le conoce dentro del ring, ha revolucionado el concepto de la lucha libre en la cultura mexicana. A golpes, fracturas, valentía, chingo de maquillaje y muchos huevos (aunque entre tantas capas de medias los esconda muy bien) el nombre de Cassandro es por hoy una de las máximas figuras de la lucha libre internacional. Él ha sido tema de conversación en muchas reuniones, sus artículos alrededor del mundo y sus reveladores filmes documentales hacen que lo sienta cercano, así que más que una entrevista para mí fue una charla con una leyenda viva, una charla sobre golpes, bendiciones y jotería.

conlleva golpes que desde muy chico aprendes a recibir, un núcleo familiar nada optimo, luego la sociedad te bombardea por ser afeminado, te meten en la cabeza que eres un pendejo y que no servirás para nada, muchas veces estuve a punto de creérmelo. ¿De dónde sacaste el coraje para salir adelante?

Tenía que, nunca estuve dentro de un closet, siempre fui afeminado, una mariposa revoloteando y tenía que defender mis alas, tenía que defender quien era yo. Mi papa nunca me amó, mi madre farmacodependiente, era yo contra el mundo. ¿Y por qué la lentejuela?, ¿por qué la lucha libre?

Necesite de mucha fuerza, se convirtió en un descubrimiento para mí, averiguar quién era yo y como era la manera de lidiar con ello.

La lucha libre fue la medicina perfecta para estos conflictos. No creas que los luchadores están ahí para ser madreados o puteados no más porque sí, están ahí por decisiones y por aprendizajes, al menos para mí así fue.

El lucir bien es para el público, las chaquiras y lentejuelas son para ellos, es romperles la madre a muchos monstruos propios con un chingo de maquillaje y pestañas postizas.

En tus propias palabras, ¿Quién es Cassandro?

Es un chicano fronterizo resultado de muchas peleas fuera y dentro del ring. Es alguien que libró muchos abusos, muchas desgracias y que descubrió su verdadera identidad en el cuadrilátero.

¿A valido la pena?

Totalmente, cada una de mis cicatrices, cada una de mis lesiones, de mis fracturas, todo está pagado y no me refiero al dinero o a el ego, me refiero a mi paz interior, al saberme valiente, completo, de que si puedo. He sido bendecido con muchos logros profesionales, sin embargo, los personales, no sabes cuan satisfecho estoy y eso ha sido por superar mis miedos.

¿Qué tipo de abusos?

De la vida, mira, el ser “diferente” siempre

Entraste a un ámbito liderado por el estereotipo de hombre macho, violento y

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te creciste a eso, eres respetado por todo el público seguidor de este deporte ¿Qué pasó? Es que no lo entiendo, alguien en tu postura hubiera huido a eso y tú te fuiste a la tercera cuerda y te dejaste caer…

Como Saúl hubiera sido otra historia, es como Cassandro que adquiero conocimiento, yo me preparé con los grandes, soy de la vieja escuela de la lucha libre, tenía que demostrar que era bueno y gracias a la vida comencé a hacerlo, ganando títulos a nivel nacional, peleando con estrellas consagradas y repito, siendo valiente.

Estas a punto de cumplir cincuenta años, ¿Qué ha cambiado en ti en estos años?

Soy una persona creyente y estoy convencido en el poder de dar y servir. Mis luchas de sangre y lesiones se han convertido en defender los derechos de mi comunidad y no solo hablo de la familia LGBT+ sino aquí en la frontera, estamos viviendo tiempos difíciles y tenemos que aportar algo a la sociedad.

El que recibe los madrazos en el ring eres tú, pero, ¿Quién te acompaña en esta nueva etapa de tu vida?

Aunque tengo pocos amigos y aunque cada vez se apagan más estrellas de la lucha libre, siempre estoy acompañado de personas que está en mi misma sintonía, no lo sé, es que te repito, soy de la vieja escuela en todos sentidos, cuando joven que andaba en el desmadre en Cd. Juárez era con las prostitutas, con las vestidas con quienes, hacia comunidad, quienes te tendían la mano, con la familia luchística igual, se hacen hermandades y es lo que te hace crecer.

Son más de treinta años de carrera, ¿Has pensado en el retiro?

Sabes, estoy muy lastimado, si yo no me ocupara de él correctamente ya no podría hacer lo que sigo haciendo. Trato de ser lo más saludable posible, trato de mantener sanos mi cuerpo, mente y espíritu y cuando externo que ya quisiera retirarme medio mundo me dice: ¡estas jodida! Así que mientras el cuerpo aguante.

Sabemos de ti muchas cosas, solo basta en poner tu nombre en el buscador y aparecen artículos sobre ti desde Argentina hasta Francia, hay documentales, homenajes y demás. ¿Qué viene más de ti?

Vienen cosas que me tienen muy emocionado, un libro y un nuevo filme así

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que hay cosas que me van a tener ocupado todavía.

Eventualmente seguiré con proyectos comunitarios como el de Mama Lucha que me da tanto.

Por último, ¿Cual podrías nombrar como tu legado?

De manera profesional han sido muchos, el título en el noventa y dos donde le partí la madre a muchos estereotipos, cambié la cultura de un deporte, de un país. Mis exhibiciones en el Louvre y Cannes, alfombras roja y demás, sin embargo, el ser yo contra todo y todos es lo más gratificante que he logrado, me ha costado tanto, ha sido tanto sacrificio, tantas veces caí, tantas bajoneadas, tantas veces pensé en rendirme y sigo aquí, brillando, porque ser linda cuesta también un chingo no creas…

Descubro en la manera de que habla de sus logros una modestia entendible pero también percibo el gozo que le causa saberse y eso solo se manifiesta cuando te ha costado conseguir el respeto y la admiración por la chinga que ha resultado ser alguien en esta vida. Cassandro es una institución, aunque él no se sienta cómodo escuchándolo, es la lucha encarnada de los raritos, de los jotitos, de los maricones contra el machismo, contra las fobias, contra lo establecido.

Durante la charla coincidíamos en que la lucha libre fue una bendición para su vida, él la convirtió en su vocación y miles de seguidores y fanáticos lo agradecen. Algo tiene Cd. Juárez que pare y forma a gente chingona y en el caso específico de Cassandro luciendo un maquillaje im-peca-ble. 

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THE LOST & FOUND

SUNNY & THE SUNLINERS “IF I COULD SEE YOU NOW/ SHOULD I TAKE YOU HOME” 7” WORDS: DANIEL SALAS

T

he vinyl craze is still going strong.

You can always count on the local spots—places like Atomic Wax in downtown, The Headstand out in the northeast, All That Music now at its new location at the Fountains At Farrah and Montecillo Records out west have all been supplying the local peeps with their vinyl fix for years, dedicated to the superior format. There’s also Just A Few Records out at the Bronco Swap Meet keeping vinyl alive with a great selection; they recently had for sale the very rare Steve Crosno Day July 9th 1967 (wowzers!).

When talking about record collecting and digging, it seems like over in Juárez they are really into the more 60s psychedelic and garage sounds, seeing as how many DJs of that style have been slapping wax at their parties for years. Heavy-metal and rock music collectors can bang their heads over to Hellfire Records and get classic sounds over at Rock 70s.

Going around town doing my Christmas shopping, I noticed places like Wal Mart and Dillard’s with a crate of records (wooden crappy ones!). Wasn’t sure if it was cool because more people can be introduced or reintroduced to vinyl, or not cool because of the prices.

Aside from the local record stores, it’s so hard out there in the streets to find a stack of dusty 45s at a thrift store and to come across that one gem that makes it all worth the time and effort. Luckily, the local vinyl community comes together and sets up pop-up events at places like Love Buzz and Neon Rose. Dude from down the street sets up a table, vinyl heads from Juárez come down and even

the guys at Eyeconik from Las Cruces come down with crates of LPs and 45s.

Digging at one of these events I found a nice clean copy of the Chicano northern soul banger Sunny & the Sunliners’ 45 “If I Could See You Now” with the gangster oldie B-side “Should I Take You Home.”

Sunny & the Sunglows started making music in the early 60s (later morphed into Sunny & the Sunliners). San Antonio born and Texas legend, singer Sunny Ozuna was still in high school when they broke big with their hit “Talk to Me.” With so many releases on different labels such as Tear Drop, Freddie Records and Ozuna’s label (along with fellow Sunliner Johnny Zaragoza) Key-Loc Records, Ozuna’s discography crosses over different genres such as funk, sweet soul, rock & roll, Tejano and rancheras, and sings in both English and Spanish.

I had been looking for this record for many years, mainly for “If I Could See You Now”—an upbeat soul song that has been popular not only for Chicano soul collectors, but also in the northern soul scene where it is a dancefloor favorite. A buddy of mine had once found 2 copies, and I bugged him for years to sell me a copy, but no dice. This record never pops up on EBAY, and when it does, it goes for dollar amounts I wish not to pay—I try to stick to the dollar bins and cheapy area.

Looking through one of the vendor’s stack of 45s at the vinyl pop-up event, there it was after so many years. The first side of the record I saw was the popular song people might recognize, “Should I Take You Home,v”—a beautiful midtempo ballad that has the tender vocals

of Mr. “Brown Eyed Soul” himself, Ozuna.

A gangster groove and with the horn section getting down in the background, this one’s a Sunday afternoon classic made for cruisin’, or slow dancing with a lover at 3am. When I saw the title of the song, I got shivers as I knew what was going to be on the flip side.

“If I Could See You Now” is a non-stop upbeat song that has it all—heartfelt vocals, a fast-paced dance beat and a catchy chorus. The layers and accents added to the song lift the music to a higher status; the horn section and the background vocals once again add to the party vibes. This record is still huge in the modern northern soul scene. DJ’s from the Motor City Soul Club out in Detroit add this floor filler to their live sets heard on the Mixcloud app and on the internet out there, and is very popular across the UK making its way onto various setlist.

Rare Chicano soul music enthusiast and DJ Strey Uno has thrown in “If I Could See You Now” in the mix. He holds it down and keeps it classic out in San Antonio with his Chicanos of Soul Event where he spins 45s. His Mixcloud sets are unmatched with that San Antonio sound and beyond.

Sunny Ozuna continues to tour and still makes plenty of visits to the Sun City, being so popular for his crossover style of music that so many people grew up with. From cholos, to northern soul mega collectors, this rare Sunny & the Sunliners record is one that goes under the radar in the mainstream, but hugely appreciated by many around the world. 

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KERUTUSTRA EN UN MAR DE ROPA Y UN CUARTO BARROCO. TXT:

JORGE A. HERNÁNDEZ CAMACHO

E

l verdadero artista, aunque no tenga la libertad o los recursos, siempre va a buscar la manera de expresar su arte.

Frida Kahlo pintó postrada a su cama o a una silla de ruedas. Beethoven, aún después de quedarse sordo nunca dejó de componer.

Ray Charles tocó encerrado en la oscuridad de su mirada sin ver nunca las teclas del piano.

Hace seis años, el Keru sufrió una descarga eléctrica de 13 mil voltios. A raíz de ese accidente, le tuvieron que amputar un brazo, y por lo mismo, ya no volvió a tocar la guitarra, su instrumento de cabecera y con la que se ganó un lugar en la escena del rock juarense junto con Los Motocacas.

Pero contrario al futuro que muchos le vaticinaban, el Keru ha buscado la forma de seguir vigente no sólo en la música, sino ahora también pintando.

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Recientemente presentó su última grabación: Así habló Kerutustra, álbum de una variedad musical adictiva, muy difícil de escuchar en otro artista o grupo local.

Lleno de luces y sombras, con referencias a los sonidos del cine de los 50s, donde la música es el hilo que une a los vivos con los muertos; a la poesía con la vulgaridad, y al cantante de Motocacas con un Keru que no se había escuchado antes.

Sería injusto etiquetarlo como un disco de rock, sino más bien es un homenaje al extenso catálogo musical que acompaña al Keru en en sus repetidas noches cuando decide abandonar la música y tomar el pincel y el gallo de marihuana. Él mota, y yo crico ¿Cómo te sentiste trabajar tú sólo en

comparación con toda la banda?

Me sentí bien chingón porque me facilitó muchas ideas que ya traía en la cabeza. Me abrió las posibilidades a otras cosas y jalé con total libertad. A lo mejor si hubiera trabajado con alguien más me hubiera dicho que puliera los errores que tiene el disco, pero yo quería que así se quedara, tipo caserón. ¿Cómo fue el proceso del disco?

Algunas canciones las tuve que re-grabar, por ejemplo, las que estábamos haciendo para el documental de Mónica (Blumen) donde participó Memo, Matute, Robert, Kenia y Amanda. Esas se quedaron a medias porque falleció Memo y después yo las terminé.

Para quien no lo sepa, ¿quién era Memo?

Memo era nuestro hermano. Guitarrista cabronsote. Se perdió por un rato. Lo encontramos y lo invité a tocar. Dijo: arre,

simón. Le tire el rollo, “es que tenemos que hacer algo, nos vamos a morir y tenemos que dejar algo. Y él siempre decía: para la posteridad. ¿Qué cosas de los demás integrantes de Motocacas, podrías decir que están de ellos?

De hecho algunas de las rolas las estaba haciendo como maquetas para hacerlas con ellos.

La intención era hacer una letra como picarona como la que se llama “La morrita que no está”. Y esa era la intención grabarlas con ellos. ¿Crees que este disco le tiene más deuda al pasado o al presente?

Yo creo que igual. Por eso le puse ese título/chascarrillo, por el libro de Nietzsche. Igual que Zoroastro, el profeta que subió al monte y agarró su conocimiento y regresó a predicar, igual yo. Subí al monte agarré mi conocimiento que es mi vida y todo lo que he pasado, y bajé a predicar (ríe). ¿Si no te hubiera ocurrido el accidente hubieras sacado un material similar?

No creo porque yo traía otros sonidos que eran más guitarrazos en ese tiempo. Me hubiera ido por un pedo más roqueroso. Este es como la impotencia de no poder hacer eso. ¿Tuviste algún tipo de viaje con el disco?

Si, yo ponía las rolas siempre que me ponía a pintar y me clavaba en escucharlo como si fuera otra persona que no fuera yo, que ni me conoce, a ver que chingados iba a pensar del disco. Se me hacía entretenido. Algunos me decían: ah mira, aquí se parece a Jaime López… ¡Exacto! Eso te quería preguntar ¿De qué te apropiaste para este disco?

Pues me gusta la poesía de Real de Catorce. También el pedo regional que trae Jaime López. ¿Es diferente musicalizar una canción a un poema?

Nunca lo había hecho. Ese de Columna de Bere lo leí y lo

escuché en la cabeza. Se me hizo casi el mismo proceso.

Este es un disco de opuestos (luz/sombras, vida/muerte) de repente te vas a lo poético, y después a lo vulgar como en “Los Ojetes” que no terminas una frase sin una mala palabra.

Quería que fuera una canción dura porque es de denuncia, con ese pinche coraje que no se puede expresar para no valer verga. ¿Qué será mejor influencia para el artista, las drogas o la vida?

No creo que funcione igual para cualquiera. A mí me funcionan las drogas (a mí también, comento).

De hecho la canción “Familia por vida” nació porque un día me chingué un honguito y me puse amoroso (risas) y un día me puse a fumar y salió “Los ojetes”.

Oye Keru, ¿qué te hubiera dicho Chichi (su papá) sobre el disco?

Yo creo que sí le hubiera gustado porque siempre que hacía rolitas se las enseñaba y me decía: “vas muy bien”. La primera vez que escuchó un medio blues que hice se sorprendió. ¿Y Doña Soco (su mamá)?

Me hubiera cagado por las groserías (risas) pero yo creo que le hubiera gustado también. Me anduviera presumiendo con las tías (risas). ¿No te gustaría producirle a otras bandas o a otros cantantes?

Ya estoy en pláticas con dos tres y voy a producirles el disco a unos camaradas. De hecho es más a lo que me quiero dedicar. Ya no me interesa tocar en vivo. ¿Es como cerrar un capítulo?

Es que si me moría no iba a dejar nada de estas ideas que traigo.

Y luego lo de Memo, ni modo de no sacarlo, por eso la portada con la Santa Muerte guacareando.

Porque siento que la muerte me guacareo a mí, me devolvió y después de explicarme el arte del disco, terminó la entrevista y fumamos. Él mota y yo crico 

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LA MARCHA MÁS TRISTE.

TXT & FOTOS:

F

RAMÓN QUINTANA WOODSTOCK

ue una noche sorprendente, todos los que ahí embonaron tenían algo que ver con el arte expresivo, ese que se nutre en las calles, por un lado David Flores, por el otro Chucky Zapata, enfrente estaba Aarón Vengas, y de un lado a otro Yorch, en la esquina aquella estaba Alfredo Carrillo, pero frente a mi, detrás del mostrador de la panadería estaba Isabel Cabanillas, quien se tomó el tiempo de platicarme con calma que se había juntado con otra amiga para lograr una pintura en un cartoncillo, al tiempo que me le mostraba de primera mano, lo hizo con una sonrisa afable, el gusto con que detallaba su trabajo, era como una feria de cuetes de colores, lo único negro de su persona eran sus ojos: enormes, tan radiantes que disparaban ráfagas de nobleza. Nada de maldad se percibía en ella, su hablar era cadencioso y se detenía con todo mundo para contagiarlo con su alegría, así era Isabel Isabel Cabanillas.

Esa noche estaba llena de energía, me refirió varios de sus trabajos, en sus manos tenía una playera con la cara de Amalia Mondragón, había sacado la foto de su muro y lo trasladó a pulso a una camiseta. A sus espaladas estaba colgada una

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chamarra de mezclilla con otra pintura que también había hecho a mano, los colores eran llamativos, fulgurantes, llenos de vida, coincidían con su eterna sonrisa y sus dientes blancos.

Esos diez minutos pasaron rápido, y bastaron para que su energía rociara toda la Panadería. Me habló de “usted”, porque mi canas hablaron primero, en una nada se acercó David Flores “El MabosKa” y me dice: -mira Reymon lo que me puso en la chamarra Chabelita. Luego se giró de espaldas y me mostró la pintura que había detallado con pinceles. -hazle uno al Reymon. Insistió David.

Fue un sábado espectacular pero ocho días después, aquí estoy: veo muchas caras conocidas, y otras que nunca pasaron por mi ojos, es la marcha más triste a la que he asistido.

Desde que llegué al punto de partida en el Monumento a Benito Juárez había once patrullas en un reducido pedazo de cuadra y alrededor de los protestantes rondaban más de seis piquetes de uniformados, en un clarísimo acto intimidatorio.

La marcha ha comenzado por la calle Constitución y luego 16 de Septiembre. ¡Alto! Grita alguien, y de inmediato dos chavas

dejan un par de mensajes en las paredes aledañas exigiendo justicia, los chotas solo miran, y las pintas quedan perfectas.

Mientras la marcha se reanuda, un grupo de féminas policías estúpidamente sonrientes se toman selfies, se reservaron las agresiones pero se les escapa la diarrea cerebral por otro lado, en tres segundos han dibujado tooooda la ignorancia que puede tener un pseudo guardián del orden en mi país.

A mi lado derecho hay un letrero que porta un joven “AMLO, Corral, Cabada, tienen las manos manchadas”, en la cabecera, hacia enfrente de la marcha, varias personas portan un letrero que se arruga de lo grande que es. Nos hemos detenido afuera del Bar Eugenios, ahí estuvo la última noche y el sitio ha servido como una palestra para que ellas, las mujeres de Juárez griten y digan que lo que sienten, es justo y necesario que alguien lo haga y el momento es idóneo.

“Isabel vive la lucha sigue” se escucha en el perifoneo y los caminantes alivian con su respuesta. Ese ha sido el grito que ha acompañado a los asistentes por casi una hora. Hemos llegado al sitio donde fue asesinada, ahí se planta una cruz color rosa, veo muchas lagrimas y oigo gritos desesperados; a menos de medio metro, dos jóvenes mujeres se abrazan y la intensidad de su llanto alcanza el cielo, ambas tienen una capucha pero se han desenmascarado el alma, de fondo se oye la voz que clama repetidamente por justicia y su grito desgarrador está teñido de rabia e impotencia. El discurso ha terminado y las caras de los asistentes caen casi hasta el piso, hay un silencio construido que de repente se rompe con intensos recordatorios a los jefes del gobierno….en paz descanse Isabel Cabanillas. 

TENGO LA CULPA DE TODO

RUIDO AL CHICHARRON

TXT & PLACAZO: KERU MOTOCACA

Estoy tomándome una caguama en el Open a mediados quizá finales de los rebeldes noventas, es el bar del momento para rockeros e inadaptados, sobre la Mariscal, el lugar está hasta el fundingas como siempre, la creme de la creme de las artes en Juárez y el Chuco embruteciéndose dionisiacamente ahí, la banda en la que toco goza de su mejor momento, toda la bola me saluda y me ofrece goodies que oscurecen con espejismos y blackouts momentáneos el canvas de mi mente, en la rocola Violent Femmes preguntando “Why can i have just one fuck?” mientras intentos de bailar en el apretujadero se interrumpen cuando a mi lado aparece mi amigo trombonista abrazándome contento y preguntando si traigo un touch, a huevo carnal, ya te la sabanas, vamos a darle candelaria ahí en el puente peatonal frente a la presidencia o te agachas? Poninas said popouchs.

Ya en el bridge, cuando la tostada iba en el chicharrón con una conversación muy amena, mi carnalito wachó a unos chotas del otro lado del tren apuntando hacia nosotros gritando “Eh, ustedes, vengan pa’ ca!!”, Ah la vergaa dice mi compa, ahora que hacemos?, Fuga le contesto, vámonos por otro pinchi lado, de todos modos se la pellizcan por el tren, les ondeamos un adiós y caminamos rodeando algunas cuadras mientras le comentaba a mi cana que se metiera las manos en las ingles por si nos emboscaban, soltó una gran carcajada pensando que bromeaba, de regreso en el Open, el gesto del officer después de frotar nuestros pulgares para esnifarlos y terminar dejándonos ir hizo la noche memorable, la adrenalina disparó la pachequez al triple, nos brindó lapsos de risas que se extendieron a cada vez que nos volvíamos a topar, puras de esas con su servitoalla, buscándole noise al de pellaycuero. 

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FUSION GALLERY

JASON LUCERO TXT:

RAFAEL A. REVILLA

“I minored in printmaking and I fell love with making monotypes. Most of my recent work is created using parts of these prints. I also collage and add elements of painting or drawing when appropriate.”

J

ason Lucero is a visual artist and painter who graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso with a degree in studio art. His work takes on various forms such as monotypes, collages, paintings and drawings.

Lucero’s visual work sometimes incorporates another one of his passions, gastronomy, which he mentions has a great impact and an influence on his artistic work. 

“I work intuitively and draw from daily experiences and memory in order to develop a landscape or thought. Layering these instances creates a story, and sometimes they are stacked, and sometimes they can be thin, but they still weigh of the same importance.”

INSTAGRAM @jrlucero2

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