Red River Noise is now Backbeat Magazine

Yes folks, it is true. I decided to post this video because I am still getting emails and questions about my involvement with Backbeat Magazine and what's happening with Red River Noise. I made this announcement officially at Club de Ville on July 1st. Red River Noise merged with Backbeat Magazine from San Antonio. We will not only be writing for the Backbeat Austin print edition, but also online when we launch the new website. We are currently working on launching that this summer. The first issue drops today at our Block Party on 7th. I can't wait for you all to see it. Click here for the Block Party details.

Two Great Latino Singer-Songwriters: Vicci Martinez & Arthur Yoria

This week on AustinVida my good friends Sarah Vasquez and Alysha Hernandez featured two great singer-songwriters, both Latino. I just wanted to share a little about these artists with you all and link you to the interviews. I do it to also show the wide variety of genres covered on Austin Vida, something I don't think anyone else really does in terms of Latino media based out of Austin.

The first interview is with Seattle based Vicci Martinez. She came through here last month sometime and performed at Momo's, a great venue for this type of genre. I got wind of her when I was reading something online one day and saw her name. Truth be told, I thought it was a friend of mine by the same name that I hadn't seen in years. I "Googled" her and came across a musician's MySpace page. Coincidentally, singer-songwriter Vicci had an Austin date on her tour schedule and the rest is history. She has a great voice, especially from someone who is so little. This girl has something. Give her a listen and check out Sarah's interview with Vicci Martinez.



Read the full interview here: Austin Vida interview with Vicci Martinez

Also on the singer-songwriter front this month on Austin Vida is Arthur Yoria. I have known about this dude for a while, but he hasn't blown up the spot like I think he's capable of. He is of Colombian descent but born and raised here in the U.S. He is a creative dude to say the least, but not in that weird sense where general audiences would be turned off. Some of my crew and I saw him at Momo's recently, at midnight on a Tuesday. It was the best Tuesday at midnight show I remember seeing. Yoria was like the Carrot Top of singer-songwriters, pulling out different instruments left and right.

Yoria uses some sort of music recorder mechanism that records sounds and loops that sound it records. He then creates another sound, records it and adds it to the loop. It makes him a one man band, literally. It is not something I haven't seen before, but it's been so long and the last time I saw someone do it live it didn't impress me like Yoria did. Watch this video all the way through to get the idea.



Click the link below to read the Arthur Yoria interview by Alysha Hernandez on Austin Vida:

Arhtur Yoria on Austin Vida

If you like what you hear, please check out the links on Austin Vida. While Vicci Martinez doesn't have anything on the books for Austin anytime soon, Yoria will be here again in December. See the article for details.

New Interview with La Guerrilla on Austin Vida

On July 29th at The Mohawk here in Austin, some of my team from Austin Vida and I checked out local Latin Fusion Band, La Guerrilla. My friend and Austin Vida staff writer, Sarah Vasquez, knew the lead singer from a previous band he was in a few years ago. I had heard of La Guerrilla before but never got a chance to see them live. In Austin, with so much music everywhere you turn, it is difficult to catch everyone on your list of bands to see.

After I got wind of them opening for Grupo Fantasma recently, I knew I needed to make them a priority on my list. When we saw them at Mohawk that night, I realized that this band was numerous in members. They had the usual guitar, bass, and drummer, yada yada yada. What I didn't know until that night was that La Guerrilla also has a brass section, an extra percussionist, and a violinist. It made for a great live sound collectively. Take a listen to La Guerrilla here on this YouTube video my friend and Managing Editor, Ajay Miranda, shot for Austin Vida:



Click here to read the interview with La Guerrilla by Sarah Vasquez on Austin Vida

Many thanks also to our girl Chantel Clopine for taking some great live shots!

Meet The Morakestra on Austin Vida

I first saw The Morakestra last year. What I saw and heard was a group of talented young Latinos doing some fantastic indie rock worthy of everyone's ear. This year I reviewed their latest album, Witness To Connection, for Austin Vida. I thought it was solid album with only a few songs that made me go "huh?".

Originally from El Paso, the Austin based Morakestra is steadily becoming a regular Austin staple around Red River. When I got word of their CD release show, I made sure my Austin Vida team and I included The Morakestra on the website somehow. I am very happy with the way everything turned out. Ajay Miranda shot great video once again, and Sarah Vasquez gave us an insightful interview to help those unfamiliar with The Morakestra get acquainted.

Here is a YouTube video from the Austin Vida YouTube Channel that did not get published with the article that will give you an idea of The Morakestra's look and sound.



Click here to read the full interview and check out our Exclusive Austin Vida live video for "Goodbye".