9th Annual LAMC Recap

Another Latin Alternative Music Conference has come and gone.  It's hard to believe that next year they'll be celebrating the 10 Year Anniversary for this amazing conference.  I'm still trying to catch up from all the madness and networking that took place last week in the big apple!  Running around back and forth is becoming much more comfortable now that I've hosted this event the past 2 years.  It's a huge honor to be asked to handle the duties of introducing panels, concerts and events during the entire LAMC, but it does put one through the ringer.  So it's fair to say, sleep's a little over rated the few days of the conference.  I figured I could catch up on my zzzzz's when I'd return home... yeah right!  And here's a little tip if you're a thrill ride connoisseur.  Next time you're in the land of cabs and you happen to be in one of them, just tell the driver you're in a hurry and to step on it.  You'll see people running off the streets and leaping for safety onto sidewalks as the cabbies lay their hands on the horn constantly!  Magic Mountain ain't got anything on the thrill rides of Manhattan!  After a while I started telling all them, even if I wasn't in a hurry...what a blast!

I also really have to thank Nic Harcourt, Ariana Morgenstern and Andrew Mittleman at Sound Generation Studios for making it possible to broadcast my radio program from NYC.  It's a great facility to work at and the staff is on point.  I even had the honor of having a couple guests on my show.  On Thursday's edition of the program Francisca Valenzuela stopped by after her performance at the LAMC acoustic showcase, which took place at SOB's.  She is one took look out for in the future.  She knows how to rock it with a full band, but it really blew me away to see her perform her songs as stripped down versions with just a piano and her lovely voice.  On Friday, turntable wizard DJ Bitman stopped by after one of his many sets during the conference.  This guy can really tear things up on the one's and two's.

A couple of the many highlights for me were DJ'ing at Central Park between the sets of Julieta Venegas, Plastilina Mosh and DJ Bitman as part of the annual Summerstage Concert Series and spinning a set at the closing party later that night with Tony Touch, Toy Selectah, Bitman and others.   Central Park is always wonderful!  It's a free concert series that happens in the park every year.  During the conference they coordinate with LAMC and book some great Latin Alternative talent.  This year the weather was perfect on what normally is super hot and humid.  We were blessed with fairly dry mid 80's temp.  As you could imagine, this made it very easy for the 6000+ to fill the open air location.  DJ Bitman warmed things up with an electrifying set and then Plastilina Mosh rocked the house.  If there was a roof on the park, it would've been blown off!  But I could tell from the beginning of the afternoon, most were there to see the beautiful songstress Julieta Venegas.  As always, she was just amazing!  I'm totally looking forward to when she comes to LA in a few weeks.  And a little side note to Central Park, it's even crazier when immediately following the Summerstage concert, there's a Bon Jovi concert.  I heard the amount of people trying to get in to the concert was around 60,000...and those were just the ticket holders!

Congratulations go out to Rachel Reynolds, music publicist at KCRW, for coordinating a very cool showcase during the days of LAMC featuring Tally Hall, Little Jackie and Salt & Samovar.  It was a very cool and eclectic representation of some great up and coming bands.  Knitting Factory in New York has a slightly different vibe than the location in Hollywood, but both locations share the same kind of enthusiasm for fresh talent.  The audience gets it there.  Everybody stuck around for all 3 bands, eventhough all were quite different in styles.  It just goes to show the void and need for a station like KCRW to present shows of bands that wouldn't normally get the hype and promotion they truly deserve!  As always, you can check out www.kcrw.com to see the full list of shows that KCRW and KCRW.com is presenting in southern California and beyond. 

As much as I love Latin Alternative music, while I'm in New York I have to make some time to check out some of the great house clubs that pump the music til the wee hours of the morning.  On Friday night, after Brazilian Girls tore it up at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, I had to opportunity to meet up with DJ/Producer and long time friend, Jon Cutler.  We met up at his brownstone where DJ Smash was working on a remix in his basement studio.  Surreal, right?  We hung out and after a couple of beverages, hit a couple of hot spots.  We rolled up Cielo, Apt and The Sullivan Room.  It was a pleasure to see that Marques Wyatt (Deep, Los Angeles) was holding down his monthly residency at the same time LAMC was going on.  And on Saturday night, after the LAMC closing party, we hopped over to Los Amigos Invisibles member, DJ Afro's party. There we heard everything from House to Brazilian to classics from peeps like Michael Jackson and Magazine 60.  I gotta say, nightlife in NY is like no other.  Now I know why cabs rule the streets and people don't drive much.  After the club, long time road dawg Jose Jimenez and I went back to the hotel.  I packed my bags, took a shower, and went back downstairs where the cab was ready to take me to JFK airport!  Did I mention sleep's over rated?  See you next year in the city that never sleeps!