For one of our next local live music showcases, White Crate is proud to present a few of the best Latin collectives from the Bay Area at the Chapel in San Francisco: Mariposas del Alma, Discos Resaca Collective, Chulita Vinyl Club, and Louda y los Bad Hombres. Ahead of their performance, we spoke with Leo and Louda about their musical beginnings, their favorite music from the Bay and more. Get your tickets to the show today!
How did your relationship to music begin?
Leo: I tell this story a lot, but when I was about 3 or 4 years old my tia had a housewarming party and brought in a mariachi band to christen her house. I think I stood right in front of the band in awe the whole performance. My favorite instrument at that time was the trumpet, and I think that’s part of the reason I got so into jazz. That love for the trumpet.
Louda: Similarly to Leo, I have the fondest memory of being enamored by this 90’s Latinx/cumbia band at my cousin’s quinceañera. But our family was always musical in a sense of knowing and appreciating music. My dad has been mixing records since his teen years in the 80’s, but had to sell everything when it came to providing for a new family. Since moving into the house we currently reside in, he and mom began to invest in gear again. Between mom playing salsa and other uptempo music during our weekly full house cleaning ritual upstairs, and dad blasting Chicago house and regional Mexican from the basement – music literally pours out of our home. I am grateful for the relationships my elementary music and theater teachers had with my parents.
Your music brings together many different styles and genres. Can you describe some of your most important influences and how you incorporate them?
Leo: When I first started playing guitar I was into classic rock, and I admired the guitar playing of Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana. As I grew older I started getting into jazz, as I liked improvising, and jazz seemed like the highest level of improvising to me. While getting into jazz I also started to learn about salsa and Afro-Cuban music, which I was very drawn to rhythmically. It’s really hard for me to say I like one genre over the other. I have a pretty broad taste in music and I think really I just enjoy good melodies, groovy beats and interesting harmonies. To me different “genres” each kind of have their own mood or can express a certain feeling and so I enjoy playing with different styles to paint different feelings or set certain moods. Genres are like a color palette to me.
Louda: Thanks to Leo, I’ve been more proactive about knowing what I like and expanding my awareness of music, the history and future audio conquests. However, it’s been especially fulfilling to revisit what I thought I knew, through different lenses. I’m giving myself opportunities to learn about what music means to the audience and producers. I have a range of vocal/songwriter influences, despite not knowing all the names. They range from tenacious and powerhouse vocalists (Celia Cruz, Aretha Franklin, Amy Winhouse, Selena, Ella Fitzgerald) to folkloric, rap, and pop voices (Janelle Monáe, Natalia Lafourcade, Leikeli47, Bee Gees, Pharrell) – and live performances of all mediums and stages. Simply enjoying an artist in their element is enough to draw me back into my own practice.
How does the Bay Area influence you or the music you make?
Leo: The diversity of the area is definitely inspiring. The melting pot that is this area is definitely reflected in our music. Also, we want to make music for all the working class people.
Louda: Transitioning from ska band frontwoman to production-based pop soloist to Latinx fusion band has been a songwriting journey. The Bay Area has magnified and echoed social issues I could never explain in my youth as well as the power of people. I thought I was limited to writing about sex, unrequited love, la riqueza. I found myself contradicting the narrative of spending money when alas – I was homeless and poor. What is music for if it isn’t for the movement? What is the movement if it isn’t honest? The music I make must be honest.
Any Bay Area artists you’d like to work with that you haven’t yet?
Leo: Agua Pura, I play with a couple of the members in an ensemble at SFSU and I really admire them for being able to get such a big band together! It’d be cool to do a show with them one day.
Louda: We are grateful to have shared the stage with some fantastic artists! I’m hoping for LOUDA to go on co-tours and collaborate with solo artists like Jada Imani, La Doña, Monica Maria Fimbrez, Choo Tima, and more. As for LBH, while the musicians aren’t specified or “chosen” we do have a vision of featuring and recording with more Bay Area instrumentalists. We’ve met amazing trumpet players, violinists and percussionists who are really community icons that we would like to highlight in future recordings. We’ve also discussed the potential to morph the shapes, sounds, and sizes of the group.
What’s the best show you’ve seen at the Chapel?
Leo: Momotombo – Dec 4th of 2022. It consists of a bunch of original members from Malo and Santana and it was awesome to hear living SF legends in person. Seeing “Suavecito” live was definitely a highlight for me.
Louda: Two shows! The same Momotombo SF performance for El Tecolote’s annual fundraiser, Encuentritos on December 4th and the all-femme line up on November 12th with Jada Imani, Dani Offline, Marje, and 4DHILA. Most memorable because there was an infant on stage among the vocalists for Marje’s performance. It was a super uplifting environment – the power radiated off the stage.
What were your favorite releases of 2022?
Leo: The Dirty Snacks Ensemble’s You Would do Well. I discovered them because the vibes player was playing in this experimental jazz group called Gold Age that used to play at Woods brewery in Oakland all the time. I also just saw the group Gumby’s Junk play at Bandcamp. They played a lot of material from their new album Apple House, and I was blown away by their music. I had never really heard anything like it before.
Louda: Gumby’s Junk was an amazing show! La Doña’s single “Mañanas Tristes”—it’s catchy, nostalgic, and honest. “La sativa, la voy fumando tres veces al dia…” is such an honest line. And my best friend Sarai who released the EP Earthly Concepts as Gilt Drip, is unique and cradling. Big shout out to our bass player Marley Edwards who debuted an original jazz album Corrosive Sunrise.
Any musical resolutions for 2023?
Leo: I want to keep improving on the tres cubano. I’ve had it for a few years, but only in the past few months have I really started to understand how to play it. Of course, we need to work on new music too.
Louda: Listen to more music! I will continue song development and begin to reach out to artists for potential features/collabs. We’re definitely going to record, and we’re absolutely working with video/visual producers.
