video interview

Watch: Austin Vida + Blastro2: Crate Digging Roots ft. DJ Mel and DJ Orión

November 26, 2013 By Austin Vida Staff

Orion Two of Austin’s most popular veteran DJs sit down at Hotel Vegas for a Blastro2/Austin Vida video shoot to discuss some of their favorite records. What was supposed to be a video shoot with a touring artist where DJ Mel and DJ Orión talk records with them, ended up giving birth to a new video series titled “Crate Digging Roots.” Watch the two vinyl junkies discuss two of their faves. Learn more about the DJs below.

DJ Mel

If you have ever been Nasty’s on Monday for hip-hop night or to popular ’80s dance party Rock The Casbah, then you’ve danced to DJ Mel. The longtime Austin staple has performed for big events at Lollapalooza and opened for multiple urban market concerts at Stubb’s. Like many of us, he too is a longtime Morrissey lover.

DJ Orión

DJ Orión is the leader and a founding member of the Austin-based Latin DJ collective, Peligrosa. He is the resident DJ every Saturday at The Volstead Lounge and one of the world’s leading purveyors of the Latin electronic movement. He searches for sounds all throughout Latin America and online just to bring them to you with an electronic twist.

Austin Vida + Blastro2 video interview: Mexican Instititute of Sound

October 31, 2013 By Austin Vida Staff

Camilo — Mexican Institute of Sound performing live at Hotel Vegas in Austin this past September. Photo by Mari Hernandez.

Hotel Vegas and The Volstead Lounge hosted a special Red Bull Panamérika event in September that featured Nacional Records recording artist Mexican Institute of Sound (MIS). The concert was part of the four city “Wazzap Tour” in which MIS performed with a full band and Los Master Plus co-headlined each tour date. It was one of the hottest Latin Alternative parties of the year.

Before the concert began our own Editor-in-Chief Ian Morales teamed up with Austin-based video company Blastro2 to produce the following video interview with Camilo Lara himself, the mastermind behind MIS. Watch the video to learn more about MIS’ latest album Politico and what Lara thinks about the new electro-cumbia movement coming out of Mexico.

Austin Vida + Blastro2 video interview: Grupo Fantasma

August 13, 2013 By Austin Vida Staff

Grupo Fantasma is a Grammy Award winning Latin fusion collective that formed in 2000 here in Austin. The biggest and baddest Latin band in the land, the group has worked or recorded with Maceo Parker, Sheila-E, Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets, Ruben Ramos, GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan and indie-singer songwriter Daniel Johnston. They even served as the back up band for Prince on numerous occasions.

While this info is pretty well known amongst fans, many still are not familiar with the beginnings of the band or how they got to play with large musical acts such as Prince. While at The Belmont in late June, our Editor-in-Chief caught up with members Greg Gonzalez (bass) and Jose Galeano (percussion, vocals) to shoot a video interview with Blastro2. In the video interview the two discuss their band origins, how they hooked up with Prince and how they have stayed together for over ten years.

Austin Vida + Blastro2 video interview: Como Las Movies

July 25, 2013 By Austin Vida Staff

CLM Bobby Garza — Bobby Garza of Austin-based Latin fusion band Como Las Movies. Photo by Mari Hernandez.

Austin-based Como Las Movies (CLM) may be the newest “Latin band” on the scene, but are composed of some familiar faces. The group features three ex-members from popular Indie en Español band Maneja Beto. After debuting to the public during Free Week in January, CLM have been playing regularly in Austin and were performers at this year’s Pachanga Latino Music Festival. Most recently the group performed an opening set at The Belmont for Grupo Fantasma in June.

It was at that show at The Belmont where Austin Vida’s own Ian Morales and our friends from Blastro2 interviewed members Bobby Garza and Nelson Valente Aguilar, both former Maneja Beto members. For the first time on camera, the guys open up about the reasons for Maneja Beto’s break up as well as describing the direction for CLM. Integrated with live concert footage, the video interview gives you the best look at CLM to date.

Austin Vida + Blastro2 Video Interview: Jesse & Joy

June 25, 2013 By Austin Vida Staff

Jessie y Joy — Jesse & Joy during their live taping for Austin City Limits. Photo courtesy KLRU-TV/Austin City Limits. Photos by Scott Newton.

Mexico City’s favorite pop siblings Jesse & Joy were in Austin recently for their debut taping for popular television program Austin City Limits. The Latin Grammy award winning duo released their third studio album ¿Con Quién Se Queda El Perro? via Warner Music Mexico in 2011 and their fame in the U.S. has grown ever since. It is easy to understand why they were chosen to be on Austin City Limits.

In the following video Blastro2 video interview, Austin Vida’s own Ian Morales asked the siblings about why they decided to form a group together, the possibility of making an album in English and how their mother is influencing that decision. In case you didn’t know, they are the children of a Mexican father and American (non-Latino) mother. For more information on Austin City Limit tapings, visit acltv.com/upcoming-tapings.

Special thanks to KLRU in Austin for granting access for the interview.

Austin Vida + Blastro2 Video Interview: Bang Data

June 25, 2013 By Austin Vida Staff

Northern California’s Latin Alternative groundbreaking independent band Bang Data was part of the Pachanga Latino Music Festival in May. Their unique blend of Latin fusion is representative of the new sound of San Francisco’s Bay Area eclectic underground scene, much like what we have here in Texas. We saw this first hand at South By Southwest in 2012 at our first Austin Vida day party as Bang Data were feature performers. Since their debut LP, La Sopa, came out independently in March 2012, Bang Data has grown exponentially, placing themselves as the spearheads of a whole new Bay Area-based Latin alternative scene that’s reaching well beyond California.

In the following video Blastro2 video interview, our own Ian Morales sat down at Pachanga Fest with Bang Data frontman Deuce Eclipse and their drummer/producer Caipo. The two discuss with Morales their beginnings, their LP and what’s coming up for the group in the future. If you like bands like Ozomatli, Locos Por Juana or Sargent Garcia, then you will want to check out Bang Data.

Austin Vida + Blastro2 Video Interview: 3Ball MTY

June 17, 2013 By Austin Vida Staff

Latin Grammy Award-winning DJs 3Ball MTY are responsible for bringing the tribal (pronounced like “tree-ball”) movement from Mexico and exposing it with the world. Tribal is an electronic-based genre that includes electro-cumbia with a elements of norteño and other traditional Mexican rhythms mixed in. Yes, this is the movement that sparked the Mexican pointy boots videos you’ve seen online over the past couple of years.

3Ball MTY’s fame took off in 2012 when their single “Inténtalo” reached No.1 on the Billboard Latin Songs chart while the song’s music video was on regular rotation on various Spanish language media. In November of 2012, 3Ball MTY won the 2012 Latin Grammy for Best New Artist. Their list of accolades goes on and on.

The young DJs were part of this year’s Pachanga Latino Music Festival in May at Fiesta Gardens. Austin Vida’s Ian Morales worked with Blastro2 to produce the following video interview with Erick Rincon, Sheeqo Beat and DJ Otto. The video includes bits of their live performance from their set. In the following video interview Morales talks with 3Ball MTY about how they came together as a group, how the success of Intentalo change their lives and what they are working on in regards to their next album.

Austin Vida + Blastro2 Video Interview: Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta

May 28, 2013 By Austin Vida Staff

Austin got their first look at Tucson-based musician Sergio Mendoza with his band Y La Orkesta at Pachanga Fest in 2010. No stranger to Austin, Mendoza is a touring musician for popular indie bands DeVotchka and Calexico. However, it is Y La Orkesta that turns heads and take you back in time to the big band/mambo era of the early 1900s. The group finally put the sound into a full length LP Mambo Mexicano! via Cosmica Records earlier this year.

Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta returned to Austin this year for South by Southwest and performed another head turning set at this year’s Pachanga Fest. Austin Vida’s Ian Morales worked with Blastro2 to produce the following video interview with live performance footage from their set at this year’s Pachanga Fest. In the exclusive video interview, Morales talked with Mendoza about his influences during a prolific career that started in Mexico and ended in Tucson, Arizona.