Victimas del Dr. Cerebro Show comes to San Diego

Videos by Estevan X. Barrios

In the mix of the sick shows going down in San Diego this summer, Victimas Del Dr. Cerebro made their second stop on their USA tour on Wednesday, July 12. Originating from Nezahualcoyotl, a city in Mexico’s capital, the band played a mix of old and new songs. The tour, in support of the group’s new album, “El rey de los monstruos”  (Cerebro Records / Dragora 2017), released earlier this year, started in early July.

I was lucky enough to talk to the band. The group is extremely excited about their new members: Adrian Toussaint (guitar) and Julian Andre (drums). Also new to this tour, dancer Priscilla adds excitement to the live performance as she jumps and writhes around the stage dressed as a monster.

Videos by Estevan X. Barrios

After more than 25 years together the band continues to have notoriety. But, thanks to hard work and dedication, the group is now touring for their ninth album. Founding members include father and son duo Jesus Flores “El Chipotle” (keyboard, saxophone, and vocals) and Ricardo Flores “El Abulon” (vocals and keyboard). Brothers Arturo Flores “El Tuco” (bass) and Daniel Flores “El Ranas” (guitar) are also founding members of the band.

El Tuco said the new members have added to the band’s already solid foundation. He mentioned that the side projects of all the members have also helped the band continue to constantly reinvent itself.

Abulon explained that Las Victimas are not a band of one genre.  They don’t limit themselves, and there is room for all genres in the music they make, Abulon stated. They want to show people that there is more to music than electronic, electronic pop, pop rock, and other mainstream genres. In that quest, the group continues to make music with sounds they like and have never heard before. They are bringing in a new era of rock.

This band is a family in itself, and it will be interesting to see how they continue to grow. Thanks for reading, and make sure to check out their new album, “El rey de los monstruos.”

MUSICOLOGIA FEMINISTA: Mitski

Image by Scott Troyan via Flickr

For my last blog this semester I have chosen to feature Mitski Miyawaki. Mitski’s family moved quite often. From Japan where she was born, she moved to the Democratic Republic of Congo to Malaysia to China to Turkey, among other countries, before coming to New York City. Her music reflects her cross-cultural identity of being half Japanese and half Amercian, but not fully either.

Mitski studied music at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music. During her time there she released two albums. Se has released two albums since leaving school. Her fourth album Puberty 2 released in in June has staked out her territory as a compelling voice in indie rock. It was recorded over a period of two weeks and features an array of music styles.

 Her music videos are just as interesting as the lyrics in her songs. Check out the video for “Happy” above to see what I’m talking about. She has been featured in multiple publications such as Pitchfork, New York Times, NME and Rolling Stone. Hope you get a chance to check her out. That’s it for me! Catch ya next semester.

MUSICOLOGIA FEMINISTA: La Luz

Yo! This week on MUSICOLOGIA FEMINISTA we cover La Luz a surf rock band from Seattle. Who said you had to live by the coast to make good surf music. La Luz has released one LP Damp Face with Burger Records in 2012 and two studio albums with Hardly Art It’s Alive  in 2013 and Weirdo Shrine in 2015. The bands sound is known for their “surf noir” style with layered vocal harmonies.

Their shows are energetic and they are known to have Soul Train-inspired dance contests and crowd surfing. Ayeee!

After being involved in a car accident while on tour in 2013 the band got closer and worked together to bring themselves back up. Fortunately they all only suffered injuries, but all of their instruments and merchandise were ruined. Now the girls are celebrating the successful release and tour for Weirdo Shrine, but at the moment are busy writing new music. Can’t wait to listen to what they have in store next.

MUSICOLOGIA FEMINISTA: Waxahatchee

Hello! Aurora here with another female artists straight killen it. Katie Crutchfield is a musician who grew up in Alabama, but has been able to travel and tour around the world.

Katie and her twin sister Allison Crutchfield formed their first band, the Ackleys, in high school.  The members of the band ended up going to different colleges  which resulted in the bands split. Then the sisters started pop punk band  P.S. Eliot in 2007 in Birmingham, Alabama which featured Katie on the guitar and vocals and Alliison on the drums. P.S. Elliot released two albums on Salinas Records Introverted Romance In Our Troubled Minds in 2009 and Sadie in 2011. They ended up breaking up soon after the release of the second album.

After the break up Katie started Waxahatchee and Allison started Swearin‘.

Katie named her indie music project Waxahatchee after Waxahatchee Creek in Alabama. The debut album  American Weekend had already released before P.S. Elliot had split up as a split cassette by Don Giovanni Records. She wrote and recorded the album in a week in her family home in Alabama. It ended up getting a great response.

Katie then picked up her bags and moved to Brooklyn. Her second album, Cerulean Salt, released in March 2013. Soon after on Wichita Recordings in the UK the album reached #1 on the Official Record Store Chart for the week of July 13, 2013. She received high praise from critics including a score of 8.4 from Pitchfork

Waxahatchee opened for  Tegan And Sara on their UK tour, before playing a headline UK tour in October. Katie then signed to Merge Records for North America and then Ivy Tripp released in April 2015. Her voice is soothing and the rifts are very mellow. She’s great to listen to when you want to relax.