| Rochester,
N. Y. -
Fama sin gafas (lit- Fame w/o shades) began in May of
2003...playing our first gig June 6th, seven months after my x decided
that running our family solo, keeping the house and getting a weekly tax
free check, was a better deal than honoring marriage vows...
Fama was a way for me to reconnect with my roots and
to bring some therapeutic value-musically-to a new self, a then reluctant
member of the singles scene.
The group started in my head, while listening to a sound
that was irresistible, which I had begun to rediscover after 30 plus years
of isolation from my culture. Then at an impromptu meeting at a health
fair, I saw Angel Lopez Jr carrying his trumpet, Luis Lespier banging
on a conga drum and me convinced of leading a salsa band as the front
man, approached them..
Today, Fama is a consortium, a roster of more than 20
musicians, that unite to form a ten piece salsa ensemble.
About three weeks into the project, at rehearsal the weekend
before our debut (we were schedu-led at an outdoor fest at St. Paul's
Quarters), the salsa hit the fan. One guy who wasn't cutting it quit.
Two others tried to take the horn section for their own project, meanwhile
Luis stormed out unhap-py with his assignment and my leadership.
That Sunday, after bidding farewell to the old rhythm
section, we realized we had a gig and no band; gut check time. It
was then that Angel and I swore we were going to make it happen.
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He'd been playing $35 top 40 gigs and also in a perpetual basement band,
and he wanted respect in his genre. I picked up the phone book to look
for a pianist
(I already had a bassist on hold) who was a former band leader. Before
midnight we were in his living room, listening to the repertoire, having
a beer and going over charts.
Through all the commotion, a couple of songs had managed
to come together, largely due to strong horn players Demitrius Bones and
Paul Fricano, along with Angel who worked hard as our musical director.
But we were without a rhythm section, an essential and
usually primary layer in Latin and my own reality as a novice salsa singer
was clear too; singing in front of an orchestra is way different than
in your car.
That night we talked pianist Relton Roland out of retirement
to join new bassist Vitin Gonzales, along with Fran Torrez who joined
Ruben Pacheco on percussion.
That became the original Fama sin gafas, and the new
guys had just five days to learn 12 songs. So we rehearsed Tuesday thru
Thursday and took a vote whether we should play or not the followingt
night: 9-1; we played.
Fama became a monthly regular at Tapas 177 and when
pianist Red Wieranga joined, we became the talk of the town.
We billed ourselves as fresh, inviting, and were
playing everywhere, opening doors, a new repertoire in a mid-size ensemble,
which swung.
Even my longtime friend Victor Antonetti Jr, who leads
the most durable project in town, now in its second generation, came
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Fama
at Palm Bar |
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| Fama
at Tapas |
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because they hadn't promoted it. Still about 300 showed up. An
all too familiar tale in this biz.
As far as juicy personal details, they're all
in the book and there are plenty of individual stories. From Rochester
to Hollywood, Fl. the triumphs, tragedies, conquests, passion,
struggles-some are hilarious, while others are heartbreaks. It's
a human experience- what I've seen while traveling the world working
with the swing of salsa.
I expect it out in April. You can reserve a
copy by e-mail.
~Horacio
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out
to see us and sat in one night. Other groups who hadn't
been part of the night club circuit were soon out again.
Fama's presence had made an impact on a town filled
with talent but whose group leaders battle for control over the only venue,
all of its apprx. 800 sq. ft. This cultural shame is something I hope
we can learn to outgrow.
Did I mention I was getting divorced throughout all
of this? Well I decided if I was going to salvage any
remnants of my future life, I'd better finish my education, so I went
back to MCC in Fall '03 having 6 credits from previous endeavors and in
Dec. '06, finished a Journalism degree at SUNY Brockport. With three more
credits, I'll complete a dual major in Spanish Literature and Culture.
And that'll be helpful because I've always been Hispanic, but now I know
why.
By the summer of '05 several of the original famosos
had parted company and a splinter band had |
formed, so I invited some solid local musicians to join us, including
pianist JJ Kauffman and percussionist Freddy Colon. Unfortunately, that
version of Fama never jelled, and in '06, I turned to Victor Antonetti
Jr to play in Fama. Along with Jr. came young brother Daniel, who is arguably
the best percussionist in the State outside of the City; but shhh! don't
tell him- it'll mess with his head.
Seriously, it's likely he'll be a major league player
in the not-too- distant-future, since he's already subbing regularly with
Jerry Rivera's band.
La Nueva Fama had several awesome gigs at Palm Bar
in '06, especially after the La India concert when her band came down
and jammed with us. Also too, after the '06 Puerto Rican Fest, when
the flute player from Flor Borinken sat in. That was musical brotherhood
at its heights, ironically on a night that almost didn't happen.
That night, when we got there to set-up, the manager
didn't want us to play |
