“Escuela de Rock”: Pivotal Event for Local Musicians

Written by El Padrino Wednesday, 22 July 2009 15:35

Over the years, Al Borde has provided many seminars aimed at the Los Angeles alternativo community, but by far, Escuela de Rock is the most ambitious and important. There are many talented musicians in our scene who have struggled for years to get their voice heard, and there are many kids new to the scene who are eager to make their musical mark.

Escuela de Rock draws together key rock en español musicians, managers and promoters who have experienced success, before audiences from our musical scene.  This important symposium will be held on Saturday Aug. 1 from 2-6 PM at El Gallo Plaza on Cesar Chavez Ave, in the heart of East LA.

So why is it so critical that you attend this particular symposium? Simply because Al Borde has collected a grouping of people that you can learn from as to how they have made their stake and grown it in the competitive music industry, particularly in our niche of Latin alternative.

Escuela de Rock will start with four individual roundtable discussions:  Bass player extraordinaire Moises Baqueiro (ex Los Abandoned and co-producer of Grito Mutal) chairing the bass seminar; “Bugs” Gonzalez, former drummer for Jumbo and current musical director for Aleks Syntek coordinating the drum session;  Oscar Loera, leader of Chencha Berrinches and multi-instrumentalist will lead the guitar symposium; and Cesar Villa guitarist and vocalist of pioneering LA punkers Fatima will lead the group on vocals for bands.

Then, in addition to Moises, Bugs, Oscar and Cesar, there will be a panel discussion that will be joined by Melinda Torres of A&M Entertainment (one of the most successful local event production and promotion companies) and Christian Mejia of Intoroq Records and Management (Neblina, Javier Bátiz, Grito Mutual). Ric Fazekas, industry alternativo veteran will moderate this panel, with an overview of how to get your band out there to a wider audience, and what steps you should take to make that happen.

All of this will be followed by an all-star jam set from the seminar and panel leaders (Moises, Bugs, Oscar and Cesar) which will include some very, very special invited guest musicians and vocalists.  This musical piece of history will be something you do not want to miss, but the wisdom and advice that you can obtain from both the roundtables and full-panel, makes this a must-attend for anyone involved in the LA alternativo scene.

As an added bonus, Oscar and Cesar will be appearing on KPKF 90.7FM’s “Travel Tips For Aztlan” (with Moises calling in from his gig—Bugs will be in México with Aleks Syntek) on Saturday, July 25 at 10 PM, to explain what will be happening the following Saturday at Escuela de Rock. So tune in to get a preview, then we will see you on Sat. August 1 for Escuela de Rock at El Gallo Plaza 4545 E. Cesar Chavez LA 90022.  Although this is a free event, you must RSVP by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to be placed on the attendance list.  I hope to see you there.