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 Last week KBUT had the opportunity to catch up with Adrian Quesada, guitarist of Latin 10-piece orchestra Grupo Fantasma. Grupo Fantasma has gone from selling their music only at live shows to now backing Prince at events such as the American Latin Music Association Awards, Coachella, the Superbowl pregame, and a Golden Globes aftershow. This band exemplifies the statement that success equals hard work plus luck. Having gained recent exposure by backing Prince at various dates, Grupo Fantasma is a band on the verge of national attention. Known for their explosive live shows, Grupo Fantasma is currently on tour in support of their June 17th release of 'Sonidos Gold,' an undeniably roomy, organic, and live-sounding studio-recording of their latest works. Here, we get some insight on the formation of Grupo Fantasma and the chance encounter that created its offshoot, Ocote Soul Sounds. KBUT: Your project Grupo Fantasma is a collective of musicians from Central and South America. Can you talk about where you all come from, and how you got together to form Grupo Fantasma? Adrian Quesada: The majority of the band is actually from the border of Mexico and South Texas. The band started performing in Austin, Texas eight years ago, and we've hooked up with various musicians along the way. We were lucky enough to meet many people along the way including Jose Galeano--who is from Nicaragua--and some of our newer members including Sweet Lou (aka Matthew Homes) who is also from Texas, and Josh Levy who is from L.A. But the majority of the band is from South Texas. KBUT: Your band's name Grupo Fantasma translates as 'The Group of the Ghost.' How did you decide upon this name? AQ: We just thought it had a good ring and it sounded cool. Not too much thought went into it. When we formed the band, we played for about a year under various names, just playing house parties and for fun. We decided to give it a shot as a serious band and make it official. Beto Martinez--the other guitar player--just came up with the name, and we thought it had a good ring to it... And since we've been playing venues, we've always been Grupo Fantasma. KBUT: What are some of your musical influences? For example, styles of music you listened from your parents or on your own? AQ: As far as direct influences, growing up south of the border, most of the band grew up listening to cumbia; we all kind of grew up hearing that music. That was the music that was always around us and something we all had in us. But when we actually started playing instruments and getting really in to performing music--especially in our teens--we got into the same music that most teenagers got into: from heavy metal to hip-hop to rock and punk rock we listened to in our formative years. It wasn't until we were a little older that we started to go back and appreciate the music that we grew up with. You know, it shows in our band's sound that we interpret Latin music through the influences we grew up with. We've taken that a little bit left-of-center but still a little bit traditional. KBUT: You are based in Austin, TX. Do you see yourself leaving the comforts of Austin? AQ: We're pretty comfortable there to tell you the truth. I know for me and some of the guys that being in Texas allows us to be close to our families, a few hours away from home, while being in a pretty culturally- and musically- diverse city. This is definitely the only place in Texas I can see myself doing music. KBUT: Grupo Fantasma is known for its explosive live shows. I've also heard that you once sold almost all of your recordings at these live shows. Why did you choose this route to bring your music to your fans? AQ: That was basically all we knew at the time. We'd have so much fun playing live and had such a great response that it was something we just did--nothing over analyzed. But right when we recorded our first album was when the record industry began changing. So we did have a little contact with the record labels early on, but they were always trying to tell us what we were doing was wrong, and [they] were trying to change something. We wanted to hold on to our integrity, and we knew what we were doing was something special, so we just tried to do it the old-fashioned way. We just played as much as we could and sold our records from the stage... KBUT: Let's talk a minute about your project Ocote Soul Sounds. You've been collaborating with Martin Perna (of Antibalas and TV On The Radio) since 2004. How did this collaboration come to be, given that you live in Austin, TX, and Martin lives in NYC? AQ: Originally I met Martin in 2003, and we met because my wife had moved to NYC for a year. When she moved up there, it turned out her roommate was friends with Martin and his band Antibalas. I got in touch, and we traded songs through the mail and email and the such. One time he was on a trip down to Mexico in a car converted to run on vegetable oil. He stopped at our house on his way and we recorded what was the first song on the first Ocote Soul Sounds album. On his way back from Mexico, his car broke down at the border, and he somehow got all the way to Austin where and we made an album. KBUT: Ocote Soul Sounds releases its music on the label Eighteenth Street Lounge, which is run by Thievery Corporation's Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. How was this connection made? AQ: We had pressed the Ocote Soul Sounds album and sold 1000 copies on the Antibalas and Grupo Fantasma tours. We were playing the Austin City Limits Festival, and--at the artists village--I just happened to sit down on a couch, and the Thievery Corporation guys were there. I happened to have an Ocote Soul Sounds CD with me. I figured it would be up their alley so I handed it to them, and that was on a Friday. By Monday morning I had an email from Rob [Garza] saying that he was blown away and that he wanted to sign us. It was pretty crazy... On tour this summer, Grupo Fantasma can be seen in nearly every corner of the US as well as a few Canada and European dates, and two Ocote Soul Sounds shows will go down in Austin late in June. As Latin music gains popularity in the states, watch these innovators to forge ahead into the left-of-center mainstream. |
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