User:Lvdelgado

My Musical Background and Outlook
My first memories of enjoying music began with listening to Andrea Bocelli in my parents’ car, perhaps when I was in second and third grades, and Steely Dan when my dad would barbeque throughout my childhood. I took classical piano lessons throughout elementary but never became invested in it. I bought my first album for myself in fourth or fifth grade entitled Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. This was only the beginning of my passion for any and all things funk. In sixth grade I joined band and took up trombone and the following summer doubled up with bass guitar. Meanwhile I was searching feverishly for anything with a groove and found just about every Chili Peppers album I could get. It started with more rock-oriented bands (I’ll admit I did have a metal phase in middle school) like the Chili Peppers and Incubus. But it wasn’t until after watching an interview with Flea, bassist of the Peppers, in which he spoke of his influences that I discovered George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic, Sly and the Family Stone, the Meters. This increased my interest in groove more and I delved deeper into it and discovered Tool. Obviously, Tool is not a funk band, but my need for something heavier in time was like an itch that needed to be scratched hard and raw (my metal phase) and Tool did that for me and gave me a new outlook on how to perceive time.

I stuck with band until my last year of high school. Marching and performing in such a large group helped me in the execution of timing not only through the instrument but with my body as well. While I was marching during the day, I was rehearsing and playing shows with various bands at night. Unfortunately, I never found much in the way of funk, and ended up playing shows consistently with a few punk bands. I did get to start a project with my brother and a few friends in which we played funk, reggae, and hip-hop at house parties and a hookah lounge that allowed all our underage friends to bring alcohol and go crazy till all hours of the morning, but couldn’t really get anything outside of that. I joined a prog rock/metal group towards the end of high school comprised of veteran musicians from the area and I was also going out and jamming with anyone interested. My first year of college I joined an indie/folk band that played shows regularly around central and south Texas and up to Houston. For me, the key to all these bands was the drummers. We worked together to create a rock solid rhythm section that brought an energy to each band so that all the members performed confidently the people listening couldn’t help but be drawn in. All these experiences have had a profound effect on the way I perceive not only music, but the role I play in it not as a performing musician, a listener, a teacher, and not least of all, a student. Recently, I have become more involved in the melodic aspect of playing and am enjoying the possibilities this new-found knowledge brings to my playing.

My Music
My music is funk music, first and foremost. And while I may not always play it with others, my approach is undeniably funk rooted, emphasis on rooted. As a bassist, I have dedicated myself to the responsibility of keeping a firm grasp on time. I enjoy playing out and soloing occasionally, but that is not the realm I have chosen to dwell in. I’d much rather spend my time making a funk groove as thick and nasty (or heavy and sleazy) as possible so that anything put on top will sound great. That said, I hesitate to call it “my music”, because music is something I share and enjoy with other people. I do occasionally write my own music, and may refer to something as “my song” or “something I wrote”, I don’t intend on keeping it to myself. I don’t get any satisfaction out of listening to my own music. I thrive on the interaction of live performance, and even studio performance. The fact that there is something I have in common with at least one other person is incredibly gratifying to me. My music is your music. I play music to bring myself and other people together. I firmly believe that music is greater than the sum of its parts. With that in mind I understand that the music is already there. I am not creating. I am expressing myself. I call it my music as a formality (I have to get paid somehow). But I believe that it is meant for everyone to enjoy and am grateful for the role I play in bringing that joy to others.