FIRST LATIN ALTERNATIVE ROCK FEST IN NORCAL – The Brown Note Latin Rock Project is pleased to partner with The Mission Creek Music & Arts Festival in presenting CONVERGENCE

San Francisco, CA MAY 6, 2008 – CONVERGENCE will showcase the most progressive Latin alternative bands and artists whose music challenges and provokes the listener. This mini festival within a festival will present three consecutive concerts with genres of Latin alternative ranging from Noise to Punk to Indie, Reggae and New Wave. .

The Latin Alternative Rock scene in Northern California has been developing and growing steadily for years, yet there has been no festival exclusively showcasing this genre until now. CONVERGENCE will be the first Latin Alternative rock concert series to do this. The goals of CONVERGENCE will be to:

• Support emerging local talent
• Firmly establish continuous Latin Alternative Rock programming in Northern California
• Encourage collaborations and foster community amongst all alternative and independent rock artists locally, nationally and internationally.
• Introduce new Latin Alternative Rock “Buzz” bands

ABOUT MISSION CREEK MUSIC and ARTS FESTIVAL
Mission Creek was founded in 1996, as an effort to promote local Bay Area music and eventually other forms of art that now include film, dance, visual arts, literature, and multimedia performance. Local Bay Area musician/artist Jeff Ray founded the festival in order to fill a cultural void that existed in San Francisco. Until Mission Creek was created, there was no known festival that promoted Bay Area musicians and artists. Now in its 12th year, the festival has grown tremendously in size and attendance, from a one-day event with eight bands and an audience of approximately 100 to a multi-day event with up to 180 acts, serving an audience of approximately 3,000. Twelve years and over 600 events later, MCMAF has reliably featured a wide range of Bay Area talent, and has introduced many local musicians who have since achieved international acclaim. After more than a decade of unrivaled programming, MCMAF has become a destination for both national and international talent.

THE ARTISTS – CONVERGENCE I – “THE BRIGHT SPOT”

Volumen Cero has been at the forefront of Latinos that perform nontraditional music. In 2004, Volumen Cero became one of the first Latin Alternative groups ever to be profiled on MTV’s Advance Warning, which aired on MTV and MTV2. In 2005, Volumen Cero received Latin Grammy Nominations for best rock album by a duo or group for their critically acclaimed album Estelar and guitarist Marthin Chan was also nominated for best rock song, as writer for JD Natasha’s “Lagrimas.” With the release of their third album Estelar, the band’s first single “Autos” spent over 10 weeks in the #1 spot and 20 weeks in the top 3 of R&R’s Latin Rock Chart. The band is currently putting the finishing touches on, I CAN SEE THE BRIGHT SPOT, their fourth studio album set to released mid-2008.

The May Fire: San Francisco has done it again. Once more the great city by the Bay has fashioned a musical product worth buzzing over. Right And Wrong has captured and liberated local listeners with sassy songs and adrenaline filled choruses, which echo that of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs Fever To Tell. Their liveliness has been compared to that of Metric and it’s quite apparent that there’s no end in sight for the young band. – Zero Magazine

Monte Negro: You are what you eat.† Monte Negro, a bilingual Los Angeles based rock band, has devoured enough music genres over the years to do justice to the bilingual and bicultural musicians that constitute the group.† Digesting healthy portions of Jane’s Addiction, The Cure, The Clash, and the Sex Pistols, Monte Negro has also piled onto its proverbial plate Latin-alternative rockers such as Caifanes, Los Fabuloso Cadillacs, Maldita Vecindad, Mano Negra, Soda Stereo, and Spinetta.† As with any good meal, Monte Negro combines sophisticated taste influences with unique combinations of flavor, and stews it all together with time and a pinch of luck.

Lualta: “In 2002, local sextet Lualta received a San Diego Music Award nomination for “Best New Artist.” After one listen to the band’s latest, five-song EP “Catapult” (Red Camera Recordings), it is immediately evident why. Lualta creates a kaleidoscope of layered styles and textures that is simultaneously engaging and sedating. Songs tend to start out light and easy before exploding into an electrifying fusion of psychedelic, R&B and garage rock. Hazy, druggy guitars mutate into down-and-dirty, pedal-heavy hooks and melt with tender, melodic keyboards. Lualta’s solid instrumentation, combined with lead singer Michael Hernandez’s pleasantly screechy, cigarette-scorched vocals, induces hypnotic reverie then jerks you awake.”-Claire Caraska, SignOn San Diego

THE ARTSTS – CONVERGENCE II – HEAT

Bat Makumba: The brainchild of Brazilian natives Alex Koberle and Emiliano Benevides and Americano bassist Carl Remde, Bat Makumba is the crossroads between the equatorial beats of Brazil and the punk, rock and funk influences of the U.S. and Europe. Locals to San Francisco, Bat Makumba’s show is a hip renegade carnaval party full of tropicalia tinged ska, punk influenced forro, and rock infused samba. Bat Makumba’s live show brings together an international palette of musicians and instrumentation (including accordion, zabumba, megaphone, clarinet and alfaia). Named after the 70s classic Tropicalia song by Caetano Veloso + Gilberto Gil (popularized by Os Mutantes), “Bat Makumba” loosely translates to mean the mixing of Brazilian traditionalism with international pop culture. Don’t miss this kinetic, percussive music… join the renegade carnaval party that is Bat Makumba!

Chana: Influenced as much by Stereolab and Gorillaz as by Aterciopelados and Julieta Venegas, Chana is an LA-based singer whose tropical sound could be described as global hip-pop. Born in New York City and reared by a party-loving Dominican family, her father’s salsa and R&B records were a sonic constant while growing up. After coming to LA, Chana began collaborating with producer Marthin Chan, whose previous work with Volumen Cero had earned him a Latin Grammy nomination. Working out of Chan’s garage in Echo Park, the duo began collaborating in 2005, and were aided by friend Jorge Elbrecht of the New York art collective Lansing-Dreiden. Their first batch of demos includes “No Me Mandes Flores,” which sounds like Andrea Echeverri fronting a funk band; “A Veces,” whose swampy sonics and bouncy bass give off a dub feel; and “Icaro,” a jagged, thrilling rush of pop.

The Cuban Cowboys: Mixing traditional Cuban Son and Montuno with indie rock ain’t easy. But it is a blast. The Cuban Cowboys bring post-punk sensibilities straight to the heart of the Buena Vista Social club. Armed with mambo riffs, swooning surf guitar, and intelligent lyrics, the band is steadily building a following along both U.S. coasts.”Without a doubt, the Cuban Cowboys put on one of the best shows in the local pop scene” says the NY Daily News.

Velorio: The energy of the live shows, the variety of the songs, and the diversity of the audience all reflect the many praxes of Velorio the band.† Velorio manifests the linguistic power of music to unite people, tongues and ideas.

THE ARTISTS – COVERGENCE III – CRASH

Firme: Firme (pronounced “Fear-May”) has been energizing crowds across California for 10 years, honing their distinct sound. Firme’s trademark sound often slides seductively from rock, to reggae, to Latin, and bring you back full circle.

No Way Jose: No Way Jose is a Southern California punk band that has been building a buzz in the LA music scene. NWJ mixes their Southern California punk, Tex-Mex, and Mexican-American influences to create their own sound they call “Spanglish Punk.”

The Graves Brothers Deluxe: Bela Lugosi and Elvis Presley both died on Stoo Odom’s birthday. (This is true.) The GRAVES BROTHERS DELUXE, disembodied musical spirits from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, thus chose Odom eagerly when looking for host bodies to express themselves. New Orleans native/ bassist/ vocalist/ recovering archaeologist Odom shares the current possessÈe duties with San Franciscans Willy the Mailman and Marco Villalobos.

Sergio Iglesias and the Latin Love MACHINE: “Armed with a toilet plunger and a rotating band of musicians, Sergio Iglesias is here to ruin the party. Maybe you’ve seen Sergio Iglesias and Los Magnificos fill the Hemlock Tavern with a joyful, festive cacophony. Or caught Sergio Iglesias and Los Bulliciosos nearly destroy the City College of San Francisco campus. If you were lucky, you might’ve seen Iglesias with his signature plunger and a tape player perform solo in and outside the Civic Center, Powell, and Montgomery BART stations, wailing atop trash cans, plunging the ground, and bewildering tourists and locals alike. But even if you did see all these shows, you still never know what to expect except to be surprised.” –-Sarah Han – SF Bay Guardian

CALENDAR EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:

EVENT FAST FACTS
• Event: The Brown Note Latin Rock Project in partnership with The Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival Presents: CONVERGENCE
• Venue: Balazo 18 Gallery – 2183 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94110
• Dates: Friday July 18, 2008 through Sunday July 20, 2008
• Times: Friday through Saturday: Doors 8pm Show 8:30pm
Sunday Matinee: Doors 4:00pm Show 4:30
• Convergence Festival Schedule:

• Tickets: $8-15
• Websites:
o Brown Note Latin Rock Project – www.myspace.com/brownnoterocks
o Mission Creek Music & Arts Festival – www.mcmf.org

Contact Info:

Ann Blankenship
Cell: 415-244-8250
Fax: 815-425-8910
E-mail: brownnoterock@earthlink.net

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