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Ozomatli's thoughtful songs earn Grammy nods |
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10/9/2005
Ramiro Burr
Ozomatli believes the message in a song can be just as important as the music, says trumpet player Asdru Sierra.
"We always are trying to do our best to create something successful," he said. "So we do go out of our way to really learn about (issues), research the music and do it right the first time out."
The band's attention to detail is exemplified in the song "Believe," which Sierra says the group took great pains to polish in the studio before it was released on its 2004 album "Street Signs."
"We were very careful with 'Believe,' especially because of the time in which it came out," Sierra said. "There was the conflict going on in the Middle East, and everything around it. The message is let humanity be everybody's first priority, you know. Because whatever we do today affects our children for the rest of their lives."
He said "Believe" is about asking people to think about consequences.
"'Believe' is just telling people in English and in Spanish that if people believe in each other's hearts, if they see each other as human beings, we are better able to come to some sort of understanding.
"I remember when I first wrote that song, it was right at the beginning of the war and I had family going over there. I thought how sad it was. How it affects so many people being taken over there, or going over there voluntarily, and having their lives end because of something as materialistic for oil, is ludicrous. Such greed for power."
Apparently, the reflective approach has found some believers.
"Streets Signs" won best Latin rock/alternative album honors at the Grammy Awards n February. The band won the same category in 2001 for the CD "Embrace the Chaos."
"Streets Signs" also has been nominated for best engineered album and best alternative music album at the upcoming Latin Grammys, scheduled for Nov. 3 in Los Angeles.
"Even though we've won two Grammys, we're still pretty excited," Sierra said. "It is amazing to us because it means the Quincy Joneses and Juan Gabriels — when you win it is because they voted for you."
The band is in seemingly constant demand.
"Performing live has always been like the main ammunition for this band," he said. "Actually, we've been on the road basically for the past 10 years. We have been working almost all the time. We have been on the road almost 250 days a year, and that does not include actually traveling to the locations. Somewhere in there we make time to make an album."
Speaking of albums, the band's latest is the CD/DVD "Live at the Fillmore," which includes 10 of the band's best known songs, such as "Believe" and "(Who Discovered) America." The DVD features the full concert, adding the songs "Cumbia De Los Muertos" and "Como Ves."
"Live at the Fillmore" finds the L.A. salsa-rap collective in to... read the complete story >>>
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