Troublesome Fans
Michael: The Sky Bar is a very popular venue, and always seems to be packed late on Thursday nights. But it gets hot for the dancers at certain times of the year. Anyone who has enjoyed the music at Sky Bar knows you are right there next to the dancers. Have you ever had a night where you thought, "Man, a breeze would be great right now"?
Antonio: Yeah, sometimes a breeze would be great. Although they did install some fans a couple months ago and pointed one at the stage, which made our music fly all over the place--plus I think Jon our trumpet player was getting it in the face all night so we had to rotate a bit. All is good now. They also enclosed one of the patios so people can spread out without being in the cold now.
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It's hard to find Latin fans around Houston who have not heard La Orquesta Salmerum. The group takes a hard-driving, energetic approach toward Salsa music. They are the Thursday night regulars at Scott Gertner's Sky Bar and they often play at Tropicana on Friday nights.
Antonio Garza, the group's co-founder and director, agreed to answer a few questions for me.
Michael: La Orquesta Salmerum has been performing for Houstonians at venues like Scott Gertner's Sky Bar, Elvia's Cantina, Havana, Club Tropicana, and now El Chibcha since 2003. How did the group come together?
Antonio: We formed back in 2001 after most of us splintered off from another group. I called my old roommate from college to see if he would be my male lead singer as well as Valentina (who is now my wife) to be my female lead singer.
Michael: The group has stronger horn and percussion sections than some other popular Houston groups. How does your instrumentation affect your choices of songs for the playlists?
Antonio: Well we have a true salsa band with congas, timbales, and bongo, (full percussion section) and four horns (full horn section) so we are not limited to what songs we can play.
Michael: What is the range of the Salsa influences you draw upon?
Antonio: While the band plays merengue, bachata, and cumbia, all the musicians are salseros at heart. We draw from many different eras, from Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente and the Celia Cruz of old, to the Fania All-Stars, Hector Lavoe, Ismael Miranda, Ray Barreto and others, to today's new stars like Marc Anthony, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Son de Cali, Grupo Niche and up and comers, Kevin Ceballo, Pedro Jesus, and Jose Ernesto.
Michael: The group has a very tight, professional sound. Clearly, the skill of all the musicians contributes to the quality of the performance. But how much does the finished product reflect the hand of Antonio, director? Which of your associates would you say is the most consistently inspirational for his fellow musicians?
Antonio: Well musicianship is key, and having the best musicians in Houston want to play in your band always helps. I just steer the ship, but I think that I hire musicians that have the same vision as I do. We all want to sound authentic and not steer to far away from what the actual recording sounds like. In other words, we are not trying to play the "Salmerum version" of the song. Having everyone on the same page helps this, and helps the band to be tighter.
Michael: You don't just play in Houston. For example, in February 2005, you appeared at Austin's Mambo Rings. How much does the band travel around Texas and nearby areas?
Antonio: We try to get some exposure outside the city about once a month, typically on Saturdays when it is easier for us to travel.
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