Rock en Español Followers and High School Students Get Insider Training During Al Borde's “Escuela de Rock” Event

Written by Hilda Gabriela Wednesday, 24 November 2010 12:12

Picking brains has never been as easy as it was during Al Borde's “Escuela de Rock” seminar. On Friday, November 19th, influential members of the Latin music industry cleared space from their schedules to take part in an evening where high school students and aspiring musicians could question the panels expertise to further explore their own musical ideas and gain industry insider information.

The free community event took place at the Boyle Heights Technology Youth Center where established musicians, producers, promoters, public relations, copyright and publishing executives were invited to speak on topics such as: songwriting, recording, creating a band image, performing, marketing, promotions, and endorsements.

While renowned alternative artists Cesar “Vampiro” Lopez, PerroZompopo, Aaron Serfaty, Clemente Ruiz, Sebastian Krys, and Moisés Baqueiro coached attendees on the importance of mastering their craft, public relations and copyright and publishing representatives, Marissa Lopez, Yvonee Drazan, Mariluz Gonzalez, and Roxana Lissa encouraged attendees to also take advantage of networking opportunities such as the Escuela de Rock event in order to build relationships with members of the industry who may possibly help ignite their music careers.

“The panel members are amazing," stated Jorge Leal, music historian and moderator of the discussions. “Many of them are part of the first generation of activists that promote contemporary Latin rock music in Los Angeles. They started in this business because of their passion and throughout the years their perseverance led them to make a profession out of it. Those qualities- passion and perseverance- go hand in hand to guide a young person interested in this field develop a fruitful career in music."

Nicaraguan singer/songwriter PerroZompopo, performed acoustic songs from his Latin Grammy nominated album, “Canciones Populares Contestatarias,” which led Cesar “Vampiro” Lopez, guitarist of legendary Mexican rock band Jaguares, commenting that the true power in music making is songwriting and that PerroZompopo is a perfect example of that self-motivated success.

It was that type of encouragement that Los Angeles native Mario Luna was searching for. He has pursued a career in music since 1997 and attended the event hoping to gather information that would help catapult his band to the next level. “The Vampiro panel was inspirational,” he expressed. “It was good to see a well-known artist such as him be so grounded and willing to share his experiences with us. Overall, what I learned and will adapt to my band is that a combination of education and persistence is key to longevity in a life of music.”

During the seminar, event co-sponsor the US Army gave away an electric guitar to one fortunate attendee to help with their pursuit of a career in the music industry.  “Escuela de Rock” was also sponsored by Hispanic media company, El Clasificado.

Guests were then presented with an electrifying concert performance by The Potential Lunatics, winners of the “Escuela de Rock: We're Looking for a High School Band” competition, and San Diego based rockers, Los Hollywood.

 

 

 

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