Alejandro Garcia (producer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alejandro Garcia

Background information
Birth name	Alejandro Garcia
Also known as	Dream, Dreamer
Born	October 28, 1984 (1984-10-28) (age 23)
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genre(s)	Hip hop, pop R&B , Regional Mexican
Occupation(s)	Producer, Song Writer, Composer
Instrument(s)	Keyboard, Sampler, Drums, Percussion, Bass, Accordion, Guitar, Saxophone
Years active	1998-present
Label(s)	Univision
Associated acts	Alacranes Musical, Lil' Rob, Conjunto Primavera

Alejandro Garcia is a Mexican-American band producer and song writer best known for producing Alacranes Musical, a band that plays Duranguense music. He has released several albums in both the Regional Mexican music genre as well as hip-hop, and is known for creating catchy hooks and having an uncanning vision of the music he creates and helps create. He is currently under contract with Univision, and in 2007, his main band, Alacranes Musical became nominated for a Latin Grammy, while in 2008, being nominated for Duranguense artist of the year and album of the year in "Premios Lo Nuestro", the second largest Latin Music award show, next to the Grammy's.^[1] Their hits "Si Yo Fuera Tu Amor" and "Por Tu Amor" reached #2 and #4, respectively, on Billboard's Latin Regional Mexican Airplay chart. Recently, their newly produced single "Por Amarte Así," has topped the Billboard Charts at number one for several weeks in a row. "Por Amarte Así" has also, according to Billboard, been the number one downloaded ringtone as well.^{[citation needed]}

1 Childhood
2 Early career
3 Radio Programming
4 Big Break
5 Controversy
6 Recording Style
7 Discography (incomplete)
- 7.1 Albums
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Childhood

Born and raised in the Los Angeles area, Alejandro was brought into a family that was already rooted in music. Having family members, including his father involved in the music industry, have exposed Garcia to music at an early age, and have also allowed him to explore different sounds and genre's, making Alejandro well rounded in music. At the age of six, he learned to play his first instrument, and by the time he reached middle school, he could play seven different instruments. "Having grown up around gangs" he says, "Music served as a tool to try and stay away from the streets, and the life so many of my friends and relatives were taken by." At the age of 13, Alejandro's family decided to relocate to northern California, in hopes of getting away from the gangs of Los Angeles. While in northern California, he would meet some of the people that would help Garcia get started in music as a producer.

[edit] Early career

Though making music since six years old, Alejandro's career didn't take off until about his late teens. His first stint in the industry was at age 18, when he landed a job as a disc jokey for a radio station, KSTN, in Stockton, CA. There, he got the insight into what the radio industry wanted, in terms of music and content. At age 20, Abel De Luna, took notice of Alejandro's risque personality, and decided to give him a job as an on-air personality for radio network, La Maquina Musical. De Luna felt that the wave of the future was through a Mexican-American DJ, that could connect with the Mexican-American audience. Having a 5-hour show that featured prank-calls and jokes, guest appearances, news and political advocacy, made the producer, now disc jokey, a well liked personality, or a hated personality. He was criticized for his content which often included sexual and graphic topics, as well as controversial issues, such as gay marriage, immigration reform, and voicing his opinions on these touchy subjects. It was at this point that Alejandro began to receive national exposure, through the backing of a national radio network, a major Indepedent record label, Luna Music, and it's distributor, Univision.

[edit] Radio Programming

The show covered topics as widespread as politics, music, immigration advice, religion and humor. ^[2] On his popular radio show, he encouraged other South and Central American nationals to violate the immigration laws of The United States of America by living in The United States of America without proper documentation. He also encourages undocumented workers to support immigration reform and to apply for citizenship. ^[3] He strongly believes that laws should be followed, but that "there's always an exception to everything. If you can't gain citizenship the legal way, do it 'your way'"

It should also be noted, however, that Alejandro Garcia has also done much to help people all over the country. Together with his radio station and his staff, Garcia has helped people get scholarships, has given away wheelchairs, has reunited families, and has had several events to collect toys for needy children during the holidays. Garcia is a very giving person that loves to help others and loves to teach others that they need to be there for one another in whatever is possible.

To give just one example of the many things he has done to help people, on February 17, 2006, Garcia along with the help of a local furniture store in Los Angeles, fully furnished an apartment for a woman and her 5-year old daughter who had just recently had a separation from her husband and was battling leukemia. The woman lived in a homeless shelter for a while with her daughter, but was later able to get an apartment. With nothing but a few zippy cups and plates to feed her daughter, she invited an old co-worker to her home for a "taco." She didnt have one piece of furniture in her home, but still felt that generosity to invite an old friend to her home because "where there's enough for two, there's enough for three." When the friend saw her situation, she told Garcia about it, and he was quick to act furnishing her entire apartment and making sure she had everything she needed. He made sure first and foremost to provide a bed, bedroom set, blankets and all for the child, then proceeded to furnish the woman's bedroom, living room, dining room, everything else. Needless to say the woman was overwhelmed with his generosity and his faithful listeners were truly touched and reminded that when someone is in need, we need to do what we can to help.

[edit] Big Break

While working with a major radio network, Alejandro began to receive offers from other major competitors in the radio and television industry, including Clear Channel and Viacom. Staying loyal to Univision, the company offered him a new and up and coming band, so that the label could compete with a new msucial genre that was making an impact across America, the Duranguense genre. Alacranes Musical was introduced, and the success of the band relied heavily on its relationship with the Mexican-American community and it's incorporation of hip-hop. Their first album under the Univision name was titled "Furia Alacranera", which sold over 100,000 units^[4]. From then on, Alejandro has made a name for himself and the band by releasing successful album after successful album, and eventually going platinum. He is also known for re-releasing the singles the band releases in acoustic versions, where it is he who plays the singles, but with just a guitar. These versions of the singles are typically "bonus tracks" on the albums that are released.

[edit] Controversy

Alejandro has always been a figure to welcome controversy. "There's no such thing as bad publicity" says the producer. From voicing his opinions on risky subjects to openly discussing graphic encounters on his radio show, Alejandro has always thrived on controversy. This became even more evident on an international level, when two former members of Alacranes Musical, Adán Cervantes and Sergio "Hershey" Federico left the band, and formed a new group called Aliados de la Sierra in 2007. The fallout happened due to disputes and disagreements over compensation, and on October 3, because of the animosity that existed from Aliados de la Sierra towards Alacranes Musical, according to their official website, Federico and another member of his new group got into a physical altercation with four members of Alacranes Musical following a performance at the Billboard Regional Mexican Music Summit in Los Angeles, California. Hotel security intervened and ended the fight. According to reports, members from both bands found themselves in an elevator where words began to be exchanged. One of the members of Alacranes Musical initially started the altercation striking Federico on the head with a bottle opener, and dragging the other member from the elevator while repeatedly striking him. The said members from Alacranes to have been involved are Rene Urbina, Chris Urbina, Oscar Urbina y Oscar Diaz. The two groups are now said to be on good terms.^[5]^[6] Alejandro responded by saying "I don't know what happened, or how it started. All I know is that I saw them coming out of the elevator and punches were being thrown, and though I'm disappointed in the act, I know my guys wouldn't react like that unless provoked. They will defend themselves."

Even more controversy arises when it comes to Alejandro's hip-hop productions. It has been questioned as to who he has actually produced and worked with. He has been known to produce and record using live instrumentation. However, the fact that Garcia does not always play instruments on his records may not necessarily diminish his contributions as a record producer. Some of the controversy may stem from a dispute over what the term "producer" means in music. In hip-hop, the role of producer is often simply given to the person who "creates the beat", be it through the use of a drum machine, keyboards, or even simply choosing samples and looping them. By this definition, allegations that Garcia was not the "real" producer of some of his hip-hop tracks credited to him can have merit. However, the role of producer has generally been understood to mean controlling recording sessions, guiding performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. In this respect, Alejandro can be given the credit as the primary and most important producer, even in the face of these allegations.

[edit] Recording Style

It is said that Alejandro has various unreleased songs, that might later be released, but has no plans to release them as of yet. The reason there are so many songs, according to Univision, is because he will often have the band record as many as 36 songs, for just one album. From there, the top 12-14 will make the album, and be slated for release. The rest go into a "vault". Univision says this formula has helped Alejandro pick the best songs, and consequently, release the best albums his artists can make. He has been described as a perfectionist, and always demands a flawless performance from the artists he works with. A consequence of this perfectionism is that some artists that initially sign deals with Alejandro and Univision never release albums. This is because some artists may not have grown enough to be able to compete in the industry, according to Garcia. "No matter how great a song is, there is always room for improvement" says the producer. "I have pushed my artists to the brink of exhaustion, sent people home and even kicked them out of the studio for not working hard or being lazy. We have a system, and it's to be followed, if not, don't bother me. When you record with me, you show up on time, work hard, and demand the best from yourself everytime. If not, you can go do your thing somewhere else." The result of this style is a number of gold and platinum plaques.