Carne Cruda

Carne Cruda is a Post-Latin band based in Oakland, California. The band consists of 5 core members and incorporates frequent guest appearances, and also frequently backs up other artists.

Band History

Camilo Landau and Charlie Gurke met while attending high school at San Francisco School of the Arts, where they formed a band called The Ska Messengers. In the year 2000, while attending college at UCSC, guitarist and tres player Camilo Landau decided to form a band to experiment with blending Latin music and Caribbean music with other musical genres. While playing in the UCSC Jazz ensembles under the direction of Ray Brown and Smith Dobson, he met drummer E. Dillon Westbrook and asked him if he wanted to start a group. They teamed up with conga player Jeremy Fisher and began experimenting and practicing. They added Charlie Gurke to the group and began playing around local venues in Santa Cruz, California.

In 2001 Landau and Gurke went to [Cuba] for three months to study music. There they wrote arrangements for what they envisioned as a new direction for the band. When they returned they added Luke Kirley on trombone and Matthew Val Hall on trumpet to the band and began playing again. They were featured in Metro Santa Cruz's column "New Band Alert" where they were described as "the Latin Squirrel Nut Zippers."

In 2004 the band moved to [Oakland, California] where they re-formed, adding bassist Ayla Davila who had recently graduated from the prestigious [Berklee College of Music] and drummer David M. Flores. With this new configuration they recorded their first full-length album "Spicy Sea Adventures" in 2005. The album was picked up by Belgium's Surf-Cumbia Rockerds label and the band began their first European tour, playing concerts in Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Poland. They subsequently went on three more European tours and added Denmark, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Macedonia.[1]

In 2009 Carne Cruda began a new collaboration with Brazilian singer and dancer Dandara Backen. They formed a new group called De Bahia a Bahia,[2] which means "from one bay to another" since Dandara is from Bahia, Brazil and Carne Cruda is from the Bay Area.

In 2010 Carne Cruda won Oakland Magazine's "Best Oakland Theme Song" award in an article titled "Oakland's Tight, Hella Tight!"[3]

In 2010 Carne Cruda release a new album on Round Whirled Records called "Oakland's Tight" produced by veteran record producer Greg Landau and recorded, mixed, and mastered by engineer John Greenham.[4]

Band members

Current members

Past members

Other Musicians who have recorded with Carne Cruda

Notable performances

References

  1. ↑ Oakland Tribune, Eclectic surf-Latin-funk band Carne Cruda sailing a 'Spicy Sea Adventure'
  2. ↑ http://www.debahiaabahia.com
  3. ↑ Oakland Magazine, Best of Oakland.
  4. ↑ Mix Magazine, Band Profile: Carne Cruda
  5. ↑ Carolyn Jones, "Oakland's Parkway Theater Closing", San Francisco Chronicle (March 20, 2009), page B-1
  6. ↑ East Bay Express, One Less Cheap Thrill as The Parkway Closes
  7. ↑ SF Weekly, The Last Picture Show
  8. ↑ Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Cloverdale's Friday Night Live welcomes booty-shaking Carne Cruda.
  9. ↑ , Niska Banja Festival

External links