Music Mondays
It’s inevitable working in a guitar shop that we end up having heated conversations about music.So we decided to take it to the web with Music Mondays. Every Monday someone from our staff is going to write a blog about music – specifically one particular album, artist or song. We’ll be covering anything, from the first albums that inspired us to become musicians to great hidden gems that we feel never got the recognition they deserved. Anyways, enjoy, and be sure to leave your comments and continue the discussion.
NIL LARA
One evening in 1996 while channel surfing through my insomnia I came upon a live studio performance of Nil Lara. Entering into the viewing audience half way through the set, I was so impressed by the level of musicianship and writing that I immediately purchased the album the following morning. It’s a tad dated now but I still think it’s a great listen. The two songs that I continually come back to on this album are “Crawl” and “Money makes the monkey dance”. Enjoy!
Biography
Lara was born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Cuban immigrants, but much of his childhood was spent in Venezuela, moving to Caracas at the age of 7. At 8, he had mastered cuatro – a four-string Venezuelan instrument from which he graduated to the guitar. He moved with his family to Miami when he was in junior high. While studying electrical engineering at the University of Miami in Florida, he rediscovered his Cuban roots in guajiro, the Cuban equivalent of country, and “son” – Cuban music’s answer to the blues. This led him to the tres, a Cuban instrument with a unique sound and with the status of a grassroots instrument in Cuba.
WIKIPEDIA LINK
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nil_Lara
NIL LARA LINK
