Working hard, or hardly working... a look at PROFUGOS.

Los Prófugos, (The Fugitives) or just PROFUGOS as they call themselves nowadays, is a band from San Luis Potosí, Mexico. I first heard of them  in late '08 and back then I thought they really had a lot going for them. I received some of their demo songs from someone inside the band, I don't remember who it was... but I like them and still keep them on rotation in my iTunes library.

Today, I sit here contemplating just how much progress they have made in the amount of time I haven't heard from them and all I can say is that something must've gotten lost somewhere along the way.

It's kinda weird but I've always thought of this band as a marriage between The Rolling Stones and U2. I heard their latest tracks recently on myspace and all-in-all they're fairly easy on the ears. I had already gotten used to and enjoyed their demo material from '08, but the incorporation of electronic elements via sequencers and other devices is a welcome one. I would've probably  toned it down a bit, though. It sometimes seems like they just wanted to fill certain songs with something and the only thing around was a keyboard but they ran out of ideas pretty quick. Their lyrics are simple and easy to sing along to in most instances and that's always a good thing in my book. But one thing that's always bothered me is when bands from México (or other Latin countries) decide to write and sing in English in an effort to... I don't know... Cross over?! To what I have to say; if you don't know the language, don't Freaking do it!!

Prófugos is among those bands I'm talking about, whether it's an all-English song or a mix of both languages to gain acceptance in a broader market, as is the case of "Prismas" or "Mary Di" ...If your grammar is wrong and your pronunciation is weak, it's NOT gonna work. Which brings me to my next observation... The singer is, in my opinion, the band's weakest link. I give him some credit for at least trying to create his own style, but I think it lacks technique and the recordings suffer because of it. More effort should go into execution and not style. The quality of their new recordings is very decent and has been improving since the time I first heard of them. In think, however; that one of the best laid out and better-sounding tracks is the remix version of "Me Siento Mejor" most likely done by a DJ and not someone in the band. I bet that whoever made it had "fun" trying to make the vocals work for this track.

Overall, I think that PROFUGOS is a good band and that their shortcomings can be easily overcome with time and effort. They need to step outside themselves, see and hear what needs to be corrected and do it. But more importantly, they need to stop slacking... Other than that, they could be on their way to becoming a GREAT band. You can hear their music and more on their myspace page.

  Los Profugos - Me siento mejor

Meet Paulette, a new and refreshing set of faces in Houston's Spanish Rock scene.

This is a band I first heard of back in Mid-2010 and let's just say that I wasn't very impressed. Fortunately, they became aware that things had to change if they really wanted to succeed and took matters into their own hands.

Knowing it was going to take a huge effort and a lot of work in their part to ameliorate the situation, in early 2011 they decided to take some time off to analyze their circumstances and took the first step towards reaching their goals and under new management, performed a total overhaul of their image, refined their songs and worked on everything else that needed improvement and resurfaced in Mid-2011 as Paulette, ready to take on the challenges that await. The guys of Paulette didn't waste time, they put together a powerful set to help them conquer Houston's discerning public and jumped straight into the local Spanish Rock scene armed with a completely new strategy.

I must say, I do see a lot of improvements but I'm not yet impressed and I have yet to be blown away by them, but I get the feeling that if they keep putting this much effort in things, at this rate, it's going to happen... soon. Today, they're working on their debut album "...Ahora estoy mejor" to be released in July. You can follow Paulette on facebook or by visiting their Reverbnation page. So stop by, check out their music and if you dig what you hear, don't forget to let them know by pressing the like button on their profile.

"Monkeying" around at The 2011 Houston International Festival.

It's that time of the year again for the annual Houston International Festival and the occasion is extra special for us because we were invited to go with CHangoMan. The Houston International Festival, or "iFest" as it's known around here, is organized by the same non-profit organization that's been doing it since 1971 and supported by the city. The purpose is to celebrate our city's cultural diversity by promoting a different culture or region of the globe each year. 2011 sees the celebration of China, India and other countries of the Silk Road. There is definitely way too much to cover here, but all I can say is that if you live here or plan to visit Houston during Spring, you have to come to the iFest.

I was present during the first weekend and had a lot of fun with my kids (yes it's a family event). Sure, we were there to "work" but you can't help to have fun when you're walking around the various streets where the festival is held, going from booth to booth and from one stage to the other enjoying all the different kinds of food, drinks and music available. We had fun alright, especially when it was time for CHangoMan to get on stage and shine. And shine they did... not only once, but twice and on different stages.

This video is a sample of the show and it features CHangoMan "The Cumbia-Rock Kings" performing their rendition of the classic "We will rock you" by Queen.
Enjoy!

For more information about the Houston International Festival visit iFest's website.
And to see this and other videos or to learn more about the ACEtrax family of artists, subscribe today to our channel on YouTube. For future show dates you can visit CHangoMan's ReverbNation page or join them on facebook. And don't forget that their album "Everybody wants to go to heaven" is now available on iTunes

New album "Everybody wants to go to heaven" now available on iTunes