- - Hi Marcel, where are you from and where do you live now?
I was born in Uruguay and lived there until I was 18. I came to the United States in 1996 and I've been living in Los Angeles, CA for over 2 years now. I really like this apartment I have near Hollywood, the weather is nice and the pace of the city is amazing.
- - How long have you been playing music, especially rock and roll and rockabilly?
Well, I started when I was very young, around 12 or 13, and I haven't stopped since. At first, when I put my first band together we played at parties and festivals and contests and things like that, then we started playing in bars and so on. I was deep into this when I was 15. We'd play all night, from 12 to 4 in the morning. I started out with rock and roll and rockabilly classics and then I got into doing original songs and stranger stuff.
- - What are your main influences?
I could tell you it's a combination of everything I listen to, and that turned into my style. But mainly Roy Orbison. I'm a big fan of Roy and that seems to be obvious… I also like Elvis Presley a lot, and Roy was Elvis' favourite singer. I listen to a lot of SUN recordings, and to all the classics. I also like some contemporary things and some current bands.
- - When did you form your first band?
Like I told you, I put the first band together when I was around 12 or 13, and we were all just starting out. For instance, I had to teach the bass player how to play bass, or one of our drummers didn't have a drum kit, things like that, it was a total mess. But that's part of a learning process every musician needs. At first there were 4 of us and we had a lead guitarist but I realised he wasn't giving me the sound I wanted, and the best solution for that was for me to take over the solos and the rhythm guitar work. That let me have absolute control of the sound I wanted to get and balance the singing with the guitar that way.
- - How long have you been playing with the Truly Lover Trio?
The Truly Lover Trio was always my band. Over the years the members kept changing, but I was always there on vocals and guitar.
- - Is this the original line-up? What other musicians have been through the group?
No, it isn't the original one, but it is the best we've had so far. It's very hard to find musicians who completely understand what you want, and it's a process of evolution. I'm very happy with Bobby Garcia (drums) and Santiago Graciano (upright bass).
- - Do you write all your own songs by yourself?
Yes, I think songwriting is generally a solitary activity. And even when it isn't, I think there are certain things that are essential if you're going to write with someone. I haven't found anyone I feel I need to write a song with. It has to be a very solid team and both sides have to know exactly where they're going with the song.
- - What are the most important shows you've played since you started?
Let me see, we played at quite a few important places in Uruguay like the Montevideo Blues Festival, or with some big names in Uruguayan rock. We also played on several TV shows and things like that. But here in the USA we've done the Rockabilly Rebel Weekend in Indianapolis a couple of times, we shared the stage with people like Big Sandy, Deke Dickerson, James Intveld, Ray Campi, etc… We've just played at the biggest rockabilly festival in the world, which is Viva Las Vegas, and it went really well.
- - Right, now I wanted to talk about Hey Little Girl, your new record for El Toro Records. Is it your first record?
Yes, the first record. We'd put out a 45 rpm in 1998 with 4 songs, but this is our first CD and I'm very proud of it. A lot of bands rush to put out their first record and I'm glad we weren't one of them, I think this CD comes at the ideal moment for the band.
- - How would you describe your sound, and what are the readers of this interview going to find if they decide to buy the CD?
Objectively I can tell you it's a very different sound, a very fresh and new sound and at the same time one with a lot of power. The original songs are completely unlike anything they've heard so far. They aren't songs where the structure is verse, chorus, verse, etc… most of the time they have a more complex structure. Also keep in mind that with 3 musicians the sound is tighter and at the same time much easier to follow and take in. I'm very happy with the sound the CD has and with the combination of songs, and I know you'll agree with me.
- - Which musicians played on this record?
It's the 3 of us on every song except one, where Omar Romero helped us out on guitar, and on the bonus tracks I play guitar and sing.
- - How did you get in touch with the label El Toro Records, from Barcelona?
A mutual friend thought I should send some material to Carlos Díaz at El Toro Records and that's what I did. Apparently Carlos liked it a lot and that's when he asked me whether I wanted to work with him. Carlos asked me for 4 or 5 more new songs, which I didn't have, so we had to rush into the studio and record them.
- - Which songs on the record do you personally like best, and which ones do you feel most attached to?
I really like Blueberry Eyes, which seems to be a favourite, with a very distinctive melody and a very unique and original sound. I also like Forever Is Not For Us because it's complex and yet so simple and dynamic. I'm very attached to Lonely Blue Dreams because it's one of the first ones I wrote that turned into a real song. King Of Hearts is also a song that made me very happy. Hey Little Girl was curiously the last song I wrote for the record and I never thought it would end up being the one that gave it its name…
- - What methods did you use to record it?
We recorded in 2 or 3 different studios. But mainly here in downtown Los Angeles in a new studio, although it's an old building and the acoustics are very interesting. The studio is well equipped, and we mostly used digital techniques.
- - Omar Romero was an important part of the recording of some songs on this record, isn't that right?
Yes, Omar is a great friend and he has a small studio where we recorded about 12 songs. We only used 3 on the record but it was a great experience, one of them is Vamos a Rockear. He has a 4-track recorder and we used 3 or 4 microphones for everything, plus my voice. Without any kind of monitor or anything, we did it completely live and completely blind since neither Santiago nor Bobby could hear my voice… I couldn't hear it either. We went by instinct but the freshness and spontaneity of those recordings can't be repeated.
- - What are your next plans for playing live?
We have May completely booked up already here in the Los Angeles area. We're working on an Arizona tour in the summer and we have plans to go around Europe in September.
- - Well Marcel, thank you very much and we hope to have you touring around Europe and of course in Spain very soon. If there's anything you'd like to add, do it now or forever hold your peace!
Thank you so much, Alex, for taking the time to do this interview. I hope the readers have enjoyed it and that everyone enjoys Hey Little Girl!… see you very soon.
All the best from Spain.
Alex Ruiz
Radio Funny
