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Bakersfield band Velorio takes second on reality show

BY SHELLIE BRANCO, Californian staff writer
e-mail: sbranco@bakersfield.com | Monday, Jul 28 2008 8:33 AM

Last Updated: Monday, Jul 28 2008 8:29 AM

Bakersfield band Velorio came in second Sunday night on cable network Sí TV’s battle-of-the-bands reality show “Jammin.” So close! But its members learned a few valuable lessons from their Hollywood experience.

On the season finale, taped in March, the band lost to Low Luster League of El Paso, Texas. The grand prize winner received $10,000 cash, $5,000 in Gibson equipment, upcoming coverage in People en Español, and a spot at the magazine-sponsored Fiesta concert in September in New York City, said Brenda Bedolla, Sí TV marketing coordinator.

The men of Velorio enjoyed performing on the show, but had hoped for better marks from the judges on originality and musicianship. Velorio keyboardist Eric Powers praised the members of the winning band and their catchy songs, but, “they compared the band that won to a Spanish version of The Strokes and they just weren’t very original and they didn’t get me into it,” Powers said.

Past “Jammin” winners have gone on to perform at the South by Southwest festival and score record contracts.

VELORIO'S EXPERIENCE

The local Latin rock group — whose name in Spanish means “Wake,” as in a funeral — made it to the top 15 out of 202 entrants by a public vote online. Music industry experts then chose the top six. Still in the running, Velorio was favored by the judges, placed among the top three and received tips from a guest mentor, rapper Pitbull.

Powers said his guys were star-struck at first, but soon realized Pitbull wasn’t the right fit for the group, which is known for its dreamlike fusion of electronic, jazz and Latin beats.

Powers spoke about how members of Los Amigos Invisibles (“The Invisible Friends”), a funk-disco-acid jazz fusion dance band from Venezuela, and alternative rock guitarist Dave Navarro mentored the other finalists, including third-place finisher Cuna de Lobos (“Wolves’ Crib”) of Compton.

Los Amigos Invisibles is a longtime influence on Velorio.

“Pitbull really didn’t have any suggestions for us,” Powers said. “The first thing he said was, ‘Why am I here? I don’t have any suggestions.’”

The rapper, however, liked the band’s energy and ability to get people moving. He even mentioned the possibility of booking Velorio as his opening act on a world tour, Powers said.

While that prospect is exciting, Powers isn’t holding his breath: Pitbull’s reps haven’t gotten back to the band. In the meantime, Velorio is working on its own tour of the West Coast, New Mexico and Texas slated for October. The guys are also going through changes as a few members move on to jobs and solo projects.

Velorio will release its next album in the fall. Powers hopes it’ll be worthy of national attention.

“We’re positive we can do that. It’s time,” he said. “We’re taking it as far as we can go.”

SEND IN THE CLOWNS — OR NOT

During the season, Sí TV shot a music video for Velorio’s ballad “Maltratos” at a roller-skating rink. It included a trumpet solo by a clown. Powers was not amused.

“In retrospect, we should have taken creative control of it,” Powers said. “In that moment, we said, ‘We’ll trust them to make it look good.’ The video looks terrible.”

Guitarist/songwriter Benjamin Gomez said he learned a lot about reality TV, especially the hours of interviews required for storytelling.

“It is reality TV, but they are writing the show,” he said.

“We caused a little stir,” Gomez said of his time on “Jammin.”

“We were the craziest group there. We represented the crazy side of Bakersfield.”

Despite creative differences, “Jammin” opened doors for Velorio. The bandmates met videographers who want to work with them in the future. Velorio also struck up a friendship with one of the judges, MTV tr3s veejay Marthin Chan, and at last weekend’s Mission Creek Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco, they performed with his Latin/electronica group, Chana.

Gomez said he hopes they’ll record together, or the partnership will at least open doors to Spanish-market and crossover producers.