Ginette dancing soleá accompanied by Miguelito at Las Tapas. September 21, 2010 (photo by Даша)

It's almost midnight on Tuesday as I type these words. Got home about an hour ago. I really should go to bed at a decent hour for a change. I have an early day tomorrow and I can't afford to show up at the gig half awake. It wouldn't be fair to the dancers and the singer not to mention our audience! But since I'm up I might as well crank out a quick blog for now and make myself productive.

For the longest time, the Tuesday night manager at Las Tapas, Даша (pronounced DA-sha) has been offering to take pics of the show. I finally took her up on it for this evening's show featuring dancer Ginette. Thank you Даша!

September 21, 2010 (photo by Даша)

My usual routine for Tuesdays is to arrive a couple of hours before showtime. Here's the thing: I have more than 100 pounds of sound gear that I cart around on the metro. And it's not really practical for me to do it during rush hour when the trains get seriously packed with people. It's not a total waste of time to arrive a few hours early though. I can take my time setting up my sound system, warm-up my hands properly and relax a bit before the show.

But I must've been a little distracted this afternoon because I forgot to adjust the EQ. It's not disastrous when it's a bit off, but it's just not as inspiring for me as a performer when my guitar doesn't sound its best through the sound system. I don't want to get into the technical details, but the thing is that each venue has different acoustics and so I have to do a sound check every single time I set up. And today I forgot to do that. Bad Miguelito, bad bad bad! :-)

Ginette dancing Sevillanas. September 21, 2010 (photo by Даша)

Despite the minor EQ problem the show was still pretty good. Ginette danced wonderfully as always. On the other hand, my mental focus drifted several times when I would catch myself having a mental conversation with myself: "Ugh...what's the matter with the sound??? Just let it go. It sounds good enough. Relax and have fun with the show!"

It's easier said than done. But eventually I did just let it go and had fun. After the show, I was pleasantly surprised by the many compliments from the audience as we made our way across the dining room. Even though I was still a bit unsatisfied with how my guitar sounded this evening, the inspirational energy Ginette and I shared onstage more than made up for it.

Sometimes, I get great sound on certain nights, but the audience response is so-so. And other times sound is so-so and the audience response is great. Tonight was the latter. OK...time for me to stop whining now. In the grand scheme of things, it's all good.

Flamenco shows at Las Tapas are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8:00pm. Thursdays at 8:00pm and 9:00pm. Call 703-836-4000.

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Ginettte and Sara Hart dancing Sevillanas at Las Tapas. January 31, 2010 (photo by Rachel)

It's 5-something pm on Friday as I type these words. I know I'm behind schedule on my weekly-promised blog quota but I have this past week's Snowpocalypse (aka snOMG2) here in DC as an excuse! Nearly the whole metropolitan area shut down for a week, not to mention the fact that we broke the historical record for snowfall for DC!

Anywayz, most of my readers I imagine are from the Nation's capital so I don't need to rehash what went on this past week. Question is: how did it affect the flamenco scene?

Well...just about all the venues canceled their shows. Although some, like Cafe Citron and Vinoteca took a chance and stayed open on the weekend (despite the record-breaking snow accumulation), they canceled the flamenco anyway. And although I could've used the money and would've enjoyed getting out of the house and performing, I would've dreaded dragging 100 pounds of sound equipment in the snow.

Enough about the snow! Let's look at some flamenco pics!

Continue reading "Flamenco at Las Tapas. January 31, 2010" »

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Pam de Ocampo dancing a seguiriya accompanied by guitarist Richard Marlow. January 28, 2010

It's 5-something pm on Friday as I type these words. I'm at a Panera in Arlington taking advantage of the free WiFi while enjoying coffee. Yeah, I know. I usually go to Barnes and Noble to blog, but just wanted to mix it up a little and try a different place.

Anywayz, it's been a busy week flamenco-wise: every day I've either been performing, rehearsing or going out to a show and supporting my fellow flamencos. Last night (Thursday) was one of those nights. I never really know who will be dancing on a Thursday at Tapas and so when I arrived around 7:30pm (half an hour before showtime) it turned out to be dancers Anna Menéndez and Pam de Ocampo!

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Guitarist Richard Marlow with dancers Claudia Roman and Ginette performing Sevillanas at Las Tapas. December 4, 2008 8:02pm

It's 4-something pm on Friday as I type these words. As you can imagine, I've been pretty busy...hence the long hiatus since my last blog entry! I still am pretty busy as it is, but just wanted crank out a quickie here so you wouldn't think I was neglecting you, my readers!

On my nights off, I've been going to support my fellow flamencos at their respective shows. In this case, my dancer friend Ginette was invited to sub at Las Tapas on a Thursday night. It's very rare that I'm in the audience when she's dancing since I'm almost always the guitarist playing for her. No time to write extensive commentary. I'll let the pics speak for themselves. This is just my way of documenting the show to make you almost feel like you're there in person. Enjoy!

Continue reading "Flamenco at Las Tapas - December 4, 2008" »

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Karavan Gypsy Music featuring Toto, Tito and Alex at Las Tapas. October 10, 2008 10:34pm

It's 11:40am on Sunday as I type these words. These pics are actually from more than a week ago, so I'm gradually catching up on my blog. Been busy, you know how it is. :-)

For one thing, I haven't been able to come out to Las Tapas on the weekends since I'm almost always performing on Fridays at Cabanas or otherwise just catching up with friends. But this time around when I finally got a night off, instead of staying at home and catching up on sleep like I really should, I went out to Las Tapas to checkout the new band, Karavan Gypsy Music.

Continue reading "Karavan Gypsy Music at Las Tapas. October 10, 2008" »

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Miguelito and Yolit Kachlon at Las Tapas. August 26, 2008 8:58pm (photo by Brian)

It's 4-something in the morning on Wednesday. After my usual Tuesday night gig at Las Tapas, my friend Jason Vera y Aragón and I headed to Dupont Circle to celebrate Sachi's birthday. Sachi, if you recall from my blog entry on July 8th, is our favorite bartender at the new tapas bar Bodega in Georgetown. I've been going there so often this past summer that quite a few of the employees know me and have become my friends.

Incidentally, this coming Sunday August 31st, I'm hosting a flamenco juerga at Bodega scheduled to start around 7:00pm (of course most people will arrive fashionably late around 9:00pm).

Bodega's located at the corner of 31st and M St in Georgetown. The address is 3116 M St NW Washington DC. You're welcome to join in, but it's going to be packed. The last time I checked the invite list on FaceBook, there were 61 confirmed, 34 maybes and 103 awaiting reply!

Pssst! If you're on FaceBook, look me up and add me as a friend so you can hear about future juergas. If you don't have a FaceBook account, click on the image to the right and sign up.

Anywayz, here's a random selection of pics from last night's show at Las Tapas featuring dancers Sarah Hart and Yolit Kachlon, yours truly Miguelito on guitar and guest singer Naíto.

Continue reading "Flamenco at Las Tapas. August 26, 2008" »

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Claudia Easton and Hector Márquez at Las Tapas. July 1, 2008 9:04pm (photo by Jason Vera y Aragón)

It's 12:55pm on Wednesday as I type these words. While I do have a few errands to run, it's really my day off. But first I thought I'd publish some pics from last night at Las Tapas.

The dancers were Claudia Easton and Kyoko. My singer friend Hector Márquez joined us onstage. And Jason Vera y Aragón was our photographer for the evening. Enjoy!

Continue reading "Flamenco at Las Tapas. July 1, 2008" »

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Sara Jerez, Ginette Perea, Hector Márquez and Miguelito at Las Tapas. June 24, 2008 9:18pm (photo by Paul Bruhns)

Last night (Tuesday) at Las Tapas I ran into an old friend, Paul Bruhns. Years ago, he used to go out to local tablaos every single week. But now that he lives in Buffalo, New York where the flamenco scene is not quite as active as it is here in DC, coming to Las Tapas last night for him was like reliving the good ol' times!

Paul gladly volunteered to be our photographer for the evening. Enjoy!

Continue reading "Flamenco at Las Tapas. June 24, 2008" »

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Emily Mazzotti, Pam de Ocampo, Hector Márquez and Miguelito at Las Tapas. May 27, 2008 8:45pm (photo by Marylin Márquez)

It's 10am on Friday as I type these words. I'm on a weird sleep schedule again, but I think I'll go out for a walk and enjoy the beautiful weather before coming back and spending the afternoon taking a nap.

Anywayz, here are some pics from Tuesday night at Las Tapas. The dancers were Emily Mazzotti and Pam de Ocampo. We had the pleasure of having some inspiring cante by Hector Márquez. Plus we had in the audience two other young singers: "Naíto" and Marylin Márquez. Enjoy!

Continue reading "Flamenco at Las Tapas. May 27, 2008" »

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Kiyo, Kyoko and Miguelito at Las Tapas. April 29, 2008 8:43pm (photo by Edwin Aparicio)

It's almost 4:00am on Thursday as I type these words. So this past Tuesday, I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time Kiyo, a cajón player based in Miami who has worked extensively with Kyoko. Of course, I already knew about him from seeing his pics in Kyoko's website. And he knew a lot about me being a regular reader of my flamenco blog.

Anywayz, the good news is that Kyoko and Kiyo are moving to the DC area (and as an added bonus Kiyo is not only a percussionist but also a flamenco guitarist). Welcome to the DC flamenco community to you both!

Continue reading "Flamenco at Las Tapas. April 29, 2008" »

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April 22, 2008

Just a quick blog to show you what I received from a member of the audience last night at Las Tapas. The dancers were Pam de Ocampo and Emily Mazzotti. Awesome and inspiring evening, especially the second set when we were more relaxed and focused.

While I was upstairs practicing before the show, a young lady and her mother (I presume) passed by me on the way to the restroom. On their way back downstairs the mother took a moment to tell me how beautiful my guitar playing sounds and that she and her daughter would be looking forward to the show. Turns out the young lady had just started classical guitar lessons a few weeks ago!

I wasn't the only one that received a hand-drawn greeting card (like the one above). Both Pam and Emily got cards too. The young lady was so sweet and adorable. It's nights like these that make it all worth it to perform in restaurants and clubs. I love my job!

Tomorrow (Thursday) morning, I'll be going to Las Tapas again, but this time in the morning, 11:30am to be specific. Together with Edwin Aparicio and Kyoko, we'll be doing a lecture/demonstration for children teaching them about Spain and flamenco. It's getting late. So I'd better go to sleep now. Ciao for now!

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Anna Menendez and Kyoko at Las Tapas. April 17, 2008 7:57pm

It's 3:30am on Friday as I type these words. Just got done sifting through the many photos from last night's show at Las Tapas featuring dancers Anna Menendez and Kyoko with guitarist Richard Marlow. Enjoy!

Continue reading "Flamenco at Las Tapas. April 17, 2008" »

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Sara Hart and Jason Vera y Aragón dancing Sevillanas at Las Tapas. April 6, 2008 7:48pm (photo by Hector Márquez)

It's 5:30-something in the morning as I type these words. On a vampire sleep schedule again so I kept myself busy transcribing an interview I did with Flor Pérez Taboada and actually published it on my front page, woohoo! Since I felt so productive, I was motivated to crank out a quick photo blog before calling it a night.

These are from this past Sunday night at Las Tapas for a private party. You can't see me in any of the pics, thank God, but I was sooo tired. Besides staying up all night the night before, I got up early in the morning to meet up with some friends for brunch, followed by an exhausting but exhilarating afternoon playing paintball in Leesburg, afterwards I stopped home for 10 minutes which was long enough for me to shower off all the mud and change into clean clothes and rush off for the gig at Tapas.

Continue reading "Flamenco at Las Tapas. April 8, 2008" »

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Richard Marlow playing his opening guitar solo at Las Tapas March 20, 2008 8:53pm

It's 12:32pm on Friday as I type these words. Last night (Thursday) I stopped by Las Tapas to support my fellow flamencos. Of course I brought my camera so I could take pics and show you what you missed. Enjoy!

Continue reading "Flamenco at Las Tapas. March 20, 2008" »

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Welcome to my office! :-) March 4, 2008 10:01pm

It's 10:24am on Wednesday as I type these words. It's my day off, yay! Well, I do have stuff to do that I neglect the rest of the week--stuff like laundry etc, ugh. Plus I promised a friend I'd feed his cats while he's out of town and today's my designated catsitting day. Also I'm giving a guitar lesson this afternoon. Oh yeah, let's not forget: I have to practice guitar--but that's fun though. Allright, so much for a day off right?

So last night (Tuesday) at Las Tapas was a good night: artistically satisfying and fun. I had the pleasure of performing with dancers Sara Jerez and Emily Mazzotti. And while the dining room wasn't quite full, we did have a decent number of people actually paying attention to the show. However, there was one group of very rude people with whom I dealt with very effectively, but I'll talk about that in minute.

So as a flamenco guitarist who performs on stage several nights a week (and in dance classes on the weekends), I do notice the subtle ups and downs of my technique from day to day. When it comes down to it, yeah, I can put on a decent performance night after night. But there are times, when I'm doing my rasgueados (flamenco-style strums on the guitar) or picado (single-note passages) and I'm thinking to myself, "Something's a bit off tonight." It might be passably good but artistically I wish my rasgueados or picado could be cleaner. Not that flamenco revolves around technique. Technique is not the goal--although it is still pretty cool to do some amazing acrobatics with my hands. :-) Nope, for me, good technique is simply a means for more effectively communicating my musical ideas.

Continue reading "Ups and downs of guitar technique. March 4, 2008" »

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Tamara Sol Flys, Edwin Aparicio, Hector Márquez, Timo Núñez, Ricky Santiago, Pam de Ocampo and Ginette at Las Tapas. December 11, 2007 8:38pm

Yeah, it's really 4:00am on Monday as I type these words. This is like the fourth night in a row I've been wide awake at this hour. At least I got stuff I can do at home, like blogging, to keep me busy without disturbing the neighbors. I needed to catch up anyway, so here ya go: pics from last Tuesday at Las Tapas (Old Town Alexandria, Virginia) with dancers Timo Núñez and Claudia. My thanks to Hector Márquez for being my volunteer photographer for the evening. Enjoy!

Continue reading "Las Tapas with Timo Núñez and Claudia. December 11, 2007" »

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Miguelito playing soleá at Las Tapas. November 27, 2007 9:09pm (photo by Hector Márquez)

It's around 1:30am on Thursday as I type these words. It was my night off yesterday (Wednesday) so I ended up hanging out with some friends. Didn't talk about flamenco the whole night---well OK, we did play guitar a little bit back at my friend's apartment, but only a little. And as much as I love flamenco, I gotta take a break every now and then, even if it's only one day. It was a nice short break, but now I'm back home with a backlog of blog entries to catch up on, so here we go...

Last Tuesday I performed as usual at Las Tapas in Old Town Alexandria and had the privilege of sharing the stage with dancers Edwin Aparicio, Norberto Chamizo (based in Madrid) and singer Carlton Ashton. It's not very often that we have an all-male cast, hence the title of today's entry is "Men of Flamenco at Las Tapas." (And no, we didn't do Sevillanas.)

My friend Hector Márquez gladly volunteered to be my photographer for the evening. Thanks Hector! Enjoy the pics...

Continue reading "Men of Flamenco at Las Tapas. November 27, 2007" »

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