Ozomatli's high-energy show at Coors is a fitting finish for a high-energy marathon
By Chris Nixon
For The San Diego Union-Tribune
June 1, 2006
'Surprisingly, we've done a lot of marathons,” says Asdru Sierra, lead singer and trumpet player for Ozomatli, from his home in Los Angeles. “We live through the runners. All of us would like to be that athletic.”
A 10-piece Latino hip-hop, rock, funk outfit based in L.A., Sierra's band plays 200-plus energetic shows a year. So burning calories isn't a problem for Ozo.
“Some of us are just born with that kind of energy; I don't think I'm one of them,” says Sierra, who expects to finish a new Ozomatli studio album later this month. “You can ask anyone in the band: After a week on the road, I start getting homesick and I want to see my kids.”
Brimming with social activism, underground hip-hop rhymes and seductive salsas, Ozomatli burst out of the City of Angels in the late 1990s. Merging turntablism, rhymes and a steamy trainload of buzzing percussion, the 10-piece collective's ive shows have been the band's centerpiece since its inception. Entering the shows with a samba percussion line, the live performances are fiery and joyful.
Ozomatli is just one of the bands playing Sunday for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, which covers 26.2 miles from the start line in Balboa Park to the finish line at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
Forty bands will perform along the route, while Ozomatli's show at Coors Amphitheatre will commemorate the participants in the race. Tickets are $25 for those choosing not to endure the long footrace and are free to those who ran. The marathon will close a bunch of roads around central San Diego, so check the race's Web site for up-to-date info (www.rnrmarathon.com).
As Sierra and his bandmates have grown in popularity, they've cashed in on lucrative sponsorships (Apple and Miller Brewing to name a few). But social awareness remains a key component to the band's core values. For Sierra, it's a question of balance.
“The hardest thing to do is to have balance for me as a family man,” says Sierra, who also will appear with Ozomatli at the San Diego County Fair (Del Mar) later this month along with two nights at 'Canes in September. “I have a wife and two kids. Kids are expensive if you love them. And I don't mean going out there and buying them toys, but you have to try to get them the best education. It's all based on love, love of life. The best way to deliver a message is through love, coming from a place that is universal and people will understand.”
FIVE THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK OUT
With 40 bands performing at 27 locations along the marathon route, the event provides a bunch of different options to set up camp, listen to some tunes and cheer on the athletes. Here are five bands worth checking out:
THE KNEEHIGHS
Who: Talls (MC), Dalton (MC), DaDa (MC), DJ GarGar
Where: G Street and 11th Avenue, 6:45-8:30 a.m.
Why: Local hip-hop crew kicks old-school beats with the party rhymes
TUBBY
Who: Neil MacPherson (keys), Skylar Duran (sax), Bill Ray (drums), Nathan Lewis (guitar), Dane Scott (vocals, guitar), Matt Hanafin (bass)
Where: Vacation Road and Ingraham Street, 7:50 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Why: Ska, funk and rock vibes for the O.B. crowd
34 BELOW
Who: Steve Ybarra (vocals), Chris James (guitar, vocals), Mike Trout (drums), Brian Maples (bass)
Where: Marine Corps Recruit Depot, 8:10 a.m.-2:45 p.m.
Why: Ybarra's strong vocals and the band's straight-ahead pop-rock sensibility
PITCHLaROOCHE
Who: Jonathan Pitcher (vocals, guitar), Levi Pitcher (bass), Erdis Maxhelaku (bass), Jordan Cronin (drums)
Where: YMCA on Friars Road, 7:25-11:15 a.m.
Why: North County band whose songs and Jonathan Pitcher's voice sound mature beyond the band's years
SAFETY ORANGE
Who: Sol (vocals, bass), Eric (guitar), Greg (drums)
Where: Perez Cove at Mission Bay, 7:55 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
Why: Crunchy guitars and tasty punk-tinged rock tunes
– CHRIS NIXON
