Latin rock group Bacilos living busy life
MIAMI -- The Latin rock group Bacilos wants attention. Listen to their hit song "Mi Primer Millon" (My First Million), and the message is clear with the song's chorus: "I only want to hit it on the radio, so I can have my first million."
The song is an inside joke in the Latin music industry, mainly because it achieved its desired effect in Latin America and parts of the United States. It points out the risks that grass-roots acts must go through to have the means to provide for their families and be adored "from Sevilla to New York" -- without compromising their art.
"It's realistic and it's really honest," said Jorge Villamizar, who teamed with producer Sergio George to write the song. "It's so honest, it's beyond being tacky or hip. More than the market, it has touched the industry."
The Miami-based band is Colombian guitarist and lead singer Villamizar, 32, Brazilian bassist Andre Lopes, 26, and Puerto Rican percussionist Jose Javier "JJ" Freire, 31. They have three Latin Grammy nominations, and Villamizar has three more on his own for his work as a songwriter. George, who produced two songs on the album, leads all nominees with six for the awards show Sept. 3 to be broadcast live by CBS.
Bacilos won a 2001 Grammy award for best Latin pop album for their eclectic album "Caraluna" (Moon's Face). They've sold out shows in New York, Los Angeles and Latin America, and can reach up to 35 million America Online subscribers for a five-song jam for an AOL Sessions cybercast in mid-September.
Their name literally means "bacillus," or bacterium in English, though there's also a reference to a "vacilon," or a big, wild party.
Despite their frenzied two-year run, the trio hasn't reaped the financial success they seek -- one of Villamizar's goals is to earn a "couple of million dollars." Still, critics fawn over their acoustic fusion, admiring it as an alternative to the homogenized, prepackaged sounds of Ricky Martin-inspired Latin pop.
"We're still alternative. We're not fully members of the top 10 club yet," Villamizar said.
While Bacilos has joined Juanes, Molotov, and acts from Surco records as part of a wave of alternative Latin rock, they began eight years ago as three young guys in a hard-sounding power trio. That's a far cry from their more mature, organic sound of today.
"The whiskey, the beer, and the electric guitar tends to bring out a more raw and punkish sound," Freire said.
But they soon found they had to adjust to the venues they were playing, restaurants and bars with little room or need for huge drum sets or loud amplifiers. So they adjusted their approach and went acoustic.
"People would tell us that when we played acoustically, we had this special energy," Freire said. "Yeah, it's softer, it's different, but there's still intensity and it's still fresh. We revealed and projected our Latin roots more effectively."
The group toiled in Miami for a few years before releasing their first album "Bacilos," which netted two Latin Grammy nominations.
The band was forming a base that today fuses several musical styles -- rock, cumbia, ska, reggae, soca, bossa nova and others -- and layered the sounds of the violin, cello and brass instruments into their work.
Bacilos' musical diversity is born from the nuances of each of their cultures and the mixed salad of Latin American influences that permeate Miami.
"Each one of us brings their own roots," Lopes said. "More than that, because we live in Miami, there's no way you can turn on a radio and not listen to maybe a Mexican ballad, Argentinian or Mexican rock, then there's a salsa or a merengue, then some pop. It's very hard not to be influenced by everything you listen to and hear."
Examples of their multicultural influences and teamwork are all over "Caraluna," where vocals are led by Villamizar but all three sing on choruses.
There's the pop ballad "Solo Un Segundo," (Just One Second), the flamenco and bossa nova influenced "Barcelona," and the English-language, ska-inspired "Elena." Villamizar penned that song for a Greek woman he knew while living in London who didn't speak English.
The album turned into a Grammy, which Villamizar admits was a life changer. They had earned respect of their peers and turned a corner.
"The Grammy closed the phase of the unknown musician, the underdog trying to prove a point," said Villamizar, the only married Bacilos member. "At the same time, it made me feel at peace with the sacrifices I've made in my life."
Bacilos acknowledge their success doesn't mean they're suddenly full-fledged rock stars.
"Here we're not famous, but in Latin America we're really famous. We have 10 times more airplay in Latin America," Villamizar said.
A whirlwind Latin America tour and Latin Grammy nods forced the group to fly thousands of miles to and from Miami in recent weeks, bringing out some frustration.
"In Latin America. we cannot go to a restaurant without having a meal without interruptions. That sucks. Fame is tricky. Anonymity is as wonderful as fame. But you always see the other side better. You become famous, and everything becomes a hassle."
In all, however, Bacilos is enjoying the life it asked for. They're planning to release an album next spring.
They know one way to get the attention of the huge U.S. audience that embraced crossover acts such as Martin, Marc Anthony and Shakira is to, well, sing in English.
"We wouldn't mind. We wouldn't have to take English classes," Lopes said.
"Absolutely. There's much more money in the English market," Villamizar added. "We can show an interesting face of Latin music."
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On the Net:
Latin Grammys: www.latingrammy.com
Bacilos: www.bacilos.com
