Ramiro Medina
Ramiro writes and performs songs"they’re just stories" he says about his
wry creations" little snips about any odd thing I might bump into" A
trailer park tucked under a freeway, a sign-holding beggar at the on-ramp,
a sick dog in the rain - "I live in L.A. , this city is like one of those
storm-drain screens that keeps all the crud out of the sewer - all kinds of stuff
collects out here - I love to sift through it - and sometimes I’m amazed!!"
Medina's songs range from aggressive modern-rock to "bare" acoustic
bluesy-folk. He is equally apt to blend his quirky lyrical themes with frantic,
throbbing beats and fat, screaming guitars as with the subtle earthy sounds
of accordion, mandolin and the like. "I’m drawn to any and all styles of music -
and I enjoy surprisesfor myself and hopefully the audience - so I always try
to hide little morsels in the songs - anything that might tip-toe up next to us and
elicit a "hmmm" or even an "ugh" - anything "out" is in with this band!!
The LA Weekly stated: "every song is a gold nuggetloaded with irony and
carefully crafted hooks. Visually, this solid band offers a bold contrast between
Medina and Ruth Parish, a gal who looks as if she came out of the movie Il Postino,
sings backup vocals with soaring intensity and plays a mean accordion" The rhythm
section is tight and inventive complemented by an endless river of ever-morphing guitar
mischief and a wide range of back-beats - which is the essence of Medina’s eclectic set.
"I play music, it’s not rocket science - like those guys up at JPL getting a probe out to
Mars - now that’s brilliant!! I’m just playingmusicme and my fellow weirdos - we
express little ideas with words and sounds - it’s definitely not rocket science, but it can
put a glow in my head, and I try to covey that to the audience and hope that they enjoy it!!"Band/artist history
I was born in Asuncion, Paraguay, and raised in the Washington, D.C. area. On a visit back to Paraguay after college I discovered a treasure-trove of my grandfather's original compositions, and I decided to incorporate rhythmic stuff I learned from his works into my own music, give it my own twist. The rest of the band varies, with the exception of Ruth Parish, who contributes great vocals and a mean accordion to my sound, and Jonathan Mitchell, known to us as "the human baffle," who has been our drummer since day one. We get drop-in visits from world-class folks like Craig Eastman on fiddle, mandolin, slide, and even Paul Barrere from Little Feat, who produced some tracks with us, and who lays down some tasty slide on several tracks on our debut CD.Have you performed in front of an audience?Not often enough, but yes, we play live, at different clubs, street scenes, special events. I love performing - my favorite moments are when the whole band connects and we start to sound "fat" and the harmonies are clicking and the whole thing becomes this whole organic entity of its own!
Your musical influences
My faves have been Little Feat, Bob Dylan, Bruce Cockburn, Daniel Lanois..songwriters who can tell great stories blended with rhythmic, roots-y sounds from all manner of instruments..even Aimee Mann with her great lyrics and that Beatles thing happening...Anything else?
What elese is there to say? Just check it out, man, and join us for some cool organic whatevers...it's a lot of fun for everyone!