Exclusive
interview con Mando Mejia , el conjunto La Clica,2013.
Cchwnn.
Rio grande
city, texas. Como estan mi raza I am Blanca Blanch Blanco con on the road again
interview. This week I am here at the lower grande valley con Mando Mejia, del
conjunto La clica, now for that interview.
Bbb: hello
sir can you give me a big hand off this bicycle?
·
Mm: Of
course, I have always been a caballero.
BBB: Mando
tells about yourself and how you got into la onda?
Mm: When my children grew up, Melinda-command start a wave Tejano,
Melinda had 15 and remote Jr 13 1/2, the two have a very refined and attractive
voices and Mel played the Bass Guitar and Mandito the lower sixth or the
electric guitar, I the keyboard, Jorge Arellano in the drums, Peter and then
Eligio Salinas, now this with solid with great success, the accordion, Eligio
was also the age of my children, then I had 14 and was the first group to be
complete, we called then Melinda and Mazziso. We spent a while until Melinda
and command had to go to school and the other boys are integrated easily in
other groups due to their quality and youth.
BBB: bueno,
and now telling us about la clica?
Mm: The click began the 2006 after some time away from the
environment until my nephew Gerardo was ready to follow the wave, only this
time pure conjuntazo Don Ruben Vela was the Idol and the sige remain Gerardo
and my nephew learned all his music and decorations. Gerardo was 14 years old
when we started together on 2006, and remained with me until early 2011.
In April 2011 Boy Lozano (second voice and
Accordion), Chuy Lozano, his dad (first voice) and Rolando Flores (bajo sexto)
joined the click, and recently Victor Flores replacement mi compadre Margil
Lopez on the drums and Demetrio Peña full on percussion. SiGe being pure set only
to the style of Boy Lozano is a very unique style of the only and very very
glad.
BBB: how does a conjunto del valley come up con
the songs you guys perform, do you write your own or do you use other folks
material?
Mm: We do a
combination on songs that we perform, using classic songs always
successes-joint style that people knows and is to your liking and we have been
recording my own compositions with Boy also being incharge for the arrengments.
BBB: I see
you are working on some new material, tell us a little bit about “tengo un amor” y that second cd you guys are
working ?
Mm: Yes
we are working in an new Album that may take the name of one of my own a
ranchera named "El Amor de mi Vida" we did great with "Tengo un
Amor" and we are very exited about presenting our new album, con 4 de mis
composiciones 2 rancheras 1 bolero y una cumbia, Boy owns a recording studio
and we do all the production, aunque ya tenemos algunos contactos que nos han
apoyado en promover nuestro material vamos a necesitar mas ayuda de nuestros
amigos que le tienen fe a ese proyecto de La Clica y se los vamos a agradecer
de antemano.
BBB: how
much traveling do you guys do and how hard is it on and your family?
Mm: We
still tied to our daily jobs and we travel not far so we can go back by Monday
mornig in our jobs, Laredo, San Antonio, Corpus, Houston, San Benito, Mercedes.
Disfrutamos cada weekend, aparte de que traemos un poco de dinero extra a casa
nuestro trabajo en la musica los fines de semana nos fortaleze espiritualmente
cada vez que oimos un buen comentario de la gente. Nuestras familias nos apoyan
al MAXIMO, (pues que le hacen, nimodo) En realidad es un poco dificil no poder
andar siempre juntos, so when is time to spend time together we really got the
max of it.
BBB: do you
think that you tube and other type of media outlets have helped your conjunto
by exposing some of your live concert coverage?
Mm; The Media outlets really have help us to expose our music all
over the earth, (and lately 2 ufo's came for more Cds they are selling out of
our galaxy, ) I some times video tape our live presentations and if we got a
decent audio we upload to You tube and share with fiends in Facebook. Gracias a
esos medios de comunicacion podemos exponer mas ampliamente nuestro trabajo y
tener la oportunidad de que mas gente nos conozca.
BBB: do you
believe in vampires or ufo’s?
MM: Yes I
belive in ufo's they have been taking our music out of space, aunque todavia no
traen la lana de los cds. Vampires only in weekends y hace mucho que no me sale
una vampira.
BBB; dang
esa, how much of an influence on your style of music been influenced by living
along the border?
Mm: Our
music, Conjunto Tejano really have been influenced here so close to the border,
private parties hire norteño and tropical better than conjunto and some of our
conjuntos along the border have been mixing the conjunto stye with a little on
norteño para poder sobrevivir.
BBB: has
there ever been a gig you guys took and wish you had not?
·
Mm; Yes,
once I helped a "friend" with my musicians and he tried to move them
with him. *&$#@%%((*_+$!%**^%%ch,
BBB: what
the heck, I am sure you have lots of good memories about some of the places you
guys have performed, is there one that still stand out the most?
Mm: I
have yes, lots of good memories, but the latest just this past week when Arturo
Niño was present at the event in La Villita, San Benito, la gente gusto mucho
de nuestra musica y Arturo me hizo muy buenos comentarios de nuestra musica y
presentacion, y viniendo de una persona con tanta experiencia en el medio y uno
de los mejores acordionistas en el Valle de Tejas nos dejo un buen sabor de
boca, and a great memory to remember.
BBB: if you
were asked to speak to a group of young people what would you tell them about
getting into the music business/
Mm; You would say that to succeed in the music industry, as an
artist, you need more than having a great voice or play an instrument at the
best. You need charisma, knowledge of the business, or a honest person on your
side to know about it and do the business part for you, also luck and other
things but the more important let you guide by God and to be sure that that's
really what you want.
BBB: do you
thing que la onda Tejana is dying?
MM: Tejano wave does not have the same support from the music
industry, The investors are putting their money in others styles or waves. This
level that has been before, has not been half cold for a while, but thanks to
people like your white, and other individuals and organizations this still
living and working together we will make this again at the same level or better
than before.
BBB: and
finally, what would you like to tell your fans from from around the world?
Mm: i
just want to thank all our family, friends and fans, we will try our best in
giving you the most of our talent that God have give us to share with our
brothers and sisters, God Bless
BBB: well
Mando thanks for giving us this interview and can you give me a hand back on
this bicycle ?
MM:
Seguro Blanca, where do you want my hand to get you back on the bicycle? Ok
here it goes, hasta la proxima y Gracias Blanca.
BBB: bueno
raza there you have from the halls del valley to edge of the rio grande, la
onda is alive and well, I am bbb con on the road again interviews.
