Artist Interview Series Featuring: Chico Lobos

Phil Irwin sat down with Chico Lobos on Friday, November 4th, 2011 to discuss Chico’s project and his involvement in the Hype Hustle competition. The transcript of the interview can be found below as well as the track that the two recorded in Irwin’s home studio. Enjoy.

Phil Irwin: What’s name do you go by as an artist?

Chico Lobos: Chico Lobos.

Phil Irwin: How’d you come up with the name?

Chico Lobos: I actually came up with the name because everybody back home knows me by Chico. Not because of kid…but because In my country if your name is Franciso then they call you Chico or Paco or whatever.

Phil Irwin: Haha – Well I’ll be honest, that’s EXACTLY what I thought when I first read your name. When I saw Chico Lobos I thought, this guy is calling himself, “The Son of the Wolves”. Shows what I know.

Chico Lobos: Well you got part of it right. Lobos is actually my last name, which means “Wolves”.

Phil Irwin: That’s pretty dope. So where is home for you, Chico?

Chico Lobos: Home is here now. But originally home was Guatemala where my family is. I really miss it man.

Phil Irwin: It’s been a while since you’ve been back then?

Chico Lobos: Six years… almost seven.

Phil Irwin: Wow – that’s quite some time. What brought you to the states?

Chico Lobos: I used to go on tour. My first series of gigs was in Mexico. I toured there on the backline of the Alan Parsons project and with other Latin stars. It was fun, you know? And then someone suggested that I should have my own project as a guitar player.

Phil Irwin: Was that the point at which pursuing your own musical career became real to you?

Chico Lobos: Yes – it made me realize that I didn’t have to perform as the supporting band on tour for other people. It made me realize that I could do it for myself. I think I’m making progress so far.

Phil Irwin: That’s cool. I dig it. So lets talk about the whole process of going from Guatemala to the U.S. You said you didn’t come straight over, but rather, you went to Mexico first. What came next?

Chico Lobos: I went back to Guatemala for a little while. Then I moved over to South Florida. AND THEN I moved to North Florida. Haha just kidding. I was in Florida and that’s all that matters.

Phil Irwin: So how your project go out there?

Chico Lobos: Well I was gigging like 5 or 6 nights a week! So that went pretty well. And then I recorded my first album.

Phil Irwin: So when you were gigging out there, were you already promoting the Chico Lobos project?

Chico Lobos: No! It all started as Strings of Fire. During my first days in Florida, I was in serious need of a job. So I went to a bar and asked them if they’d pay me to perform. And we got started like that. And then we had our first show. There couldn’t have been more than 30 people at the venue… but when we started playing they asked me what the name of my band was. And I didn’t have an answer for them. (Chico laughs to himself and leans back in the chair). But I guess because of the way I played the guitar that night, everybody started calling us the Strings of Fire and it stuck.

Phil Irwin: That’s awesome. So how did Chico Lobos come to be?

Chico Lobos: Well I decided to do my first album, Guitar Voices. And all these people in and out of the music industry were telling me, “You know Chico, you should be using your name.” My friends and fans were telling me, if you have the skill why not use it to your advantage? And at that point I focused on developing my own career. But the project was still a big collaboration because I was working with really talented musicians.

Phil Irwin: So how did you hear about The Hype Hustle?

Chico Lobos: Because of my friend Megan.

Phil Irwin: You mean September’s contest winner, Megan Ochoa?

Chico Lobos: Haha! Yeah. I connected with her recently and she asked me to come down to Resonate Studios and record with her. And then I learned all about the Hype Hustle contest and how you guys were hooking her up with recording time.

Phil Irwin: Right on! So what do you think about the Hype Hustle conceptually?

Chico Lobos: I think it’s really cool. These days it’s really difficult for an up and coming artist to find a platform for exposure. You guys are filling a niche for people looking to make some connections and break into the industry. Its definitely an awesome project.

Phil Irwin: We appreciate the sentiment! It’s a project that our staff really enjoys and we’re looking forward to seeing how it develops. Ok – I want to switch gears here and get off the Hype Hustle subject and get back to you. What kinds of goals do you have for yourself and your music over the next few years?

Chico Lobos: My biggest goal is that I want to tour all over the place. I want to bring my music everywhere. I really want to make a difference with my music. One of the things that I want to is bring back is the cool concept of the guitar. I think that music is missing that today.

Phil Irwin: Yeah I feel that. A lot of music today is digitally produced.

Chico Lobos: Which is fine. Every genre has its attributes.

Phil Irwin: But I can agree with you in some ways that it has lost that traditional rock-and-roll vibe.

Chico Lobos: Right. What’s happened in my view is that the guitar has ceased to be iconic. It’s such a beautiful instrument and it has such strong connections with Rock-and-Roll, Flamenco and other genres. But I think it’s losing a bit of its presence in music today.

Phil Irwin: And you want to bring that back.

Chico Lobos: Exactly. We need to start developing the next generation of Jimi Hendrix’s, Jeff Beck’s, Eric Clapton’s and Carlos Santana’s. These are all artists who I admire, and I’d like to see some of that talent come back to modern music. It’s our responsibility as artists to bring that back into the spectrum. For example, there’s girl that was the lead guitar player for Michael Jackson. Her name is Orianthi. She’s one of the few artists that ‘sreally bringing on the guitar back.

Phil Irwin: I’ll have to check her out. So I’ve got the Hype Hustle homepage loaded up right now and it looks like you’re kicking ass in the polls. How have you been so successful?

Chico Lobos: I’m Hustling! (He laughs) It’s all thanks to my fans, friends, and family. I’m actually, really surprised! It’s only been three days but the responsiveness of my friends and fans has been incredible. There are people supporting me in Florida, Canada, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia, El Salvador, Peru, and Argentina!

Phil Irwin: Holy S(*#! That’s awesome! As one of the members of our staff, it’s rewarding to hear that people are learning about and participating in The Hype Hustle in countries around the world. Ok – so lets talk about your album. How did you come up with the name?

Chico Lobos: Well I was working on a concept for the album with my girlfriend at the time. And we came up with the title, Guitar Voices. It was named almost as a description of the environment that I was raised in. I come from a 3rd world country where the developing generation doesn’t always have a way to express its voice. This album is a form of my own self-expression and so the concept and the title just clicked.

Phil Irwin: So how did all the tracks come together? You mentioned that you did the tracking in Florida?

Chico Lobos: Well my tracks were done in Florida. And I guess I did a couple tracks in LA. The guy that actually partnered with me to do this was Javier Perez (rhythm guitarist) from Venezuela. Luckily, he had a number of friends who were talented musicians in Latin America. And so we collaborated with them to put this album together.

Phil Irwin: That’s sounds like quite a feat.

Chico Lobos: Yes. It was difficult to pull it off but if you work really hard you can make it happen.

Phil Irwin: Ok so you had instrumentalists recording in different parts of the Americas. You personally recorded in Florida and Los Angeles, correct?. Tell me a little bit about the studios where you recorded.

Chico Lobos: That’s right. We recorded in a few studios. In Jacksonville, Florida I got to record with Denny Leroux of Storm of the Century Music. In Orange Park, Florida we laid some tracks down at a place called Vision Sound Studios. There I worked with engineer Richard Leigh Grice. He actually mixed the entire album as well. Then there was Aldea Producciones in Venezuela where our gang of musicians recorded. The gang also included Perez’s brother, Louis. Louis helped with production on the early side of the project. That crew recorded at H20 Studios in Venezeula as well.

Phil Irwin: So who did the mastering?

Chico Lobos: That was done in LA by Robert Liam.

Phil Irwin: So you figured this guy in LA did such a great job of mastering that you had to move out here and drink the same water, huh?

Chico Lobos: Haha something like that. A few months ago I decided that I wanted to take my music to the next level. And for me that meant moving to Los Angeles.

Phil Irwin: And here you are. Well – we’re going to shift gears now from the interview to the jam session. We’ll switch rooms in the house and head over to the studio. Do you want to talk a bit about the track we’re going to record?

Chico Lobos: Yeah. We’re going to do a song that I started thinking about at the same time that I was recording with Megan. I have an idea of what it’s going to be but I really do most of my work through improvisation. I lay down what comes to me on the spot.

If you want to hear more of Chico’s music, check out his page the Hype Hustle platform. You can also visit his personal website at http://chicolobos.com/.

Friday 11-4-11 Jam with Chico Lobos by hypehustle