You will be returning to the Bay Area and performing at the newly remodeled Sweetwater in Mill Valley, CA on June 2nd.  How does performing in your hometown differ from other venues?

It’s always good to come home! I feel like the home shows are more like a family gathering. It’s always a plus for me to see family, friends and familiar faces in the audience. I always look forward to that.
I am really excited about my upcoming tour in June. It will be my 4th time playing in Marin. All of the previous shows have been a success, so I hope to keep that consistent. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to perform at the new Sweetwater venue.

Do you make different set lists for different venues?

I usually like to perform my recent work, but I also am known to switch things up a bit. I like change, and I aim the set list towards the vibe and reactions I get from the audience.

Do you have any pre show rituals?

It’s different every night. When my family is around, I hang out with them before the show and it calms my nerves. If I am in an unfamiliar place, I listen to different songs and play lists I’ve created. My most recent favorite: The Sun is Shinning by Bob Marley. It helps me get into my comfort zone before I take the stage.
Once I go on stage, my focus shifts. I used to just play my keyboards on stage. Now I am rapping as well as playing the keyboards and I feel like my brain is a Rolodex. I run through the first couple lines of the lyrics for each song to confirm that they are imbedded in my brain before I open my mouth. From there, if the audience is happy, then so am I. To me, that’s all that matters.

What is your dream venue to perform at?

I would say the Hollywood Bowl, not just because of its history. To have my name added to the long list of amazing performers who have played there over the years, would be a true honor. Any performer would tell you that to sell out the Bowl on my own it would be the ultimate achievement.
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Catch Salvador at several Bay Area venues starting June 1st!

Click here for tour dates and venues.

But that’s because they don’t know how hip-hop shaped Salvador Santana’s world.

“I was a high school kid bumping Wu-Tang. I grew up listening to Cypress Hill,” says Santana.

Those are the influences that shaped his own music, a party-ready mix of rock grooves, rap beats and electro overlay. The 28-year-old Santana—who plays Friday’s “Last Days of Avalon” show with El Chicano, saluting the Santa Clara club as it plans to close its doors June 30—has definitely found his own way.

“My father wanted me to learn drums at a very young age. I started playing at 2 or 3,” he says. “You have to have what we call ‘pocket’—a sense of rhythm, a sense of tempo.”

Around five or six he was encouraged to pick up a guitar, but he naturally gravitated to piano.

“The piano just made sense to me. It’s like an orchestra at my fingertips,” he says.

Ironically, in choosing not to follow in his father’s footsteps on guitar, he was…following in his father’s footsteps.

“A lot of people don’t know this, but before he kind of stumbled onto guitar, my dad was actually a violinist in his father’s band,” says Santana.

In 2008, Santana released the album SSB under the moniker Salvador Santana Band. But he really came into his own on his solo debut Keyboard City last year. He got schooled on his writing by Del the Funky Homosapien, and worked in the studio with Beastie Boys favorite Money Mark. GZA was featured on the remix of the title track, which was then remixed again by Dan Deacon.

“I was like a kid in a candy shop,” he says of getting to work with some of his hip-hop idols.

In a way, all this hearkens back to the number one lesson he says he learned from his musician father and author mother: “Always welcome new ideas and experiences.” He doesn’t see himself losing his love of experimentation anytime soon.

“It’s gotten me this far,” he says.

Salvador Santana performs at the Avalon in Santa Clara with El Chicano on Friday, April 20., 8pm; $20/$25.

“The Into the Light video is great! I love the treatment that was presented by Peter Nydrle as it was important to me that we stuck close to the theme of the song, which is about being hopeful in a time of hopelessness and Peter made sure that we did. I am grateful to everyone who was involved in the video shoot, from the crew to my band mate Alex, everyone was a true professional. I can’t wait to hear and see what people think, I hope they enjoy it as much as I do!”

We will let you know when both song and video will be released!

Salvador has been writing with Asdru of Ozomatli, and Barrett Yeretsian, who co-wrote Christina Perri’s hit, Jar of Hearts, and produced and co-wrote Mi Tesoro with Salvador (& Into the Light). Salvador has also been writing with acclaimed producer, Klaus D.

On the road again, Salvador’s band received standing ovations at Slims in San Francisco, Last Day Saloon in Santa Rosa, and all the cities they stopped in. Singer Alex Nester’s voice burns the house down, as her latest CD #BurnItDown confirms.

Mi Tesoro Remix

Enjoy.

Transcript follows. (Source: Heck of a Guy; Image above: Thelonious Monk, via.)

Transcript

•     T.MONK’S ADVICE (1960)
•     JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT A DRUMMER, DOESN’T MEAN YOU DON’T HAVE TO KEEP TIME.
•     PAT YOUR FOOT & SING THE MELODY IN YOUR HEAD, WHEN YOU PLAY.
•     STOP PLAYING ALL THOSE WEIRD NOTES (THAT BULLSHIT), PLAY THE MELODY!
•     MAKE THE DRUMMER SOUND GOOD.
•     DISCRIMINATION IS IMPORTANT.
•     YOU’VE GOT TO DIG IT TO DIG IT, YOU DIG?
•     ALL REET!
•     ALWAYS KNOW… (MONK)
•     IT MUST BE ALWAYS NIGHT, OTHERWISE THEY WOULDN’T NEED THE LIGHTS.
•     LET’S LIFT THE BAND STAND!!
•     I WANT TO AVOID THE HECKLERS.
•     DON’T PLAY THE PIANO PART, I’M PLAYING THAT. DON’T LISTEN TO ME. I’M SUPPOSED TO BE ACCOMPANYING YOU!
•     THE INSIDE OF THE TUNE (THE BRIDGE) IS THE PART THAT MAKES THE OUTSIDE SOUND GOOD.
•     DON’T PLAY EVERYTHING (OR EVERY TIME); LET SOME THINGS GO BY. SOME MUSIC JUST IMAGINED. WHAT YOU DON’T PLAY CAN BE MORE IMPORTANT THAT WHAT YOU DO.
•     ALWAYS LEAVE THEM WANTING MORE.
•     A NOTE CAN BE SMALL AS A PIN OR AS BIG AS THE WORLD, IT DEPENDS ON YOUR IMAGINATION.
•     STAY IN SHAPE! SOMETIMES A MUSICIAN WAITS FOR A GIG, & WHEN IT COMES, HE’S OUT OF SHAPE & CAN’T MAKE IT.
•     WHEN YOU’RE SWINGING, SWING SOME MORE!
•     (WHAT SHOULD WE WEAR TONIGHT? SHARP AS POSSIBLE!)
•     DON’T SOUND ANYBODY FOR A GIG, JUST BE ON THE SCENE. THESE PIECES WERE WRITTEN SO AS TO HAVE SOMETHING TO PLAY, & TO GET CATS INTERESTED ENOUGH TO COME TO REHEARSAL.
•     YOU’VE GOT IT! IF YOU DON’T WANT TO PLAY, TELL A JOKE OR DANCE, BUT IN ANY CASE, YOU GOT IT! (TO A DRUMMER WHO DIDN’T WANT TO SOLO).
•     WHATEVER YOU THINK CAN’T BE DONE, SOMEBODY WILL COME ALONG & DO IT. A GENIUS IS THE ONE MOST LIKE HIMSELF.
•     THEY TRIED TO GET ME TO HATE WHITE PEOPLE, BUT SOMEONE WOULD ALWAYS COME ALONG & SPOIL IT.

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