CHEWING GUM WEEKENDER MEXICO CITY
IMEXICO – ‘CADA NOCHE SUENO CONTIGO ! ‘ PART 1’
(Each night I dream of you ! )
Where to begin ? Well it’s a long old haul down Mexico Way approximately eleven thousand miles there and back ! We flew via New York changing at JFK where we found ourselves shepherded into the wrong terminal for our connection to Mexico so not only did we have to go through all the security checks (shoes,belts,jackets- off etc) once …you guessed it we did it all twice just to make sure we weren’t carrying anything offensive like a Cliff Richard 45 or worse that one he did with Van Morrison !
Anyway, we were eventually welcomed aboard ‘Wing & a Prayer Airlines’ sorry ! I mean ‘Aero-Mexico’ Believe me ‘The Lord’ was sure looking after us ! Turbulence most of the way ( 3 – 4 hour flight) coupled with a pair of Americano Ladies in the row in front of us talking constant drivel ( ‘Hey do you like green ?’..’Yeah so do I ! How about red?.......etc, etc, etc…) made it an entertaining flight ….? Tedium aside the finale really was spectacular !
After circling over Costa Rica for a good while The Captain announced that they would try an land now ….TRY ??? that word doesn’t fill you with confidence…epecially when they tell you the weather is so bad nothing is taking off (but how long can you circle in a storm ) In true ‘Indianna Jones’ style Our Captain brought the plane home…..just ! Anyone who wasn’t Catholic before the flight were pretty much converts after this one…who needs Missionaries?
If it’s not scarey enough flying in over the vastness of Mexico City (skimming the roof-tops to land somewhere in this Jumble of Humanity) we had to have a night-time landing in a ferocious storm …well..hit the ground we did (Thank The Lord) then proceded to Aqua-plane ( pity there wasn’t some appropriate music playing like a Vienna Waltz in slow-motion) there followed the most furious bit of braking I’ve ever experienced . The Pilot finally managed to halt the plane whereupon everyone cheered and clapped it even shut the Americano Olympic Chin-Wagging Duo up , briefly! Anyroad as I’ve said, so far anyway’ The Lord was on our side!
If you survive the landing in the middle of The Rainy Season’ you then have to negotiate ‘Mexico City Airport’ and a Taxi-ride which would put ‘The Big-One’ at Blackpools’North Beach to shame !
If your travelling anywhere by car in Mexico City and beyond I’d suggest you need three things…
1 : Nerves Of Steel !
2 : (If your Driving) A callous disregard for the safety of your Fellow Human Beings !
3 : (Last of all) ‘Your Brown Trousers’
Seriously I lost count of the number of times my heart was in my mouth and my dinner (nearly) in my trousers ! And I was a passenger (left-hand drive ,remember!).
Well ! Now to the good points about Mexico…and there are many !!!! The people really are ‘The Salt Of The Earth’ ( there are a few who make a good living out of Kidnapping and extortion, But Hey ! That’s been a growth-industry since Medieval Times Ain’t It ? ) And on the bright-side if you survive the Taxi-ride from The Airport then incarceration in some flea-pit for a week or so while awaiting the Hosatage for money exchange thingy would be luxury1
What does strike you is the poverty ! Even on the busiest Highways there are whole families ..at traffic lights and any bump in the road….trying to sell you something, anything ! Gum,Lotto tickets,steering-Wheels,hats,toys,food,water,trinkets,maps,toys,lighters..anything you can think of ! There are traffic-control ramps everywhere and as soon as you slow..bang! suddenly there’s loads of folks trying to flog you something…..you think ‘do I need a giant map of South America or a 40 piece tool-kit or shall I just go for the homemade hand-stitched cloth of indeterminate size and purpose…..No I’ll just politely say ‘No, Gracias’ for the Fiftieth time today.
Traffic is Chaotic in Mexico City, It’s a couple of hours in the car to get anywhere and everyone locks their doors. The Houses are like mini-forts (In the affluent areas) security wise. Which I’m told is an essential precaution as our friends we stayed with narrowly avoided being car-jacked at gun-point right outside their front gate. The Robber panicked though and the gun went off , luckily the only casualty was the windscreen which was shattered by a bullet. Our friends were shaken but you just have to be vigilant wherever you are. It is a few bad-apples though as most folks are polite and generous, even if they have little to offer, the sheer exuberance of the people far outweighs and fears and doubts you may have so please don’t take this the wrong way because I love Mexico and fear doesn’t lurk around every corner yet what you do feel is very much alive and how lucky you are also the certain knowledge that life is precious, fragile and get it while you can all rolled into one huge ‘ball of confusion’. For a Culture which celebrates and embraces death you’ll not get a more vibrant people ( A few Brazilians may disagree but hey ! ‘Tell it like it is !).
One thing I would advise against is hiring a car in Mexico. If you thought U.K roads were bad well you should check out the pot-holes here ! (F**K Me I sound like Judith Chalmers). You can be bombing along The Highway and suddenly there’s a string of pot-holes ( more like craters and on the Motorways not just back-streets) some so large I’d swear they could house Lost-Civilisations ! Add to that Juggernauts carving you up and the total lack of any indication of intention from any other road-user ( in fact I reckon Indicators are an extra on Mexican Cars !!!) makes each trip like a cross between some futuristic gladiatorial game of death with Auto-mobiles and a deathly game of chess. Carlos (being Native and growing up there) negotiated it all like a Formula 1 Champion though…..believe me ! A trip to the local store can have more close shaves than a Grand-Prix but amazingly everyone just manages to avoid collision it’s like being trapped in a bizarre pin-ball game. Enough of ‘The Wonderful World Of Mexican Motoring’ The Music is what We came for and in ‘PART TWO’ all will be revealed !!!!
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MEXICO PT 2 ‘GRINGO A-GO-GO’
AND SO FROM THE WONDERFULL WORLD OF MEXICAN MOTORING MADNESS TO THE MEXICAN MOD / SKIN SCENE ¡
We arrived in Mexico late on the Thursday night and come Friday night we we’re still jet-lagged and weary but got our glad-rags on and headed out to the first night of ‘The Chewing Gum Weekender’ which would feature Bands from all over Mexico.
After a game of ring-a-ring-a-roses with the Mexican traffic system ?? on top of a two hour drive we eventually located ‘Bar Caribe’ (the venue for the first night) in a run-down area in the South of the City I half expected Robert De Nero to come lurching along the street towards us it was a bit of ‘Mean Streets’ alright ! We were met by Dante (Socialista) who we’d met the year before and had invited me to play at this event .
Outside ‘Bar Caribe’ was like a throwback / cutaway scene to Early 1970s England, six or seven Skins all absolutely spot on with every sartorial detail ( some more spot-on than others) but very surreal ‘Mexican Skins !!!
Everyone really friendly though ,we ducked inside the door and down some steps into a long narrow room where we encountered more Mex / Mod / Skins ! Some really had the clothes off to a tee and I was glad I’d took my Ben Shermans, Mod Jackets , Fred Perrys, Brogues etc…
On the left of the room was a small stage and what was one of the worst sound-systems I’d heard playing some of the scratchiest Ska records known to man ! I gave up trying to work out what some of them were …I thought this doesn’t bode well (and I thought NO-WAY are my bits of wax going anywhere near those decks, luckily they were Bar Caribes decks and the next night would be a different story) I couldn’t fault the enthusiasm though which was infectious and looking around the gloom there was record-trading going on…I was warming to the whole scene already.
We met some really up for it people though I think we were all a bit not sure of each other the first night bit like a surreal blind-date.
The first Band on was ‘Los Padrinos’ ( I found out later that two of the members owned the Bar ) they looked old compared to the average age of the Mex-crowd which was 16 – 25 approximately ….I felt like ‘John Peel’ at a Punk-Gig I think whilst we all felt a bit wary of each other I couldn’t stop thinking how Bloody great it was . I’m not usually lost for words but I was amazed at my first glimpse of The Mexican Mod..Ska…Soul ..Scene (it’s a real mixture which works the only division is in how they look, )
Any road-up The first band were musically competent (rhythm guitarist was bloody good actually) but just did covers of The Kinks, The Who, Hendrix…..even The Doors ( very garage good but ??) they were at their best covering John Lee Hooker, Leadbelly etc…stick to The Delta Blues Guys !!!! All a bit odd but hey ‘open up yer mind…they grooved out and the kids dug them ( hark at me getting all Luv ‘n’ Peace on y’all) . Well what with Jet-Lag and listening to cover after cover of 60ts pop/rock I began to wilt but the straw that broke the camels owd back was a peculiar rendition of ‘Satisfaction’ (yeah that one !) it was very weird but strangely good but by this time I was really flagging and longing for my bed…knowing we still had a couple of hours drive ahead of us !
The Band I really wanted to see ‘The Borbotones’ (young Ska Band) were on very late and the first band had gone on forever so the thought of two more support bands was too much to bear (no offence they were probably great but when your propping your eyelids up with matchsticks it ain’t no use fighting it!)
Anyway it was way past my bed-time …we left around ten and we found out the next day that it had wound up about 4.30 am so glad we did but sad not to have seen ‘The Mighty Borbotones’
PART THREE WILL BE MAIN GIG AT ‘CAFÉ GRAN ANGULAR’ CENTO HISTORICO. MEXICO CITY.
THIS IS THE MEX-MODERN WORLD PT 3
To the second night of ‘The Chewing Gum Weekender’ This was going to be DJs only and I was Top of theBill (now I do have a bit of an Ego but I’m not a megalomaniac and believe me I was flattered,who wouldn’t be, but also embarrassed ! )
The Venue was a trendy new Bar called ‘Gran Angular’ (décor not unlike The Hacienda,Manchester) in The Centro Historica….right smack in the middle of the Oldest part of Mexico City (on a little side-street to be exact, but not far from the Zocala or main square , if you ever get a chance treat yourself and check out this area !!!!!!!! you’ll fall in love with it !!!) Anyway we were told it was dead easy to find but could we find it ! well eventually we did and yes it is fairly central but tucked away and being the rainy season there were no chairs and tables outside like the photos we’d seen and driving past the end of street after street they all looked pretty much the same but once we’d located it and necked our first beer the stress magically disappeared (it was even better after the second !!!!!!!!)
The inside of the Venue as I’ve said was like the old ‘Hac’ very Spartan ! I believe it’s called ‘Industrial Chic’ ? The seats were mini-metal waste-bins thankfully without the handles …instead we had some cushions to sit on! Loads of trendy spherical lights hanging down at different lengths, minimal overall feel but cool ! (God can’t believe I just said COOL !!!! Aggghhhh!!!)
We arrived just before six as that’s when it was billed to start, already a few Mex-Mods milling around ….Dante busy setting up Decks (proper jobs too) but no Mixer !
Cut to two hours and many beers later (not complaining you understand) and two Mixers arrive (like Bloody GM transport I thought to myself). Once set up the Sound-System was outstanding and would put many others I’ve encountered to shame ! I had suggested at one point that we could sing if a Mixer didn’t materialise they looked very confused at this proposal (I’m glad on this occasion that they hadn’t a clue what I was jabbering on about..it was ‘The Tequila talking’)
The first DJ on was Brendan (ex Chicago now domicile in Mexico City) and what a breath of fresh-air…mostly playing from LPs …but a mix of classic Soul (Al Green –James Brown) plus Jazz & Latin Beats which would have Rocked The Ritz many years back. Loads I didn’t know much of it in Spanish. I didn’t know what to expect coming out here (though I’d checked out some of the Mod/Skin Sites and Foto-logs in Mexico and South America so I’d done a bit of Homework…it always pays wherever your going !) I have to say…one set in and I was impressed and filled with a warm fuzzy feeling (or was that The Tequila) In short I felt right at home! Top stuff from Brendan and a Nice Bloke to boot, although even he had trouble understanding me I blame the heat !!!!!! And My Parents (just kidding Folks).
Next up ‘Dante (Soulcialista) ‘ only 17 and wise beyond his years. He’s got an incredible feel for the music and get this….he may be one of the youngest but his knowledge and demeanour has gained him the respect normally reserved for an Elder Statesman of any Political or Social scene…tell ya what the future is secure with these Guys N Girls, as we know…once this Music gets ya there’s no escape and no going back !!!
Dante has already made two successful trips to the USA and apart from amassing a fine collection himself he is also rapidly becoming the main supply-route of sounds into the Mex-Mod-Northern Scene! He played a solid set loads of Detroit including ‘What Can I Do’ Lorraine Chandler..
He’s on Soul-Source so drop him a line !!
The place was packed ,somewhere between 150 to 200 , people had travelled from all over South America. It’s a fledgling scene but fiercely enthusiastic and their thirst for knowledge is insatiable, matched only by their attention to detail !
The Bar-Owner (Good Bloke I must say) decided that we couldn’t go on until three that night which was slightly disappointing but also a relief the way the booze was going down (too easily!!!) . So instead of me going on 12.30 – 3 am
I hit the decks at 11 pm (not literally) and opened with ‘Major Lance’ ..’The Last Of The Red Hot Lovers’ (current spin for me in Blighty) I followed it with a string of current plays ( I’ll include playlists at end) just to test the waters but I knew if it wasn’t happening I’d have to respect the Floor.
I really wasn’t expecting such a fantastic response..the floor was packed from the word go (no exaggeration) for the two hours plus I was on. I did leaven the mix with some R&B (which is Soul in my book !) and SKA which was in the play-boxes (having done my homework !!!) Even ‘Skinhead-Moonstomp’ & ‘The Specials’ !
The response was humbling, and believe me they’re no fools ! The Dancing was pretty damn good too especially Moises & Lizzet who aswell as being romantically entwined also share a love for all things ‘Northern’ even sporting ‘Keep The Faith’ Tatoos and, high-kicks and back-drops ( I kid you not) Brilliant people One and All !
I’ll never forget this night it was worth a lifetime of love for this thing called SOUL to be able to pass my feelings and thoughts on through what can only be described as a potted History of the UK Scene (My Set that is ! You’ll see) .
I hope that doesn’t sound Naff but I’d deliberately taken a wide selection of sounds form different Eras & Clubs. As I’ve said although I’d done some homework I still wasn’t sure what the reaction would be yet after the first track I thought ‘go for it Kid’ loosen up and enjoy it so I was pulling 45s out from everywhere so any pre-conceived game plan was straight out the window. When they recognised a classic tune like Dena Barnes or Tommy Neal ( a favourite down Mexico Way) they whooped and hollered it was wonderful yet bizarre. Also had frantic running to look at the record then back on the floor I’m not saying this for comic-effect they really are sorted but so enthusiastic it was an absolute joy to be amongst them and to now count them all as friends. Lots of Cheering at the end , lots of pictures lots of genuine affection from both sides and lots of lingering like none of us wanted to leave (still think we should have locked the owner in a cupboard and carried on ) but there was to be another Mod/Ska Weekender the following weekend in Puebla (South Mexico) called ‘Revival Times’ Sergio the main man at twenty five years old (they’re all so young and sorted , entrepreneurs, Ace Faces call em what you will STARS I call’em) Anyway we were invited to the following weekend with the veiled suggestion of ‘bring some tunes’ like I need asking twice !!!
