This story is taken from Music at SacTicket.com. Local band a-risin'Español-infused Cambio de Piel has breakout yearBy Chris Macias -- Bee Pop Music Writer - (Published December 12, 2003)Looking back, 2003 has simply rocked for Cambio de Piel. The local Latin-alternative band scored gigs with Molotov, Kinky and El Gran Silencio, three of the genre's leading acts, built a California-wide fan base and was featured in a splashy ad campaign in Rolling Stone magazine.
In other words, Cambio de Piel still reigns as numero uno in Sacramento's rock en Español scene. On Saturday, the band, known as CDP to its fans, performs at Club La Disco, held inside Roseville's Classic Jukebox.
"2003 has been a wide-open experience," said Jair Camacho, Cambio de Piel's bassist. "We grew, musician-wise, and got to play with the big dogs. It's been one of the best years where CDP is showing our true colors, showing what the Latin scene is all about. Everything's lining up for us right now."
The band's presence got an especially big boost in April with a little help from Budweiser. CDP went mano a mano with La Bestia, Velvet Fury and Letania -- three of Sacramento's Latin-alternative figureheads -- in a Budweiser-sponsored battle of the bands and won. The prize package included a Paul Reed Smith guitar with a Bud logo plus a chance to compete against battle-of-the-bands winners in other markets. (The Sacramento-based rock band Phrenik won its own Budweiser sponsorship in a separate competition.)
Out of 100 Budweiser bands, CDP was one of nine groups chosen to be featured in an ad campaign in Rolling Stone.
"That was great," said Camacho. "People saw us in Rolling Stone and we started getting contacts from bands on the East Coast who want us to do gigs with them. It felt great that we were picked against all kinds of bands, like mainstream Anglo music, rock or rap. It feels like a great accomplishment for us. I know we're doing something right."
Next, CDP plans to finish a full-length album and shop two videos to MTV Español. The group also is hoping for radio exposure, an especially tough challenge because rock en Español is a niche format even on Spanish-language stations. (Locally, check the "Ke Buena Rock" show on KTTA, 97.9 FM, from 7 to 10 p.m. Sundays for the latest in Latin rock.)
CDP's music is radio-friendly enough, fusing strong melody, a hearty base of rock 'n' roll and a dancing spirit. The lyrics are in Spanish, but the band's funk, ska and reggae flourishes can resound with anyone who just likes to groove.
"I just think of it as a melting pot," said Camacho about the band's style. "It might be really funky, then the song might start out like crazy. We've been playing venues that cater to Anglos, and they love it. One guy came up to us and said, 'Man, we don't understand what you're saying, but it rocks.' I think we have a little bit of everything for everyone."
Christian Kiefer is a local singer-songwriter with a literary bent. But tonight at the True Love Coffeehouse (2406 J St.), Kiefer will pay homage to the Velvet Underground's self-titled album from 1969. With a spare backing band, Kiefer will perform the album in its entirety, albeit with a rootsy flair.
"It's more of an interpretation of the record," said Kiefer. "But we'll play it cover to cover with banjo and accordion. It'll be like a post-folk, minor-key, dirgey sort of thing."
Sounds good to us. The show starts at 9 p.m. and features Scott McChane in support.
Admission is $6. For more information: (916) 492-9002.
If your ears aren't too ragged from Thursday's "KWOD Twisted X-Mas Show," and you're looking to take a last-minute road trip tonight, check out Live 105's "Not So Silent Night." The show, at San Francisco's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (99 Grove St.), may as well be called "Lollapalooza Lite." It features Jane's Addiction with Rancid, Offspring, Iggy Pop, Black Eyed Peas and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
Jane's Addiction, which revived Lollapalooza this year and headlined the summertime festival, is actually sounding pretty solid these days. Sure, Eric Avery, the band's original bassist, is out of the fold, and the group is more glammy than ever. But the group rocked the Shoreline Amphitheatre pretty darn hard in August with such songs as "Ocean Size" and "Mountain Song." Ah, to feel like you're young and it's 1991.
The show starts at 7 p.m. $35. For more information: (916) 649-8497 (Ticketmaster).
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