Moonblink Twilight Limbo

This is the cover design I made for unreleased The Sweet Leaf's 2009 demo, "Moonblink Twilight Limbo". You can listen to the songs here. 

Bye bye Sweet Leaf

Photo: Camila Jurado

I remember perfectly the very first jam with The Sweet Leaf. I was awakening for a long infertile dream. The way the songs reverberated in my head, the way I was feeling I was at last joining a "real" band, getting inside this very creative rock-conscious group of individuals who carried a breathtaking musical history and experience. That night I finally doze off around 3 a.m. I was so excited and felt so blessed. 

The last time I played with them was in a Black Sabbath Tribute on May 8th 2009, organized by Stoner Rock Mexico. We had major fuck ups and failed terribly. And after that, everything started to sink. I couldn't understand what happened to the band that night, as we were improving so good. 

Anyhow, some days later we were invited by this guy that wanted to set up the tribute in his bar, northern Mexico City. The guy asked for the same line-up so I asked him to pay all the bands. Shockingly, this attitude brought up comments by my band mates calling me "Classist". It apparently means that for them $100 pesos ($7.4 USD) might not be a difference whether deciding for playing or not. Of course, we don't make a wealthy living from playing in this country.  But what I still do not understand is why you are not morally allowed to charge a fee for your performance, knowing that the promoter is going to receive a lot of money from beer and tickets. Some band members uttered that their musical work is made for art's sake only, for the people. And this is where the term "Classist" comes up, implying that musicians even in a great opportunity like this event, knowing that one could be decently paid for gas expenses, performance and gear investment, shouldn't charge.  This is by no means arguing against that music should be free and for the masses. It is just a matter of self-respect. No wonder why in Mexico City there are several promoters and bar owners booking bands with no remuneration guarantee. No wonder why several Mexican bands are playing for free. No wonder why most of them are really very bad bands who are satisfied with some loads of beer and long-waited stardom dreams. 

Ivan Nieblas and me organized this tribute months ago. I believe we started at the very beginning of this year planning, setting up, contacting people and bands. Aside from gaining some bucks, what we really were pursuing was to introduce Mexican kids to the Stoner Rock genre. Some people would say that maybe a better option would had been a Saint Vitus or a Kyuss Tribute. But culturally speaking, Mexicans know more about Black Sabbath and that was the hook to give kids an option to listen new bands, "new" genres. None of these motives apparently helped. 

I had enough. I always believed TSL would be playing big, they deserved it. I deserve it. So I quit the band. After spending most of my time dedicating to promotion, selling their records, designing several layouts for their myspace page, answering fan emails, uploading videos overnight... Now, everything is gone and it's sad to tell. Not that I have suddenly turned into a bigoted rant! It's just that I have been "there" before, struggling with Mexican Rock bands fluff. It still amazes me that none of them truly believed the chance they had now with a Myspace page or a FB page. This band was formed in the nineties and struggled with the fact that you had to wait two or three months in order to receive any letter or review from magazines.  Now it  seems they prefer to rock comfortably in "reality" rather than spending some moments virtually giving some time to some of several fans from the US, Europe and South America that contacted the band since their Myspace page was kicked off. It seems they have given up. 

No wonder why in Mexico, Rock music is falling into the hands of the execs. If independent musicians do not ask for respect and decent remuneration for their performances, then they won't ever have it. 

This is a video from a gig in Xalapa, Veracruz. That venue was really small, but we had an incredible time playing there. I really enjoyed spending time on the road with these "forever-rock" fellows. This is a way to somehow preserve the good memories. 

Bye bye Sweet Leaf.

THE BEWILDERED MASKED-HERD

The following text was published in Stoner Rock Mexico and it was written by Ivan Nieblas and me. Feel free to comment something...

Dear all,

Due to the sudden massive email delivery since the swine flu epidemic started, heated messages which have been nurtured from all kind of political stance and theories, speculation and so called scientific information, we have decided to deliver the following views.

We are witnesses a social crisis which unfortunately has happened several times before. Since this country came into existence (and that is, since “The Discovery of the Americas”) government lies and corruption have manipulated Mexicans with either science-fiction stories (e.g. “The Chupacabras”), nature-gone-wrong tales (e.g.”The African Bee Attack”) or any propaganda available to distract them from the truth (e.g. Similarities with Lopez Obrador and Hugo Chavez” etc.)

This country has been burned and tore down by its inhabitants and by their government. We can reassure you that there are no evident next-door swine flu cases, but deep and terrible silence. Each corner of this city (Mexico City) is saturated with silence. The events take place in the very center of our Nation, therefore, in our roots. Again, our voices have been silenced.

Prisoners in the meshwork of government, Mexicans do what they have been told to do. This is not a matter of wearing face masks or not (which their recent increase in demand have considerably increased pharmaceutical companies income), it is a matter of how easy and innocently Mexican people are responding to threat and apparent chaos.

When you walk on the streets and when you use public transportation, there are very few people reading, even talking. People rushing home to turn on the TV news in order to listen all over again how to wear a face mask properly or which are the symptoms of this new virus, even though many of them are unable to explain it. Some hours ago, our catholic and military-monger president has commanded to the Mexican people to stay home, because contact-only with our families will prevent the virus to be spread.

People are being deprived of a better future and a better income. Media, institutions and the selective upper class have piled them up on the edges not only of the city but on their very hearts and beliefs. We have heard elected politicians reasserting that this epidemic has gone badly, that critical actions must be taken, hiding such issues as the imminent search warrant to the private spaces, to our very own homes. A new law has already being approved by the Chamber of Deputies on April 23 along with the presidential decree on April 25, in which non-uniformed police officers or health agents have the right to enter our homes either for drug dealing suspicion or swine flu infection. Their actions and measures reveal their conspiracy against all of us. Institutions and companies are also implicated, not to mention the pharmaceutical industry.

And still, despite this, what has shocked us is the incapacity and uselessness of the big majority that is scared to the bones: “wear masks just in case...” Who hasn’t overheard this discussion? We hear all the time people complaining about government, and still, they obey.

We have already posted several information and texts in Spanish in our personal blogs and myspace profiles, but we think it is our duty to do so by Stoner Rock Mexico, both in English and Spanish so people who have subscribed to our newsletter not only from Mexico and Latin America but from Europe and the U.S. Feel free to start a discussion, to send us your comments. Your feedback is really important to us in this “dark times”.

We are sending the following recommended texts and links because we believe it is our responsibility not as society outcasts, but as human beings concerned for what is happening in Mexico, to keep people informed, and to keep you people away from your government’s claws.

We believe in truth, which already exists in our hearts. We are against fear, panic and sheep-like behaviour. We are also against the soon-to-be belief that we Mexicans, filthy people of the earth, pork-taco eaters, have spread the virus.

It is our duty to talk and spread in our own words what we stand for and what we see as witness of this hoax.

Surrounded by a constant fear for measures that have been developing until they become a state of exception, we stand for despising power of the “specialized class”, remembering all past and recent events that have taken place in this country. People tend to forget and forgive, ignoring pain, and will ignore soon their part in this martial law test. We strongly believe that those who sit on their capitalist thrones will congratulate us all for good behaviour in a matter of days. They will say that thanks to our good submission, the virus will be eradicated.

We still do not know if this propaganda will drive the population into mass acceptance for upcoming important political elections, into acceptance of imminent economic crisis which we have already dismissed from our heads. It is obvious that they were concocting this manipulation months ago. They have already achieved this: big and small restaurants are closed, museums, schools and universities are closed: every public event has been cancelled, constraining people to stay at home, censoring any action to disseminate suspicion and discussion, silencing the reluctant population.

Currently waiting for the authorities to confirm the Black Sabbath Tribute, the very first event we organized that would take place on May 8^th, we hope it will not be cancelled in the last minute. The main goal for this show was to introduce Mexican kids to this music as an alternative choice to what they currently listen in mainstream radio and TV shows. Like many other subcultures and urban tribes in Mexico, we are doing a big effort to create more alternatives.

In addition, with our posts and these recommended texts, we want to introduce an alternative way of thinking and facing this "emergency". We want our voices to be heard, not to be shut off with a face mask.

Gaby de la O & Iván Nieblas

“Maybe there will be a popular revolution, and that will put us into state power; or maybe there won't be, in which case we'll just work for the people with real power: the business community. But we'll do the same thing. We'll drive the stupid masses toward a world that they're too dumb to understand for themselves”

Noam Chomsky, Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda.

STONER ROCK MEXICO

As mentioned so many times before (so many times that it actually hurts to mention it again!), stoner rock scene in Mexico was painfully divided, punched, ignored, and scattered until now! There are so many bands and fans out there that didn’t really fit into the metal scene, the punk scene, the indie scene. Suffering from too many pop funny indie mainstream shit, bombed by so many sweaty sweet acrid clichés. Garbage, pure and merciless garbage we all mexicans listen! Had to block, had to gather all those soon-to-realize stoner rock dudes. Rabid armed dick-heads playing reggaeton and cruising the streets, office workers desperately heading to pop festivals, modern flashy colorful-clothed kids stumbling upon some Adidas party. There are so many unknown rockers out there and we’re here to awake that devilish spirit inside their hearts. We know, and we strive for it!

STOP CUTTING YOUR HAIR YOU PEOPLE! 

STOP USING GEL GOD DAMMIT! 

LEAVE THE SIDEBURNS, 

LEAVE THE LEATHER AND HEAD ON TO:

www.stonerrock.com.mx

The Sweet Leaf new myspace

The Sweet Leaf has finally a new myspace!

Go and listen to some songs:

www.myspace.com/thesweetleafmx

The Sweet Leaf & Los Esquizitos

Howdy! I am thrilled to announce The Sweet Leaf's next show with legendary band Los Esquizitos at Foro Alicia on Friday February 6th, 2009. It is no casualty that both bands are playing together, as years ago, both TSL & Los Esquizitos used to share the stage with several bands that built the alternative scene in Mexico. On this very special occasion, Los Esquizitos are celebrating 15 years playing, so the party dress code will be the quinceañera style for girls and boys. I still wonder what to wear that night :P Anyhow, it's warm here. I'll be back soon! I'm off to some sunny days at the Caribbean. At last!  

//

The Sweet Leaf se presentará el próximo 6 de Febrero en el Foro Alicia celebrando los XV años de Los Esquizitos. Nos vemos allá vestidos de quinceañeros y chambelanas.

VIERNES 6 DE FEBRERO, 2009

LOS ESQUIZITOS

THE SWEET LEAF

FORO ALICIA

Av. Cuauhtémoc 91a, Col. Roma

México D.F.

www.myspace.com/foroalicia

The Sweet Leaf - Mexico

It was some months ago that Iván Nieblas encouraged me to join a band called The Sweet Leaf. I only knew the band by some brief references during my period playing with Occulta.  I never imagined I could enjoy singing in The Sweet Leaf so much. That very first rehearsal was dazzling and open eyed. After several months of shutting up my inner voice, I soon found myself in some special realm surrounded by melodies that speak of old. 

As every band that barely reaches widespread success and crawled into the underground due to a musical uncultured audience, TSL story has those drama aspects which fall behind the band's natural faculties. No matter how much they apparently failed to reach stardom in dark times, their solely striving makes The Sweet Leaf already a legend. 

The Sweet Leaf was founded by Fernando Benítez (Raxas, Acrostic, La Orquesta de Animales, THC) in the early nineties in Mexico City. By that time, stoner rock was unforgivably smashed by the mainstream, the mexican new wave of rock which stand for banning all English references such as lyrics and latin sounds were encouraged.

Despite these hurdles, TSL toiled in the club circuit playing with several punk, glam and testosterone-fueled biker-metal bands. One of their most important shows was as an opening act for The Obsessed, who hit mexican soil back in 1994.

A year earlier, they released a 7’’ called Rotten, which lately met the vehement ears of Cathedral’s Lee Dorrian and catched the attention of Germany’s Hellhound Records. This EP is very hard to be found and it raises in some retail collector’s stores up to 30€. In 1996, a cassette was self released titled Take a hit with Adela Mizrahi’s vocals. Yet again, this work is tough to get.

The Sweet Leaf quit the scenarios in 1997, and all members dedicated themselves to give birth to new projects that would take the lead for early mexican stoner bands such as El Diablo.

Adolfo (Sarabia) told me that during a nostalgia attack at some metal concert, he begged Fernando to bring the band back. It is also said that Claudio (Arellano) looked for Fernando too to revive TSL for many years. Whether the official reason for this come-back from the grave is clearly uncertain, The Sweet Leaf is back, and is playing with their last line-up and two new members:

Fernando Benítez (Drums)

Claudio Arellano (Guitar)

Oscar Montes a.k.a. El Compa (Bass)

Adolfo Sarabia (Keyboards)

Gaby de la O (Vocals)

The band hit the stage after 15 years on November 15, 2008 at the 4th Stoner Rock Festival at Foro Alicia in Mexico City. That night was packed with old fans that listened to the Sweet Leaf in the nineties and ventured once again to meet the band leaving their office suits at home and putting on the leather jacket. While my conversation with the band's espouses and girlfriends ran smoothly between how to rise a child properly and new waxing services, you could see younger kids stumbling upon the door enthusiastically. As mentioned before in this blog, stoner rock in Mexico is gaining some recognition gradually. Kids are asking for older bands and vinyl records, the ones that really emancipated the true rock n' roll tunes, the ones that originated that blasting spacey psychedelic sound that really crept to the bone...

[SOME PICTURES FROM THE 4TH STONER ROCK FESTIVAL / mexico city 

© Cuauhtémoc Escárcega]

We are getting ready for more gigs and a new website with updated pictures and information will be published soon. Meanwhile, you can visit the old myspace and the webpage, although you should consider to run across Adela's paintings rather than the TSL songs. Anyhow, her version of TSL history is quite interesting. 

Finally, Here's a sample of the band's sound. The song is "Rotten" from the Take a hit cassette (1996). Enjoy!

For some external references, and see how their 7'' gained so much recognition, check out the following links : 

The Sweet Leaf (Encyclopaedia Metallum)

The Sweet Leaf (Rotten) 30 €

The Sweet Leaf (Rotten) 12 €

Salute

Back from Hel's house - the Feral Dagger Woman arise

fe⋅ral   [feer-uhl, fer-] 

–adjective
1. existing in a natural state, as animals or plants; not domesticated or cultivated; wild.
2. having reverted to the wild state, as from domestication: a pack of feral dogs roaming the woods.
3. of or characteristic of wild animals; ferocious; brutal.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/feral


It's been ages since I don't post anything in this blog. Wow, November 16, 2007! So many things have happened in one year, it makes me shiver, it actually gives me goose bumps! I was just visiting this morning and realized that I really like this blog. Even more than myspace's. Many times, I have planned to terminate it due to the lack of visitors and comments... Now I wonder who reads these words on the other side? And who's been reading it. It has, so much memories kept in a dream case, so many ideas lost in the process, people who have gone into another dimension, people who have just vanished from the surface. . . Overwhelming.

After our debut EP, The Mean Machine, Dagger has stopped rehearsing and playing. The very last time we performed was at the Indie O Music Awards at Polyforum Siqueiros, Mexico City. We sucked so much! I guess, I was driven by some pointless distress at the time, turning everything to a poisonous and fatal stab against me.

Now I realized that our real debut was long time ago. We kind of stuck on the fact that an EP album is the key to correctly and officially present your work. But now that I think about it, we gained some kind of reputation from our very first demo back in 2005. I still receive from time to time emails of people asking for that CD. The thing is that I have no time to print it right now (even though the solely work involved is hitting some Fedex Kinko's and print the damn cd label and booklet). Now things are different. Pablo left the band months ago (even though he tells me he might be joining again for some reunion gig soon), Ericka is still playing in Occulta, and Valeria, our recent bass player, is just holding there asking me desperately when she is finally playing live with us. But Dagger is having a break now. I am considering this period for a time to rest, to calm down, even that The Mean Machine EP won Best Metal Album Award, even we were performing better than ever... Sometimes you can't oversee when the time has come for some dear siblings to die. Sometimes you have to give things a rest.

. . .

But that doesn't mean I have a rock and roll break, I have joined The Sweet Leaf, a doom/stoner band formed in the nineties (more info soon to come). I was thinking, what if I open a new blog dedicated to TSL? But, it's going to be interesting to see what develops from now on and make a whole story out of all my musical work and projects. Anyhow, you can still visit Dagger's myspace and listen to some old classics, and one new track called "My Eyes Are Bleeding" which I entirely recorded myself some months ago.  

Cheers and Happy New Year all!

STONER ROCK PODCAST

So I made with "Jose R" (pic) a podcast about Stoner Rock, sorry it's in Spanish, very drunk spanish indeed! Lots of bands we dig, and think are representative of this genre. We have included some new bands such as Brittish folks Gorilla, and some Mexican bands that are fighting against indie crap and latin stars down here. Of course, some classics ones, Fu Manchu, Kyuss.. Click here, and listen.