Yerba Buena, anyone?

I thought this was going to be a thread about my berbuena!

Sorry (and furthermore I've never heard of the band so I can't offer an opinion)

Pan-Latin Afrobeathop is new undie? (I don't know what I'm talking about.)

Paul, I was just making the best joke (or the closest thing to a joke?) I could come up with in response to your post (which made me laugh).

Led by "Andres Levin (the principal producer of the Red Hot + Riot Fela tribute). . ." Now I am getting more interested. Sad to say, I may miss them tomorrow, because I am several days overdue for doing laundry.

I still like salsa pura better, I think, but there aren't too many current salsa albums that are good from beginning to end. I'll take Gilberto Santa Rosa's best songs over something like this, but he only puts out about one really good one a year. (However, they really are good when they are good.)

Go to allmusic.com and take a look at the albums Andres Levin has produced. This is gettng very interesting.

Well I'm not going to see them tonight because I am very tired, my allergies are bad, and I'm not feeling well physically, overall; not to mention that work has left me wanting to just be alone tonight. However, that's not going to stop me from talking about them. I am definitely getting their CD right soon.

post how it is,

the only thing i've heard by 'em was on red, hot & riot so wouldn't have been able to help, but interested in how they sound.

It's pretty okay. Maybe it's too early to say. I can't recommend it that enthusiastically, but it's not bad. Some of these songs would probably sound great in a club setting. Anyway, it doesn't have a whole lot to do with the Latin music I listen to. Fairly varied, but some of the songs really seem weak as songs. It's nice that they are including, say, folkloric elements that might be new to the audience hearing this, but I can get similar things elsewhere, in a total musical package I like better. There I go again making comparisons between sub-genres or something.

Maybe I will have more to say later. This is based on only two full listens.

It makes me wonder about the point of my trying to stay current even with Latin music (which this only partially is), if it is going off in directions that don't interest me.

"Release yourself" sample on the 4th track (which has a lot going for it rhythmically)--any more obvious choice of sample? And it's not even used very interestingly.

There's a free mp3 from this album that you can download at amazon.com.

will chceck it out

I never heard the 1st one, but have now heard the 2nd one, Island Life.
I like it, though there's something missing that prevents me from raving about it. Andres Levin is a Jewish Venezuelan guitarist/producer who moved to NY, studied at Juilliard, apprenticed with Chic’s Nile Rodgers, and worked with the varied likes of El Gran Silencio, Tina Turner, and David Byrne. He and his Cuban-born wife Ileana “Cucu Diamantes” Padron put together the Latin-funk and more band Yerba Buena with several Cuban vocalists, Soul Coughing’s bassist, and an African-American drummer. As if that is not multi-cultural enough, Levin invited gypsy punks Gogol Bordello, Dead Prez rapper M1, Spanish Flamenco singers, Puerto Rican salsa players and numerous others to guest on the Yerba’s second party platter.
While there are bits of reggaeton and rap and countless other influences it feels more like Latin funk. I like the double-entendre lyric "I like bilingual girls cuz two tongues are better than one." That's in a boogaloo/r'n'b song with Joe Bataan guesting. A few more hooks and these folks would be great. For now they're just a solid party band.

I missed Xiomora Laugart this past Sunday (due to the usual delights of chronic sinusitis).

(Steve your post is confusing. That is a quote from someome else's review isn't it? It sounds very familiar.)

I just picked and chose factual stuff from their bio and press kit, and rewrote it actually. Vocalist Xiomora from YB appeared solo? Those sinus problems keep knocking you down guy.

I could do without the cutesy noveltyish skits with Ajay Naidu exaggerating his India accent, and John Leguizamo's silly flirtations on "Sugar Daddy."

Ilye Aiye's Brazilian carnival drumming on "El Burrito" is nice, Fulanito and Gogol sound good on the mid-eastern meets Caribbean "Belly Dancer", and El Cigala does striking flamenco vocals on "Corazon Bandolero."

I'm not gonna be able to make their appearance at Black Cat in DC on Friday night December 9th though.