Rodrigo y Gabriela, colloquially known as RodGab, are a Mexican duo that play flamenco guitar. Both of them used to play in a thrash metal band back in the early 1990's, and after that band folded, they decided to explore flamenco, and now, here they are.
What makes them interesting is that they embrace their metal roots. They do flamenco covers of Metallica's "Orion", Led Zeppelins "Stairway to Heaven", and a couple of others. Rather than being gimmicky (IE Hayseed Dixie), they are actually just playing the songs that influenced them personally, and as such are paying an homage rather than just trying to trade off someone else's music. In particular, "Orion" lends itself to a Mexican (or, more correctly, Spanish) interpretation.
RodGab also have a few originals, and I really like what they do. I have always been a fan of flamenco because it is very beautiful and extremely difficult to play, but what RodGab do is inject a little youth and a little creativity into it. They don't stray to far from what Flamenco is, but they stray far enough to reinvigorate the style, which is nice.
Anyway, I am giddy with excitement about this pair, and I think that you will like it to.
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2 comments:
Agreed. They rock something fierce. They opened for Gomez at a concert last year. I had never heard of them before, but I snatched up their CD first chance I got. They're amazing live. But careful calling what they do flamenco. They were very quick to point out that it is NOT flamenco...
PS: Check out Gomez, too. They rock, if you're into that whole indie brit-rock thing. I am. Word.
Oh, they said that in Guitar World too, but they use so many flamenco techniques that it is hard not to call it that. That being said, I probably should edit that part because your right. Dammit.
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