1. Describe the early years of your musical roots and how your talent was nurtured.

I joined a professional children’s performing group, The Colorado Children’s Chorale, when I was 7 years old and continued to perform and tour with them for six years. Those early days on the road are what sparked my love for traveling and inspired my current touring lifestyle. As a teenager I got deeply involved in the jazz scene in Denver and I think the jazz influences can be heard in my music today both instrumentally and vocally.

2. Where there any events, people or catalyst(s) that were influential?

The first time I performed for a crowd of more than 1,000 people I knew, all that energy. I knew at seven years old that the performing life was for me.

3. What does your live set up consist of?

Currently I’m traveling with two Greg Bennett guitars and a Kurzweil SP88 keyboard. I run my guitars through an L.R. Baggs Para Acoustic DI Box and an Aphex Acoustic Guitar Xciter Pedal.

For vocals I use two Rode S1 microphones which I adore, such a difference going from a dynamic mic to a live condenser, I will never go back. (I should say that if you are considering using a live condenser mic make sure to get an outside power supply to ensure maximum performance. I use two, one for each mic.)

I also use my own sound when necessary, two Yamaha mains, one Yamaha wedge monitor, and a Behringer 10 channel mixer.

4. Has there been lows & highs of touring?

There are too many highs to list and the lows are quickly forgotten.

5. Who does your booking? Are you under management?

Urban Quail (Los Angeles, San Francisco) handles my booking. My management is Efi Rodik, Starscast Corp. (New York, NY)

6.  Which radio stations are you receiving airplay with?

Last I checked Gee Baby was getting spins on FM stations NPR, KHUM, KRCL, KUVO, WOWI, KWVA and KWVA representing CO, CA, UT, FL, OR and WY.

7.  How involved are you in the recording process of the projects you have worked on?

When I’m recording an album I try to be as involved as possible in every aspect from pre-production to mastering. I’m not going to look over my engineer’s shoulder while he’s getting a drum sound up or tune my producer’s guitar, but I will speak my mind if I feel something isn’t right or if I feel something is absolutely brilliant. 

8.  Do you play other instruments?

Guitar, piano, banjo and harmonica. I plan to take up the bass at my nearest opportunity!

9.  What music organizations are you affiliated with?

ASCAP.

10.  What are your plans for 2006?

For now, touring and more touring. I’m hoping to hit the East and Mid West three of four times before the end of the year. Also, near the end of the year I plan to record and release a new record.

11. What is the feel of your CD, “Gee Baby”?

Gee Baby is unique because the only instrumentation present is acoustic guitar and vocals. It was a choice I made early on in the recording process. I felt the simplicity would help showcase my voice and the songwriting, the two things I wanted people to notice.

12. Who else played on the CD?

Loren Ellis, an amazing guitarist. www.lorenellis.com He is currently touring on banjo, mandolin, and 12 string with The Drew Davis Band. www.drewdavisband.com

13. Where did you record the CD?

Room 103, Hollywood, CA

14. Who did the mixing, engineering and mastering?

Gee Baby was Mixed and Engineered by Keith Armstrong, mastered by Jeff King at Threshold Sound.

15. How is the CD being received in the US and abroad?

I was a little nervous because Gee Baby is an acoustic record and most todays popular music has SO MUCH production, but both fans and other musicians in the states and abroad have given Gee Baby an unbelievable reception. It’s been very successful and I’m very thankful for that.

16. How many CDs have you released so far?

I have two solo releases:

Gee Baby 2005

Coles Whalen EP 2004

 

For more information on Coles Whalen visit:

www.coleswhalen.com

 

or see the female rock category of the database.

 

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1.  Describe the early years of your musical roots and how your talent was nurtured.

I was 13 years old and a friend of the family on our street played classical guitar. One day he let me try his guitar and I really liked it. He managed to get me a decent $100 yamaha guitar (back in 1980), which I still have and take with me in my travels (if I’m not gigging). My ambition then was to learn “Stairway to Heaven”, “Hotel California” and other rock tunes. When I was 17 I spent a year in Spain where I discovered flamenco guitar literally on the street – I had taken my electric guitar (I was pretty heavy into rock) with me, which I later stopped playing since my ambition then turned to learning everything about playing flamenco. As I listened to the flamenco guitarist on the street I thought to myself – that’s why the guitar was invented!!

Afterwards I embarked on some serious studying – lifting material from all the masters and learning about the different styles in flamenco (there are about 30 of them including the ever popular Rumba). I also started accompanying dance classes where I was able to practice and drive into me the different rhythmic patterns found in flamenco. I also was lucky enough to have numerous chances to accompany singers, which is a different art form altogether! They say that accompanying dance, singing and solo guitar playing are completely different art
forms.  

2.  Were there any events, people or catalysts that were musically influential?

When I got into flamenco seriously I was determined to allow only the “pure” stuff to influence me so that I could be as flamenco as possible. But over the years I realized that living outside of Spain I would have to build a pretty big bubble to not let other influences seep in. A big turning point for me was when I took a workshop from master guitarist Manolo Sanlucar. He actually inspired me to lose the blinders. He had said that an artist needs to feed on art no matter
what form of expression – be it literature, music, dance, painting…. – which is pure common sense if you think about it but blasphemous if you’re a defender of the “pure” stuff. Since then I’ve opened myself to all forms of art and let them influence me because they inspire new and fresh ideas. So besides listening to the flamencos from Spain I now listen to Pat Metheny, Oliver Jones, Albeniz, Santana, Hendrix,
Debussy, Bach…. Besides, today - among the heavies in Spain - you’ll hear all sorts of influences and dedications – Chick Corea in Paco de Lucia, Pat Metheny in Vicente Amigo (especially his last 2 albums!!), Egberto Gismonte in people like Raphael Riqueni… and so on. This has been a very important issue for me, which is why I ended up calling my CD “Finding my voice”. In Spain one can often tell where a guitarist is from by listening to his style of playing which means there is little identity – his variations/solos will sound like everyone else’s. So it became important for me to really let myself go and say what was inside of me, even if it might not sound “flamenco puro”.

3.  What is the feel of your debut CD release “"Buscando mi voz",   (finding my voice)?

I actually think of it as a world music CD using flamenco guitar as a basis for the compositions and ideas found in the CD. One can think of it as a journey through various countries – or a sampling of different mixes of dishes. It’s quite different from what the guys in Spain are doing. The reason for this is that for the last few years I’ve really embraced the multiculturalism of Toronto’s music scene. I’ve found that I’ve grown artistically from my interactions with these other cultures and have been able to bring new and fresh ideas to my repertoire of compositions.  

4.  Explain the creative process of “Buscando mi voz” from the initial inspiration to the recording of the CD.

Actually each composition has its own story as far as inspiration. The brief story for each composition is as follows, starting with the title track “Buscando mi voz”:

Manolo Sanlucar, who had always stressed to his students to  “say” something unique rather than copy what has already been done, heavily influenced the title track of the CD. It starts off in free time and goes into bulerias (one of the flamenco styles). I used a composing “technique” or trick that Manolo had shared with his students of never resolving (or at least resolve rarely) in order to keep the listener interested. Hence you become unpredictable and
create more tension because of the lack of resolution. For example throughout the piece you’ll hear the progression Abm, F#, E a few times - but the famous flamenco cadence (or Andalusian cadence as referred to by some flamencos) calls for the last chord of that progression which is D#(b9), which I avoided a lot. This piece was my first composition and it truly was an exercise in finding my voice.

The first track of the CD is a tangos (another flamenco style) and it’s actually made up of a bunch of ideas that I had been toying with for a few months. When I came up with the introduction I liked it so much that I decided to commit all those other ideas to this style. Although Jesse Cook’s forte is the guitar, I heard him play tangos on the cajon (box) and I immediately thought he had the right, cool groove for accompanying this piece.

“A mis maestros” (to my masters) was a piece I was working on when my first flamenco guitar teacher “David Phillips” passed away. At the same time my dear friend Caesar Alvarez - who sang flamenco beautifully and was a solid flamenco guitar player - was diagnosed with cancer and passed away within a year. The intial inspiration was
to create a bluesy/sad sounding Alegrias (another flamenco style), which is a challenge because of the “happy - sounding” major key (key of C major with the low E string dropped down to a C). The inspiration then turned towards wanting to create something as a gift for these guys that taught me so much about flamenco.  

“De Toronto a Sevilla” is a sevillanas (another flamenco style), which was composed for flamenco dance. This is a popular dance form from Seville and is probably the first style of flamenco a dancer will learn. Most flamenco guitarists that accompany flamenco dance will have a set of 4 sevillanas verses (either traditional or composed). I
actually have about 8 verses but my favorites are the four verses on the CD. The last verse is in the unconventional (in flamenco standards) mixolydian mode but makes for a nice ending!  

“Fantasia Mistica” was also composed for dance for the show “Al Andalus”: Flamenco’s Moorish Roots and invokes a bit of a Middle Eastern sound. I had listened to a number of Arabic CD’s and came up with this rather simple but haunting melody. One of my students actually suggested the name of mystique and was the first person to
want to learn one of my compositions after I performed it.

My daughter inspired the Nanita (which means little lullaby). I actually wrote the bulk of that piece in one day, more as a study than as a solo. I couldn’t stop playing it and it gradually evolved into a solo. The bansuri (Indian flute) was the perfect instrument for this piece because it sounded like a mother humming softly. It was only when I was recording Ernie Tollar that I wondered what it would sound like to have him introduce the composition with the predominant melody of the “song”. When I listen to the CD now I like that change in dynamic of starting the tune with something other than the guitar.

“Sonando y Viviendo” is my Rumba (the most famous flamenco style outside of Spain) composition. I like the dynamic of double timing found in some jazz pieces and I also like the lick in Chick Corea’s “Spain” so I mixed it all up to make this super-dynamic Rumba!! I also like having a Rumba where in live settings musicians can take solos over both the slow and fast parts. This was another piece that sort of evolved from fooling around on the usual flamenco
cadence and since I couldn’t stop playing it, a solo was born!

“Raga por Bulerias” is a personal favorite of mine and was composed for Kathak dancer Bageshree Vaze for a project we performed at the Fringe Festival of Independent Dance Artists. I used a scale from the Indian Raga Jhinjhotti and tried to incorporate some harmonic ideas and some traditional flamenco variations to create this bulerias that
sometimes rocks (in my opinion!) and at other times sneaks up on you. I like playing with the rhythm as well in this piece – near the end you’ll hear a shift from the 3/4 timing of bulerias to the 4/4 of tangos and then back to 3/4. Also, the introduction was supposed to sound like the beginning of a traditional Raga (you’ll hear the scale played - or sung - and then some melodic variations based on that scale). The guitar briefly tries to imitate the sitar with the bending of the strings. Ravi Naimpally did a great job of playing bulerias –
which is not an easy pattern to internalize - on the tabla for this piece!

5.  Did you face any obstacles during the recording or creative process?

I recorded the CD in my home studio so the initial obstacle was learning the software (Cubase SX). The next obstacle was settling on an arrangement. I would come up with a variation and then change it even while I was doing a take – it makes for a bit of a nightmare when you have to decide which take and which variation to keep! I would have gone broke if I had to do the CD in a professional studio!!

Also, at times I was very critical of some of my ideas even at the recording stage (a recording engineer would have hated me!!). Sometimes I thought that some ideas weren’t developed fully – it sounded too immature for my liking - so I tried to expand on them, make them interesting and really tell a story that would captivate the listener.

6.  How involved were you in the recording process?

I did it all myself – even recording the guest musicians. The only thing that wasn’t recorded in my studio was the violin. I gave Chris Church a copy of the guitar track and he came up with an arrangement and added the violins on his own computer. As far as the other musicians, I just directed them as far as what feeling I was going for or I just let them do what they do best if I had nothing specific in mind. They are all amazing musicians. I also had help from some of my friends, like Jesse, who insisted I could record at home.

7.  What guitars & equipment did you use in the studio?  Where were the mics placed and what mics were used? How did you record your guitar parts?

The guitar I used to record is a Pedro de Miguel (Madrid) rosewood flamenco guitar. My equipment setup is: an AT4050 into a Presonus Bluetube preamp, which goes into an Echo Gina soundcard into my PC (software is Cubase SX).  The mic was placed about 4-6 inches away from the 12th to 14th fret of the guitar.  Generally, I recorded
everything one track at a time. I would do a number of takes, listen for the best and delete the rest.

8.  How do you prepare yourself before a gig?

It probably depends on the gig. I like to practice a lot so I tend to over play a little on the days of the show (sometimes I’ll drive the members of Jesse’s band a little crazy with my practicing). I like to warm up by working on the different right hand techniques – scales, arpeggios, alzapua (flamenco thumb technique), tremolo - and then maybe distract myself by soloing over some tunes on my ipod or play some studies or solos like Paco’s Percusion Flamenca – a zapateado
(another flamenco style). However, at a gig like the Plaza Flamingo Restaurant, where I play for a couple of dancers, I tend to warm up with the first number (a sevillanas) and then have fun improvising, playing with ideas, work off the dancers, etc… for the rest of the evening!

9.  What does your live set up consist of?

I put a piece of flexible foam large enough to be inserted into the sound hole of the guitar which serves to 1) hold in place a lavalier microphone (AT831b) inside the guitar (pointing to the bridge) and 2) block the amplified sound from reaching the microphone i.e. minimal feed back. Sometimes if the sound system is really inadequate I’ll also use a Digital reverb/Delay pedal from Boss to bring the sound
back from the dead.

10.  Are you planning a tour?

I would like to plan a tour. I’ve always been a
sideman/accompanist/second guitarist so now I’m just learning the ropes as far as booking my own shows (the CD release concert is a first!) and advertising and so on… I hope to tour the CD in Ontario and Quebec and then start to think bigger after I’ve learned a little.

11.  How long have you been Music Director for the Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company?

Since 1996. It’s the longest I’ve been with any dance company. Esmeralda is a great artist to work with which makes my job very easy! Every year we work together to create a totally new show for our annual big show, which usually happens in the late fall.

12.  You often teach master workshops throughout Canada and the United States. Have you thought about releasing a DVD?

Not really – I still prefer the live approach to teaching/learning. With flamenco, the biggest obstacle is right hand technique, which I believe is more easily learned in a live setting. For instance I’ll often see students not using rest stroke with their thumb (especially classical guitarists!) so I’ll continually reinforce that through the workshop and even add some last minute studies geared towards
rectifying that. DVD’s are great for getting some information on flamenco or some repertoire of flamenco studies or solos or licks if one has a strong foundation in flamenco already but I believe a live teacher is better than a DVD are for beginning students.

13.  Which television commercial did you write flamenco music for?

I actually didn’t write anything. The musical director of the
commercial charted out a chord progression in bulerias (sort of) and I just played/improvised over it. The commercial was for Sunlight and they used the famous tomato festival “Tomatina” to advertise the detergent (it’s that festival at the end of august where you see pictures in the newspapers of people having a huge tomato fight in the streets). It was my first time playing to a video/movie and it was fun creating all the different dynamics in that commercial.

For more information on Nicolas Hernandez visit:

www.nicolashernandez.com

or see the male world category of the database.

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