It is always great to see old friends but it is even better when you play live with them after you haven’t seen them in a few years. A few weeks before SXSW 2016 I received a call from my friend Mattia Medina, vocalist and guitarist for Latin Grammy nominee Venezuelan rock band Charliepapa, they got selected to play an official showcase at SXSW and wanted me to perform live with them. I was honored to accept the invitation not only because they are long time friends but because I really respect their work as artists and as one of the most prominent contemporary rock bands in Venezuela. Unfortunately Felix Hoffmann, drummer for Charliepapa wasn’t able to come down to Austin but another fellow talented Venezuelan musician who also happens to live in town took his place behind the drums for this performance, Claudio Ramirez.
We had a blast during their stay in Austin, TX. Claudio and I took them to our favorite places around town, we had tons of BBQ, breakfast tacos, and more local brewed beers than we should have. We also meet Ender Martos, a gifted artist who creates beautiful sculptures and paintings using very unusual repetition of patterns and colors. We had so much fun and it was great to spend time with Mattia, Jonathan and Osh. We rehearsed a lot and the show was awesome, the audience loved us and a lot of Venezuelans living all over Texas came down to Austin to listen to Charliepapa live.
The night before they left, due to the initiative of Sergio Carvajal and Romina Olson from Tiburon Transmedia, we rented a few bikes and enjoyed riding all around the city at midnight when everyone already left the city after the SXSW was finished, while they filmed us. We will never forget this experience. Here it is, enjoy riding with us all around Austin.