First Show In Oakland

Things have a way of coming together sometimes. The day started with marching around beautiful Lake Merritt chanting FEEL THE BERN. A perfect vocal warm up.

I connected with a couple of new friends at the march:

• Rafa from LA GENTE. I was lucky enough to convince him to stop by the show afterwards. Here’s a video of Rafa’s speech from the march, which really got people going.

• Sofia, Kristina, and Windsong, the lovely gals from Trio Cambio

We took it back to my place to watch Bernie’s speech and jam for a while. Some say that Bernie is too far to the left to win, but there is room for idealism in this world, and I’ve read he has a pretty decent shot at victory here.

From there the party moved to the Oakland Music Complex, which is apparently the largest music rehearsal space in the world. I was lucky enough to have Max Chanowitz from the Jazztronauts join me for this show.

After warming up and doing some final last touches on the music, we headed back to Regina’s Door. Regina has a beautiful space that she has fought for over the course of many years, designed as a safe haven for victims of sex trafficking. It was inspiring to hear her story: she went from struggling to make ends meet to putting together a business plan for a boutique/performance space. She was kind enough to let us use the space free of charge.

After we lit all the candles, first up was Chaz AKA Cuban Cigar Crisis. My favorite although unfortunately un-captured part of the night was when he found a way to playfully mock himself by pretending to sing into a mirror about how much of a big-shot he is.

Next, we were lucky enough to have Quiles and Cloud, who were on the cusp of an album release and nationwide tour. It was unbelievable to be sitting in a small room completely enveloped by their sound. There was an amazing restorative quality to their music which I think left everyone feeling cleansed and renewed. Max was sick that night, but said the music healed him: I’m pretty sure Maria’s voice was a big part of this. Also, at some point I looked around and I saw genuine smiles on everyone’s faces. Like teeth out _for real_ smiles. Here’s a clip of one of my favorite songs by them.

Finally it was my turn to play. At this point, it was really hard to fuck it up. Oakland had already set up a room and a vibe for me and all I had to do was ride it through to the end of the night. I walked down a few blocks away, took a few big breaths and then walked into the room for my first ever show as a solo artist. Here’s one of the songs from the set, which was inspired by a close friend and a hike through the beautiful Oakland Hills at Sibley Preserve.

I’m looking forward to the next show with Rafa on Valentine’s day, and if you’re reading this I hope to see you there as my story in the Bay Area continues to unfold.

-Diego