Ozomatli: Music for the Revolution

You're at your first Ozomatli show, and you don't know what to expect. The place gets darker, and a spotlight splashes onto the stage. It rests there for about five minutes, and still no band. The first tinge of impatience bites at your psyche. Finally, you hear a trumpet call, followed by the big sound of the bass drum. Your eyes scan the stage. You hope to catch a glimpse of where the music is coming from. Then you realize it's coming from the audience. You turn around to see eight guys coming toward you, armed with cowbells, drums, horns, and a whistle. Suddenly, your whole body is smiling, and you join the line of fans following the band as it snakes its way onto the stage.

Putting on a great show is why Ozomatli is famous, but conscious lyrics are what make them important. A band born out of political protest, they continue to represent the underrepresented with powerful words and a "latinoangeles" sound.

Ozomatli's music is whatever you want it to be. For some, it's guerilla music, joyfully battling the hand of oppression. For others, it is a fierce samba line, and one of the greatest musical collaborations to come along in years.

Ozomatli's music is like mom's old salsa albums mixed with today's conscious hip-hop. "Funk-salsa-hip-hop" is one common phrase used to describe it, but many tend to agree that it transcends traditional genres.

Wil-Dog Abers, founder of the group, wouldn't have it any other way. "It's not like we're doing anything that hasn't ever been done." says the modest bass player. "Who we are and how we mix it is what's new."

	Putting on a great show is why Ozomatli is famous, but conscious lyrics are what make them important.

Ozomatli embraces the chaos of the machine without raging against it. Instead, they rally the people through subtle statements straight from the heart. And they offer a politically-charged live show that doesn't include moshing or hostility. Their lyrics are food for the conscience, wake-up calls for the children of these tumultuous times.

When they played at the Fillmore in San Francisco in November, Wil-Dog dedicated song after song to Afghan refugees. "Ozomatli believes all lives are sacred," he softly told the audience, "not just those in this country."

All the members of Ozomatli are extremely talented. Most play two or three instruments. Wil-Dog, who used to play in Macy Gray's band, plays electric bass, upright bass, and guitar. Raul Pacheco plays electric, classical, tres and Iarana guitar. Ulises Bella is the band's most multi-talented addition, on tenor and baritone sax, piano, requinto harucho, guitar, bass, and (whew!) clarinet. Other members include Asdru Sierra, the lead vocalist who plays trumpet and writes songs; Jiro Yamaguchi percussionist; Justin Poree, percussionist and moonlighting M.C.; and Andy Mendoza on the drums. Rapper Chali 2na and D.J. Cut Chemist of the Jurassic 5 also play with the band.

Their newest album, "Embrace the Chaos" features M.C.'s Common, Medusa, and De La Soul. Steve Berlin of Chicano band Los Lobos, produced four tracks on the album, which were all recorded live and executed in one week, a feat the band is proud of.

Guerilleros de la Musica

Six years ago, Wil-Dog and his co-workers went on strike to get a former L.A. Emergency Response Unit headquarters turned into a community center. Then an employee with the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, he and his co-workers protested poor working conditions and the firing of a community leader. They staged a sit-in on March 12, 1995, and friends were called in to form a protest band. The protest was successful, and from it Ozomatli emerged. The building is now The Peace and Justice Center.

The band, named after the Aztec god of dance, began playing for free in fundraisers for everything from the Zapatistas to the Battered Women's Society. They continue to see their music as part of a larger movement for social justice. Their official website is filled with links to progressive organizations like Refuse and Resist!, Friends of Mumia Abu Jamal, Women in Prison and United Farm Workers.