Sunny Sauceda is
a Musical Chameleon
By
Ramón Hernández
Sunny
Sauceda’s most recent compact is a reflection of his
past, the present and a glimpse into his future
musical direction.
He kicks off
this musical production with "Si Quieres," a tune that
immediately hooks the listener and invokes a strong
desire to dance. In short, this ranchera is
sheering listening pleasure for the ears and a joy for
any pair of dancing feet.
However his
bass player, Pete "Tiny" Gutierrez’s initial idea was
for this song to feature Sauceda’s vocal prowess.
"I’ve always
loved this song and because Juan Gabriel is a true
poet and this tune also struck a chord with me since
it was the song I sang to my new wife as a surprised
when we got married in 2002," the Squeezebox Monarch
said during an interview at the Hispanic Entertainment
Archives.
"I too also
wanted for the vocal to shine. So the little accordion
I put in was due to my co-producer’s suggestion. As
she said, ‘How can you not have accordion when you’re
Mr. Accordion Abuse, ha, ha, ha.’ But the funny thing
is that I’ve been singing longer than I’ve played any
other instrument and the voice is the oldest
instrument in music history. So this is me knocking
down the walls of the accordion player/vocalist box
because I feel that when you play accordion, your
vocal ability gets overlooked.
"As to the
arrangement, I told the keyboard player (Art
Guillermo) that we needed more power and energy in the
intro because you’ve got to start and end strong. The
guitar thing was something I wanted to do because I
wanted more variety in the leads and in the switch
offs."
What makes "Chaparrita"
good is the musical arrangement and fast-paced
cumbia rhythm with a great drum beat. Besides, how
can Sunny miss with a tune composed by Brownsville’s
top composer, Esteban Mares?
"The minute I
heard it I heard a hit," the recently turned
34-year-old accordionist said. "This tune is a cross
between Tejano and cumbia Mexicana, or
vallenato, so I coined the term Tejano
vallenato; because it’s a hybrid/pure-bred
cross-genre song to me and something I started when I
was producing Vida as a musical director with my first
attempt, ‘Vueltas y Vueltas.’ It has chord structures
and stylistically, it’s Tejanismo, but that rhythm and
words are very Mexicano.
"An inside
scoop on this song is that Esteban (Mares) and I
arranged this one together without knowing it and the
intro and feel is similar to ‘Cumbia Con Acordeón.’
That was kind of cool. It wasn’t intentional, but it
just happened. So you could call it 'studio magic.’ I
also asked Esteban if I could change the first line in
the first verse from ‘chapparita’ to ‘güerita’
since I am attracted to güeritas and because
the title was getting too redundant."
Track three,
"Acariciame" ("Caress Me"), was also written by
Esteban Mares, who has composed hits for Graciela
Beltran, Bobby Pulido, Conjunto Primavera, LMT and
Liberación. An added treat is the way Sunny dips down
to some low notes and progressive licks on the
accordion for a most unique squeezebox sound. This one
is among the most commercial tracks on this compact
disc.
"This was a
fun song to sing and when I sang it, I had Marc
Anthony in my mind because he added this really
intense timbre to his vocal that sounded so cool and I
thought this song could use that," the GRAMMY and
Latin Grammy singer-accordionist explained.
"I am really
a lead vocalist trapped in an accordion player’s body
and this song is lyrically profound; and the way
Esteban (Mares) used metaphors is so awesome.
"Fuego En Tu
Piel" was written as a group with a bunch of writers
with Warner Music Group and the tune is performed in a
mellow Tejano-pop/regional cumbia cross genre
style. However, the difference is in this tune, which
already a salsa and a música Duranguese
Billboard hit, is Sunny’s unique accordion style.
"It’s a
really pretty song and I get to use dynamics on my
vocal which is lots of fun. To me, it’s very Mexico,
but the arrangement is kind of popish since my guitar
player (Leroy Esparza) listens to John Mayer, Dave
Mathews, and etcetera."
"Si Pudiera
Olvidarme (de Ti)" ("If I Could Forget You") is more
of a throwback to the good old-fashioned polkas most
baby-boomers grew up with. This one was composed by
Sunny y Todo Eso: Guillermo, Esparza, José Gonzales
and Greg Enriquez.
"We were in
the studio when we wrote it together and then cut it
on the spot. This is a real raw, drinking, dancing,
conjunto song. I even sang the song late at night
so my voice would be raspy and really raunchy,"
Sauceda revealed.
Guadalajara,
Jalisco-native Aldo Ulises Delgado, who in 2008 won
"Los Compositores," an international songwriter’s
contest in Los Angeles, wrote "Te Lo Mereces" ("You
Deserve It"). To date, numerous Mexican groups and
bandas plus a slew of soloists such as Ángela
María, Tony Galindo, Mayran Bazán plus many others,
and now Sunny have recorded his works. Therefore, this
slow cumbia is going to grow on you, especially
when he sings, "Vete en busca de otra buey."
"Aldo is an
incredible composer who I met on Facebook when I was
looking for songs for my new album, crazy huh? This
song was technically fun because there were lots of
notes jammed into the vocal lines. And for this one, I
kind of changed my vocal approach and I used more
throat -- like Elvis did back in the day.
"This song
has cool synthesizer lines and something different I
did was going straight into the vocal, no musical
intro. I also considered not saying ‘buscate otro buey.’
But I figured, oh well what the heck, a little
controversy never hurts.
"Eres Todo Mi
Ser" is another tune in which Sunny comes across as a
crooner. The easy-going, smooth, jazzy tune is light,
bouncy, and highly danceable and the vocals are
sophisticated yet Sunny’s squeezebox creative
squeezebox runs can still be heard in the mix.
Malady’s Art Guillermo won "Songwriter of the Year" at
the 2010 Texan Music Awards and this composition is
going to be another notch under his belt.
"Art did it
again finding ways to move melodies and cords in
directions you don't usually hear in Texan so I had
fun doing this song."
Sonny’s
wife/co-producer, Vickie, came up with the hook on "Suelta
Mi Corazon" ("Let My Heart Go") and Sunny added the
verses, but this is not her first composition since
she also wrote ‘Regressive El Corazon’ ("Return My
Heart"), which is included in the ‘Vagary Lilbermente’
CD. This one will grab you, not let you go and find
yourself singing the catchy tune long after you turn
off your I-Pod, home or car stereo.
"Vickie and I
were driving to San Marcos when she started singing,
‘suelta mi corazón, ta ta ta, ta’ and you know me, I
got the digital recorder out. She has lots of cool
ideas and good hooks. She’s very artistic and it
doesn’t stop with music, her talent includes fashion,
but art is her forte. Anyway, I think that we finished
the song by the time we got to her hometown where
she’s a revered State Champion athletic.
"This is also
one tune in which you can hear my old arranging style
since I think I wrote it at the same time as "Contigo
Quiero Estar" on "Ultimo Segundo.’ It has a pop,
cumbia feel, stacked vocals and cool harmonies.
Then, at the end, I do all this vocal bit with
accordion bass notes making it sound like Boyz II
Men."
When all is
said and done, the tune destined to become a radio
classic will be "Papas Fritas" ("French Fries").
However, as
the title implies, this is not a novelty tune. Instead
Sunny and songwriter Memo Correa’s offspring is a
catchy cumbia that from its rock laced intro
will grab your dancing feet’s attention and snare your
senses into a dancing frenzy. Its obvious Sunny and
the band are having a good time because they want to
project that to their audience.
The
predominant line is "Soy el mero cumbiandero, tengo
ritmo pá la cumbia’ which translates to "I am the
real cumbia player. I have the rhythm for
playing cumbias."
Asked about
the concept of "Papas Fritas," the two-time GRAMMY
winner said, "I’m merely doing what rappers do when
they rap, ‘I’m so and so. I’m this and that. I’m the
best there ever will be.
"It’s who I
am. It’s who people say I am. It’s what I do. My old
friend in Monterrey, Remigio Reyna used to call me ‘El
Papas Fritas, el mero french fry – estas
bien tirado TVT. So ‘Papas Fritas’ is my anthem.
"So I called
my good buddy, Memo, from Atrapado, who wrote my first
radio hit, ‘Cumbia Con Acordeón’ and we came up with
this. It’s similar to what a rapper does. In all
reality, it’s a self-proclamation of what I think
people perceive me as. Nonetheless, it’s fun, catchy
and it makes you dance. ‘The proof is in the pudding,’
as Bill Cosby says."
Sunny brings
the CD to a close with "Si No Te Vuelvo a Ver" ("If I
Don’t Get To See You Tomorrow"), a rock-tinged
romantic ballad in which his bandoleón-sounding
accordion takes a backseat to his lush vocals. Tejano
newcomer Miguel Hernández rocks the musical bridge
with a rock-guitar solo. Don’t be surprised if an
international pop crooner such as Luis Miguel or José
José covers this song and makes Sunny a millionaire.
"I wrote this
song right after 9-11. Someone sent me a picture of
the lights where the towers once stood and a dear
friend Chris Calvillo has passed on. So I started
writing. Then I got with José Gonzales, better known
as Valenzi, who wrote ‘Paloma Blanca’ for Michael
Salgado, La Mafia, Gary Hobbs, Sonya López, Sonora
Santanera plus others; and this is what came out.
"It’s a song
about telling that specials someone you love, ‘don’t
leave it for tomorrow because you don’t know if
tomorrow will ever come.’ You know, people are hurting
every day from stress, sickness or missing loved ones
on the war front. People are too busy working all the
time and sometimes you don’t get a chance to say or
express their feelings. We miss our grandparents
and/or our parents get sick. So this is my chance to
tell the world, ‘I love you.’
"Me, I’m the
richest man because I’m already a millionaire in
having the love of God and family.
"I titled
this CD, ‘Camaleón’ because we, as a band, strive to
change according to our environment and I chose to do
this via my voice, accordion and band. That’s why you
will hear many different genres in one album. Listen
to the way I changed my vocals and I even changed the
way I played accordion to suit each song. Yo soy el
camaleón (I’m the chameleon)."
"Camaleón"
hit the streets on Monday, May 16 and is also
available on i-Tunes.
river city attractions river
city attractions river city attractions river city
attractions river city attractions river city
attractions river city attractions river city
attractions
river city academy river city
academy river city academy river city academy river
city academy river city academy river city academy
river city academy river city academy
river city attractions river
city attractions river city attractions river city
attractions river city attractions river city
attractions river city attractions river city
attractions
river city academy river city
academy river city academy river city academy river
city academy river city academy river city academy
river city academy river city academy
