Latin guitar group Incendio performs at Boulevard Music this week, so band members Liza Carbe and JP Durand told the News about what they have in store for Culver City…
When and how did you start playing, writing and performing?
Liza Carbe started playing bass with the Jim Stubblefield group, sometime around 1997. JP Durand, who is married to Liza, wanted to check out the music that she was playing with Jim, and began to tag along to shows. In short order, JP brought his guitar and started sitting in. The trio fit together well as a performing unit, and were all on the same page in terms of ambition and motivation. JP and Liza had been writing & producting a lot of music for tv/film and music libraries, particularly Latino and Mexican music. So, in 1999, Jim asked Liza and JP to produce his next CD, and in that process, started asking them if they had any songs to add to his compositions for the album. This, combined with bringing on board drummer Joe Shotwell, resulted in a very well-received debut, “Misterioso. We thought it best to have a latin-sounding name, and came up with that! So, here we are, 11 albums later, from that initial spark.
Describe your sound…
We call it “modern world guitar”, sometimes “latin guitar world fusion”. It’s basically intense spanish guitar playing with a concentration on melodies, fleet-fingered solos, and projection of good energy for the crowd. We also integrate elements of Middle Eastern, Celtic, traditional latino, and Indian music into our compositions.
What are your career highlights so far?
Apart from showing up on the Billboard charts and being fortunate to release 11 albums, there have been a lot of memorable shows: appearances at the Ford Amphitheater, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC multiple times, the Levitt Pavilion in Westport Connecticut and in Dayton Ohio (so many fond memories at all the Levitt venues across the country), Musikfest in Bethlehem PA. Each show has such a distinct vibe and audience, so it’s always fun to ride the collective energy. And the more intimate shows, like years of shows at the Coffee Gallery in Altadena, and this upcoming one at Boulevard, the audience is RIGHT THERE and there is no choice but to try to play well and connect.
Do you have any recorded music available?
Our discography is available on streaming, Amazon, Youtube, all of it. Plus there is a lot of live material on Youtube, from more recent shows back to the early 2000’s.
Have you performed at Boulevard before? Any memories?
This is probably our fifth time there. It’s always a lovely audience, great support from Gary and the staff. But it’s a rare show where there are guitars on the wall. Unlike a big show, or a supper club with drinks, or even a standard listening room, the show is in front of a LOT of beautiful guitars, which we love. So it’s a slightly more “reverent” vibe, if that makes sense? It’s a house of guitar, so even though we always want to play well, Boulevard brings out a certain little “extra”. It’s not a big concert, it’s always like a wonderful gathering of friends, every time.
What can we expect from the set this time?
Over the years, we have expanded from two-guitars-bass-drums, to adding synth, to playing electrics, we have always tried to provide our audience with a different experience, not just spanish guitar. But the stage size and intimacy of Boulevard necessitates that we go the other way – stripped down. Many previous shows there have been “trio only”. This time, we are bringing our excellent drummer, Tim Curle, in to accompany us on percussion. It’s the first time in 12 years that we’ve ever done that with our current group, so that’s different. It actually hearkens back to similar “stripped-down” shows from the very early 2000’s with the original lineup.
What else do you have coming up?
We usually have a packed summer schedule – this year it’s still growing, but we will be visiting Colorado Springs, Sausalito, New Mexico – more shows in the western US this year. All these dates and any new or archival releases will be found at incendioband.com
Incendio performs at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 16 at Boulevard Music. More info on the show at boulevardmusic.com.
Elsewhere this week
Culver City’s music venues have a full calendar of entertainment this week. For the Cinema Bar, that includes the Hot Club of Los Angeles (every Monday), Open Mic Night every Wednesday, Dinosaur Tooth, Sons of the Engineers, Talkin’ Treason, Solipsistics, Nico & Band, and more. For more information, go to thecinemabar.com.