My one true favorite Austin band, Maneja Beto, has been putting it on for somewhere between seven and eight years now, with a progression of new material that keeps the band on top of the latest electo-beat, sleepcore, chillwave playlist fads, while maintaining the precision, style and cumbia rhythm that sets this group apart.
Unfortunately, in the middle of editing this video, I lost half of my original video footage. I spent hours trying to salvage it, but to no avail. So, I took a deep breath and pulled another video clip from their show at Club DeVille and let it ride. The end result is a little schizophrenic, but hey, so is the band, according to frontman Alex Chavez.
Combined in this interview are two songs, one of which is brand-spanking new, produced in the band’s practice room just before and after the interview with the final product being what you see and hear below. The other song is called “Ofrendas”, a recently released single that I also happened to be dancing to at the time that video was shot. [Side Note: A lovely mutual friend has a prime spot in the "Ofrendas" music video as "La Miss."]
Interview shot and conducted by Jessica Sondgeroth.
