You’re pretty much guaranteed to hear music (and if you’re lucky, great music) if you head to the Third Street Promenade at Santa Monica (or any outdoor shopping street like this, really). And that’s really what I enjoy about this shopping center: window shopping, sipping some Starbucks, and listening to some great street performers. But today was strange as it seemed like every single musician was playing guitar — electric guitar, acoustic guitar, guitar + cello, guitar + vocals, and even guitar duets.
It isn’t really in the jazz genre, but if there’s anything that I love the most in the field of classical music, it’s Spanish guitar. I’ve even got an acoustic (sitting in a case that’s held together by staples and thread) in my closet that I picked up at some local pawn shop for a mere eighty bucks which I wish I could play. It’s something about the sound of the Spanish guitar that’s aggressive yet romantic — much like its history. This struck up memories from last year when I attended a pre-performance lecture of Letters from Argentina by Lalo Schifrin (known for writing the theme song for Mission Impossible; check out Schifrin performing it here); he told us a short story about the Spanish guitar: back in the day in Spain, when two men would fall in love with one woman, they’d have a sword fight and the survivor would win the woman’s hand in marriage. As this caused many deaths, however, it was made illegal; the swords and weapons were replaced by guitars, and instead of fighting to the death, the men would compete via their playing. Romantic, yeah?
Anyways, I couldn’t help but stop and listen to these guys:
These two brothers from Argentina call themselves Seis Cuerdas, which translates to Six Strings. (there’s six strings on a guitar, get it?) It’s unbelievable how much sound they can get out of just two guitars — I’ve heard flamenco guitar before, but the Etcheverry brothers give it this sexy, contemporary feel without ignoring its historical roots. They’ve definitely given me an even greater appreciation for the beauty of the flamenco guitar.
To me, they amped up the aggressive part of the flamenco guitar on the streets, but there’s a romantic part that’s still there — especially in their new CD, Volumen IV. Learn more about Seis Cuerdas at www.seiscuerdas.net or listen to some of their songs at www.myspace.com/seiscuerdas2006.
CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Arroyo Seco/Seis Cuerdas/Volumen IV
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