ADAM: Thanks for the interview, Fernando. How’s life?
FERNANDO: Good...I'm still breathing. I'm doing just fine, thank you.
ADAM: The press on the new album has been quite positive. But I’ve seen it described as both a melancholy album and an uplifting album. There are elements of both, of course, but which would you say is closer to the truth?
FERNANDO: It's hard for me to categorize my music, but at the time of writing and recording these songs I was going through a hard time. My grandfather passed away and I've been dealing with some health issues, so I guess the music reflects that.
ADAM: What made you decide to (mostly) put aside the loud guitars on this album? Were these songs more stripped down from conception?
FERNANDO: I've always written on acoustic guitar. My first two CD's were pretty much all acoustic. It was only with Pacoima (3rd CD) that I picked up an electric guitar.
ADAM: Where did you draw the inspiration for “Killer Waits”? The lyrics read like a Nick Cave song.
FERNANDO: This song is actually a metaphor for a one sided love relationship. It's about not being able to reciprocate love towards someone else.
ADAM: Did you actually write “Blue Room” when you were holed up recording in the Blue Room in Portland?
FERNANDO: Yes, but I took the title and inspiration from a song by Carlos Gardel, Argentina's greatest tango singer (1930's). His song deals with an Italian immigrant who has just arrived in Argentina and is very poor. In the Port city of La Boca in Buenos Aires there are these blue rooms where the immigrants would stay and from these rooms Tango music as we know it was born. The Blue Room is actually my friend Mike Coykendall’s attic studio (we recorded Dreams on 8 track 1/2 inch).
ADAM: You’ve been a veteran of the music scene for a while now. Everyone talks about the nauseous state of affairs in popular music. Are we due for an upswing? Or is it even worth worrying about?
FERNANDO: I really don't have time to care about the state of music. But good music has always been under the radar.
ADAM: So the world ends tomorrow and the Ticketmaster Upstairs has to book the Eternal House Band in Heaven. Who’s playing?
FERNANDO: Carlos Gardel and his Orchestra. I've really been on a nationalistic kick these days.
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