Jose Carlos

Here I share with you the lyric video for my new single "Sin Amanecer." 

I hope you like it!

Here is my new lyric video for my single "Tu Boca" made in Egypt.

I hope you like it!

In August I had the opportunity to go to San Francisco, California. And there are several things I would like to share with you... 

This was the first trip I made to the United States to sing my songs, and I've been saying it since the dates were confirmed: For me this was a big question mark. I would not say I was worried, but I was wondering if my humor would "click" with the humor of Americans, if they would understand the nature of the stories behind my songs, and then, if they would enjoy a song, that not only would they not understand the language, but one of its strengths is precisely the content of its words. Undoubtedly this concert would define the beginning of the road that would take or (reject) me in the neighboring country... and well, I launched into the adventure... 

I arrived on a Monday, quite tired because just a day earlier I had traveled on the road from Morelia to Tepic and from Tepic to Puerto Vallarta.  I had come to do a concert in Morelia and a day earlier at the Teatro Juárez of Guanajuato (which I will tell you later on my impressions of those days). 

On Tuesday I slept most of the day, except that night I was taken to an Ed Sheeran concert, where Ann Marie and Snow Patrol were the opening acts! 

Ed Sheeran was fantastic. It made a very strong impression on me to see how he, his guitar, and a pedal loop station could offer such an attractive and energetic show. The San Francisco Giants stadium was sold out that night (without presuming that our tickets were in row 8; Thanks Kelly!). And I was also impressed with the music of Snow Patrol.  I only knew "Chasing Cars" and "Run" but the atmosphere they create is impressive. I would definitely go to a concert of theirs as well. It was a day of great learning and impression, so much so that on this trip I ended up buying a loop station too hahaha…

On Wednesday, August 22nd, I had a private concert in a home with 14 guests.  I do not want to say it was an essay, because obviously the public has all my respect, but definitely the pressure was very different.  The hostess took care of decorating her home with many details of my brand (there were even original M & Ms with the face of my logo.) The night was very nice and very welcoming, and gave me the confidence that maybe I would succeed the next day. 

And it was Thursday , August 23rd, the concert was in an exclusive club called "The Battery." When I arrived I was treated with all the luxuries that I could have ever asked for, the green room, the attention, the way to The Library where I would present myself, the stage, the sound system and the sound engineer to whom I gave a T-shirt and some other items in appreciation for his work.  Also the photographer, Michelle Kenyon, and her creative assistant offered to give me her work, which was one of the greatest honors, not only because her work is very beautiful, but also the heart and the smile that her presence offers you. 

The concert began at 8 o'clock with the room full of people who I did not know and who did not know me.  I suppose that the curiosity for the “Evening of Latin Guitar” event attracted several and the others came as a result of the amazing work of my Promoter/Manager in the United States. There was always the silence of attention between my songs and a lot of laughter with the nonsense that I dared to tell you, the chemistry was unbeatable and I am certain that in that hour I left a very pleasant taste as the positive comments did not stop coming after the show.   The last song I sang was not written by me (Cielito Lindo), but in the microphone I presented it as "gratitude on behalf of all Mexicans and Latinos who had been well treated in this country (the United States).” It is important to recognize that there are many American people who treat us very well and not all is discrimination and bad gesture, there are those who look at us and know that we are the same and that a hug represents a truth closer to what we are.  Incidentally, they all sang with me the chorus. 

Thank you San Francisco!

Photograph by: Michelle Kenyon

This post is mostly for my friends who are musicians, specifically those who have music on Spotify or those who will upload their music very soon. It's very simple advice that many do not know, starting with myself a few weeks ago. Lately, I have been reading a book that talks about the music business and they touch on many things that are completely within our reach and that we just simply ignore, but that can also make a big difference. Over time I will try to share with you the tips that seem most relevant to me, and I do not see this as giving tips to my competition but as giving tips to my fellow musicians who are like family so everyone is helped! 

Did you know that there is an application called "Spotify for Artists"? I did not know, until a month ago and it would have been useful to have it for a couple of years. First of all, download it right now so you have it when you are done reading this. Spotify for Artists is an application that allows you to control different aspects of your Artist Profile: How to change the profile image so that it does not leave one of your album covers in your artist photo, it allows you to choose your "Artist's Pick" which is the song you decide to promote as an Artist (it may be yours or someone else's, such as Jose Carlos;) hehe, you can promote playlists, but also, which is very important, you can access your analytics, not just the number of streams of each one of your songs, but the demographic statistics: age, gender, country and city of where your listeners are so you can plan better and achieve better results with your music. And an extra ... the famous blue checkmark is awarded to you and you now appear as a Verified Artist! 

Again, you just have to download the application, enter your profile, have a Spotify account and request your artist profile. I have my music distributed through CdBaby, and it was very simple, some will have it distributed through the studio where you recorded it, you will only have to ask for access and Viola! Your Artist Profile will have greater credibility. 

I wish you the best! 

And if someone would like to give me the very nice gift of putting my song "Tu Boca - Jose Carlos" as your "Artist Pick" of the week, it would be very, very nice. If not, anyways I wish you a lot of success and I will be sharing more tips with you that I find along the way. 

Please leave me your comments if you have doubts or would like me to help you with a specific topic. 

A hug,

Jose Carlos
 

Sometimes I'm afraid that the time advances, I'm afraid that the clock will one day reach my father and that his feet, those feet of travel and work that he has, stop stepping on this world. I want to be very honest in what I am going to write, leave aside what I think you would like to read. 

I do not know if I have been able to explain to my father how much I need him, because I never wanted to be selfish with him, but there is not a day when I do not think about it. Over time we have learned to chat on the phone periodically, to be aware of each other. But what about all those conversations that I have with him and that I do not let him hear? Since my parents divorced and my father lived in cities far from me I have created habits around him that he does not know. As a teenager and now as an adult there are days when life bends me, I sit on the edge of my bed and I start talking to him feeling that in the wind the words hold and find the way to his heart. Another habit much more evident is the guitar, the first years I played was always to feel his embrace surround me, I played so many hours a day waiting to hallucinate his presence, to hear his voice in my delirium, yes, I loved him so much then and I love him now. 

The truth is that my relationship with him is based on what we built when we lived together or close, that's what inspires me to be the father I am now, through my experience I understand that being close to my son is fundamental. I have many memories of my father, I carry them like my flag. I remember at a party, I was 6 years old or a little older, my father would always take out his guitar at meetings, which he would keep in his car in case the moment of a bohemian night was lent. I hid to be able to hear him behind the chair where he sat. I remember that the armchair was one of those thick, brown and velvety chairs. And while the other children played "the trapped" I began to hear him sing. I remember that he sang "Why he left" and that I started crying for the lyrics. But that's where I began to see my dad through all its walls, the man who feels life in its fullness, the man who cries, the man who is capable of loving a woman, the man who laughs and deludes, who has dreams and sorrows. He taught me how a guitar can be a direct bridge to the soul. 

I remember that once we went to Disneyland but on a special schedule, they opened the doors for hoteliers at night and during the early morning hours, and of all the images that you could have of that night are so beautiful for a child, the most important of them was when when I entered holding my dad's hand and from the waist up I looked up to see his face and his eyes had a brightness of emotion so bright that his pupils looked like two lamps of joy. I remember seeing a child in him that I did not know yet and who seemed to me my new best friend. 

I remember many wonderful days with him that I do not know if one day there will be a beautiful opportunity to tell you, but if you still have your father close to you, please visit him, dedicate to him a couple of afternoons a week, hug him with the youngest of the pretexts or take interest in the projects they have in hand, although they try to collect music or watch football, say "I love you, I love you, I love you Dad". A long time ago I stopped giving advice and I do not feel fit to do it, but in this case it is necessary to highlight how important it is to love your father while you have him, because one day it will no longer be. 

Daddy, if you read this far, I declare once again, in front of those who have also read, that I miss you every day of my life, that I love you in all the limits of my love, and that if I could make a wish, only one , it would be that after this life my soul will fuse with yours again. 

"Who is the one who loves you the most?"

"... Few things are how we imagine them ..." 

I want to share my experience of singing for the women inside the Prison of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, because there were certain circumstances that I think should be highlighted ... 

When I initially received the invitation from Jaqueline I did not hesitate for a second to accept, however at the time I did not think much about the circumstances or the factors I was going to live while inside, as the day approached I began to consider more and more things. I was never worried about my safety or integrity inside the prison, or anything like that, but I worried about the environment and everything that was floating in it, emotional factors or attitudes, I did not know if it would be pleasant for women to hear me say nonsense about the next song, if the sense of humor was hurt and I was just going to be considered a clown who takes time to sing the next tune. I decided to sing a popular song and then one of mine, one popular and one mine. I started to get nervous at home, a combination of emotion, but also that feeling that bends your stomach ... What I knew is that the afternoon would break much of my myths and show me once again that few things are as we imagine them. 

To begin with, the staff of the prison, from the officer who allowed me the first entry, the commander who checked my sound equipment, the one who "vasculeó", the officer who gave me my file, the one who opened the gate to the patio, absolutely everyone had an unbeatable attitude to me, I expected some hostility and did not receive a single word reluctantly, that eliminated much of my nerves immediately ... 

Once inside I began to settle in, while they were arranging the seats in plastic chairs for the public and while the master of the place began to shout the first and second calls, little by little the inmates took their places. At that moment I saw the first thing that impressed me. A beautiful boy of 1 and a half years old in the arms of his mother who paid sentence, and they told me that it is allowed to have their children until they are 3 years old, then they have to leave, and I thought how strong it must be for the mother the last months of the third year of your baby's life, having to get rid irretrievably of, not only your child, but your life companion must be terrible, I imagined depression the following months after their departure ... but hey, the show had to start. 

With an audience of no more than 40% I started my first song: I chose "Amanecí en tus Brazos" by Jose Alfredo Jimenez for being a song that everyone would identify and at the end of the song a rain of applause ended up evaporating the few nerves that were left . In the following songs the chairs were filled until they were 95% occupied. We laughed a lot, we joked from here to there and from there to here. And there was an impressive chemistry, they released comments like "Come to cheer us more often", I asked what song they wanted to hear and they answered me "all you've sung we liked a lot", or simple jokes in the air that I answered in the microphone and we all burst out laughing. I also told them that they were one of the best audiences I had ever had and that I honestly did not want to leave, there were also moments of sensitivity, like when I sang my father's song "Una Preguntaita Más" and you could see the reflection and memory in their eyes. I invited an inmate to sing with me "Acá Entre Nos", it was an absolute party. When I was leaving several wished me all the success and made references about me that let me know that they believed in me, even more than people here outside. At the end one of them said "Thank you for singing here on my birthday" and I took out the guitar and sang every morning and I noticed how her eyes filled with emotional tears. We talk about returning very soon, and if the organization allows me, of course I will fulfill them. What I wanted most was that, through music, they felt, even if they were a couple of hours, free. And I get the impression that it was, even I felt free of other things. 

Special thanks to Jacqueline and Jennifer who are working on their non-profit foundation to give so much love to the people who need it most, I did not know how to explain to them how warm their hearts are and how much they share and contribute, because what they do is like miracles that come from heaven. 

Jose Carlos 

Visit www.facebook.com/recreamx/ 

This month we recorded the video of the song "Tu Boca"! 
We try to portray a bit of the eroticism that is provoked by lips that you should NOT kiss. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.