I take exception of this description, sorta. I think a more accurate reason for the success of first two albums mentioned (don't have the Norah Jones, so won't include it) is that they contained good music and word of mouth suggestions often have the greatest weight. Not that boomer and Gen X peer pressure forced sales. What exactly is “the Barnes and Noble set” anyway? I suppose somebody who doesn't depend upon getting music from the hit factory of over-engineered pop warblers. I think it speaks more for the utter lack of respect the music industry has for its customers than anything else. Britney Spears vs. Ibrahim Ferrar? no contest.
Anyway, Rodrigo y Gabriela sounds interesting.
“Rodrigo y Gabriela (with Bonus DVD)” (Rodrigo y Gabriela)
Every few years, an album emerges as a must-have release among adult consumers for whom music is rarely an essential purchase. The Cuban-import “Buena Vista Social Club,” the old-time Americana soundtrack to “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and Norah Jones's jazzy debut, “Come Away With Me,” all vaulted into the multiplatinum stratosphere after being embraced by the Barnes & Noble set.The latest act aiming for this elusive demographic target is Rodrigo y Gabriela, an acoustic-guitar duo from Mexico by way of Dublin. Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero use their two instruments to conjure a frenetic blend of international influences that includes Spanish flamenco, Anglo-American heavy metal, Portuguese fado and traditional Irish music beats. The shtick includes instrumental renditions of songs by Metallica and Led Zeppelin, plus intricate percussive thumping on the guitar body by Ms. Quintero, and has drawn an improbably strong following.
When such an oddball act takes shape, it's often unplanned. Rodrigo y Gabriela's path to their unorthodox mix begins in Mexico City metal bands, continues through lounge gigs for tequila-soaked tourists at the beach and gets its finishing touches on the streets of Dublin.
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Rodrigo y Gabriela got their start playing in heavy metal bands in Mexico City. After years of fruitless struggle, the pair packed it in and moved to Ixtapa, where they got gigs playing for tourists in restaurants, and busking on street corners. “For the first time we found we could make money,” Mr. Sanchez says by telephone from Ixtapa, where he was home taking a break from U.S. promotional activities.The pair also discovered that their new gigs didn't always mean abandoning the music they loved. “Although we had some jazz standards, we were able to play all our metal repertoire without being annoying to people,” Mr. Sanchez adds. “The tourists were just eating, and they didn't recognize if we were playing Metallica or whatever.” The group's cover of “Stairway to Heaven,” a favorite on the new album, was first trotted out under these circumstances.
After decamping to Dublin to visit friends, including a group of traditional Celtic musicians, Rodrigo y Gabriela refined their act, inspired by a kind of local drum called a bodhrán. Seeking to emulate the instrument's rapid-fire beat, Ms. Quintero began thumping on her guitar's body. Likewise seeking to give his new musician friends a taste of his roots, Mr. Sanchez for the first time began writing songs with Latin and flamenco flavors.
Busking on the streets of Dublin one day, the pair played “Diablo Rojo,” their first composition incorporating all these musical elements. “When we finished, people gave us a lot of money,” Mr. Sanchez recalls. A career path spread out before their eyes. “It wasn't like we wanted to have a project. We just said we're going to write another tune and we're going to make more money. It's kind of an honest approach.”
Tags: music
