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The new band on Mario Escovedo’s Requiemme label is from Chula Vista. The Beautiful View (the English translation of Chula Vista) is four friends who met in high school, started a band in 2007, and played as many live shows as they could in the next four years. When they had their act down and enough material was in the can, BV took a year off to record their debut full-length album. The band chose to work with Mario Quintero at Black Box in San Diego and mastered the ten-song disc at D2 studios in Burbank. Both were good choices. The finished sound is huge, raw, and potent. Life is Beautiful, says Escovedo is scheduled for release later this year, after which national tours will begin.
And then, there’s South By Southwest.
“That’s the plan right now. We’re gearing up for a showcase [in 2012] and I also do a day party at SXSW.” Escovedo is banking on the critics at the music industry showcase in Austin to eat the Beautiful View up. So far, so good. “Alternative Sounds,” he says, “gave them a great review.” So did The Silver Tongue Online:
Life is Beautiful is a present glimpse of the future of big rock. Dirty guitars have never felt so clean, and the perfectly crafted, dual-toned ones on “The Horseman,” followed by the vocal intricacies of “The Spaniard,” speak for themselves. Luci Harrell, Assistant Editor thesilvertongueonline.com
The bandmembers favor Gucci shoes and tailored fashion, which is in contrast to their indie rock sound. Escovedo thinks that the Beautiful View conjure images from the Miami night club scene in Scarface, possibly because they grew up in Chula Vista, a border town. They are vocalist Aaron Magnan, Adrian Cordero on guitar, bassist Paul Rich, and drummer Duane Allan.
Chula Vista, border town that it is, has a rich tradition of successful artists ranging from Black Heart Procession, Roots Covenant, the Zeros, the Dragons (Mario Escovedo’s old band), and hardcore Jesus-rockers P.O.D. Tom Waits went to Hilltop High School in Chula Vista, and Rosie and the Originals had a pre-Invasion hit song on Top 40 radio and performed all over Chula Vista and National City while they were still a hot item back during the 1960s.
“When I consider a band,” says Escovedo, who comes from a musical lineage that includes Pete and Coke and Alejandro and Javier and Shiela E., “I think not so much about if they are cool here and selling out local venues, but more importantly, how they'll be received on a national level." He thinks that the Beautiful View has what it takes. He says the band reminds him of another band that played local before they went big.
“STP opened for the Dragons, back when they were called something else. I remembered this great, big sound, and I get that same feeling from this band. The songwriting’s there, they have a big, fully formed sound. I think there’s an audience for them, and the genre’s there. They can be a massive band."
The Beautiful View perform at the Casbah on January 12, 2012.
The new band on Mario Escovedo’s Requiemme label is from Chula Vista. The Beautiful View (the English translation of Chula Vista) is four friends who met in high school, started a band in 2007, and played as many live shows as they could in the next four years. When they had their act down and enough material was in the can, BV took a year off to record their debut full-length album. The band chose to work with Mario Quintero at Black Box in San Diego and mastered the ten-song disc at D2 studios in Burbank. Both were good choices. The finished sound is huge, raw, and potent. Life is Beautiful, says Escovedo is scheduled for release later this year, after which national tours will begin.
And then, there’s South By Southwest.
“That’s the plan right now. We’re gearing up for a showcase [in 2012] and I also do a day party at SXSW.” Escovedo is banking on the critics at the music industry showcase in Austin to eat the Beautiful View up. So far, so good. “Alternative Sounds,” he says, “gave them a great review.” So did The Silver Tongue Online:
Life is Beautiful is a present glimpse of the future of big rock. Dirty guitars have never felt so clean, and the perfectly crafted, dual-toned ones on “The Horseman,” followed by the vocal intricacies of “The Spaniard,” speak for themselves. Luci Harrell, Assistant Editor thesilvertongueonline.com
The bandmembers favor Gucci shoes and tailored fashion, which is in contrast to their indie rock sound. Escovedo thinks that the Beautiful View conjure images from the Miami night club scene in Scarface, possibly because they grew up in Chula Vista, a border town. They are vocalist Aaron Magnan, Adrian Cordero on guitar, bassist Paul Rich, and drummer Duane Allan.
Chula Vista, border town that it is, has a rich tradition of successful artists ranging from Black Heart Procession, Roots Covenant, the Zeros, the Dragons (Mario Escovedo’s old band), and hardcore Jesus-rockers P.O.D. Tom Waits went to Hilltop High School in Chula Vista, and Rosie and the Originals had a pre-Invasion hit song on Top 40 radio and performed all over Chula Vista and National City while they were still a hot item back during the 1960s.
“When I consider a band,” says Escovedo, who comes from a musical lineage that includes Pete and Coke and Alejandro and Javier and Shiela E., “I think not so much about if they are cool here and selling out local venues, but more importantly, how they'll be received on a national level." He thinks that the Beautiful View has what it takes. He says the band reminds him of another band that played local before they went big.
“STP opened for the Dragons, back when they were called something else. I remembered this great, big sound, and I get that same feeling from this band. The songwriting’s there, they have a big, fully formed sound. I think there’s an audience for them, and the genre’s there. They can be a massive band."
The Beautiful View perform at the Casbah on January 12, 2012.