We’re here for my Brother, Matthew Maniego, whose project, “A WOMAN WHO” is taking off like a bandit. He just released his most recent piece which highlights a young woman by the name of Kate Wintrode, owner of Fifth&Brannan in San Francisco.

Kate’s story, and that of Fifth & Brannan, is a great one. She’s a fashion designer for men like myself who have absolutely no clue how to put ourselves together other than throwing on a t-shirt, some jeans and our Barcelona hoodie. Matt told me he had selected her for his series and I visited the site — her clothing is straight baller status in terms of quality. If you’re a guy, you’d be doing yourself a HUGE favor by following their blog >> GO.

Right about now I’d me remised not to mention the work of Matt’s team on this project, Photographer John Agcaoili, A.C. Andrew Kim and graphic designer and BFAM Mark Penacerrada (who had his hand in this kind of stuff)

Here’s the full set:

A great friend of mine is getting married soon, very soon actually, and I’ll be hitting up Fifth&Brannan for some fashion help, I’m sure. FOLLOW FIFTH&BRANNAN ON FACEBOOK HERE. FOLLOW MATT MANIEGO EVERYWHERE HE GOES HERE.

“A Woman Who” is three episodes in. Kate’s was the third.

Episode 2 highlights Rachel Tan (with major assist to my girl, Melissa)

And Episode 1 highlights Allison Torneros

From http://anatijoux.com

The woman has got a straight up mean flow — better, nay, head and shoulders better, than anything the female rap game here in the U.S. has to offer (well, at least of the rappers that are in the spotlight). I wrote a nice little story to accompany Ana’s visit to the Bay Area and she was actually here not too long ago with a Nacional Records tour stop. BUT, my car went all stupid and I missed that show. NOW, she’s back. Tuesday. At the Independent in San Francisco. I’m super excited. Ana will be performing from ‘LA BALA’ which you need to get. She’ll be there with Oakland’s own, Los Rakas.

Photo from http://hangout.altsounds.com

Los Rakas are sick. They’re off of Nacional’s label. Here’s a video (or more like slideshow) of one of my favorite songs:

Dudes are smooth. Anyways, on to the matters of this post. My publication, the San Mateo Daily Journal, got hooked up with tickets to the show to give away via our Facebook page. So, venture on over to the San Mateo Daily Journal Facebook page, LIKE it, and comment on the link with Ana and Los Rakas. A winner will be chosen on Monday … so stay tuned!

Maná is stronger than ever
By Julio Lara, Daily Journal Staff

To properly judge a Maná concert is to run into a giant wall of repetitive — in a career that has lasted more than 25 years, every single word imaginable to describe how epic and genius the quartet from Jalisco Mexico is has been exhausted.

For a writer, one that has experienced his fair share of Maná concerts, this can be a huge problem – unfortunately, the thesaurus only lists ten or so different ways to say “awesome.” 

Friday’s show at the Oracle Arena in Oakland only further adds to this dilemma. Of the 24-song set that lasted a little more than two hours, five of them were off of “Drama y Luz,” their newest No. 1 album, and thus, longtime Maná fans were probably getting their first taste of these renditions live. Such has been the success of their latest project, one that took home five Billboard Music Awards last Thursday, that in order to avoid sounding repetitive, perhaps it’s a decent idea to focus on those and write a good overview of the show.

But the truth is, a review like that would miss the point entirely because Maná’s magic lies in a God-given gift to make the old feel new —  in having you re-live those moments in your life when their songs served as your personal background music. The band didn’t pull any new punches for their show in Oakland. Frankly, if you’ve heard “Oye Mi Amor” or “Me Vale” once, you’ve heard them a thousand times. 

And yet somehow, Maná still (after thousands and thousand of live shows) has the power to make you feel what you felt after your first kiss, your first heartbreak, your first encounter with the idea of true love. 

What other band in Latin music can do that?

The answer to that is: Not many.

It’s here that I should give KUDOS to the Oakland crowd. You guys were sensational. I mean, there was your fair share of directors that decided to record the entire show with their iPhones (thank you, Steve Jobs, you single-handedly ruined live music for all of us), but then again, I can’t totally complain, it’s because of you guys that we got moments like this:

I wrote in the review that Maná’s rendition of “Si No Te Hubieras Ido” was one of the most magical moments I’ve ever witnessed at a live concert. And I wasn’t kidding. It was simply amazing. Maná had many of those types of moments, which is odd for a band that tours as much as they do. When they go on tour, they go HARD. I couldn’t help but feel that this was the band at their best — in a sense that, if we were to see them again, Father Time will take his effect and, it just won’t ever be the same. Here’s your playlist for the night. 2 hours and 20 minutes worth of show.

We’ll be at it again in September. I can’t wait.

The show on the 27th of April will mark my 8th time watching Mana live. And honestly, it’s always felt like the first time. I get that excited. Some bands just, well, they just speak to you.

I wish I was playing when I say I like almost every one of their songs … but it’s true. Above is from my favorite album, Sueños Liquidos. It’s around then, I feel, that they made a real conscious decision to pull away from their Rock en Español label and focus more on making music that spoke to them. It’s actually a stigma and a move that the band carries to this day. Fans who fell in love with their self-titled debut album, through “Donde Jugaran Los Niños” and then “Cuando Los Angeles Lloran” nowadays still expect the same sound. And man, Mana’s sound has changed drastically over the years. It’s for that reason that if you’re a fan of the genre (Rock en tu Idioma), you probably hate Mana and cringe when someone says they’re a Rock en Español band.

They’re not. They’re … f*ck … they’re the best band alive. I debated over a Top 5 list for a bit during my Herman Melville class the other day, but here are the five Mana songs I cannot live without (haha, like, Vivir Sin Aire, but, Vivir Sin Mana … I crack myself up).

5. OYE MI AMOR

It would not be a Mana playlist without arguably their biggest Rock hit.  And please, I dare you to name another opening riff more recognized than the Bm F#m of Oye Mi Amor. … You can’t.

4. COMO UN PERRO ENLOQUECIDO

The first Mana song I ever heard. I “borrowed” the CD from a family friend after falling in love with Alex’s drumming in the first 10 seconds of the song. I returned the CD having not listened to ANY OTHER SONG. Sergio’s guitar solo is among my favorite by any guitarist ever.

3.  CLAVADO EN UN BAR

I take that back, Sergio’s solo in this song is my favorite. I used the non-video version because the radio edit takes out that bit of reggae that comes in the last minute of the song, right after the solo. The hell is that! The album version is so much better.

2. EN EL MUELLE DE SAN BLAS

Hmm … in an image …

1. CUANDO LOS ANGELES LLORAN (VERSION UNPLUGGED)

The first time I saw Mana was back in 2002. The Giants were playing the Braves in the NLDS (if my memory serves me correctly, Bonds hit a couple homers off of Kevin Millwood), and my brother Max and I had to sneak out of house and drive to San Jose’s HP Pavilion to watch Mana. We were still going to church frequently at the time, and there was no way my mother would have approved. We snuck out and took the risk because we both wanted to see them play THIS SONG. THIS WAY. To this day, some seven shows later, I pray this play this song.

It seems all of that has paid off in 2012 — Ladies and gentlemen, more on this lineup for the festival later on. But for now, just know that having FOO FIGHTERS at the 2012 edition of the area’s best festival is going to be mind-blowing. I cannot be more excited. Wait, let me try to be … no, cannot be more excited.

I wish I had more time to write about it, because it’s probably my favorite Holland kit. But, I don’t. So, we’ll take this up at another time.

Rodrigo y Gabriela Shine at the Fox
By Julio Lara, Daily Journal Staff

OAKLAND — If you’re a Bay Area purist of Rodrigo y Gabriela, the guitar maestros from Mexico, you woke up Friday morning with a bit of an internal conflict.

OK, a rather big one.

On the one hand, you have the purist side of your persona. You’re in love with RYG’s carefully crafted, yet masterfully erratic guitar artistry that has catapulted them into international stardom. RYG’s spanish influenced style is not unique by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, there is something about watching them play with one another that has captured the heart of countless fans. Thursday night’s ticket for their show at the Fox Theater in Oakland was without a doubt the hottest, most difficult to come upon of the Latin music concert year so far. And with good reason — there is something darn near magical about watching the duo treat their guitars like art canvases. 

But on the other hand, there is part of you that went to their show on Thursday and got something you weren’t expecting and, as a RYG purist, perhaps it fell a little short of your initial expectation. So you don’t quite know if you liked the concert or not. What a moral dilemma to have. Those who came to the Fox Theater in Oakland expecting two hours of the duo sitting, picking, plucking and strumming their way to musical nirvana instead got the pair plus the Caribbean rhythm machine C.U.B.A. equipped with piano, brass and percussion to accompany the RYG guitars. If you didn’t do your homework and had no previous experience with “Area 52,” their fifth studio album, you were caught a bit off-guard and it probably didn’t take too long into their rendition of “Santo Domingo,” and “I Like It Like That,” (the former being off of the 52 album) for some in the audience to go, “hey, what gives? Is this even Rodrigo y Gabriela?”

Truth is, the show was incredible. If you read the rest of the review, you’ll see that I talk about the fusion of the music. I went with my brother, Max, to the show. We grew up around music, happen to be a pair of musicians (albeit, I’m retired and haven’t picked up drumsticks in years, but my brother, he’s a genius), and in searching for an underlying theme, we thought that the collaboration between RYG and C.U.B.A. was indeed special.

To me, what stood out what their ability to fill a space like the Fox with so much energy without, singing. That was a first for me. And it’s what impressed me the most. Anyway, here are more photos. Click on it, it’ll take you to my Facebook account. If you want a particular photo, message me, I’ll get you a print.

Once again, thanks for reading. We have Michel Camilo coming up on the 14th. Then, the grand-daddy of them all, MANA! once again on the July! calendar. Followed shortly by another mammoth show at the Fox, CALLE 13.

UPDATE: REVIEW IS UP AND READY.

By far the hottest ticket of the Latino concert season so far was the Rodrigo y Gabriela show at the Fox Theater in Oakland.

And thanks to the powers that be, the Daily Journal and yours truly got the opportunity to cover the show. The review will be out officially on Saturday, in time for their show in L.A. Here’s a bit of the unedited review …

If you’re a Bay Area purist of Rodrigo y Gabriela, the guitar maestros from Mexico, you woke up Friday morning with a bit of an internal conflict. 
OK, a rather big one.
On the one hand, you have the purist side of your persona. You’re in love with RYG’s carefully crafted, yet masterfully erratic guitar artistry that has catapulted them into international stardom. RYG’s Spanish influenced style is not unique by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, there is something about watching them play with one another that has captured the heart of countless fans. Thursday night’s ticket for their show at the Fox Theater in Oakland was without a doubt the hottest, most difficult to come upon ticket of the Latin music concert year so far. And with good reason — there is something darn near magical about watching the duo treat their guitars like art canvases …

And it continues after that. I’ll post it later, when it comes out. Here are a couple more shots.

OK doke. Enough for now. See y’all tomorrow.

Actually, I had LOTS of help this time around. Here’s the cover of the 2012 Giants Preview in Friday’s Daily Journal. Click for a larger view.

The idea was conceived a couple of weeks ago when I came across some artwork done by my good friend and BFAM McWendell Roth. He’s in the thick of a 365 project where he’s drawing something every day. I came across this cartoonish-style self portrait and fell in love with the idea of possibly putting something together for the Giants. McWendell agreed and came up with five different sketches of specific pitchers I thought would work for our idea. As of a Sunday though, there were doubts as to whether I’d have the time to pull this off. Nathan Mollat, sports editor, is on a mini-vacay, and as such, I’m in charge of the SPORTS section which doesn’t give me much time to build something like this.

But after seeing McWendell’s picture of Tim Lincecum, I knew there was no way I couldn’t at least try to work something out. After chatting with him a bit, we went five deep on the sketches. He sent me what I’m showing you here.

My initial intent was to take the sketches into Illustrator and trace them out. But I liked the background, that texture of a sketch pad, and thus, I decided to keep it. Once I expanded that, I went to work cutting out the five different portraits and placing them where and how I wanted. The font, it’s YouAreLoved, which McWendell introduced me to before this on a homework assignment he was working on.

After getting most of the cover done, I knew we had to build something for the inside page. Again, most of these are built blind, because we don’t exactly know the amount of space we’ll have available in the newspaper until the day of (or the night before). When I started building the inside page you see below, I had an idea of what I could ask for and what I would get in terms of editorial space. I was right. Click below for a larger view.

I think I pulled this part off very well, considering the space. I had McWendell sketch up a template for the jerseys you see on the left. And from there, I just went plugging away on details I thought would look cool. As it turns out, I was right. I have to say, I’m usually very hard on myself. But I actually liked how this particular project turned out.

We’ve gotten some pub for it already. I sent the pdfs over to the team at Sportdesigner.com. They were nice enough to put us in their Facebook slideshow.

I’m going to finish this post by once again extending my gratitude and appreciation for McWendell. He’s one of my longest tenured friends. We go all the way back to elementary school at George Washington in Daly City. Like McWendell, I have a lot of friends who, through their talents, make me look smarter and better than I actually am. It was an honor to work with such creative energy. Thank you for your help, Mac. You made me look like a genius.

We all loved the idea, but thought the guy was playing an April Fools joke of the cruelest variety on us. As it turns out, Israel was absolutely correct (and let me tell you, the man can gloat with the best them!). Matt Cain did indeed sign today, Monday, for $127.5 million dollars — making him the highest paid right-hander, pretty much ever. It’s one of the biggest re-signings ever given his stature in S.F Giants lore. Here’s how we commemorated it in the Daily Journal.

I will absolutely not take the credit for that headline, which I happen to absolutely love. That goes to Marcus Ortiz, long-time friend and now So Cal native (come home, Bro. Come home). I’m sitting in my car thinking about layout and covering a baseball game at Aragon, going through puns (“Here comes the Cain!” Naw, that won’t work, he’s been HERE. Idiot). Anyway, nothing was sticking, so I went to Facebook. Here’s the post.

Once I got into the office, it was a matter of searching for a half decent photo and manipulating the SPORTS flag … what really made it stand out was the headline. It’s awesome. So, thanks for the Ortiz mind. Haha. You can read about the deal here. I feel nothing about it. Well, that’s not true. But, I’m not a columnist yet. And this isn’t that type of blog.