Enrique Chi believes there just aren’t many bands like his, particularly in his native Missouri.
“There’s a vibrant visual arts scene, jazz scene and even an indie rock scene,” says the singer/guitarist. “But there are no bands like us within 300 miles of where we live.”
It might be more like 3,000 – because his group, Making Movies, is a thoroughly unique bilingual/multicultural marriage of North American indie rock and Central American influence, grown from the Panamanian roots of Enrique and his brother/bandmate/bassist Diego.
Initially, Kansas City music fans didn’t know what to make of songs like the Afro-Latino love number “Cuna De Vida” and its Caribbean-flavored rhythm, peppered with Mariachi-inspired fingerpicking, but once it earned regular rotation on a popular indie radio stations, the group’s gigs started proliferating. Now the quartet is getting attention on a bigger scale: Los Lobos saxophonist/keyboardist Steve Berlin – whose long list of credits include Paul Simon, R.E.M. and John Lee Hooker – produced their second and most recent record A La Deriva, which led to more touring countrywide and spots opening for Ozomatli (who plays Golden State Theatre Feb. 19). The experience also gave the young group a whole new education.
“Working with [Berlin] was a turning point for the band,” Chi says. “There are a ton of things that we learned from him.”
One of the most important pieces of advice they received: “Don’t think, just play, be weird and be who you are.”
From the rhythmic ensalada of New Wave-tropicalia-’90s-alt rock “Hasta El Día de Mi Muerte” to the cosmic funk of “Pendulum Swing,” they are exactly their crazy wacky selves on A La Deriva.
Berlin admits that even he didn’t see this group coming, and he’s seen a lot throughout his professional career.
“To be honest, a pointy-headed intellectual like me was kind of shocked you could find something like this in Kansas City, of all places,” he says. “I had to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.”
MAKING MOVIES, THE CRANKS and DJ CHILANGO 8pm Thursday, Feb. 5. Hacienda, 1449 N. Davis Road, Salinas. $8. www.facebook.com/pages/Hacienda-Mexican-Grill
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