Memoirs of a Damned (1)

The Musician's Years (a classic in popular music)

My beginnings as a musician date back to my elementary school years. At La Salle School, where I completed my primary education, there was a rondalla led by Don Pedro Álvarez Hidalgo, an amateur musician who collaborated with the institution in teaching traditional instruments. Since the guitar was too large an instrument for my short stature, my parents, advised by Don Pedro, bought me a bandurria (a traditional Spanish instrument with six double strings, morphologically similar to the mandolin).

One of the best moments I remember was when, at a festival organized by La Salle in Puerto Real, I played two musical pieces by artists who were successful in Spain in front of a large audience: Cisne Cuello Negro by Basiliio and Nana del Recuerdo by Emilio José.

In high school, we wanted to form a band with our friends, but it all remained a dream due to a lack of resources. We love ELO, Barón Rojo, and a lot of bands, so we listen at the moment Spain was opening the doors for freedom.

I don't remember exactly how I got into music during those years. I think it was with a trio that did covers of Mexican and Spanish songs with two local artists. We played at the Summer cinema, it was modified as a place for pub.

After the Brisas trio, I joined a dance band called Lima. It was a very beautiful time in my life, and I remember it fondly.

There I learned to play pop, rock, techno, etc. thanks mainly to the help of Javi León and Manuel, who was nicknamed "the Turk." In those years, I had studied in the School of Music, but I really didn't know absolutely anything about popular music.

After Lima, the Montecarlo Orchestra arrived, which included musicians from the Brisas trio, as well as José María Lobo, who played guitar (a Gibson Les Poul that he adored). José María also became a confidant and friend beyond the strictly musical. He said about me: silver hands.

Dance bands followed one after another. In one of them, I met the best drummer I've ever had the opportunity to play with: José Manuel Macho. It was also during those years that I grew weary and bored with playing other people's music, bringing a period to a close.

But before that end, there were a few more trios, like the one we formed with José Manuel Vasallo and Enrique Barea, two friends from our youth, and as an anecdote, at one show we had to run away because it seemed like we weren't very popular.

Those years were very difficult for me personally: the death of my father, to whom I eternally owe my passion for music, my first macular hemorrhage, which caused severe depression, and the breakup with my first girlfriend.

Later, before finally abandoning my career as a cover musician, I spent my years as a hotel pianist. The first was in Zahara de los Atunes, at the Atlanterra, thanks to the recommendation of Pepe Jimenez, a musical instrument dealer from Cádiz. Then came the Confortel Isilantilla in the province of Huelva. Both hotels were run by German directors.

My job there consisted of playing in a piano bar in the evenings. I had a lot of free time, and while at the latter, I used my time to train as an elementary school music teacher. There I also met Jesús Daza, a friendly guy from Cádiz, who made the boredom easier.