After his appearance at the House of Blues last Saturday night, Saul Hernandez will be back to southern California on November 2nd, to headline the Dia De Los Muertos celebration at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
To talk about his solo album and solo concerts, we spoke to Saul Hernandez via telephone from Mexico City and here is what we talked about.
The Interview with Saul Hernandez
On your solo concerts, you recite poetry and tell stories about how your songs came about, how did the idea develop?
“During my concerts, I often talk about politics or social issues, so when this project began, I wanted to share more about what I care about and literature and poetry are very dear to me. I wanted to share my experience with the audience because I think it is very important for people to get closer to the lyrics and literature. I would like to invite people to read more and to understand that literature is one of our most powerful weapons to combat ignorance and to become a society that is more informed and better prepared.”
What can a fan, who has not attended one of your solo shows, expect?
What is interesting about these shows is that besides the idea of getting closer to the lyrics or poetry, there is also punk, there’s loud music, and songs you can slam dance to and that is what I like about this project because it has a little bit of everything, it can go from the sublime to the ridiculous.”
What do you think about the positive reception for your solo album “Remando”?
“It was received quite well, it was nominated for a Latin Grammy, and the tour has grown thanks to this album, I purposely did not want to do the same thing I used to do with by band mates in Caifanes or Jaguares, and that is why I made this record, I wanted to have a new dialogue with the music and I wanted to show other things that I am searching for”
Since you are the main songwriter for Jaguares and Caifanes, when you wrote the songs for the solo album, was it hard to distinguish the new songs from the other bands?
“At first I was worried about it because I am used to writing for my band mates, I know their sensibilities and in a way, I used to write based on those sensibilities. When I began to write for “Remando” I thought the songs sounded too much like Jaguares, so I stopped writing for about 6 months. I waited for all this information that was going into my head to digest and to let it out at the right time. I also didn’t want the typical rock band so I looked for jazz musicians to help me with this project, because that allowed me to go out of my comfort zone and go where I had not gone before and I felt very secure and clear about what I was writing.
Saul Hernandez and his band will be headlining the Day of the Dead festivities at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery on November 2nd.
