By Matt Muñoz, MÁS Staff

Two years ago, the Bak-ersfield Latin rockquintet was beingwatched on interna-

tional TV after winning SiTV’s‘Jammin’ online band battleand making it to the finalsbroadcast.

Although the band lost to agroup described as another“future pop music casualty,” itwas probably better that Velo-rio took home the consolationprize. After all, most realityshow competition winnersfall into obscurity sooner thanlater.

Not Velorio. Like most new bands mak-

ing a big impression in high-profile places early in theircareers, Velorio took the expe-rience and immediatelyplanned their next moves —writing new music and tour-ing across the country.

“We’ve been expanding,”said Velorio lead-vocalist andguitarist Alvaro Caceres of theband’s continued mission.“And preparing ourselves forthe next step.”

Carefully plotting their nextcareer move, fellow bandmembers Ben Gomez, bass;Eric Powers, keys; AdrianNevarez, percussion; JasonBlakely, drums, bass, havealready scored some choicegigs for an unsigned band.Headlining the HollywoodHouse of Blues this past year,the band has also performedat L.A.’s Conga Room andbeen a featured band at vari-ous artist showcases, thanksto their manager and bookingagent Claudia Guerrero ofSouthern California-based,

Chicle Atomico Promotions. “To survive in this game,

everything has to be stream-lined so we don’t step on eachother’s toes. Claudia beganbooking us more than the LAbands because we wanted towork,” Gomez said. “She’sbeen an immense help to us.”

Building their fanbase viatheir MySpace and Facebookpages, the group’s “brick bybrick” approach has also putthem on the road in someinteresting travel arrange-ments from California to Ore-gon, even as far as Chicago.Making their recent trekaboard a tour bus that runsentirely on used kitchengrease, the band venturedthrough city alleys requestingcontributions from variousrestaurants.

“We refer to it as our envi-ronmentally conscious tour,”Caceres laughed. “The Asianmom and pop restaurants

had the best grease.”Percussionist Nevarez, also

a recent CSUB graduate,added his own description forfilling the 120 gallon convert-ed fuel tank that included asimple hose and battery-operated pump.

“We put on the rubbergloves and went for it. We’djump out and just go, go,go…”

In addition to thinking out-side of the box when it comesto touring, the band has alsosteered their music in a differ-ent direction. Originally ajam-based band with extend-ed solos and multi-layeredpercussion, Powers explainedtheir new course to keepthings light.

“We’ve been concentratingon simplicity. When we firststarted out we had a home stu-dio we used to record as muchas we can. Things becamemuddled,” explained Powers.

Hit tracks like “Entregate,”and “Lights, Camera, Dissatis-faction” from their latest ses-sions are radio-friendly jamswith the right blend of theband’s strongest musical ele-ments. Catch the band liveand there’s no resisting theirinvitation pa’ bailar.

“The dance game is addict-ing, and we love making peo-ple dance,” said Caceres.

So, as the world’s 'Roc enEspanol' scene seems to betaking a creative siesta by try-ing to imitate their U.S. idols,Velorio’s music reminds youof why you still wear your oldCaifanes T-shirt. You can’tbring back the dead, but youcan rest assured that withinthe armies of bands spinningtheir wheels – there is hope inthe Valle Central.

“It’s only going to get bet-ter,” said Powers.On the Web:www. veloriomusic.com

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Viva Velorio! Velorio continuesto blaze musictrails

PHOTO BY ALEX OMEGA/COURTESY OF VELORIO

Velorio, from left, Adrian Nevarez, Jason Blakely, Alvaro Caceres, Ben Gomez, and Eric Powers.