Electric Piquete is the José Martí of Miami's Latin funk scene. The group's commitment to the groove is a force to be reckoned with, and they are full of poetry and fuego.
Zipping from national TV to a club near you, the big, nine-man band has an album, video, and single ready to drop.
Here's what bass player Mike Mut has to say about new band members, old bands, and dying while looking at the sun.
See also: Miami's 16 Best Latin Rock Bands of All Time
Crossfade: What's happening this Friday?
Michael Mut: We're playing somewhere we've never played before, Homefield Sports Bar and Grill in Kendall. They're onto something there.
What's in your set?
Originals and covers, Latin funk, jazz standards like "Watermelon Man" by Herbie Hancock. We got a new sax player, a new keyboard player, Pepe Montes, who plays with Marc Anthony and Carlos Vives. He's also a real active session player, and he's Cuban classical trained. We're lucky to have him.
You've played national TV a couple of times recently, right?
Yeah, we were the house band for Fusion TV for two separate weeks and one fill-in spot.
How was it?
Great experience. We played live at 5 p.m. every day and then rebroadcast at 8 a.m. and 11. And we had to rearrange all of our songs into 30-second and one-minute formats.
How big is your band?
We're a big band. Usually eight people. Sometimes nine.
What else you got coming up?
On October 18, we're playing Woody's West End Tavern for our drummer Ed Rosado's birthday. It's gonna be a big jam. Musicians, bring your instruments.
What's his music history?
He studied at Miami Dade College with a famous drummer. Then he had a band called Smashing Hammers that used to play Washington Square and all these old clubs on the beach. And then he had Rezidue, which was hard-core avant garde fusion craziness. They picked me up as a sax player, but they didn't want me to play any musical notes, just make noise. That was how we started out.
Well, actually we met at Jerry Bassin Distributors. That was a one-stop that bought music from all the record labels and sold to all the stores like Peaches and Specs. This was 1993, and a lot of music people used to work there, like Sam Fogarino from Interpol, Neurodisc label founder Tom O'Keefe, and Ed Rosado, who is the founder and de facto musical director. Which is rare from the drum scene. But you know what they say: "Good drummer, good band. Great drummer, great band."
What else you working on?
New single with a music video called "De Cara al Sol." It's about the legendary José Martí, who was mortally wounded in battle but died staring into the sun. That's poetic. He was a lawyer who should have stayed behind the lines, but instead he rode into the field of battle and paid with his life for doing so. I always wanted to write something to match that.
Awesome. Any shoutouts?
Yeah, all our Kendall peeps. Come on out and support this great new place, the Homefield Sports Bar and Grill.
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Electric Piquete. Friday, September 12, at Homefield Sports Bar and Grill, 8575 SW 124th Ave., Miami. The show starts at 10 p.m., and there's no cover. Call 305-412-2220, or visit homefieldsportsbar.com.
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