We are back, anyway
The album Rooted Time was released in July 2017 through the Reverbnation platform, five years after we released the singles The First Time and Moonlight. The album had demo quality in certain aspects and was full of grammatical errors (since English language is not my native language). There was also a technical error on my part as the producer when releasing it in quadraphonic format (optimal for both analog and digital compact disc formats but not for web digital). As a result, when playing two songs on the platforms and on YouTube, two tracks were lost, leaving a gap filled only by the rhythm section.
Specifically, it happened with Hand in Hand in the piano solo and with Behind the Storm in the second guitar solo, and it was a mistake that we carried for almost nine years, even though the album was still accepted in English-speaking countries and some Saxon and Cyrillic-speaking countries.
In Mexico, we didn't receive the same reception—though there was some, to a moderate degree—partly due to the language barrier and partly because the music had a retro feel. The fact that the so-called commercial urban style was in vogue (which I'll refrain from commenting on) also played a role. In Latin America, there was a mainstream surge of danceable and electronic rhythms that relegated rock to the underground. This included urban rock and rock in Spanish, which were supposedly the most popular with the masses.
Of course, we knew that and accepted it, and the reaction from the European, Asian, and North American public took us by surprise. Back in 2018, we were planning a tour of certain provinces in Mexico and the southern United States, with a strong possibility of traveling to Milan, Italy; and Berlin, Germany. But things went against us for several reasons.
One of my mistakes was choosing backing musicians based on my personal criteria and the friendship I had with them for years, which brought us an element that asked to share the leadership but never showed up to rehearsals and we had to do without him, with fatal administrative consequences.
When we were about to solve that problem by calling the excellent Hector Melgarejo (bassist), the global COVID-19 pandemic began and obviously we had to cancel all plans.
In 2022, we lost our manager, Lucio Usobiaga, due to respiratory failure, and the following three years were spent recovering and fighting for our survival. This further delayed our plans to return to the stage.
In other words, from 2018 when we had to stop, to 2025 when there was team coordination to plan an eventual return (seven years); trends had changed for many reasons towards even more disappointing and cheap styles that made Rock a style necessarily based on Pop songs or experimental hybrids that have little relation to real Rock.
At this point, another obstacle arises from the new generations of potential audiences: the overuse of resources derived from Artificial Intelligence, Auto-Tune, and the conversion of music to more conventional formats. At one time, rhythmic loops and background sequences flooded the market with electronic music, and it was easier and more profitable to create songs using AI applications than to record real music with real instruments.
I'd like to say it's nothing personal, but on the contrary, it's entirely personal because that market led the public to the consumer market and not the artistic market, and today a young guy prefers to listen to a song about how to get a girl (or another guy) into bed rather than a Paganini violin solo. Or, girls who look to trendy music as a way to seduce boys (or girls).
Then I faced the same old question: Why in English? The first argument from those who object to our decision to record in English brings up the issues of anti-nationalism and self-deprecation (which in means preferring foreign things) and suggests we to sing what Mexican styles are. And that's the first story. I don't know what people mean by Mexican styles, but if that's the case, we'd have to use conch shells, rattles made from seashells or nuts, flutes made from jungle wood, and other pre-Hispanic instruments.
Mariachi music is of French origin, banda music has German roots, and norteño music is related to bluegrass, which in turn shares a heritage from the Irish polka. Guitars, in any case, weren't invented in the United States but in Spain, and if there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that neither cumbia nor salsa were invented in Tepito. Both styles are of South American origin.
The basic idea behind recording in English (however badly I sing in English) is for the international market, and that's something I've maintained for forty years, not just recently. Whether we like it or not, only with that language can we achieve global recognition. Among other things, I also believe that the term Rock en Español (Rock in Spanish) is a vile marketing label because, if you'll excuse me, Rock was born in English and always will be in English.
Now that we're back in the studio reviewing the album Rooted Time to update it on the platforms (Reverbnation, Bandcamp, and SoundCloud), we realized that, despite everything, the record remains timeless and continues to be well-received across the ocean. I guess I wasn't so wrong after all.
If our audience listens to the album again, they will find some small new features after the adjustments, and new audiences will discover what is interesting about our album.
I think it's unlikely that Vassy Courtes will tour in 2026 because a tour takes a lot of time in terms of logistics and planning, but it's probable that I, as a solo artist, will make occasional appearances at concerts and recitals in some parts of the country. I'll detail that on my own blog, since it's about me as a solo artist. For now, as a group, we're still in the necessary negotiations for the next step.
In addition, there's material from Vassy Courtes that was left unfinished in the studio when we had to stay home. Enough material to consider for a second album.
Thank you for being here and thank you for eight years and months of patience that kept us in the top ten of the charts on the platforms mentioned.
Sincerely
Tony Hendricks, Messy Blues
