bio

Mario Alemán

     Born 1970 in McAllen, located at the southern most tip of Texas, Mario's interest in music started at a very young age. " I remember being drawn to the music emanating from my uncle's room, I think it was the Stones or the Beatles, maybe both. I really don't remember, I must've been about 6 or 7 years of age, but I certainly dug that sound: the combination of harmony & melody. I would sit right by the door outside his room and just listen to the music. Kind of weird, but it's true."

     At the age of 14, Mario was given his first guitar. "It was one of my uncle Gus' classical guitars, can't remember the brand for the life of me... I can say it had pretty high action, but since it was a nylon stringed instrument it wasn't that bad. It did the job."

    For the next couple of years, Mario intensified his focus on his new-found hobby. " I'd come home from school around 4pm and the first thing I'd do was go for my guitar and start practicing. From working with scales & chords to learning songs by 'ear', anything I considered a benefit to my playing --I'd give it try. Most of the time I would stay up until midnight or later --on a school night. Mom wasn't too happy about that. Weekends? Obviously, way too many dedicated to the guitar. I just couldn't help it."

   Soon, right after high school, Mario began to realize that guitar playing could be more than just a hobby. "Throughout my school years I had very BIG dreams and actually entertained the idea that maybe I could try my hand at becoming the next 'guitar hero' or something like that , but at the same time I didn't take it too seriously.   Didn't consider myself to be that good, anyway. But still, I packed my bags and moved to the Big 'D' in hopes of landing some gigs."

   In Dallas, TX. Mario enrolled at The Art Institute of Dallas for their Music & Video Business Program. "It was a pretty cool experience all in all. I got the basics out of it. Music biz terminology, legal stuff, lot's of text reading, etc. But the really cool part of it all was the hands-on training at an actual professional recording studio. Learning the basics of a multi-track recording console, mixing & editing with it, microphone application techniques, bunch of stuff. That's really what got me into the whole D-I-Y approach to recording. Soon after, I got my own multi-track recording equipment."

    Aside from his studies at the Institute, Mario still made time for the very reason he'd moved to Dallas. " I met alot of great local musicians during my stay and quickly got involved with a variety of musical projects. Somehow, I made time to jam with as many bands as possible! From groups that played synth-pop to prog-rock to blues and jazz... it was such cool vibe. I feel I learned alot from the whole experience."

    In '93, Mario decided to move back to McAllen and immediately got back into the town's local music scene. "I got really busy soon right after getting back. Did a couple of gigs locally with a metal cover act called Scapegoat. Soon there after, I did this brief, but fun international music stint. It was this Spanish-rock act called Mentes Ajenas. Got a chance to play alot south of the border: Monterrey, NL., Veracruz, Mexico City, D. F.  The musicians from both Scapegoat and Mentes Ajenas were extremely talented and really inspired me to give it my all in everything we did."

    Couple years later, Mario found himself doing session work at Pro Sound, a local recording studio, for some well known tejano artists. "I contributed my playing to a couple of tracks on Bobby Pulido's Zona De Peligro (EMI International) and Martiza's Quien Sera (EMI Latin)."

     It was also around that time period that Mario got into the nuevo flamenco guitar style. "A good friend of mine named T. T. Cofaxx introduced me to the music of the Gipsy Kings --it was actually a laserdisc of them playing live --and was I blown away! Soon there after, I bought myself a decent classical guitar and let me tell you -It was like learning guitar all over again, so-to-speak. It was a whole new approach to the rhythms associated with that particular genre --lots of rumba type handiwork. And that's just the beginning. Definitely challenging, but very rewarding."

    In late summer of '98, Mario completed work and released his first solo effort titled, Acoustic Poetry. "I'm very proud of that album -in respect to the fact that it was done using that whole D-I-Y approach I spoke about earlier. 'If you WILL IT, IT WILL happen!' I really believe in that. And you really get something out of the whole thing... the whole process involved. It teaches you --well, in my case, it taught me to organize & prioritize my thoughts, my methods, EVEN my finances, and it gave my work ethic a boost! I was determined to make the music sound the best it could with the kinds of resources I had available to me at that time: Tascam PortaStudio 424 4-track cassette recorder, Epiphone Chet Atkins CE acoustic/electric guitar, DigiTech Legend 21 Pro for FX, a borrowed bass guitar (thanks, Eustacio!) and a drum machine (thanks, Jerry!)! The album was recorded entirely in my bedroom. Couldn't afford a real studio, way too expensive. So, basically, it was recorded like that out of necessity. It was also alot of fun! No pressure. Done just at my own pace."

    In 2004, Mario released his second solo effort AND his first release on the innerflame PRODUCTIONS label. "Soulspeak" is the title of this work and it's a compilation of original arrangements created the last couple of years. I'm very satisfied with the compositions. As a whole, the album is bigger in terms of arrangement and production. I definitely spent more time AND money on this project, --alot of sacrifice. And personally, it was very spiritual. Lots of DISCIPLINE involved. It took ALOT of discipline just to follow thru with every decision made not only during the writing & recording process of the album, but EVERYTHING else involved: Who'll master the album? Who'll do the artwork? Where will you have the CD manufactured? How many will you print? How much will it ALL cost & can you afford it? Serious questions, but with good critical thinking and careful planning, somehow, I ended up getting the job done."

- Serengetti Jonez