#calicokid

This tune is probably my favorite original by Alex Goins. It’s one of those tunes that had me saying, “god damn, I wish I wrote this” But the fact is, only Alex could of wrote this piece. The song employs all of his strongest songwriting technique; The music relies on a unique, hypnotic lick that I never get tired of hearing. There’s a ping pong match of crescendo and resolve balanced by an obscene level of control over his own vocal dynamics.

The lyrics are a fascinating rebellion against anyone who confronts the legitimacy of young “love” Whoever he is speaking to in this song I can’t say for sure (I have theories) but what he says can range from criticism, to a  condescending defense, to almost  frantic moments where he legitimizes the nature of love via inner dialogue. Lastly, the narration sort of ends with some personal creeds, reminding himself to remember to keep on top of the essential things a man’s life boils down to do. The lyrics and music create a perfect atmosphere; a vibe that is tense, paranoid, yet sincere and  introspective.

This is one of many songs Al has in his in his catalog. He breaks it out on special occasions, never wanting it to sound played out. As I said in an earlier post, don’t ever sleep on that boy AG’s songwriting. Especially after you hear this masterful. personal favorite of mine.  He recorded this in Belgium with a band he founded/fronted called Bye Bye Bluebird. These lyrics and chords capture that unsettled feeling everyone faces when defending a love, contemplating the nature of love, and meditating on the self. 

Back in 2009, Alex and I were both back in Austin for the holiday.  We spent most of the trip with our families but managed to get a few practices in. The clock was winding down for when AG had to go back to Belgium, and I had to get back to Boulder. We found a last minute studio in Manor the second to last day we were in town, and booked a 9:00 am session. That day also happened to be the same day that our dear friend Nick Stiler’s mother’s funeral was taking place. She was a dynamite woman, who had been so kind to me and Alex and encouraged what we were doing from the very first time Nick brought us over. We decided to do the session as fast as we could then haul ass back down to south Ausitn to make sure we didn’t miss the service, which luckily we didn’t. 

I wrote this song in Colorado, and this is pretty biographical and accurate for how this particular summer looked. The original way I played it was thick with chords, long, and drawn out. I sent a recording and a chord chart to Alex via email to see what we could do with it. Alex took the song in a completely different direction. His take was more upbeat (which is a nice juxtaposition to the emotionally draining lyrics) and all of sudden, a the song that was very somber, borderline depressing, was a hopeful song about overcoming some sad elements.

Whichever version, the song itself is about holding on through a hard time. The way I wrote the music acknowledged this, yet it did nothing to change it. In a weird way, Alex’s take engages the content better than I had, because his version captured just the right amount of melancholy, with out letting the message of forward movement become lost by slow, overly epic music verses. This is the way we play this song now, and when we do play it, i’m reminded of  another reason why I’m lucky to have a fellow songwriter critique drafts. I say big shout to AG for singing this so early that morning, and letting me play on that 12 string which I had no business playing on. In any case, we found a way to make it.

It’s called “Hold on” and yes there are some sad elements that take place in this song, but please focus on the message of the chorus– light always comes after the dark. 

When I found out my bro AG was coming back to the states, I started to send him every shitty music file I had on deck. He plays it a bit cooler than I do, so in my inbox, there were 2 or 3 of his gems. I’m 95% positive he recorded this in a 4x4 bathroom at his residence in Antwerp. This always fun to play, and we still break this out in various manifestations. Great example of Al’s dexterity/adaptability on vocal delivery, his ability to intrigue with voice and acoustic guitar, and from a lyrical stand point, it’s a  beautiful still life portrait, taken from his mind and reanimated.

This song means well. This song is like the pilot episode of TV show that looked really cool or seemed like it would do well, but was canceled after it aired. I laid down the instrumental one day after making the choice to pay “homage”/straight up steal a couple parts of Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane” and Black Crows “Wiser for the Time” I had no lyrics, only the melody for the chorus and a clever agenda. Me and Alex met at a La Quinta near the Airport, and before we started writing lyrics I told him my plan: Make the song about a relationship conflict, where all the lyrics (except for the last line) come out very vague, non-abrasive, maybe even forgettable. My plan was to write lines that didn’t much imagery, leaving any active listener totally comfortable for the duration of the song. Hell, they might even say the interaction between the male and female in this song is kinda sweet: Until the very last line. On the last line, I insisted we finish it by planting an image in the listener that was raw and violent--perhaps as a satire of some of the darker undertones a lot of my songs have, or just to get any kind of rise out of the listener. I wanted to M. Night Shamyalan their asses, and clever as I thought it was, the lyrics we wrote through out the verses ended up to bland, and we might of held on to this one if we had worked at the verses and revised it a bit. So here’s a lo-fi recording of a song that was meant to wither away in a computer recycle bin. I will say, with our first days in the studio coming up on the 29th of May, our album may borrow a bit from this tune during a break down or interlude. The chorus (which is my favorite part) is redeemable if sang with fuller harmonies, and if I can get AG on board with it, this isn’t the last of “Put Down the Knife” 

God bless you all, 

Album Review: Calicokid (Santa Ana, CA) – “Intergalactic High”

A profound amount of intellectual, conscious, deep emotion dark tempered lyrics is what this album holds, alongside some dope SMOKER songs.  Speaking from the heart is what Calicokid (Immortal Minds) is doing on his most recent Album titled ” Intergalactic High“, incorporating RAW Underground influenced sounds with a true smokers experience.  Out here in the SoCal area its hard to find anyone who…

Calicokid – Q&A Interview

Tell us a little about yourself. Where you are from? How long have you been making Hip Hop?

I come from a Hispanic family from Jalisco Mexico.I learned English at the age of 8, I’ve been infatuated with music since I can remember. I am from Santa Ana California,Born & raised. I’ve been making Hip Hop Music for about 8 years, since the age of 17.

What influences you in making Hip Hop?

My core…

Calicokid (Santa Ana, CA) – “Another Way” Ft. DJ Kwestion

Rhyme Originatorz and UnlockedDesign presents Calicokid’s, ” Another Way ” Ft Dj Kwestion. New single from Calicokid’s Intergalactic High. Video directed by Agustin Guzman and Calicokid.

Album Download Link: https://soundcloud.com/victorcalicokidjimenez/sets/interegalactic-high

https://twitter.com/theimmortalmind

Calicokid (Santa Ana, CA) – “Pen Pal” (INTERGALACTIC HIGH)

FIRST SOLO ALBUM BY CALICOKID (ASCAP) ENTITLED INTERGALACTIC HIGH SONG TITLE:Pen Pal TOLANO Publishing 2014

All Songs Produced, Arranged, & Mixed by Calicokid Except Track 4 Mixed by MikeMixMaster in Manhattan New York All songs Mastered By MikeMixMaster Except Track 7 Mastered by Cain Kong

Album Download Link: https://soundcloud.com/victorcalicokidjimenez/sets/interegalactic-high

https://twitte…