Music vet and New Times scribe Lee Zimmerman offers his insights, opinions, and observations about the local scene. This week: Fernando Perdomo shares his five faves.
Fernando Perdomo is the sort of guy who seems to never stop. He spends a ton of time in the studio, so much so that he's probably got one of those vampire-like complexions because he rarely sees daylight. He records both individually and under the auspices of his excellent band, Dreaming in Stereo. And then when he's not making music on his own, he can usually be found plying his multi-instrumental talents in support of any number of other local artists. On top of all that, he runs his own record label -- aptly dubbed Forward Motion -- and in what seems like only a matter of months, he's put together an artist roster that makes many of the more established record companies look like novices. Add to that the fact that he's also playing daddy to a newborn baby... well, it's hard to imagine this guy's got any time to do anything other than to eat, sleep, and tend to his bodily functions.
Somehow, Perdomo found time to
Somehow, Perdomo found time to
answer our inquiry about the music that moves him. Given his love of music, we suspect that he
didn't even hesitate to sacrifice one of those aforementioned human
necessities to put this list together, but we'd shudder to
think about which one.
1) Paul McCartney - McCartney: "I recently entered the 'Maybe I'm Amazed' cover contest, and listening to this record reminded me of one of the places where it all began: Camelot Music at Omni mall, where I bought my first cassette copy of McCartney at 8 years old. I love the DIY aspect of this record and the fact that Paul did it all alone... kinda like what I did with the first Dreaming in Stereo record."
2) Jefferson Starship - "St Charles": "I don't think there is a better song to demonstrate what I love the most about music. I only recently discovered this track, and I'm already obsessed with it. It's a study in group singing and emotional vocals."
3) Tim Moore - Tim Moore: "Tim Moore wrote "Rock and Roll Love Letter" for the Bay City Rollers, but more importantly, he wrote "Second Avenue," which Art Garfunkel made a hit. Tim's original ranks in my top ten favorite songs of all time; it makes me sad and happy at the same time. What a terrible time the character is going through, breaking up with the woman he loves and moving into a small apartment alone..."
4) Gordon Lightfoot - "Beautiful": "Lately, I've been listening to nothing but Easy 93.1 in the car, and it has changed my life! I am obsessed with the art form of '70s easy listening music. The best production, songwriting, musicianship, and harmonies ever. 'Beautiful' has shown me what true beauty is. I hope I can write a love song as profound as this one day."
5) Jason Falkner - Bedtime With the Beatles: "I just became a father to an amazing son five weeks ago named Adrian Bleu, and this CD is a must have for any parent. Jason turns the masterful melodies of Beatles classics into majestic dreamscapes based on a pillow of tremolo guitars, Rhodes pianos, and Dreamweaver synthesizers. This is the best album to raise your kid on... although Jason's rock stuff is forever going to be in my mental jukebox!!"
Here's "I'm Only Sleeping":
Here's "I'm Only Sleeping":
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