Bardo Martinez

Please introduce yourself: what do you do? where are you from? where are you now?

I’m a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist  / producer.

I was born in Santa Ana, California. My dad is Mexican, my mom is Colombian, I was raised in La Mirada...(and currently) I’m on my bed next to my sleeping kid in L.A.

Chicano Batman was born out of the multifaceted Mexican-American experience.  Other musical peers from that generation of live bands - La Santa Cecilia, Buyepongo, Las Cafeteras, Maria Del Pilar, El Haru Karoi, to name a few - took the stage at La Cita to play to a packed room on many nights. As a low-key hub for underground music culture and a creative network, La Cita seemed equivalent to the legendary NYC spot CBGB's, Philadelphia's The 5 Spot, or any un-flashy nightspot that is a safe space and good time, and ground zero for tomorrow's new indie stars. Chicano Batman's performances at that downtown venue offered visibility & brown pride to a devoted Latinx fanbase that opened the doors for the band's success nowadays. In those earlier days, what was the energy like with so much musical creativity in that small room? 

La Cita is but one of many smaller venues we would get booked at; the Little Temple, The Paramount before it was a venue, The M Bar, Self Help Graphics, people’s living rooms, street festivals. Back in the day, we played everywhere until we said ‘ok, no show unless the pay is at least $300’ (laughs). The energy back in the day was amazing!!! In the days of Mapquest and the beginnings of Facebook, social media didn’t dominate, so, it felt a lot freer in many ways…very organic, spontaneous. We had a crowd of usual suspects that kept on growing! So, by the time we played La Cita, the band had grown a lot, especially after we had recorded the ‘Cycles of Existential Rhyme’ album. I guess a turning point was when we felt entire crowds yelling back the lyrics with wild enthusiasm...that classic take-off moment for every band.

Okay flashing back: it's New Year's Eve 2019. In your mind, your calendar, and your tour plans, you can see 2020 is going to be a busy year. A new album is on the way, and the scheduled tour & appearances on various late-night tv programs were set to propel Chicano Batman into new heights. The year starts out okay, and then in mid-March, the world shuts down, and so do many of your plans. How did this affect you and the band, and how did you remain inspired as performances shifted to virtual platforms?

 It was rough. ‘Invisible People’ is miles ahead of our first 3 records. At least that’s the way we see it. Working with Leon Michels in 2016 was a game-changer. We all developed immensely from that experience. By the time we start tracking that record in 2019, the nuances, dynamics, arrangements, performances by all of us, was way tighter than anything else we had put out by that time. Not to mention having Shawn Everett smash the production. That was another quantum leap. That was all pre-quarantine.

Doing press during the pandemic became super boring for me, and repetitive. 

No disrespect to the team or the band: they did their best to promote and keep it moving. But we literally constructed that record to DESTROY stages. Instead, we did like 1,000 virtual zoom interviews at home. At a certain point, I decided: let me just finish my own solo record. I had been compiling tracks for years - producing music is pretty much my favorite thing to do. So, I finished it during quarantine. I spent months mixing and recording, re-recording, listening and layering…my masters were done towards the end of 2020. I just spent the whole time grinding, and now its done and ready for release.

Speaking of clever navigation, you have a vibrant solo career, as BARDO I can sense the home record collection is getting the credit for blooming such a wide range of sonic influences. One can hear early 80's electro boogie, 70's afrobeat, Jamaican dub, Motown, and some serious late-night 'blue-lights-in-the-basement' type steamy skin-rubbing cosmic soul. When does the full-length drop? When you're writing new music, what comes first: the lyrics, the rhythm, or the band association (deciding whether it's for Chicano Batman or for BARDO.)? Have you ever started writing something for the band initially but later adopt it for solo recording? 

 (Laughs) Clever navigation! Like I said earlier, making music has become part of my everyday life. Before I had a more legit recording set up (pre-2016), pen and paper churned out a lot of songs before CB (Chicano Batman) was my main artistic outlet. And back then, I worked as hard as I could to get the band to play my songs the way I envisioned them. This practice was not so good for band morale as you can imagine. So the studio was liberating for me. Once I got my tape machine in late 2016, I recorded nonstop whenever I got a free moment. I feel like this process has been liberating for all of us. Now we’re getting to the point where we toss files left and right and it’s not so important who created the music. We are all generally a little bit less precious about stuff, but the creative battles are always gonna be there in a band context - but that’s what makes the music special. To answer your question about how I decided what song goes where: I generally have less time now, so, songs that I come up with in my studio or at home, I generally place in the BARDO bag. For the next CB EP, the band laid down the music - one of which was under (guitarist) Carlos’ (Arevalo’s) direction - and I laced the tracks up with vocals on my own. The guys are so talented and easily lay down nasty rhythms. As long as its fire, it’s always inspiring to lace up the tracks with vocals and try to make a good song. 

What top 5 artists/bands are inspiring you at the moment?

Djavan

Smino

Paul Cherry

Doja Cat

Grant Green

You're gearing up to hit the road in late 2021, after venues have fully reopened. How anxious are you to get back on the road? And what would you say to the fanbase that is hesitant about attending large shows due to post-pandemic traumatic shock?

 I’m not anxious - I’m excited! I’m happy about the prospect of playing out the ‘Invisible People’ music. For me, playing live is about taking the vibe higher and working towards that. And the level of excitement in the audience has to do with so many factors. I have a feeling that they’re ready!

What advice would you give to a young person from the diaspora who wants to do what you do?

Listen to what you love and craft your own persona. It doesn’t come easy and it takes a long time, and the road doesn’t stop. Life will teach you many lessons. Learn from them, study, practice nonstop to the point that it doesn’t feel like practice. If you are a lyricist, don’t stop writing. Start recording as soon as possible. Get your gear (you don’t need that much). Invest in the good gear – it’s worth it.