About Me
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NINE QUESTIONS FOR MIGUELITO
By Carl Santos
You grew up in the north of Nevada, yet have spent
almost half your life in New York City.
What was it like growing up there?
My family moved to Nevada when I was one.
We first lived on the Owyhee Indian Reservation, and then
we relocated to Elko, which was a nearby town.
It was pretty rural. So any kind of pop culture had to
be sought out, which was pretty exciting as a teenager.
To know that there was a big wide world
out there.
What was your first impression of New York?
Well, it was pretty overwhelming. In fact,
my very first night in New York I saw Tito Puente at
the Village Gate, which was very exciting.
New York just seemed like a big party, music...
people in the streets... it was pretty cool.
Actually, I moved to New York in the summertime
so it was actually hot, not cool.
Over the years you've played many different styles
of music, and now you seem to be doing mostly
Latin flavored stuff. Even salsa, have you
always been into Latin music?
When I was growing up there was always music in
the house and we didn't have a television for most
of my impressionable teenage years.
So, listening to my parents records is what I did.
They were into Jose Feliciano, Harry Belafonte,
and Lou Rawls. Stuff like that. They have a pretty
eclectic taste in music. I've always been into early
rock 'n roll, R&B stuff from the 50’s and I gravitated
to the songs that we're more Latin flavored.
I guess you could say pre-Cuban missile crisis stuff.
Then when I arrived in New York, I sort of naturally
gravitated towards stuff that had the energy
of New York City regardless of what the style was.
You do a lot of writing for other artists and you are
a pretty accomplished pop songwriter.
Do you enjoy that more than performing?
I enjoy both. Mostly I enjoy collaborating with people.
Very rarely do I write a song or work on something
completely alone. Even though it happens, I prefer
to collaborate, y'know, let your guard down,
get silly, and tell jokes until something comes
out of it.
What are you currently working on?
At the moment I'm working on some stuff with
producer/arranger Chino Nuñez, which has been
a great experience. It’s a straight up salsa thing,
which I've been dying to do for a long time. It’s taken me
a long time to grow as a singer, so I’m
sort of learning as I go. It's been a worthwhile
challenge that's very close to my heart. And the art of
the 'sonero' is not something you just pick up
and do overnight. It's more a way of life.
I also wrote and recorded some songs for a television
pilot called "This Big Town" that's in development,
All the songs are about New York City yet, they
have sort of a California desert rock kind of feel,
almost country. The character in the script moves
to New York from the West. So I thought
that would be appropriate for the show.
The music on the Grupo Miguelito EP released in 2006
is very lush and cinematic. How did that
come to be?
Most of that was producer arranger Ze Luis. He's very
inspiring to me and has a real knack for creating
drama with harmony. We just wanted to make
a record that was almost like a European pop
record from the 70s. With strings, french horns...
real lush. It was a great experience. I'm such a fan
of everyone who played on those recordings,
so it was pretty special.
Where do you see yourself in 20 years?
Hopefully playing in some little club by the beach
having a good time, and dancing a lot.
Is your real name Miguelito?
It's a nick name. My full name is Michael Christopher LaMorté,
but everybody calls me Miguelito, or should I say,
yells at me like "Miguelito!" It's a hard name to shake;
I guess I’m sort of stuck with it now.
If you could change one thing about New York City,
what would it be?
I would put horns that honk inside taxicabs as well
as outside the cab. Maybe if they were going slow or
standing still, the horn would honk inside.
Too many people honk their horns; maybe if they hear
their own horn they wouldn't honk it as much.
Look at me, I sound like I'm honking my own horn!
I guess I'm in a hypocritical cab. I'll never pick up a fair!
I think that was actually someone else's idea.
Oh well, I guess nobody's perfect.
The new single "Corazón Sin Nido" is available worldwide
at almost every online retailer including
iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody, and Amazon.com
Download it for free at
www.reverbnation.com/miguelitolamorte by joining the mailing list.
C.S.
Purchase songs at itunes USA
The Grupo Miguelito EP (available at all online retailers) involves the bands most talented friends.
Purchase the Grupo Miguelito EP Here:
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