Bryan profile picture

Bryan

I thirst for attention!

About Me

I am me. You are not. You may think you know me, but you're wrong. How could you be right? I'm me and you are someone else altogether. However you are welcome to get to know me, as long as you are not a jerk to me. Plus keep in mind that I am still me, and you being you may or may not have a rough time with that. Still want to know me? Good for you. I play guitar for a living and teach (but would rather not). I consider myself an intellectual and a philospher but sometime I just say "nerd" for short. Someday I hope to rule the world and set it straight. There. Now you know me. So what about you?

This video is a good summary of what I'm REALLY about:

Very often people ask how I learned to play guitar so well. Well, I carefully studied the following clip, and I learned everything I know.

My Interests

Music, movies and books! (see below for more detail). Also add bike riding, nature/animals. And news & politics. Plus philosophy, religion and recreational food use.

I'd like to meet:

People who give me stuff for free

Music:

Too much to mention. Anything that is creative, well crafted and has a strong personality. Preferences to classic soul music, 70s salsa, Afro-pop, Miles Davis/John Coltrane, classic rock and the occasional indie/alty/rocky stuff. Anything unique and personal is usually appreciated.

Movies:

Independent, Foreign & Art House Cinema are preferred. But well made Hollywood films are always welcome. And nothing beats classic cinema.

Television:

Yes I own one. I watch it too. Watcha think of that? Daily Show, South Park, Aqua Teen - anything well made, creative, funny and slightly subversive.

Books:

Books are a good thing, yes indeed.

Heroes:

Malcolm X, Pedro Albizu Campos, John Coltrane, Cortijo & Maelo, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Roberto Clemente, Cesar Chavez, Paul Robeson, Crazy Horse, Quincy Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles, Jose Marti, Simon Bolivar, Toussaint L'Overture, Mohattma Ghandi, The Young Lords, Filiberto Ojeda, Tito Kayak, Aaron Macgruder, Muhammed Ali

My Blog

A Tipping Point in presenting Live Latin Music

I've been a member of the Latin Jazz E-group on Yahoo for six years now.(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/latinjazz) The forum is a unique place where radio hosts, journalists, top notch musicians and ca...
Posted by Bryan on Mon, 02 Jul 2007 09:43:00 PST

My El Diario editorial

Hey folks,Recently I was asked to write a guest editorial for El Diario, the city's oldest and largest Spanish language newspaper. The subject was one that I've been known to rant about to my friends:...
Posted by Bryan on Mon, 23 Apr 2007 09:20:00 PST

True stories from a parallel universe....

TRUE STORIES FROM THE PARALLEL UNVIERSE KNOWN AS:GIG WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!The names have been changed to protect the innocent & the not-so-innocent & the oh so clueless.RING RING!Me: "hello?"Dude: "hey dud...
Posted by Bryan on Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:01:00 PST

My friends be famous

My friends be famous.The frigid cold that New York City suffered through last night led to M & myself declaring it an indoor evening. So I cooked up some some penne bolognese, we opened some wine and ...
Posted by Bryan on Sat, 27 Jan 2007 08:00:00 PST

Everybody Reads My Blog

Wow, everybody seems to be reading my blog.Not that I'm complaining. That's a good thing. A very good thing. It helps feed my fragile selfish ego. It helps promote my career as a pundit (fuck music, r...
Posted by Bryan on Fri, 15 Dec 2006 03:49:00 PST

Poverty

I am poor. Dirt poor. I have accepted my economic status in life, but it never seems to get any easier.No matter what I do, it never adds up. I'm always in the red. The bills never get paid.Yeah, the...
Posted by Bryan on Mon, 27 Nov 2006 11:41:00 PST

Back from Puerto Rico

I got back last night at 1 AM from 6 days on the Island of Enchantment. This was my first visit since 2002, and my first non-professional (no playing) visit since 1997.It was a good trip, the first th...
Posted by Bryan on Thu, 17 Aug 2006 02:11:00 PST

El Maestro Ray Barretto

I posted this on the Band (YE blog as well, so apologizes if you're reading this multiple times... but as you can probably tell, this is a big deal to me. Thanks -Bryan Ray Barretto passed away ...
Posted by Bryan on Fri, 17 Feb 2006 07:27:00 PST

transit strike...

I have no driver's license. I took driver's ed in high school, but for reasons beyond my control, never took the test. For the most part this has been a blessing to me. I've never been bogged down wit...
Posted by Bryan on Tue, 20 Dec 2005 06:59:00 PST

Shakira was at my gig last night.

Shakira was at my gig last night. At the Cigar bar - when I walked in she was seated directly across from where we play, surrounded by her small entourage. Of course fate played me a cruel card ...
Posted by Bryan on Wed, 30 Nov 2005 08:03:00 PST