Guerrero, Tommy – loose grooves and bastard blues [IMPORT] – New LP

Tommy Guerrero’s take on funky, Latin-tinged instrumental rock mirrors his approach to skateboarding, and life in general. It’s simple, timeless, and distinctly his own.

So you’ve been busy recently. Tell me what you’ve been up to.
Gleaming the cube, stuff like that. Just working at Deluxe and moonlighting as a musician. I’m watching my son get goofier by the day, and I love it!

How has skating had an effect on your musical taste over the last three decades?
Man, skating has informed and shaped me completely! Late ’70s punk and skating changed everything for me. DIY, that’s how this solo music making came to be. It’s not about taste, but being open or receptive to different ideas and approaches.

What new music are you listening to?
I’m not sure anything is really “new.” I’ve been going back to some early ’80s stuff. Artists I would have never listened to then, Style Council being the latest. I’ve always 
been a fan of Joy Division/New Order and 
The Cure. There were so many bands, especially English, that were into soul and creating their own soul hybrid. I’m really interested in that right now. I know very little, so maybe someone can hip me to some good stuff. Email me at my website.

As a native San Franciscan, how do you feel The City as a whole has changed since you were born in 1966?
Completely, that’s how! The one aspect that will never be uprooted is the urge to create. 
SF is seriously fertile ground for expression. 
It’s in the mud and asphalt. It will always be a magnet for the fucked up and estranged.

How has it changed in regards to skating?
Getting kicked out of everywhere is new, 
but I guess we were as well to some degree. 
It’s bizarre that the skateparks are actually happening. I just hope they don’t come down on street skating even more, since there will be two parks here. Crocker-Amazon is completely fucked, but people rip it! Once, I slammed into a little kid in the deep end that was standing there holding his Razor scooter. I jacked my knee pretty good and haven’t skated there since. I just hope the new park turns out proper.

Any good stories about The Dish?
Shit, just the standard bottle-toss, chase-out scenario. I always got away unscathed.

Who would be in your top five historical, dead-or-alive San Franciscans?
Wow, I guess I never thought about it. These are just the standard types, in no particular order: Herb Caen, George Moscone and Harvey Milk, Sly Stone, Dirk Dirksen, and 
Jello Biafra.


You have a distinct Latin vibe to a lot of your solo material. How does your heritage influence your songwriting?

It doesn’t. I grew up with my mother and her side of the family. The brown comes from my father’s side, Chilean, Filipino, and Ohlone. The rest of the Guerrero clan basically ostracized us. My mom gave him the boot when I was a few months old, and I guess they didn’t think he deserved it. I don’t know; I’m speculating. 
I know he still needs a kick in the ass, though! Anyway, I’m not sure how the infusion of that style came about; I just tend to gravitate to the rhythm. Maybe it’s San Francisco and all the Chicano rock still lingering since the ’60s and ’70s. I’m just channeling, perhaps.