Ground Control: Podcast

Excellent conversation as was to be expected with a one of the southwest's hardest working and genuine artist. A. Billi Free hails from the Midwest but shares with us how she came to fall in love with the landscape of the southwest and why she made the decision to make it her home. A. Billi Free is as DIY as it gets and in a modern music industry she talks about the importance of using the tools available to us and making them work for you to allow you to continue to grow.

Visit and follow @uteppercussionstudies on Facebook and look for his music project Batuque Trio on streaming platforms.

For this episode we are joined by Ray Mendoza & Luisa Navarro, co-founders of a DJ community gathering called Ask A Freak as well as Beanalog, another community event aimed at exposing and educating people into the world of modular synthesizers, drum machines and electronic music. We sit down over coffee and discuss these two artist' origin stories as well as their plans for their future in the borderland and Ray attempts to justify his disdain for EDM superstar DeadMau5! It's very controversial!

Record Producer & Recording Engineer Matthew Torres shares his origin story with us over a cup of coffee. He talks about his late start in the music industry, shares some low points in his personal life and how it motivated him to take his life into a different direction for the sake of his health and to empower musicians looking to become professionals.

We sit down with Juan Carlos Garcia of Regal Moment Photography over some 'Caguamas' (40oz. Beers) and reminisce on what made him fall in love with music and how that passion has now shifted into his professional life as a photographer. We also discuss the origins of the word 'Chuco' as the description and nickname of El Paso, TX. Juan went from taking pictures of his bandmates to eventually taking head shots of one of the most iconic figures of 2019 to now prospective 2020 presidential nominee, Beto O' Rourke and he lets us in on his journey so far.

We sit down over a freshly brewed and handcrafted cup of coffee by our guest Domingo Farias and ponder on defines being an artist. Domingo is a filmmaker studying cinema at The University of Texas El Paso and talks to us about what made him fall in love with the medium, his dabbling in the music industry, working within your means and what higher education has done for him and what it can and can't do for others.

We are joined by Marcos Smith, a seasoned musician of the El Paso music scene. He shares with us his origin story, the influence of soul and jazz music in his playing, the writing process and the importance of continuing to create in the midst of life events happening all around him. He founded his latest project 'The Deep Shadows' and shares with us how it all came to be and how living on the border shaped they're sound.

Artist' Adriana Alejandra Montenegro & Miguel Valdez speak on their personal experience as artist from the border, the effects of social media, growing up between sister cities, traveling, leaving and coming back home.

Our inaugural episode features Kiko Rodriguez and Joel Osvaldo of Frontera Bugalu. Two veteran musicians who epitomize what it is to be an artist from the border. They talk family history, carrying on musical traditions, growing up on the border and navigating the modern music industry landscape.