Name: Sandra Lilia Velasquez
Age: 28
Roots: Mexicana
Where do you live now? Brooklyn
East vs. West coast? East coast for the people and the arts. West coast for the Mexican food and the beach.
Day job: Administrative Assistant for the dance department at Columbia University.
Why “Pistolera”? It’s feminine and fierce.
Do you own a gun? Only the kind that squirts water.
Brief background on Pistolera: My old band [Caramelize] broke up in the fall and I had already been writing new songs in spanish. I knew I had to start a new band. My cousin Ani Cordero said she would be my drummer. She learned all my songs in a day and introduced me to bass player Pablo Martin a couple weeks later. For right now it’s a trio, but I secretly want an accordion player.
Started playing guitar at age: 13. I took up guitar in rebellion of having been forced to play piano my whole life.
…when your musical idol was: Jimi Hendrix. (I’m a lefty too).
Describe your sound in 3 words: ranchera rock (I can name it in two words!)
Sample song lyric: “Es mas facil pedirte perdon, que pedirte permiso”
Writing & singing in Spanish vs. English: I’ve always written in both, but at the moment it’s all coming out in Spanish.
Musical influences: early Los Lobos, Vicente Fernandez, Manu Chao, Bersuit Vergarabat
Other influences? my life, the people around me, the changing of the seasons.
Last 3 CDs you bought: Very Be Careful (great Colombian band from LA), Lhasa, Lola Beltran
Favorite thing about NYC: diversity
What you hate about NYC: the cold
Favorite place in NYC: My bed
Least favorite place in NYC: Times Square
Favorite NYC bands: Cuban Cowboys, Cordero, Contramano
If you didn’t live in NY, you’d live in: Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico
Upcoming gigs: Tuesday, February 15 @ Pianos 10:30pm
What does “cosmopolatino” mean anyway? latinos in the concrete jungle.
For more info on Pistolera, check out www.pistolera.net