Back when I used to skateboard down the streets of San Francisco, I used to always have some soundtrack blaring from my headphones (or inside my head) and I’d imagine I was in a movie. I also pictured me as a good skater, which I never was. But that’s a different story.
I wish I knew about Tommy Guerrero’s music back then, because it would’ve made the experience much better. San Francisco native and pro-street skateboarder pioneer turned musician Tommy Guerrero has been releasing albums for over 10 years, and his music is the ultimate soundtrack for my imaginary skate-down-the-streets-of-San-Francisco movie.
But somehow it managed to slip under my radar, which is odd because it has, like, all my favorite ingredients: psychedelic guitar, Latin percussion, ironic song titles, and most importantly, funky break-beats aplenty!
In previous works he used to have guest vocalists on some tracks, like rapper Lyrics Born on his ode to the Mission District titled “Soul Food Taquería” (Mo’ Wax, 2003). But on his new album, Lifeboats and Follies (to be released on February 5th), all 13 tracks are instrumentals–elegant, laid-back instrumentals that aside from being ideal for your headphones while skateboarding, could easily soundtrack the most sophisticated cocktail lounge.
Download skate-pro Tommy Guerrero’s funky instrumental “Que S’est-Il Passe” for FREE here.
