16 June 8-14, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | News | letters | coNteNts | miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Swamp Roots Native Sun found its musical influences in New York and Miami. BY DAVID ROLLAND T he way Danny Gomez and Nico Espinosa tell it, they had to leave South Florida to make their rock ‘n’ roll dreams come true. “I was born in Colombia, and my family moved to Fort Lauderdale when I was 8,” Gomez tells New Times. “New York City was where my obses- sions lay. Lou Reed, Television, William Bur- roughs, Sonic Youth — music history can be traced back through the years in New York.” Still, it took some time for the band Native Sun to form, according to Gomez. “I had to learn the streets. I had to take some time living before the band came, and I started writing songs,” he adds. The first EP, Always Different, Always the Same, came out in 2018 with influences from all those CBGB touchstone bands he mentioned and hints of other New York rock faves, from the Strokes to New York Dolls. At a show, Gomez met another South Florida rocker in exile in Espinosa, a drummer who had moved to New York from Miami Beach as one half of the band Deaf Poets. “When we toured, we always looked forward to coming to New York City,” Espinosa says. “There was a sense of something bigger there. It seemed like every person had a story.” During the lockdown, the band became a trio when bassist Justin Barry joined. “When COVID started, I made myself write a song a day. It was a great distraction,” Gomez explains. “Once we could hang out, we started playing the songs live, and they found shape. I don’t like to say it’s a pan- demic record, but they’re the highs and lows of the time.” Those highs and lows came together as the EP Off With Our Heads in 2022. “We rehearsed those songs as much as we could because we always wanted to record the songs live on tape just like our heroes did. We wanted that live energy,” Espinosa says. And though you can take the rockers out of Mi- ami, you apparently can’t take the Miami out of the rockers. The band admits to being heavily influ- enced by their hometown. “We bring in a fresh perspective,” Gomez adds. “Our type of music has al- ways been dominated by white artists. Both of us with Hispanic roots — salsa, tango, merengue, bossa nova — all rhythmi- cally subconsciously influence the band. Rock ‘n’ roll was originally about getting people moving.” Espinosa also thinks the quality of musicianship in Miami helped strengthen his skills as a drummer. “I started playing at Churchill’s, Gramps, Las Rosas. I was shaped by those experiences,” he says. “There was so much competition for atten- tion in Miami — that’s helped me on stage.” When the band makes its Miami debut at Gramps on June 10, the experience will be a homecoming of sorts for Gomez and Espinona. “There’s going to be a lot of people we know and waiting,” Gomez says. “It’s going to be un- predictable, chaotic. Anything can happen at our shows. We’ve had everything from people giving us peanut butter to spread all over our- selves to dangling on the roof. We play every show like it’s our last.” But before the chaos is unleashed onstage, Espinosa stops socializing and looks for a quiet space 30 minutes before showtime. “I try to get my yoga and stretches in. I need to get in my own world and have a quiet state of mind. I listen to the Osees song ‘Animated Violence,’ and I make sure to have one nail painted red so I can see it when I whack the snare.” Gomez says his pre-show ritual is much sim- pler: “I just get up there.” Native Sun. With Jaialai, Frogs Show Mercy, and Corey Perez. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 10, at Gramps, 176 NW 24th St., Miami; gramps.com. Tickets cost $12 to $15 via eventbrite.com. New York City band Native Sun can trace its roots back to Miami. Photo by Pond Creative | CROSSFADE | ▼ Music I produced Wyclef’s first hit with the Fu- gees, and I encouraged him to produce a lot of The Score on his own without me being a part of it. He called me when he did the “No, No, No” remix for Destiny’s Child, and me encouraging Wyclef to do what he did, he was able to pay forward that energy to some- one else. Wyclef paid it forward to Akon, then Akon to T-Pain, then T-Pain to Gaga.” Remi has already announced the second concert series installment with headliner Big Daddy Kane. Remi will celebrate his impact on hip-hop with a private unveiling at his gal- lery on June 9, and Big Daddy Kane is set to perform at the Miami Bandshell on June 10. He also just wrapped up his second pop-up in New York City, an idea spawned from his ex- pansive approach to community and art. But MuseZeuM’s home is anchored in the city where he created some of his most impactful records. “I’ve lived longer in Miami than I’ve lived in New York as an adult,” he says. “Most of Amy Winehouse’s records were recorded in Miami, so the reality is that Miami was the start, but having portals can happen in many different places. Miami has enough creative cultural energy for me to be able to harvest that and feed that back to people.” As he ambles from frame to frame, he points to a glossy wooded portrait of the late reggae singer Dennis Brown and explains, “I was looking to see how far I can imagine each concept. They are their own moments.” He embodies Brown’s signature roots reggae hits with wood he collected from his backyard. The texture doesn’t end at the earthy accents and epoxy resin finish. He presses play on his iPad, and Brown’s signa- ture rasp on “Here I Come” blasts crystal clear from the wood Bluetooth speakers an- chored on the sides of the frame. It wouldn’t be Remi’s art without an immersive layer of music enveloping you in the multi-dimen- sional piece. He moves from a mixed-media portrait of D’Angelo, where “Brown Sugar” radiates so sultry and sweetly from the speakers it feels like your first time listening to it, to multi- sensory canvases of his favorite vocalists Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, Celia Cruz, and Fab 5 Freddy. Remi and the conceptual art- ists he collaborated with baked legacy and culture into every detail of the portraits. “I want people to enjoy the art. I want them to see it and love it and be affected by it, then have to read the fine print. I don’t even put my name on the art. I say it’s SR. It’s not about me. It’s about where can I put this in the corner so you can enjoy the experience,” he says. “I never want my name to be bigger than what I’ve created. That’s the reason for me having this portal is so someone else gets a chance to rock in front of the stage.” Midnight at MuseZeum. With Big Daddy Kane. 8 p.m. Saturday, June 10, at Miami Beach Bandshell, 7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; miamibeachbandshell.com. Tickets cost $46.35 at dice.fm. [email protected] Museum Worthy from p15 “ROCK ‘N’ ROLL WAS ORIGINALLY ABOUT GETTING PEOPLE MOVING.”
