April 15th, 2010:
I arrive in Medellin and it’s like a breath of fresh air after the cold and rain of Bogota. Lush and green, I feel I am at home again when I arrive to the little hotel I discovered last time I was here in December. The hotel is in a perfect location as it is only about a 10 minute walk to Parque Poblado (Poblado Park), where many of Medellin’s punk contingent hang out.
Cesar, drummer from "Lokekeda" and my official translator
I had arranged to attend the rehearsal of Medellin punk band Lokekeda with Cesar, the drummer, who met me at Parque Poblado. Cesar also happens to teach English to children in Medellin during the day which is lucky for me & my lazy Spanish as he ended up being translator for the night.
Lokekeda is working on a new cd and they have a bunch of new material, but for rehearsal I asked them to play some old stuff for the cameras as well, and they obliged. Lokekeda means “leftover” from what Cesar and I could piece together, but the music is anything but. The band has been around for 12 years with Leo, the lead vocalist, the only remaining original member in the band.
Leo, the original member of Lokekeda
These guys look pretty young to have been around for 12 years, but at the rehearsal space, I saw another band leaving as we arrived, that looked to be 11 or 12 year old dudes. These young cats all had on heavy metal T-Shirts with Misfits patches. I guess they start rocking early here in Medellin, so expect some good music to be coming out of here over the next few years.
Lokekeda Rehearsal in Medellin, Colombia
Speaking of good music, Lokekeda did not disappoint. They had a couple of really good songs in particular that I wanted to include here including one ditty I particularly liked called “Capitan Demencia” (Captain Dimentia) and another song (can’t recall the title) that laments the abuse local Indians have endured in modern society in Colombia. Very punk, very socially conscious and once again provides more evidence to the thread I’m starting to see linking indigenous cultures to punk music and philosophy.
Alas, I have good video from those songs and others from rehearsal but I have a new travel laptop and not all the necessary software has been installed just yet, so I guess pics will have to do for now. But stay tuned, I will have video up soon.
Lokekeda after the interveiw
Lokekeda is also working on a CD compilation with legendary Medellin punks I.R.A. with proceeds going to help build a house for a local man who is sick and disabled. I am going to hit the recording session on Saturday if all goes well, so stay tuned for that. Also, rehearsal footage from Los Suziox hopefully coming soon as well.
If you want to hear some of Lokekeda’s music (and I think you should) check out their MYSPACE Page or their official website www.lokekeda.net
and if you want to check out the rest of the photos from the evening and our past pics from the Colombian punk scene check out Punk Outlaw’s FLIKR PAGE