Firestarters del Desmadre : a Molotov Cocktail
August 19, 2013 Off By MissReportedSomewhere in the middle of the hot desert between Tucson, Arizona and San Diego, California, a tour bus carries a band of explosive cocktails to another kick ass tour destination. To the untrained eye and ear, these guys look like a bunch of rockers who just like to party, and sing about girls and sex. And yes, they do love to party and sing about the sexy ladies, but listen to their politically charged songs and you might start to understand the social commentary behind their sucker punch lyrics.
These self-denominated “fire starters del desmadre” (fire starters of chaos), most commonly known as the Mexican rap/punk/rock band Molotov, are coming to Denver as part of the Jägermeister Music Tour. Red and Jerry’s on Santa Fe & Oxford will host their debauchery in our Mile High City on Wednesday, August 21, 2013.
It’s not only enticing that Molotov is (finally!) coming back to Denver, but that they are the first Latin group to headline the Jägermeister Music Tour. DenverThread contributor MissReported dared to interrupt the shenanigans on said tour bus for quickie interview sesh with Mr. Tito Fuentes (singer/guitar), which resulted in a lot of laughter, slang, and heated discussions, roughly, as follows:
DenverThread: What does it mean for you guys to be the first Latin group to headline the Jägermeister Music Tour?
Tito Fuentes: “‘Chido’. We knew the brand since the 90’s when Metallica used it a lot and they have a sticker of it on their guitars. We also drank it a lot in Europe. It’s a pure rock and roll brand and they support us in what we say.”
DT: Up until this leg of the tour, which city has been your favorite to play in?
Tito: “Each city has its own peculiarity. Dallas was a ‘reventón’ (chaos/raving/awesome). It was so cool because there was a big fan group and ‘gringos’ who didn’t know what to expect of our show, but love the music. Wherever there’s more people screaming, that’s where it’s the best. We are the fire starters ‘del desmadre’.”
DT: What do you expect of the concert goers in Denver?
Tito: “Denver has a lot of our ‘paisanos’. It’s ‘chido’ and it’s been a long time since we have played this city. We have a lot of fans and we’re counting on them to start the party. ¡Caíganle al concierto! (Drop-in to the concert!).”
DT: You’re super famous in México and Latin America. Would you say that you have managed to cross over entirely to the English-speaking market and how have you managed that transition to the US musical stage?
Tito: “It hasn’t been easy. We have worked very hard to get to where we are and I think it still hasn’t been a complete transition. You see that when you go to our shows and you see a lot of Latin fans and some ‘gringos’. And even though our lyrics sometimes attack the US government, the ‘gringos’ that go to our concerts might not agree with their government, so they can relate to our songs. You can never generalize (about our audience).” *There’s a ruckus on the bus and I can hear the other band members talking to each other about this question.*
“There’s also a big nostalgia movement right now. So you will get a lot of the 90’s bands coming back to play concerts and the fans that are a little bit older coming out to see us. But for example, in Germany, half of the fans were local and there were very few Latinos. We still haven’t seen that here. They still see us as Mexicans.”
DT: We love your tributes to Queen, José José, and other artists. Are there other artists that you would like to collaborate with or do a tribute?
Tito: “Whenever we are playing covers, it’s because they are specific projects, and we have to ask the label’s permission, pick the songs, and go through a complicated process to be able to do it. We avoid doing stuff like the Beatles because they will never give us the rights to ‘re-imagine’ their songs. But now, everyone does everything… We would love to collaborate with Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) or Glenn Danzig (Misfits, Samhain, Danzig)… but we are not killing ourselves over collaborations.” *Laughs*.
DT: You guys are characterized by being a living incarnation of controversy – or you “can’t hold your tongue,” like my madre would say. You posted on @MolotovBanda that you were going to stop using the term “maricón” (a derogatory word for homosexual) in your song “Puto” supporting Esteban Navarro in Chile (attacked and almost killed for being LGBT). Some people claim that you have not done what you pledged to do. But then, how can you strike a balance between being supportive and auto-censoring yourselves?
Tito: “The intention is what’s very important with this word. (The word) is part of the song’s lyrics, the context, or that which we are referring to. When you don’t understand the language, there’s a problem. I didn’t get to live through the hate behind that word. It was just a slang phrase that kind of means ‘cowards’ and we would say that the government was ‘puto.’ We’re not interested in being politically correct. What happened in Chile is a tragedy, but the way that we use this word, it’s more of a natural expression. These are words that we use and represent relief or venting. When you try to explain this to another culture or another country, the word takes on a different meaning. It actually means ‘man-whore’ or ‘man-prostitute’ in other Spanish speaking countries.”
Catch Molotov on the 2013 Jagermeister Tour, which makes a stop at Red and Jerry’s in Denver on August 21st. Here’s a taste from this year’s SXSW:
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Lynette Gil is an experienced and talented journalist, fresh from Puerto Rico and now residing in Denver.
About The Author
Lynette Gil is an experienced and talented journalist, fresh from Puerto Rico and now residing in Denver.