Alicia Wagner Calzada | 210SA Contributor The members of Bombasta hope they’re inspiring a little consciousness-raising.

THE BAND: Bombasta

THE MEMBERS: Roberto Livar, lead vocals, guitar, accordion, turntables; David Moreno, keyboards; Ali Friedrich, baritone sax; Dillon Buhl, trombone; Lauro Torres, percussion; JP Leal, bass; Rudy Diaz, drums; Jacinto Lefebre, trumpet. The members live in San Antonio, San Marcos and Austin.

THE SOUND: Energetic, horn-driven Latin funk that reflects the music the guys listened to growing up in Texas: cumbia, salsa and other Latin music, blended with hip-hop and reggae. The lyrics are in Spanish and English.

“I consider what we do to be very Americano,” Livar said. “What we’re doing is this unique mix of music from the Americas. It comes out in its own kind of mezcla, a mix.”

The eight-piece collective prides itself on its political activism, and they’re regular performers at events like the César Chávez march and the immigrants’ rights march.
 
Their catchy, raucous songs are rife with no-holds-barred criticism of the war in Iraq, institutionalized racism and other issues. The song “Crack Nation” contains the verse “Mr. Bush don’t give a f*** about you and me / tries to steal all he can see / he lays his bricks to build his Babylon / look how long this shit’s been going on.”

“It’s real hard for me to sit down and write songs that might not have that much substance to them, like a lot of pop music out there,” said Livar, who does most of the songwriting.
“The audience is giving me the opportunity to speak my mind, so I think it’s our responsibility as musicians to say something that needs to be said, to create some consciousness about the world around us.”

But the band manages not to sound preachy; instead, their songs tend to energize crowds. That fits in with Bombasta’s general goal of building unity and celebrating cultural diversity.

“Everyone who comes to the show I hope feels some sense of familia,” Livar said.

THE ALBUM: Ill Movimiento EP (2003). The band is hoping to finish its first full-length CD this summer.

THE WEB SITE: myspace.com/bombasta

CHECK THEM OUT: The band will be playing with Groove Movement at Limelight on Saturday, June 20.

Jessica Belasco | 210SA contributor