Venezuelan band Bacalao Men play the UK

UPDATE: Fuerza London gig on 23 June at Clapham Grand is off! See below for new venue:

Venezuela's tropical fusionistas the Bacalao Men will be touring the UK in June, with a gig on 18 June at the Latin Garden (Nancy's Bordello) in Newcastle, as part of the Vamos Festival; a free gig on 21 June at Bolivar Hall, the Venezuelan cultural centre in London; and another on 23 June at Rich Mix near Brick Lane, where they will share the stage with the Afro-Colombian electro outfit Papaya Republik.

In songs like Malibu Azul and El Comegente (The Cannibal) Bacalao Men combine a zesty blend of rock, funk, jazz and electronica with a hearty splash of Afro-Latin flava and seventies salsa.

Formed in 1999 by singer and bassist Pablo Estacio with saxophonist Aurelio Martinez and drummer Sebastian Araujo, the band were later joined by Rafael Gomez, the guitarrist of the band Lapamariposa, and legendary Venezuelan salsa percussionist Vladimir Rivero.

They have just released their third album Sabaneando (Pilla & Esperanto Records), featuring guest singers and musicians from the Caracas music scene.

For more music samples check out the Bacalao Men on myspace

Atkinson - Asi es Como Te Amo

Venezuelan rock group Atkinson have a go at Mariachi chic on "Asi es Como Te Amo", the first single from their debut album "La Banda".

Shot in a hairdressing salon in Caracas, the video was directed by Peter Ponk (Pedro Gonzalez) and features cameos by Julio "Chulius" Briceño, lead singer of Los Amigos Invisibles, Danel Sarmiento, the drummer of Desorden Publico, singer Nana Cadavieco and scenester Ingrid Dreissig, among others.

Sentimiento Muerto - Una Mirada Dice todo y Nada

A real blast from the past, Sentimiento Muerto performing live in 1988 on a Venevision programme called D'Noche.

One of the most influential of Venezuela's 1980s rock and new wave acts, the band originally called themselves Dead Feeling before changing to the Spanish version of the name.

It's sad to think that guitarrist Eduardo "Cayayo" Troconis, who went on to form the band Dermis Tatú in 1992, died more than 10 years ago.

La Vida Boheme - Radio Capital

The stunning debut video from Caracas rock band La Vida Boheme of their first single: "Radio Capitol".

With the poise and attack of British bands like Franz Ferdinand and the Arctic Monkeys and the old-school punk swagger of The Clash and The Ramones, La Vida Boheme have brought a new sound and a new aesthetic to the Venezuelan rock scene.

Formed in 2006, La Vida Boheme are Rafael Perez, Daniel De Sousa, Sebastian Ayala and Henry D’Arthenay. The video was directed by Carl Zitelmann.

Gabba gabba hey!

Solares - Antonin Artaud - Live

Sorry for the distortion on the live recording but my favourite Venezuelan rock band Zapato 3 are back with a bang under their new name Solares and have embarked on a major tour of Venezuelan cities in the run up to Christmas.

The tour will take them to:
PUERTO ORDAZ: PALADIUM CLUB ITALO THURS 26 NOV.
MARACAY : FIVE BAR FRI 27 NOV.
CARACAS. EL TEATRO BAR SAT 28 NOV.
MARGARITA. BRITISH BULLDOG THURS 3 DEC.
MERIDA: LA PLAZA DE TOROS FRI 4 DEC.
MARACAIBO: RASTA BAR SAT 5 DEC.
CARACAS: MOULIN ROUGE SUN 6 DEC

Solares, like Zapato 3, is led by singer Carlos Segura with his brother Alvaro on guitar, Hugo Valbuena on bass and Jaime Verdaguer on keyboards.

"Antonin Artaud" - named after the eccentric French poet, actor and playwright - is a classic Zapato 3 song from the old days.

I have included the words so you can sing along.

Antonin Artaud
Soy metafisica violenta
Soy surealista apocaliptico
Soy la encarnacion de Napoleon
y estoy condenado a un manicomio

Esperando en la tarde la dosis que calma el miedo

Soy distorcion intelectual
Soy verborrea visceral
Estoy negado y encerrado

Esperando en la tarde la dosis que calma el miedo
Esperando en la tarde la dosis que calma el miedo

Soy el organo motor
Soy el rojo saturado
Soy metafisica violenta

Estoy loco e ignorado

Esperando en la tarde la dosis que calma el miedo
Esperando en la tarde la dosis que calma el miedo

Los Telecaster - Todo Muerto

"Todo Muerto" - the latest single by Venezuelan rock band Los Telecaster - has just been released with a video set in Mexico City directed by the L.A.-based Venezuelan filmmaker David Ramos and his brother Saul.

The song comes from the band's new EP, also called "Todo Muerto", which includes the tracks "Taxi", "Toronja", "Siete Cueros" and "Buen Doctor".

The new tracks were recorded at Grabaciones Jamaica in Mexico City, produced by Santiago “Chango” Gonzalez and David Francis O. Gorman and released on the Discos Tamarindo record label.

Video: Los Telecaster - Dandy Boy

Los 007 - El Ultimo Beso

Taking Wayne Cochran's tragic song of lost love "Last Kiss", Los OO7 had a massive hit in the early sixties with their Spanish-language version "El Ultimo Beso", which was also covered by Peruvian band Los Doltons and the soloist Leopoldo Sanchez Labastida, better known as Polo.

Formed in 1966, Los 007 was made up of Jorge Chapellin (lead vocals), Jose Galpasoro (lead guitar and vocals), Javier Atance (bass and vocals), and Manolo Alvarez (drums).

Zapato 3 - Vampiro

By the mid-1990s guitar band Zapato 3 were looking for new sounds and a cooler image. Vampiro, from the 1995 album "Capsula para Volar", is one of my favourite songs of this late period Zapato 3. The band split in 2000, but the brothers Carlos and Alvaro Segura continue to play together in the group Solares.