It took awhile, as worthwhile projects always do, but the video for my song “Now It’s a Taqueria” (from my CD “Starlite Drive-In Saturday Night”) is finished and just aching to go viral.
At it’s most basic, the song is just about changes in my hometown. But it’s a deliberately twisted and sarcastic take on that idea. Restaurants always come and go. In our little burg, however, they quite often turn into taquerias. We had some fun with that idea. Here’s what we ended up with:
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And here’s how it came together: Late 2011. During CD rehearsals, my pal and producer Dayan Kai spontaneously yells “Arrivederci!” during the verse about “the italian place”. I write similar parts for the rest of the verses. In concert, I immediately realize the chorus is a call-and-response singalong.
Fast-forward a year. “Starlite” is six months old. Nancy Cassidy is playing our Corralitos series. Dayan, along with Steve Uccello (who both played on the CD track), are backing up Nancy. The three of us do a tweener. My pal Jeff Barnhill records the night on video. We have a wonderful audience, and we get a perfect live take.
At the same time, over at the day job, I write a funny song about a meeting application, and my friend George Gonzales – a very smart and talented guy, creates a video for the song, along with lyrics and a bouncing ball. I ask George, “hey, could you do that with a bouncing burrito?” Wheels start turning. George says, “yes”.
I get the idea of finding photos of old restaurants in town, juxtaposing those with their contemporary counterparts. (Those would be the taquerias). Old photos. How hard could that be? Turns out, as hard as it was finding photos of our old drive-in for the CD cover.
I find some old pics. My pal Gary Brewster offers to shoot some new 
pics, with Dayan and I eating burritos and photobombing a bunch of unsuspecting eating establishments. George finishes the animation. I get some very gracious editing assistance from another very talented friend, Chris McNulty. And I sit back, grateful, remembering that you never accomplish a big project by yourself.
Related post: Behind the Video: “Starlite Drive-In Saturday Night”