Interview with Micky Huidobro of Molotov (NY Rock)

                            Molotov: (L to R) Tito Fuentes (guitar/vocals),
                      Paco Ayala (bass/vocals), Micky Huidobro
                        (bass/vocals), Randy Ebright (drums/vocals)

Spanish lyrics ridden with political satire are bound to be misinterpreted by some. Hence, the Mexico City-based band Molotov has endured its fair share of false accusations (the band has been branded as gay bashers in addition to a host of other undeserved labels). Nevertheless, Molotov’s debut album Donde Jugaran Las Ninas? managed to achieve double-platinum success and to garner a Grammy nomination.

	In September 1999, the band released its sophomore effort, Apocalypshit. In search of a different approach, Molotov decided to record the CD with Beastie Boys’ producer Mario Caldato at the Beastie Boys’ Grand Royal studio. The combination of Molotov’s Mexican street music with a Beasties-influenced New York beat resulted in one unique hard rockin’ album, which, by the way, has already gone gold and continues to climb.
NYROCK:	Your lyrics seem to create quite an uproar – censorship and beyond. Tell me about them.
MICKY:	We're like a social critic. Talking about radio and TV. In Mexico, there are channels for artists without talent (like Ricky Martin, Backstreet Boys or groups like those). They don't compose their songs. They don't know how to play their instruments. There are a lot of people with a lot of talent in Mexico. I don't mean only in rock and roll. I mean in music in general. But because of the need of the people, they buy this bullshit. People want to be dancing in discotheques with a lot of girls and having a white convertible, like Ricky Martin does, but that is not the reality. The reality is that people are poor. Most of the people cannot afford to go to a discotheque and buy a drink. That is what we criticize in our songs. A news broadcaster of this TV station has been 25 years on the air hiding some things about government. We started speaking about it [in our lyrics].... Hmmm, what else.... 65 years with the same government in Mexico City. We criticize this in our songs.... We were like some kind of explosive bomb, like a fire.
NYROCK:	Like a Molotov cocktail....
MICKY:	But we don't only talk about this in our songs, we talk about women, sex, parties, how we eat fat food and get fat.
NYROCK:	So you balance the social criticism with a lighter side... and what about the censorship?
MICKY:	We're talking about things against government and some radio stations have direct links with the government. Some of them are even part of the government, so they wouldn't support a band that is talking about something against them. They directly censored our songs in a lot of stations. They sent an advisement to all of the radio stations that if they keep playing our songs they would lose their jobs over the airplay.
NYROCK:	Sounds frustrating. And the religious groups?
MICKY:	Yes, you know Mexico is 95 percent straight Catholic. Some groups put words in our mouths. Invent something to scare people and keep us from playing. For example, the first time KISS came here, one of those groups talked about KISS killing chickens in the States, which is of course not true. They do this to scare people and not let us play. The same happened to us. They sent a paper to the governor. They invent things to stop us. The government doesn't want to search for information. They didn't make an effort to see what was happening and they just censored us. There are some places we can't even go. The government sent a paper to us saying that we were welcome as citizens but they would not assure our security – like a scare. It affects us and the people who want to hear us. So it is a big problem.
NYROCK:	How does this kind of reaction make you feel?
MICKY:	The freedom of speech. It doesn't exist in Mexico. In our songs, we talk about it. We make fun of it. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose, but if you keep working you're gonna get somewhere. So we look for new places, new faces to speak to or show our art. It's just art. It doesn't have to be that strong of a message.
NYROCK:	When you first created your music, did you have any idea it would engender this kind of reaction?
MICKY:	We didn't even expect to have a record deal. It went off by itself. We didn't have to push people to buy it. Now, we know we have a responsibility. There is still a big problem of communication between rock and roll/people and the government. By speaking about it we can get to some points of interest. That's what we're trying to do.
NYROCK:	How did the band form?
MICKY:	We started in the summer of 1995. It was just a side project; everybody had other things to do; some were in school. Someone asked us to enter a contest – and we won. So we started opening for major acts in Mexico. That's how we got to be known. Everybody knew our songs before a record company came to us. It was a cultural thing. People copied tapes and showed it to friends and one of their friends showed it to another one. And it became a very big thing. We didn't sell a thing. It was a very weird phenomenon. Record companies see this happening and they get some interest, so they start to look for us. Every record company in Mexico came to us....Universal was the one.
NYROCK:	Tell me about your fan base.
MICKY:	It's weird because we have a [following] from high society, middle class and lower class. Ninety percent of the population [in Mexico] is poor, really poor. We have some fans from the lower class, but I cannot say because they don't go to concerts because they don't have money. They don't have money to buy records. They know us. They hear us on the radio.
NYROCK:	Would you call yourselves a rap or hip-hop band?
MICKY:	We are rappers in some way. Hip hop I don't think because that would be like two MCs with a turntable and we don't use a turntable. The four of us sing the same time we are playing. We use rap like an instrument because none of us know how to sing. So we talk. I am sorry about my English. The problem is I am learning German so I am confusing everything.
NYROCK:	Why German?
MICKY:	Because very strong things happen to us there. We are very well received. The record is doing well. We're becoming bigger in Germany. So I try to speak some German.
NYROCK:	So you can communicate with your fans better?
MICKY:	No, for asking for food or something.
NYROCK:	Tell me about the Grammy nomination.
MICKY:	We were nominated with very big bands in Mexico, from ten to thirty years playing. We were very excited because it was our first year. We were in competition with the biggest bands that we've known all our lives.
NYROCK:	That must have been thrilling. Now that your second album is out, what are your plans for going forward? You mentioned possibly recording some songs in English next year.
MICKY:	Only if we feel comfortable [with our English] will we do it. We start touring again in May; we go to Europe.
NYROCK:	And finally, what are your thoughts on the Latin movement in the US?
MICKY:	What I don't like is that people show another face of what is really Latin America. For example, I don't think that Jennifer Lopez living the Hollywood life is the reality of the people.
NYROCK:	So you don't think they honestly represent your culture.
MICKY:	That's for sure. For example, you could go anywhere in South America and Central America and you won't find anybody like Ricky Martin. I think it's a movement that we have to make stronger – the bands that come from those places. We have to show what we have, not just a smile, beautiful face or a good body. My advice for North American bands is to take a look at the talent coming from Mexico, Argentina, Columbia. The places are sometimes very underestimated but have a lot to show to the world. For example, you can see it in Cuban music now. Think about how the bands would play with the same production like in the US. We're going to talk about it in our next record.
	December 1999 Send this page to a friend!