UNITED KIINGDOM/FILE: VETERAN GUITAR ROCK MUSICAN CARLOS SANTANA IS NOMINATED FOR ELEVEN GRAMMY AWARDS

Record ID: 388853

  • Title: UNITED KIINGDOM/FILE: VETERAN GUITAR ROCK MUSICAN CARLOS SANTANA IS NOMINATED FOR ELEVEN GRAMMY AWARDS
  • Date: 26th January 2000
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JANUARY 26, 2000) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) CARLOS SANTANA TALKING ABOUT "SMOOTH"And before they sent it to me, they didn't like the lyrics or some of the vocalists, they sent it to my brother, friend Rob Thomas and he changed the lyrics and by the time they sent it to me I was very convinced that this was something that was a party
  • Embargoed: 10th February 2000 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Entertainment,General
  • Reuters ID: LVA6WHNJPQTI63DDT9QTILHY0KXR
  • Story Text: He's back big time.Thirty-one years after the release of his first record, Carlos Santana, the veteran guitar rocker, has been nominated for 11 Grammy awards.His latest album "Supernatural" has stormed the charts in the U.S.and already sold 8 million copies.
    Carlos Santana, the man who's been around since Woodstock, is back in style.Eleven Grammy nominations including best album and best single and huge album sales of his latest disc "Supernatural" say it all.He hasn't gone out fashion and is one of few who managed to survive in the music business.
    London saw Carlos and his band in action last week at an exclusive "Santana" event at a West London venue, The Tabernacle.
    The invited audience included Kate Moss, Melanie from All Saints (and her Dad), Brian Eno, Ian Brown and Blur's Damon Albarn.A gum-chewing Carlos peeled off one blinding riff after another, occasionally appropriating a Hendrix or a Clapton phrase with good grace and frequently giving generous ground to his spectacular bandmates.
    The international reaction to "Supernatural" has something to do with a guest list that includes Eric Clapton, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and last year's surge of interest in Latin flavours.
    What's Carlos' reaction to his spectacular Grammies nomination? "When I got out of the shower my beautiful wife, she said 'hey Mr Grammy nominations, something man or something..I said what?..guess what? you got 10, we thought it was 10, but later they told us it was 11.It feels very wonderful you know to be able to be acknowledged for something that we've been doing for almost 30 years.The main thing that it means to me is that I can salute and dedicate this CD, this music, to people in shantytowns, the ghetto, the favela, the barrio, the hood, I came from them, I know what it smells like, no running water, no electricity, no bathrooms in the house, it doesn't scare me, so I want to dedicate this to them.I feel that there's a lot of people still there who need to know that if I can do it, they can."
    He describes "Supernatural" as a healing process: "When people forgive and people love and cry and dance at the same time, you're able to heal, otherwise you won't heal.It's like you're holding on to this rage Healing also means, for the last 2000 years we've been swinging with good-bad, right-wrong, ugly-beautiful, pendulum like this.We want to swing this other way, peace, light, love, joy, compassion, grace, excellence, beauty , all the things that we admired Diana for before she left.Mother Teresa, it's no coincidence that they both checked out at the same time.So this CD has the new pendulum, the music which is sound, resonance, vibration and invites people to heal, to forgive, forget and move on."
    Santana's latest single "Smooth", already storming the charts in the U.S., will be released in the UK shortly.It's a party song, featuring Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20.
    "Smooth is a song that was presented to me...and when I heard it it had the three Ss, Santana, Summer Song, you know - it has that, let's celebrate life, it's Friday, Saturday night, we did all the homework, the bills are paid, the dishes are clean.Let's go out and celebrate life to the fullest.And before they sent it to me, they didn't like the lyrics or some of the vocalists, they sent it to my brother, friend Rob Thomas and he changed the lyrics and by the time they sent it to me I was very convinced that this was something that was a party song.We all need a party song, something where we can really really let go and be free and enjoy life to the fullest", he says.
    But music means more to Santana.It brings people together, transcends race, colour and language barriers: "At the end of the Olympics when the last game is played you see a ribbon of colours, all the flags merging with each other, people are crying and laughing you know that's what we want every day as much as possible.We saw some of that at new year's eve, at the Millennium, that's what we want, we want to be able to realize that we are one family and that there should be more working on this planet, all of us to learn one curriculum alone, it's called equality and that comes with compassion, and patience and grace and stuff like that.That's what the music is about, otherwise I'd be washing dishes because I'd never gotten into music for the showbusiness or entertainment feel of it.I always thought that was very shallow.I got into the music because I always thought that the music could truly complement life and let's see...you can make a difference in the world and you can get paid to do something that you love.
    Voila -- that's it!"
    After so many years of success, can he see himself as a mentor to younger musicians? "No, I'm a student.I'm 52 going on 17 and I'm a student.
    I could never be a teacher, I don't have the patience because I'm so hungry to learn so I couldn't say OK put your finger in here, no I couldn't, I'd say look man take the guitar, go into the park, learn about life and play it.Your fingers become like your tongue, your tongue doesn't think of ABC anymore, hopefully you think of beautiful things and you say beautiful things.Just say the truth.Miles Davies used to say Pray and Play, Play and Pray.If I was going to be a teacher, that's what I would tell you.you're out of here - Pray and Play, Play and Pray."
    "Smooth" is due to be released in the UK on March 20.
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