After my time in Hawaii, I traveled to Mexico City, because I wanted to get to know the vibrant city and the music scene a little closer. There I watched a concert of some Mexican bands, like the group „Los Honey Rockets“. I also met Jasmina Hirschl, she plays keyboard in the band „Los Honey Rockets“ and I have to say that she does a very good job. I really liked the raw sound of the punk rock band, full of energy and very punchy. It was a perfect gig and it was nice to have a beer with the musicians afterwards and dive into the Mexican rock scene.
Mexico City is alive, and can sometimes be weird…
In Mexico City you can see a lot of police and military and in front of any better business there is a security with a pump gun. A motorcyclist with a dark helmet visor just stopped in front of me, so I thought that now probably pulls out a gun and wants money from me.
When I was playing with my guitar, I saw a policewoman and a police officer walking in the street, hand in hand with their uniforms (including their guns).
Or, for example, the hostel owner cheated me about 200, – pesos and when I demanded the money back from her, she started with other fees I would have to pay, which were not agreed in advance. When I said that she should keep the money, she suddenly started to cry and she felt sorry that she betrayed me. She came very close and sat howling to me and finally I had to comfort her, that was all right and she did not do anything bad, but the 200, – Peso I did not get back.
The hostel in Mexico City was very strange, as I was the only guest at the beginning and so I lived alone in the big house. Even the front desk was not occupied, but the hotel lady has previously announced that I should not let anyone into the house. In the evening, people still knocked on the door which wanted to go into the house, it was a very extraordinary place and honestly I did not sleep well that evening.
The next day the hotel was stormed and all beds were full. That day, a guy wanted to teach me something important, but he could not speak a word of English and was always talking in Spanish to me and I told him that I did not understand what he wanted. Then he showed me with the help of Google translate on his mobile phone display the following text: „Can you do oral sex? I give you 300, – Peso „(300, – Mexican Peso correspond to about 14.50 – €). I thankfully rejected his offer and told him on google translate that he should ask someone else better. Almost all Mexicans have a cross around. On the street, a person gave me a Bible paper and asked me if I would like to come to church with him. The Christian religion is omnipresent in Mexico, even at the airport of Mexico City a woman has already given me a book of Jesus. These are just a few of my impressions of Mexico City.
Monkey Bee Records
Jasmina moved to Mexico a few years ago, is married to the Mexican Miguel and recently founded her own music label „MonkeyBee Records“. As already mentioned, she plays in several bands, organizes music concerts, festivals and operates a recording studio. I visited her studio and was really excited about the recording atmosphere.
We also did the interview for LLTV that day (see VLog # 12) and I thought in our talks that Jasmina has a very exciting and idiosyncratic life. I thought it would take a bit of courage and flexibility to move to Mexico and get involved in the music business. At this point I would like to express her great respect for what she does. We have known each other fleetingly for many years, but her (our) friend Marina pointed out to me when she heard about my Dream Awake Tour.
The MonkeyBee Studios also have a slightly unusual pet. No, it’s not a monkey or a bee and certainly not a „monkey bee“, it’s a little piggy. Jasmina has told me some interesting information about the behavior of the pig. Jasmina and Miguel have said that the pig brings luck and I wish them both for their future and for all their creative projects luck too! If you found this article interesting, you should also take a look at the upcoming VLog No. 12.
My journey continues and I will head back to Europe. I will stay in London and Paris for the last few weeks of my Dream Awake Tour.