¿Que Onda, Carolina?

I met Lisa doing radio at WXDU--for awhile, our programs were back to back on Wednesday nights, her global take on playlist following my Latin specialty show, "Azucar y Candela." Often she'd bring an extra beer, and I'd linger on into her show, enjoying her sets and providing occasional on-air banter. We discovered we had a certain synergy, born of our common love of Latin grooves, and our overlapping, yet slightly different areas of expertise. We hope that that synergy will continue to feed this blog.

Later, Lisa collaborated with me on some coverage of the Triangle Latin music scene for the Independent Weekly. We trekked around to various festivals for over a year, shooting photos, interviewing artists and taking in the styles and enthusiasms of the fans. Lisa is a great companion at shows because of her independent spirit, her open mind and ears, and of course, her fantastic eye. To my utter delight, her photos and video will continue to decorate these dispatches. Also, she brings her graphic design skills and blogging experience to this project, for which I dedicate to her my thanks!

Lisa and I conceived of this blog as a way to take readers backstage with us, wherever we happen to be following local live music. We also want to give exposure to artists, explore and expand our own tastes, and document the incredible variety of Latin scenes that are "local" here in Durham and North Carolina. From salsa to mambo to capoeira, from sonidero to durangense and tierra caliente, and whatever else happens to activate our motion sensors, we want to take it all in. In other words, we aren't sure yet what all this blog will encompass, but we wanted a place to share our musical journeys. Whether we ourselves wind up in the cheap seats or front row, Onda Carolina is your laminated, all access pass.