Abatería

Abateria a Cuban stylistic band formed in 2003. The MU alumni play every other Saturday night at The Blue Fugue. The players are from left Johnny Kidd, Greg Shadwick, Nathan Miller Johnny Finn, Melania Bruner, Zach Mortice.

November 13, 2005

Abatería

By Kristin Lamvik

“There he is, I can’t believe it!” exclaimed Johnny Finn, laughing, part-creator of this Cuban band, as their ‘homeless groupie’ entered the Blue Fugue lounge where the group was scheduled to play that night. Apparently, this avid fan, a scraggly, dispossessed man, had watched them at a Columbia concert, somehow attended their concert miles away in Kansas City, and was back again for more last Saturday.

This down-and-out fan, however, is one of many becoming addicted to Abatería’s gritty, old school Cuban jams.

Johnny Finn, percussionist for Abateria, moves from one section of his bongo set to another in a rhythmic fury. Audio Descarga (MP3, 7.9 MB) Dulce Amor (MP3, 6.9 MB) Oma Oma Oke Oke (MP3, 2.8 MB)

With international radio play and a television appearance under their belts, this band has appeared in St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, as well as New Orleans in response to their rising popularity. They will always remain, however, loyal to Columbia, the town where it all started.

The winter of 2003 brought these six band mates together, students at the University of Missouri-Columbia. At that time, Johnny Kidd and Johnny Finn created a world percussion ensemble named Abatería.

After time playing in this small mid-western town, rumors began to spread about the growth of this Latin dance-music group. Thus, through their intertwined connections, the other four members left their respective former bands to create a powerhouse named Abatería.

The group is comprised of six members: creators Kidd and Finn, lead vocalist Melania Bruner, guitarist Greg Shadwick, bassist Zach Mortice, and drummer Nathan Miller.

As front man Finn says, “We are six very different people, but we share music, and that keep us together. We are all interested in Cuban music first, no matter what else we’ve got going.”

But, you may ask, what is so intoxicating about Cuban music compared to other Latin genres?

Guitarist Shadwick says that the Afro-Caribbean influence makes it a much more interesting style rhythmically. He says, “Cuban music is all centered around dance. That’s why it was made. It is very interactive music that gives us a lot of freedom in terms of what we sound like.”

However, all band members agree that in addition to dance, central to Cuban music is percussion. That may explain the large number of drums, congas, timbales, and other percussion instruments scattered about the stage. At any given point, at least two, if not three group members are playing ‘the beat,’ or percussion.

Their enchanting beat, further, has launched them into the spotlight, as seen with the success of their self-titled debut album. Nevertheless, Abatería still prefers to play live.

Finn explains their preference by saying, “Half of the music’s energy comes from the crowd. So when we were working on our record, we had to try to capture that excitement in a little recording booth by ourselves. It was hard.”

Yet, it is the main challenge they are trying to overcome with the creation of their second album: how to record a track capturing the feeling of a live performance.

Regardless of the medium, the members of Abatería still love to make music, in whatever way it is presented. Shadwick says, “We enjoy people’s reactions to what we do, and the way they react is dancing, with the exception of a couple crazies.”

Melania Bruner, lead vocalist and flutist for Abateria, balances out the wall of percussion coming from behind her, with her soothing voice and playing.

And it is through this challenge of gaining a favorable response from the crowd that Abatería got its name: a made-up word circularly meaning ‘keeps the party going.’

In translation, Abatería is derived from ‘a’ or ‘la batería,’ or ‘the battery’ in English, and represents “the oomph, the ass kicking part that gets a person going when they listen,” said Kidd.

As explained best on their website, “the name is a reference to the 800-plus percussion groups that fill the street of Rio during carnival every year, dancing and playing all night with drums and sticks and a blur of rhythm. Every time Abatería steps to the stage, they try to recreate this inescapable drive to dance that such metal and wood can create.”

Thus it is clear, Abatería’s battery is charged, and ready for whatever lies ahead.