Feb, 2001.
Volume 43, No. 18

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The Carillon brings you the weekly news from the University of Regina.

Contact:
The Editor
Newsline:
(306)-586-8867
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(306)-586-7422
Room 227
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University of Regina

How many people out there can promise to put on a good show and actually pull through with it?

If anyone, the musical eclectisist and guitar virtuoso Oscar Lopez can.

After all, when his songs are fusions of almost any style you can imagine and are molded around a Latin sensibility that put both Spanish and English halves of Ricky Martin's albums to shame, you know there's something special there. Also, with three artistically and commercially successful albums under his belt, he's an established, professional musician.

During a recent interview to promote the Regina stop on his Canadian tour, Lopez talked about the two things that mean more to him than anything else: making music and playing that music for people: "Large crowds, small crowds, it doesn't matter....When I talk to my lighting people I tell them to make it look intimate and inviting, like a living room, so that everyone can feel at home."

The importance of entertaining the audience is a necessity to Oscar. He says that in the heat of the moment he may do "one of my impersonations of Elvis, or perhaps Willy Nelson...anything to get the crowd going." The role of performer is one that he takes with great pride. "I have a gift..and I want to share that gift with the people."

But the show is more than just a one-man band. His group is one that he has full confidence in.

He has been playing and collaborating with his rhythm guitarist for 21 years and says that his new bass player, formerly of Spirit of the West, is a "monster."

With such a powerhouse act on stage, the intention is to surprise the crowd with as many spur of the moment shenanigans and musical improvisations as possible. Only the band knows the set list and Oscar just plays along: "My band and I...we have a chemistry and wherever the song takes us, we go. There are no rules on stage," he says. "I know for a fact that the audience is not stupid and that they deserve to have a good time."

The concert is this Friday, Feb 9th, and is at the Regina Performing Arts Center. So instead of going to your usual Bar or Club and hearing the same songs you can get on the drive to school every day, try something a bit more culturally diverse, a little more intimate, and a hell of a lot more entertaining. Live music is something that we shouldn't take for granted, and Lopez will only be in town for one night. The theme nights and the club crawls will always be around. Remember his promise, which is something else we shouldn't take for granted; so come out and watch him deliver it!