About

Blah Blah Blah….Argentina-born Fernando Viciconte came of age musically in L.A. fronting the popular hard rock band Monkey Paw. He moved to Portland, OR, in 1994 and released Season in Hell, a downbeat collection of country rock, in 1996. His sophomore effort, Widows, saw a harder-edged approach that at times recalled his Southern California days. The Spanish language album Pacoima (1998) represented an abrupt shift as Fernando explored his So Cal barrio roots, swinging from border rock to Tex-Mex to Mexican R&B. Sure enough, he changed gears yet again for Old Man Motel (1999), indulging in a powerful collection of relatively straight-ahead rock. 2001 found Fernando leaving Cravedog Records for his own label Domingo Records which released Dreams of the Sun and Sky, a startlingly gorgeous collection of gauzy, narcotic tracks with Latin and country-folk accents. The Oregonian named this album a top ten release of 2001. In 2006, Fernando returned from a hiatus from music and he delivered his most critically received record to date Enter to Exit. For this project, Fernando teamed up with long time friends from the Eels, Jeff “Chet” Lyster(who also plays guitar for Lucinda Williams)and Derek Brown with Paul Brainerd from Richmond Fontaine, Lewi Longmire and John Amadon to make what many critics called one of the best pop rock records of 2006. Magnet Magazine went as far as naming Fernando one of the best new artists of 2006 in their year end issue. The album also garnered glowing reviews from Billboard, Paste, Amplifier, No Depression, and MSNBC.com. Fast forward to 2010 to the release of Fernando’s most recent release True Instigator. This album sees Fernando exploring his Americana, Spanish and classic country roots to make what is soon to be a classic Northwest release. The album was recorded with famed producer Adam Selzer (Norfolk and Western, M. Ward) at Type Foundry Studio in Portland, Oregon. Luther Russell and Jason Hiller have recently completed mixing Fernando’s 8th CD “Leave the Radio On” which will feature stellar performances by Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey (REM, Minus 5, Baseball Project). Sean Oldham, Dan Eccles and Paul Brainard(Richmond Fontaine) Scott Mcpherson(Elliott Smith, M.Ward, Beck), Mike Coykendall, Little Sue, Sara Beth Tucek, Danny DeLaMatyr, Ralph Huntley and last but not least…Fernando’s Long time band of Freddy Trujillo, Lewi Longmire and Matt Cadenelli. The record was produced by Fernando with Mike Coykendall and Luther Russell and was released in 2015 to international critical acclaim. Fernando toured the US and EU In support of LTRO w/ Richmond Fontaine, The Delines, Mark Eitzel, The Jayhawks, Dan Stuart(Green on Red), Austin Lucas and Adam Faucett. 2019 release. Traitors Table is easily Viciconte’s most personal and provocative record yet, and that’s saying a lot for someone who has been recording provocative music for 25+ years. In ‘I Don’t Know’, Fernando wails about coming to the U.S. as an immigrant child and how – after growing up identifying as a proud American – he felt the acute, nauseating fear of being sent back to a country he never really knew. ‘Hey Darlene’ tells the story of a small-town couple who feel shut out of the American dream, but like many among us, also feel it’s just within reach. So they vote against their own self-interest for those who say what they so desperately want to hear. The Company, a bouncy, impassioned plea to the so-called ‘millennial’ generation to not shoot down bold ideas in the name of political-correctness, is in Viciconte’s words: ‘about the concept that even though we are more connected via technology, we are more isolated and divided than ever’. In 2020 with the pandemic raging, Fernando released Justicia, a rock en Español tour de force that was originally recorded in 2001 and was finally mastered and released from the vaults. This release is only available on Fernando’s Bandcamp page. The album features members of Richmond Fontaine and was produced by Luther Russell.