Liquid Cheese

By Adrian Gomez

“From the Start” you can see how El Paso-based Liquid Cheese has started “Growin up.”

The nine-piece flavorful ska band returns with their sophomore album "Lost in the Music" and judging from the title, the band hit the nail in the head. (There is not even a doubt in my mind that this band could ever have a slump.)

If you haven’t seen a Liquid Cheese show live, then buying the album is a great way to get introduced to this peppy, yet unique band.

Their horn section is as polished as some of the big acts out there and the vocals are just so defined that the mixture just works.

“From the Start” begins the 12-song set. The horns and rhythm epitomizes what makes ska music so fun. The quick beats and symbols are sure to have your head moving.

“Drunkin Man” and “Day Before Today” are quality songs on the album. On “No Different” you get to hear vocals from the majority of the band, which is nice. Horns and drums follow the introduction and lead vocalist Sam Sullivan’s voice is so versatile.

After listening to a number of songs of ska-inspired tunes, “La Soltera” makes you take note. Sung completely in Spanish, “La Soltera” is extremely polished with vocals and horns which are reminiscent of the great mariachi bands.

There is also a salsa-infused rhythm that any ‘soltera’ (single) person could dance the night away to at a club.

But it’s the song “Get it Right” that takes the album to another level. The horn-led intro to the song is so polished it’s scary.

On this song Sullivan seems to be channeling the lat Sublime singer Brad Nowell, which totally restores some faith in ‘fun’ music. But it’s also John-Michael Vasquez’s backing vocals that add another dimension to this fun-filled cut.

“Lost in the Music” is not out yet, but will be released on May 22 and you can bet Liquid Cheese fans are waiting.
- Published 5/10/03 in the Sun News, Las Cruces NM.

Local group stands out in the ska genre with ‘Kickin Up in the Night.’

The Mike Major-engineered album charms with songs like “Chunky Chunks” and the strutting title-track about night-crawling.

Instrumental “Ska Boss” boasts good musicianship by the eight-member group, while the frantic “Goonass” is proof of how tight Liquid Cheese can play.

“I Said Nothing,” a track wonderfully delivered by lead vocalist Sam Sullivan, sounds eerily like some lost song So-Cal greats Sublime were ment to record with Brad Nowell.
- 8/14/01- EL Paso Times • Living section.

By Julia Selby Smith

“The final band of the evening, Liquid Cheese, ended the festival with a bang. Their energetic ska music had the entire audience dancing, or at least toe tapping. The band has been a staple of KRUXfest for several years now, and with a new CD out, their one of the strongest local groups. With a full horn section, happy tunes, and fun vocals Liquid Cheese was the perfect finale for one of the best festivals ever to grace Las Cruces.”
- Published 4/14/03 in The Round Up, Las Cruces NM.

"Fun & lively. Solid and impressive show" - Gary Soffer, Atlantic Records

"Fun energetic tight band, I would come see you again as a fan" - Devra Wright, Columbia Records

"Very good, nice energy, nice harmonies. Great songs. Well done." - Andrew Gould, Epic Records

- written comments from the Xtreme Music Group Showcase in Salt Lake City, UT

By Patricia L. Garcia/SunLife Editor
Jun 8, 2005, 17:51


You can buy anything on the Internet these days: Russian mail-order brides. Lint art. Big yellow school buses.

Funny story, but that’s what local ska/reggae/funk/Latin band Liquid Cheese bought on eBay. A big yellow bus for $3,500.

“It’s got almost 15,000 miles on it (while the band has driven in it),” laughs saxophone player and vocalist John-Michael Vasquez. “It’s a gem. It’s running beautifully. We all sleep there. We use it to drive through the night. … It’s a home away from home.”

Aside from their fury on four wheels, the boys of Liquid Cheese have plenty of things going on.

First off, the popular nine-piece — guitarists Shawn Hunton and Roy Morales, trumpet players Mike Dominguez and Sam Sullivan (also a vocalist), trombone player Ricky Ortega, bassist Roland Perea, drummer Danny Sullivan and percussionist Doug Neal (whew!) — have embarked on new ventures.

Their most recent project was heading up a new record label, Drunkmouse Records, which is used to not only release their own stuff, but help other area bands release records.

Because the band has connections with bands in other cities, Vasquez said the label makes it easy for the band to swap “favors” by helping out-of-town groups set up shop in Las Cruces and vice versa. “Everybody’s combining what they know for a greater cause.”

The first album the band will release on its label is its own, self-titled third full-length album.

The band again worked with Mike Major, an El Paso producer who’s worked with the likes of At The Drive-In and Sparta.

“It’s the same Mike Major from the last album. He learned a lot of tricks in L.A. (working with Sparta) and he had a lot of stories to tell about what real sessions are like,” Vasquez said.

The band was less concerned about the cost to record the album and did things such as writing and recording a song live, something that happened randomly at 3 a.m. It was recorded in two takes.

“We pretty much wrote the song in the studio,” Vasquez laughed as he reminisced about the moment. “It was the whole experience of what was happening. It was really exciting, that part of doing a live track in the studio.
It really shows the diversity of the band.”

Though the group has been a major player in the area and has traveled extensively, Liquid Cheese is embarking on a six-week tour that can make big things happen for them (maybe even a newer, shinier bus?). One such show would be the Atlantis Music Conference in Atlanta. Former unknowns like John Mayer and Los Lonely Boys were discovered at previous Atlantis conferences.

The band suffered a hit last week when $6,000 worth of their equipment was stolen from the bus.

But Vasquez assures fans that this will not stop Liquid Cheese from playing, as they will buy or rent new equipment for the upcoming tour.

Patricia L. Garcia can be reached at pgarcia@lcsun-news.com

IF YOU GO
WHAT: Liquid Cheese tour kickoff show
WHEN: 10 p.m. June 16
WHERE: The Club, 1200 Foster Road
INFO: 521-1137 - LAS CRUCES PULSE

BACKSTAGE PASS: In the same way that a hybrid of Spanish and English dialect has become known as "Spanglish," Southwestern bands enamored by ska music have added their homegrown flavors and spices to come up with a subgenre of ska called, well ... there's no name for it yet.
But bands like Albuquerque's The Big Spank and El Paso's Liquid Cheese, the members of which likely grew up surrounded by a fair amount of Spanish and Mexican music, are fusing the music born in Jamaica in the early '60s with their traditions and arriving at something that is easily danceable, full of energy and highly entertaining. At the same time, it pays homage to their roots.
Ska has been treated to many makeovers since its inception, first moving to much slower tempos to form first rocksteady, then reggae in the '70s, then to much quicker tempos with the Two Tone movement of the early '80s in the United Kingdom. The latter, marked by bands such as The Selecter, The Beat and The Specials, was heavily influenced by early punk rock and was likely the height of popularity for ska.
Each incarnation of ska music, referred to as "waves," is characterized by a drastic change in sound, tempo or style. Could this as yet unnamed fusion of Tejano, norteño, ska, rock and punk be a new paradigm?
Liquid Cheese's recent release, titled "Tres Equis," is a mere six songs long. But in that span, the group covers a great deal of ground. From uptempo blasts of straight-forward ska to rich, brassy improvisations that hint at mariachi music to fervent tribal percussion, Liquid Cheese creates incessantly driving ska rhythms.
Formed in 1996, the group consists of seven members including Roy Morales (guitar), John-Michael Vasquez (saxophone), Jesse Sullivan (bass), Shawn Hunton (guitar), Sam Sullivan (trumpet), Danny Sullivan (drums), Doug Neal (percussion). Its definitive sound is the culmination of a decade of work and a handful of recordings, as well as more than 1,000 performances, some to crowds of over 10,000. The release of "Tres Equis," which will be accompanied by a local performance Thursday, Jan. 26, at Launchpad, will kick off a national tour.
The all-ages show begins at 7 p.m. Cover is $8.


Published Friday, January 20, 2006
By Kevin Hopper
For the Journal - Albuquerque Journal

by Amy Dalness

Fight the urge to judge this band by their name; Liquid Cheese does not sound like "liquid cheese." There is no oozing squishiness when they're on stage. They are solid, precise, energizing and satisfying (if “liquid cheese” could be described as satisfying, then there may be a correlation, after all). They really should make it more apparent why they chose their band name—for now I'll write it off as some insanely funny inside joke and be content that they, at least, understand.

Liquid Cheese is not a "ska band." They play some ska, but there is way more than just the two-four strum of the guitar in these boys' repertoire, which is a really good thing. Latin, reggae, rock and world beats are just as abundant as skanktastic ska in Liquid's not-cheesy music. (I'm killing myself!) These guys are professionals, and their new album, Tres Equis, is sure to prove it again.


Published Jan 26, 2006
the Alibi
Albuquerque, NM

- the Alibi

Calling Liquid Cheese a ska band seems a bit of an oversimplification as the nine-piece band's good time rhythms and fascinating melodies. Its sound is often informed by the exotic grooves of Latin music and the visceral punch of rock. Fused by the powerful, spot-on rhythm section of Doug Neal and Danny Sullivan and the uniquely fluid saxophone stylings of John-Michael Vasquez and the brilliantly understated guitar work of Roy Morales the unit works takes on journeys through light ("Not The Guy") and the thought-provoking ("Constitution") pausing along for a trip into deep Latin ("Tu (Tribute To Celia Cruzo)" and "Mentiras") with enviable accuracy, authenticity and acumen.

Originally published June 16, 2005

by Jedd Beaudoin
jbeaudoin@f5wichita.com - F5: Wichita, KS

Do The Dog Skazine
Issue 38, Sept 2005
Berkshire, England

A cool new US band new to the pages of Do the Dog are LIQUID CHEESE. This 9 piece hail from Las Cruces,NM & both their 2003 'Lost in the Music' & their soon to be released new 6 track CD EP are chockful of free flowing yet mellow 3rd wave ska grooves with top notch brass & rhythms sections much to the fore. Good stuff & certainly a name to watch out for in the future.
- Do the Dog Skazine: UK