Fan of Sublime? You'll like this free tune

March 02, 2009 11:00 AM

Zack Quaintance

The Monitor

This week's free download comes from avant-garde McAllen solo musicianThe Audio Hallucinogen. To download it, right-click and save the link below.

>> TRACK 16 <<
THE AUDIO HALLUCINOGEN --- "Midsummer's Night"
>> CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD <<

At 18 years old, Albert Gonzalez had one thing on his mind: women.

Fresh out of high school, he didn't enroll in college like many of his peers. Instead, he spent the year after graduation playing music, performing and feeling like every romantic encounter was the end of the world.

He's captured this wild, emotional period of his life in "Midsummer's Night," one of the local singer/songwriter's most popular tracks to date.

"Basically, the song is about being young and thinking that you're in love with everybody," he said. "No matter how much you might like a girl when you're young, if you have an option to kiss another girl, you'll take it because you're young and stupid."

Gonzalez, now 28, first performed "Midsummer's Night" with his now-defunct band, Bentsen Groove Lab. The group split up in June 2008, and Gonzalez started performing solo under the stage name "The Audio Hallucinogen." He has a stable of bass players and drummers he calls to join him twice a month for shows at Newman's Bar and Grill in McAllen.

Gonzalez has put together three hours of music for these shows, and only four of the songs on the set list are covers. Everything else is original material, including acoustic guitar tracks.

The performance is a work in progress, meaning every Audio Hallucinogen show features new material.

ABOUT THE SONG
www.myspace.com/theaudiohallucinogenmusic
Written by: Albert Gonzalez
Recorded: 2005
Produced by: Albert Gonzalez
Recorded at: Green Flames Studio
For fans of: Sublime, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Damien Marley
Catch him: February 27, performing an acoustic set at Hasting's Books, Music and Videos in McAllen.
Play keyboards?: If so contact Gonzalez at www.myspace.com/theaudiohallucinogenmusic, he's looking for your help.