Javier Martinez and Jesus De La Cruz are 2 local artists/musicians who have created a bi-weekly podcast showcasing local and regional artists. Poets, musicians, painters, sculptors—creators in any medium are the stars of XUCO Underground. The focus is on the artist and puts a spotlight on who they are and what they do. A few months ago the pair decided to start the podcast as a platform from which creative people can talk about their endeavors.
Martinez is the show’s producer and co-host, and De La Cruz is the host. They are no strangers to the music scene and the struggles that go along with that lifestyle and career choice.
They spoke with us about the impetus for XUCO Underground’s creation, how they want to help the local scene and their hopes for the future.
When did XUCO Underground start?
JdlC: We launched in April. It’s something we’d been talking about. We’re both musician and artists and we’ve come to an understanding that the community needs more. Artists can only do so much when it comes to media exposure. The exposure is harder to get here [in El Paso] and not everybody gets it. The idea behind XUCO Underground is to unite everybody who’s not had a chance to be heard and be brought into the light and given the opportunity to talk about what inspires them, how they started.
When you go see a band, you enjoy the music, sure, but not a lot of times do you have the opportunity to understand them, or know where they’re coming from. When you get that chance to find out what they’re all about and then go see them again, you’ll appreciate it on a different level.
We want to help people get to know the musicians and feel like ‘I can relate to that,’ or ‘I play that instrument too’ or ‘I had a similar experience.’ We want to be the voice for that.
Was this an idea you’d been tossing around for a while, or did you get together over some beers one night and decide let’s do this? What ultimately led to the decision to do the show?
JM: I think it was mainly frustration.
JC: Yeah, the frustration. We’d felt our own frustration in the community and felt we weren’t being heard when it came down to him [Javier] doing his solo shows, or me doing stuff with the bands I had. We felt we needed to put something more out there to catch the community’s ear, and hopefully give them a better understanding of what a lot of artists are doing. We did an episode with the artist Ho Baron. What got my attention was that most people don’t even know about him and maybe they’ve seen his work, his sculptures. But what I wanted to get out of that interview was for everybody to have a better understanding of him and his work and get the message across that hey, he’s not just the guy in the neighborhood with the creepy sculptures in his yard. He’s an amazing artist and sculptor.
But back to the question, we started XUCO Underground as an outlet for artists and musicians. We’ve seen podcasts from San Antonio, Austin, Houston. Here there are a few, but not many. When I’ve done radio here, it’s about who you know. We’re trying to break that barrier. We’ve extended an open invitation to anyone who wants to talk about their artwork, anyone who wants exposure for their music, or any kind of sentiment they might want to put out there, artistically. They’re more than welcome to come down. We’re doing this more for the community than for ourselves. Javier loves the fact he gets to work and keep recording. He loves the art of recording. On top of that he does his music, and he loves being exposed to all the different people who come our way.
Is there an overarching theme you have set for each episode, or do you just let the show unfold naturally?
JC: We let it be more of an organic thing; it’s like we’re welcoming someone into our living room. It’s lets have a music session, let’s have a guest and talk about art. That’s what we base it on. When we started, we’d never done anything like this before (laughs)). Basically I got one of those Books for Dummies on how to do podcasts. Javier is already experienced because he’s worked in recording studios. For me, I had to shut up and sit there and take notes. When we first started doing the show I sat there with my notes, but I had to stop and put down the pen. Otherwise it wouldn’t have been natural.
A lot of the guests we have are really nervous. We tell them, we’re not here to interrogate you. We’re trying to inform the community that you’re here. So when they see your flyer for a show you’re having, they’ll say hey, it’s that band, or, it’s that artist. Let’s go see their exhibit.
Why is it important for artists to have this platform to talk about their craft?
JM: Artists and musicians are the voice of El Paso, and through their creativity and experience, they speak out. It’s important not only for them to create their art, but to talk about their art, and network with other people and share that creative experience.
JC: We know the art and music business isn’t easy from our own experience. I know how hard it was to get my voice heard. Now I’m at a time in my life, and Javier too, where we can BE that platform. Local artists need exposure and I don’t want to see our community bypass something good, we’ll regret it later. I literally want to leave no stone unturned as far as the talent here. These musicians, poets, artists and sculptors aren’t going to be here forever, and we have this silly ‘I don’t know you and you don’t know me’ click mentality, and Javier and I are trying to break that wall down. And with bigger cities , the recognition’s already there. Ok Austin, I get it, you’re weird. Ok L.A., you guys are great because you have a beach. But El Paso’s here, and the only thing I see is we’re going to keep moving forward, if we can come together. Now it’s necessary to lay the groundwork to start something bigger. Yes the podcasts are here, but everybody does their own thing. We wanted to grasp the artist and the information and put it out there, so people will be like ‘holy crap, that’s actually from here.’ Yeah its from here!
You can catch all of the episodes of XUCO Underground on their website and Facebook: