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Troubadours detail travels, music in Las Cruces

Eduardo Rodriguez describes his ukulele bass guitar on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2014 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Rodriguez and two other musicians have played together at a local farmer's market for almost two years. (Venessa Santiesteban/The State Press)
Eduardo Rodriguez describes his ukulele bass guitar on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2014 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Rodriguez and two other musicians have played together at a local farmer's market for almost two years. (Venessa Santiesteban/The State Press)

Eduardo Rodriguez describes his ukulele bass guitar on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2014 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Rodriguez and two other musicians have played together at a local farmer's market for almost two years. (Venessa Santiesteban/The State Press) Eduardo Rodriguez describes his ukulele bass guitar on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2014 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Rodriguez and two other musicians have played together at a local farmer's market for almost two years. (Venessa Santiesteban/The State Press)

Venessa Santiesteban is a State Press reporter located in El Paso, Texas.

On a chilly, dreary Southwest morning in Las Cruces, N.M., families, children and dogs enjoy the weekly Farmer’s Market. Las Cruces, N.M. is about a 45-minute ride west from El Paso, Texas, with a scenic route of the Oregon Mountains.

The Farmer’s market is located from 100 S. Main to 500 S. Main from 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Wednesday and Saturdays year round dependent on the weather.

As I strolled through the cold New Mexico morning, I stopped and asked a cowboy, Eddy Harrison, for an interview. As he was setting up, I quickly took note of his guitar. His guitar was made out of pine with the New Mexico flag inlay as its background. Harrison called it the “singing guitar.” He crafts his own guitars and does presentations on the craft itself when asked. Harrison has been playing music for 65 years.

“I’ve been playing the Farmer’s market for about five to six years," Harrison said. "It’s fun! And I like to watch the people who come by.”

Currently, he has four albums and has just released a new one. I thanked him for his time and trekked my way down to a drumming sound…

As I came closer to the beat of the drum, I encountered a one-man show. The musician: Walter Kimball. It was a sight to be seen, a musical combination of phrasing and looping tugs at the artist’s imagination.

“It’s a bunch of trial and error,” Kimball stated. “In the small case, it does everything that I need it to do.”

Kimball’s looping technique consists of using an electronic pedal that records a few seconds of live material and then proceeds to repeat it at an infinite rate or until the user shuts it off.

He begins the song with a percussive effect by hitting the back of his guitar for a few seconds along with beat box style rhythms. The next stage of the loop features him playing some chords that will repeat throughout the song. By the time the vocals start, it sounds like a full ensemble.

People don't really come out to shows in Las Cruces, but Kimball has been playing gigs for about 16 years. He further explained how he has adapted to playing in bars, farmer’s markets and coffee shops.

This past October, Kimball had the pleasure of participating in a blue grass festival in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“I’ve traveled a little this past year, but hope to travel more,” Kimball said. “I have enough material for a three hour show.”

Lastly, as I wait patiently for the sun to peer through the morning, I notice my feet tapping to the beat of "Bourbon Legend." The band is comprised of Eduardo Rodriguez (bass and vocals), Christopher Smith-Escarcega (vocals and ukulele) and Trinity Osborne (drums). Trinity was on hiatus in Hawaii. They covered TLC's "Waterfalls," and I loved it.

Smith-Escarcega adds some blues grittiness to the song, making it his own. The band has been together for three years and have participated with the Las Cruces Farmer’s Market for almost two years. We had a couple of friends join us and asked if they wanted to take part in a couple of brews at the pub located on the Farmers Market. While our party enjoyed the drinks and the bourbon pecan pie, we continued to talk about their band. Bourbon Legend will be playing locally this month.

The dents and dings in a traveling suitcase and the road trips in a car across state lines carry the journeys and tribulations of any artist. Music is the connection between people and shares one thing that everyone understands: love of the beat!

Reach the reporter in El Paso, T.X. at vsantiesramirez@gmail.com or follow @santiesv on Twitter

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