Album Notes

Adventure has never been a task for VBC. A Caribbean soul and a California heart have sustained a decade of ceaseless romp-downs and raucous times for L.A.’s vallenato veteranos, inciting 10s of 1000s of men, women, children, and even some wild animals, to boogie to the Colombian coastal beat. From the debaucherous streets of: Austin’s SXSW, and Germany’s WorldCupTour ’06; to the cultural pinnacles of: Chicago’s SummerDanceSeries, New York’s CentralParkSummerstage, Los Angeles’ GrandPerformances, Silver Lake’s SunsetJunctionStreetFair; colossal concerts: L.A. Sports Arena CumbiaFest, GlastonburyMusicFestival UK, and FujiRockFestival Japan; clubs and hubs: N.Y.’s SOBs, L.A.’s HOBs, backyard BBQs, VeryBeCareful has tamed the beasts within or unleashed the ones without.

Bootlegged across Latin America, pumped at the clubs, and ripped on the radio and satellite stations of Japan, Argentina, Mexico, England, Belgium, Australia, Canada and the USA, VeryBeCareful forges ahead globetrotting alongside legends and antiheros: JoeStrummer, AlfredoGutierrez, Antibalas, CarlosVives, DubTrio, GrupoNiche, KronosQuartet, GogolBordello. Their infamous ten year traditions hosting old school “dances” for Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve, Halloween and the legendary July 4th Brooklyn “Cumbia Under The Sparks” rooftop affair, has brought together people from around the globe itchin’ for those early roots sounds that prove a stripped down parranda is sometimes fiercer, and funner, than a bleedin’ riot.

Their newest cd, Salad Buey, is an urban jungle story of wild beasts and wilder beauties. It is a raw tale of L.A.’s gritty streets as told through the sweet and savory sounds of accordion, bass, and percussion under the same palm tree sway as on the steamy coast of Colombia. From the 1998 Pinto Records’ El Niño (produced by Money Mark), 1999 De Volada Records’ Cheap Chillin, Downtown Pijao’s 2001 The Rose, 2002 El Grizz, 2003 film The Tooth (which stars the band), and the classic 2005 Ñacas… to the new savage sounds of Salad Buey, VBC flies that “booty-shakin’ firestorm” flag higher than ever!!