Today’s featured song is “12 Pack Blues” by Sergi Estella. What better title to celebrate this cafe’s inauguration than this? If the rhythm is too intense for your current state, turn down the volume. Just don’t miss out on this treat! You’ve got to see what this artist can do with three strings, just over a dozen cans, and a ton of creativity.
12 Pack Blues
Sergi Estella released “12 Pack Blues” sometime in the first half of 2020. Estella’s 12 Pack YouTube video (above) has a May date which predates the Amazon release date by two months. As a fan of blues music in general I particularly like this song because of that quirky 3-string guitar made out of cans. It appears that twelve cans make up the body—that makes sense, yeah?—while a thirteenth (used as the microphone) gets stored there when not in use. He’s strapped the fourteenth can to his right foot. A small tambourine to his left. This ingenuity allows him to accompany himself as a band of one.
A friend of mine listened to this track and told me it reminded him of Primus. I’ve re-listened to the song at least a dozen times since then and I can’t decide. I love Primus and this song definitely has a bizarre vibe to it. However, without the video, or at least the knowledge of Sergi’s guitar in this song, I’m not sure it sounds all that unconventional.
One article I read said that Sergi compensates for his lack of legitimacy with “mischievous inventiveness” and it’s easy to agree with the sentiment. This unconventional guitar is not the only eccentric piece of equipment in his bag of tricks. Indeed, he’s got quite an arsenal of weird instruments on his website.
I get that some people won’t find Sergi as talented as I do and that’s okay. As for the rest of us, we can celebrate in the comfort that this song is now on Spotify and there appears to be no sign that Sergi will be slowing down anytime soon. I’m admittedly not a wonderful music critic so I won’t even pretend to know what I’m talking about as it regards the technicality of his music or the precision of his musicianship. However, I know what I like. “12 Pack Blues” is a new favorite and I anticipate that Mr. Estella is far from finished impressing me.
See you next time. Meanwhile, take care of that hangover.
