Alex San Dinero is a Florida-based Laotian American musician currently rising on the scene with performances across the country, including the International Lao New Year Festival in April, Washington D.C. and many other venues. A good-natured man and a committed musician, Alex San Dinero is taking Lao music in a different direction with his distinctive Laoggaeton sound and its high-energy beats, performing with his colleague DJ Fantazma. He is quickly building a large fanbase, performing alongside Lao American musicians like Ketsana and he is hard at work on several new project. Bakka Magazine had a chance to interview him recently between performances. You can visit him online at www.alexsandinero.com and most popular social networking sites.

1) What are the principle ideas to you of what Laoggaeton should sound like, and who are some of your key influences?

Laoggaeton is really just a word I first came up with when I decided to make my first song a year ago “Thia Longe”. I had and have been listening to Reggaeton and Spanish music in general for so long, I decided to try it for the first time with a Lao twist to it. The language of course.... Nothing has really changed from the beat aside from the flow spoken in the music genre. And I gave it the “Laoggaeton” twist to give the genre it’s identity for our Lao people to recognize.

My key influences in the genre is first my Lao people. I wanted to bring something a little different to our entertainment life. We have so many talented Lao artists like Gumby, SupaSang, L.O.G., Laostha, Aluna, Sam, Cells, and many many more who have brought our Lao people hip-hop, pop, r&b, and rock music with our language. I figured...why not do something else on my own? Maybe people will like it. Who knows? I love these other genres just as much. But I am submerged in this Spanish culture because of the demographics of my lifestyle and it’s become the only thing I really know.

I am heavily influenced first by major Reggaeton artists such as Wisin and Yandel, Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Tego Calderon, Tony Dice, Fantazma (my Producer), and so much more. I can’t even go into all who influence me because it’d be a long laundry list of great musicians from our Reggaeton world.

2) When did you first discover your love for music?

My love for music? I think everyone falls in love with music from the time they are fertilized as a human being. But in my case, I really started to fall in love with it back in elementary school. Being an 80’s child, I fell in love with Rock music. Ballads and stuff from all the great Metal bands like Poison, Skid Row, Motley Crue, Cinderella, etc.,. My best friend at that time wanted to be a Rock Star. We both shared the same aspirations and dreams to become so, and, we invested into guitars and big hair. Of course, I was never able to get away with it because my parents weren’t having it with the long hair. I studied guitar for a few years and took guitar classes in high school for my Art classes. And then I got into R&B and Hip-Hop in that era and fell off track with Rock. I stopped playing the guitar and just started singing instead.

It never ever went to far from there. I got into the military after high school and traveled the world. Did some Karaoke here and there and was applaused for my singing but never tried to take it to the next level. I just hung it up and persued my career in business.

And it was from my aspirations in business that opened up the door for me to get back into the music. I financed a music studio for a small record company and decided to take advantage of my own recording studio after seeing so many other artist come through our facility. So there I was, dreaming again.

3) What is excellence for you in your work as a musician?

Excellence is a habit. And as musicians, our best work comes from what we FEEL. Our EMOTIONS. Our pain. Our happiness. Our joy. Our dreams, inspirations, aspirations, and even our dislikes and hates. It’s being able to express yourself freely through your work. And like any other profession, excellence as a musician is being able to give yourself and your followers the best of yourself with no holds barred.

4) As a Laotian American, how do you see the relationship of your culture to your art?

Lao people are a crazy crowd of party folks. Our culture is full of fun and excitement. My ART, and my work is hype energetic type of music. It relates to our culture in my perception of it because we are such party going people. We love the sound of those drums hitting our souls when we’re out shaking and moving on the dance floor. Getting jiggy with it....5555!

5) What’s been the biggest challenge for you as an musician?

The biggest challenge has been “Time” for me. I have some much that I want to do as a musician for this genre and for my Lao people that time seems to eat up so much of. Fantazma and myself have so many ideas and projects we are excited about producing that we want to bring forward to the people but are constrained due to time. Just like everyone else in this world, we run into everyday challenges with family, friends, events, schedules, you name it. We got it all. The drama and a bag of chips to go.

6) Do you any advice for younger artists?

I would advise for all younger artists to pursue their passions. Whether it may be music, painting, singing, dancing, acting, etc.,. Do what you love. I wish I would have started doing this earlier in my life but I went astray following a dream in what I thought was my passion. But being a musician and actor is what I truly feel in my heart as my passion. It’s that important. There’s nothing better to do for a living than to what you love so much. It’s a blessing to be able to do that.