Magic From The Well
A Story B y Jan Rogers, President
Write Sounds Entertainment, Inc.
Ramón: Twenty years ago and fresh out of college with a degree proudly in hand, Ramón Salgado began a career as a school teacher in Mexico. Born and raised in Todos Santos, he had always been driven to help those around him. He was happiest when he could contribute to the happiness of others. One year of teaching was all it took for him to realize that his true passion was elsewhere.
Jan goes to Mexico: When I traveled to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in December 2007 with the love of my life, I never dreamed that a series of events was about to unfold that would change my life forever. Bruce and I were enjoying a week of much-needed R&R, when it happened. You can’t help but marvel at the mysteries of the Universe when something unexpectedly whacks you over the head the way this did.
The Event: Like swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano each Spring, the first week in December would find Bruce at the end of the Baja Peninsula. After 16 years, he had his favorite things to do, places to go and food to eat. Being a creature of habit, Bruce had planned dinner at a fancy restaurant for an annual event. We had been there before and it was very nice, but this time I felt a strange uneasiness. I love the food and atmosphere at another restaurant we had been to, and I really wanted to go there instead. But I was his guest and he had his tradition, so I was hesitant to suggest something different. It had been nagging at me all day. I finally asked him if his heart was set on the fancy place. He said we could go anywhere that I wanted. It was totally out of character for me to speak up like that. It was a decision that was to set a whole chain of life-altering events into motion.
Ramon began playing the guitar when he was six years old. He loved writing about people and singing songs about life. After his brief stint at teaching school, he returned to music. He formed a local musician’s organization and served as its leader for 20 years. During that time he was featured as a performer at Mi Casa, one of the most well known restaurants in Cabo San Lucas. In 2007 personal issues in Ramón's life began taking their toll. Although he loved Mi Casa, he felt that his career had become stagnant. With their blessing, he changed venues to another restaurant.
The Dinner: La Casa Del Pozo (House with a water well) has a dimly lit, romantic atmosphere. Off the beaten path, it is named for the trademark, 150 year old water well near the back of the restaurant. Bruce and I were holding hands, staring into each other’s eyes, and completely oblivious to our surroundings.
Ramón had his routine. He would write songs and help his fellow musicians during the day. Nights would once again find him with his passion and guitar playing for tourists at the restaurant, his sole means of support. It was also his escape from the new pain that had recently entered his life. One night was like every other night.
Bruce and I were still immersed in each other when we were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a booming male voice just outside. And then Ramón walked in – already singing his Spanish version of “Cracklin’ Rose” as he came through the door. Bruce was annoyed at the disruption as we turned to see who it was. We saw a handsome man in his early forties passionately belting out that song. We were soon captivated. So was everyone else. Even the kitchen staff stopped working and came out to watch him. He went to each table asking, “What is your favorite Mexican song”. He didn’t ask for money, he just sang from his heart savoring every moment. When he came to our table, we were still holding hands but our focus had changed. Ramón recognized it and said he wanted to sing a special song for us. Bruce waved him off, but Ramón ignored him and began singing Wonderful Tonight to me in English. The last phrase of the song is, “And yes, my darling, you were wonderful tonight”. To my utter surprise Bruce stood up clapping, and announced to the entire restaurant, “And she is wonderful, tonight and every night”. Wow, it was the single most romantic moment of my life. I was swept off my feet.
When he was done for the evening and had sung something special to every guest, he walked past our table on his way out. I stopped him and asked his name.
“R-r-r-r-r-r-amón”, he replied. I have always loved Latin music and have quite a collection of CD’s. I asked if he had any, and he said no. He explained to us how poor the Mexican people are and how much it costs to make a CD. There was no place there to make one and he would have to travel to the US to do it. It just wasn’t possible. Bruce and I looked at each other, both thinking the same thing. With neither of us knowing the first thing about the music business, our thoughts were pure lunacy. But we both knew right at that moment that somehow we had to help this man make a CD. We invited Ramón to sit with us and we talked with him until the restaurant was closing and they asked us to leave. We learned that he had written several songs, and when he sang them for us we were blown away. Our days were filled with vacation fun, but we returned to the restaurant every night for the rest of the week and watched Ramón work his magic with every customer. We would sit near the well and talk to him until closing each night. The more we got to know him, the more we realized that his heart was as pure as his voice, and the more convinced we became that something had to be done about making a CD.
Write Sounds: We returned home and decided to form Write Sounds Entertainment, Inc. to sponsor the project.
The Demo CD: We needed to get a sample of his talent recorded so we returned to Cabo San Lucas in early January 2008 and went to a club called Cabo Wabo where we found someone who knew of a small recording studio nearby. It wasn’t state-of-the-art, but it was good enough to produce some demo songs.
The Vision: I made a poster with photos from the Baja, pictures of Ramón and information about the music industry that I could relate to. I hung it on the wall next to my desk and every time it felt like we were crazy for doing this, I would look at the board, listen to Ramón’s voice on the demo CD, and find the strength to press forward.
The Producer: Bruce related our story to a long-time friend who had recently just moved back to Parker ( a suburb of Denver). He suggested that we speak with an old college acquaintance of his, Clark Hagan, who had earned a Grammy for his work with Chet Atkins. Clark worked in Nashville for many years, and coincidentally had also recently moved back to Parker. When we met with Clark we knew immediately that we had been directed to the right person.
The Sound Engineer: Clark invited us to a wrap party for another artist at a local recording studio. By chance I struck up a conversation with a young lady at the appetizer table. I learned that her family had just moved to Parker from Nashville and that her dad was in the process of re-opening a recording studio in Denver. Wow! What are the chances? First, Bruce’s friend, then Clark, and now John – all moving back to Parker within a few months of each other. She pointed her father out to me, I dragged Bruce away from a conversation, and we introduced ourselves to John Macy. Like Clark, he also had a Grammy along with several gold albums for his work with various artists over the years. Clark and John knew each other by reputation, but had never worked together. Clark happened to be affiliated with the studio that we had already begun negotiations with. I was nervous about suddenly switching studios and it seemed even more unlikely that either would accept. But after Clark and John listened to Ramón’s demo, and we presented the idea of working together on this, they both jumped at the chance. We could all sense that something was really starting to gel.
The Dream Team: I know it may sound trite, but that was the sense among the talent that Clark and John were able to attract to the project once we all started working together. Lead guitarist Eugene Moles was flown in from Nashville. Keyboard artist and orchestration expert Jerome Gilmer, a 7-time Emmy winner for orchestration also joined us. From the very first recording session it was apparent to everyone involved that something truly special was in the works.
The Recording: We flew Ramón to Denver in June 2008 and he spent 3 weeks in John’s studio. Our plan was to record 15 to 17 songs, choose the best ones for the CD, and save the others for later. When the recordings were finished, Clark totally caught us off guard by announcing that we had enough songs for two albums and thought we should release them both immediately. We hadn’t come up with a name yet for one album, and now there were two.
Magia Del Pozo: Bruce had traveled to Mexico many times to negotiate contracts and get the initial demo recordings made. He had dispensed with his normal activities and eating places, saying that he kept being drawn back to the Well. Not knowing it prior to one trip, he arrived on Ramón’s birthday. The trip was planned at the last minute and Ramón didn’t know he was coming. Bruce made arrangements with the restaurant to surprise Ramón with a birthday cake during his performance that night. When Bruce asked him what he wanted for his birthday, Ramón gestured to his guitar and the crowd and simply said, “This”.
Bruce recounted the story when we were trying to come up with a name for the album. Then he stated that the name for the album should reflect the birthplace of this project, and what happened the night the three of us met for the first time to begin our journey. Bruce said, “I keep coming up with Magic From The Well”. Everyone agreed, and that is how Magia Del Pozo got its name.
No More War: On Ramón’s first day in Colorado, Clark came to our house to meet Ramón and to chart his music for the recording sessions. Clark opened his notebook and told Ramón to begin singing. Clark was instantly mesmerized and listened for over an hour without making a single entry. Then they began a discussion about how music transcends language. Ramón was saying “no more words”, but Clark was hearing “no more wars”. Ramón’s accent was a blessing in disguise. I was sitting between them and realized that they were disconnected in the meaning. When I explained it to them, we all laughed. But Clark became serious and suggested that “No More War” would be a great song to write.
After Clark left, we took Ramón to Mt. Evans. At 14,240 ft, it is known for having the highest paved road in North America. It also has snow year round, and that is where Ramón saw, and got to play in snow for the first time. We then stopped at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheater and had him play and sing on the stage. Within minutes he drew in a crowd of interested listeners, including some unexpected ones. A bird landed on the rocks behind the stage and began chirping in rhythm. Then more birds joined in. There was a surrealism about that day we will never forget. Ramón was so inspired by the experience that he wanted to write a song about it. Recounting his conversation with Clark earlier, the light bulb went off in Ramón’s head. It was exactly the missing piece of the song he had been writing. So right there in my living room, in about 30 minutes, he finished the song “No Más Guerra”. It’s a story about how the giant rocks guard the secret to peace, but are unable to speak, so the birds must speak for them. It was an amazing end to an amazing day. Everyone at the studio was so impressed when they heard it, that it was recorded immediately, and it eventually became the title song for the second record. Once again, the purity of his heart had created something so poignant to the human experience.
Listen to the music of this talented singer/songwriter and decide for yourself. But to those of us involved in this project, there truly was “Magic From The Well”. The world is a better place with the music of Ramón Salgado in it.
