San Diego has a wealth of singer-songwriters, but few make as strong an impression as Carlos Olmeda, who will perform a solo acoustic show on Friday, April 20, at Dizzy’s in the Downtown area.
The affable guitarist is one of this city’s hidden treasures, with a wonderful, plaintive voice and a knack for writing tunes that stick with listeners long after the final note of his performances.
Olmeda stands out from most other local troubadours because of his multilingual ability, singing in English, Spanish, Spanglish and, on rare occasions, Gaelic. While existing just under the mainstream radar, he has racked up numerous accomplishments, including winning a San Diego Music Award in 1999 for Best Adult Alternative Album with his disc “Sensitive Groove.”
He first arrived in San Diego as a child in the mid-’60s via North Carolina and Puerto Rico.
He immersed himself in music immediately, performing from the age of 6. His musical inspiration was close to home.
“My dad played ‘Blue Moon’ on his Harmony 12-string, and that was it,” he recalled.
Olmeda cites Carlos Gardel and Elvis Costello as influences, along with “every good writer I’ve ever heard in between,” but he is a bit more succinct when it comes to inspiration for writing songs.
“The list is too long, but the first was actually Hank Williams’ ‘Your Cheatin’ Heart,’ then the Beatles,” he said. “I was hooked.”
While he has a hard time pinpointing his career highs, noting with a laugh “every sold-out show has been my favorite and a highlight,” he can name his worst gig ever in a flash.
“That would be solo, in [the] back bar at The Casbah during late Beat Farmer guitarist Buddy Blue’s memorial benefit,” he said.
Playing next to the pool table through a small PA system was less than optimal for Olmeda, though he was happy to perform for such a worthy event.
Although currently known for his acoustic music, after releasing an album in that style called “The Other American” late last year, Olmeda will be branching out with his next release.
“The next album will be a retro-rock thing with a band called SUPERMICE, tentatively titled ‘Our Little Empire’,” he said.
The group is a conscious effort to move away from the singer-songwriter mold.
“I wanted a name that was fun to say and easy to remember ” let someone else take themselves too seriously for a change,” he said with a laugh.
Olmeda concedes that the move into group performances is a way to expand the stages available to him.
“This band exists so that we can do outdoor festivals and outdoor college gigs,” he said. “It has beauty and power, but it’s definitely not a coffeehouse entity.”
The opportunity to stretch out musically in a band context also appeals to him.
“I wanted something that wasn’t genre-specific,” Olmeda said. “If we break off a cute little riffy joint, that’s the MICE part. If we fire off an anthem, that’s the SUPER part.”
For Olmeda, staying ahead of the musical curve is important.
“More than anything else, I want to make art that is not absolutely shackled to any one current pop rhetoric,” he stated.
After decades of performing, Olmeda is pleased by the direction his career path has taken.
“My life is beautiful,” he remarked with a huge smile.
Now a seasoned veteran of the music scene, Olmeda has advice for newcomers, and that is to watch what they sign.
“True art and commerce make strange bedfellows,” he explained. “But they can date successfully if they get to know each other first and they use protection, up to and including a lawyer. Always bring protection, because someone’s gonna get screwed once in a while.”
Olmeda plays on Friday, April 20, at Dizzy’s, 344 7th Ave. For more information, visit www.dizzyssandiego.com.