The Dublin-by-way-of-Mexico street musicians Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero have found in their adopted home an unlikely stardom, one that's spreading throughout Europe. The young acoustic guitarists came up through Mexico's thrash metal scene, eventually giving up on a life of part-time rock 'n' roll for a bohemian lifestyle abroad. Self-taught but blazing on their classical guitars, the pair bring hyperactive percussive styles to melodic picking that draws comparison to folks like John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucia, and flamenco popsters from Estebán to Stunz and Farah. The duo's Latin roots and acoustic axes make for easy flamenco comparisons, actually, but that's not really what they do at all. As evidence of their hard-rock bona fides, they've recorded versions of "Stairway to Heaven" and Metallica's "Orion," and they leaven songs such as "Juan Loco" with Slayer-style pentatonic shredding. Nor is this Wayne's World -- "Ixtapa," another original, features violinist Roby Lakatos in a Gypsy-styled hoedown. Holding it together are the duo's contagious energy, dry Mexican wit, and furiously fleet fingers.
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