Jose Luis Benavides
Email: joseluis@gozamos.com
Facebook: Jose Luis Benavides
Born and raised in Chicago, he received his B.A. in Latina/o Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He has worked extensively in the Chicago community as a Young Chicago Authors alum, and a POSSE. He is also an award winning prose writer and poet. After a wearing year and a half working as a teaching artist for the National Museum of Mexican Art, he ventured to the motherlands, for an ex-pat life of deviant undermining, secretly infiltrating Mexico's high and low art societies. Having grown up working poor, raised by a security guard, immigrant dyke mom, he's not quite sure why he's so goddam fancy. Currently working on a body of flash-fiction and exploring new music, art and film for review, this nomadic ruffian glibly awaits the zombie apocalypse.
Da Best of Music Reviews, 2011
By Jose Luis Benavides on January 10, 2012 | Leave a comment!
OMG, this was the hardest thing in the world. Reviewing a year of stellar reviews done by Gozamos’ superstars. Seriously.
Da Best Tracks of 2011, Part Two
By Jose Luis Benavides on January 5, 2012 | Leave a comment!
Yup, no filler, no bullshit, just da best tracks of 2011. Check it.
Da Best of Music Interviews, 2011
By Jose Luis Benavides on January 3, 2012 | Leave a comment!
OMG, this was the hardest thing in the world. Reviewing a year of stellar interviews done by Gozamos’ superstars. Seriously.
Da Best Tracks of 2011, Part One
By Jose Luis Benavides on January 2, 2012 | Leave a comment!
Yup, no filler, no bullshit, just da best tracks of 2011. Check it.
Interview: Antonio Ocasio does WEPA!
By Jose Luis Benavides on December 27, 2011 | Leave a comment!
Get your dancing shoes prepped for all that New Year’s dancing with WEPA on Dec. 28th in Chicago.
Descarga: “Maestro” by Ritmo Machine
By Jose Luis Benavides on November 28, 2011 | 1 Comment
I don’t want to spoil too much of this album for you, so I’ll just let you take your time with it and dream of the summer sun that’s not too far along.
Review: Yelle messes me up
By Jose Luis Benavides on November 23, 2011 | Leave a comment!
A little T-day review of a fluffed up turkey-esque performer I like to call the queen of electro-pop. Yelle’s recent Mexico City performance, really got me in a funk, down in the dirts or just plain pensive about performance, race and some other stuff.
Reviewed Food: Alverre café bistró in Coyoacan, D.F.
By Jose Luis Benavides on November 19, 2011 | Leave a comment!
Get ready for a fruity feast, Gozamos goes all the way to Frida’s house and back for this wild fruit pasta dinner.
Interview: A. Huizenga’s Actually Krampus Christmas & SoftRock pop-porn
By Jose Luis Benavides on November 16, 2011 | Leave a comment!
Unafraid to set the boys and heathen history-phobes straight, A. Huizenga aka Actually, bares all this holiday season. Try not to get “wet” as we chat Mae West, live sex, fine friends, Pompidou foes and performance. Her art is as much diabolical as it is intellectually… stimulating.
Review: Chromeo, Crystal Castles and my electro-shock therapy groove
By Jose Luis Benavides on November 14, 2011 | Leave a comment!
Ever feel your face shake loose from your skull? I have… Put Mexico City’s One Arts + Music Festival on your calendar for next year kids.
Album Review: DJ Godfather aka Brian Jeffries’ Detroit Booty Callin EP
By Jose Luis Benavides on October 27, 2011 | Leave a comment!
“Bounce that AZZ,” on full repeat, over and over again. It’s just about the only thing you need to hear on a Booty Call Record release, really. DJ Godfather may be formulaic but it’s well, just booty music anyways. What’dya expect?
Dubstep delights Skream & Benga at the Mid
By Jose Luis Benavides on October 25, 2011 | Leave a comment!
Dubstep delights Skream & Benga at the Mid with DJ Belly and DJ Solo. It was a banger for sure.
Numero Group Yard Sale, soul and funk for sale…
By Jose Luis Benavides on October 12, 2011 | 2 Comments
Set your Northside-complex aside and buy some music at the Numero Group Yard Sale this Sat. Southsider’s you know what it is… we ’bout it, ’bout it.
Album Review: Ghetto-tech Jukerz Beware, Leatherface slaughters all on Tales of a Jukesaw
By Jose Luis Benavides on September 26, 2011 | 1 Comment
All you slasher fiends will walk out alive, but your booties will have surely been slain by Leatherface’ beastly ghetto-tech performance on Tales of the Jukesaw.
Interview: Kyle Curry of Rock for Kids!
By Jose Luis Benavides on September 21, 2011 | Leave a comment!
Chicago youth can set their after school cartoons on pause, taking advantage of the inspiring musical trainging provided by Rock for Kids!
Mamacita chimes Chilean minimal freestyle-house
By Jose Luis Benavides on August 29, 2011 | 1 Comment
Hey all you freestyle loving, late night B-96 house heads growing up on 90′s and 80′s synths beware, Chilean artists, Mamacita takes our beloved sounds and vamps them up from the minimal dance underground.
Album Review: Jacuzzi Boys back and Glazin’ up
By Jose Luis Benavides on August 26, 2011 | Leave a comment!
Jacuzzi Boys are back, the hottest Miami dudes bashing it up with their singular psychedelic delirium.
FMEL is back, blasting circuit bending sound waves
By Jose Luis Benavides on August 22, 2011 | Leave a comment!
Experimentation, diffusion and play are at the core of one of Chicago’s finest avant festivals.
Unisono: One Sound, One village
By Jose Luis Benavides on August 18, 2011 | Leave a comment!
A mini-playlist of some of the acts hitting the stage this Sat. for Unisono
Album Review: Bestial Mouths’ offal wrenching new-goth, Hissing Veil
By Jose Luis Benavides on August 15, 2011 | 1 Comment
Bestial Mouth clamours with baying vocals, industrial sound collage synths and pernicious percussion on their debut full length, punk–wave macabre, Hissing Veil.
Mad Decent Block Party in Wicker Park!
By Jose Luis Benavides on August 12, 2011 | Leave a comment!
Mad Decent hits Chicago on Aug. 13. Enjoy the banger of the summer with a hand picked playlist of downloads and streams, videos and tidbits to pregame in style.
Album Review: DJ Raff ghettoblasts Chilean trip-hop on his U.S. debut, Latino & Proud
By Jose Luis Benavides on August 3, 2011 | Leave a comment!
Few albums in the hip-hop dance, electro genre can claim the exquisite range, experimentation, and historic reference that DJ Raff dishes out on his U.S. debut release with Nacional Records. From club-house electronix to transcendent trip-hop, Latino & Proud marks DJ Raff’s variance and the
Album Review: Cassettes Won’t Listen car jam ringer EVINSPACEY
By Jose Luis Benavides on August 2, 2011 | 1 Comment
Cassettes Won’t Listen is Jason Drake. His recent car jam ringer, EVINSPACEY is worth all the Kevin Spacey and Ira Glass buzz.
De La Soul, Z-Trip and Nosaj Thing at the Mid
By Jose Luis Benavides on July 28, 2011 | Leave a comment!
The hippie’s of hip-hop, De La Soul meet the mashup king, Z-Trrip and the experimental sounds of Nosaj Thing Friday, 7/29 at the Mid.
