Michel Maza..

DJ Yuca said:
I notice the people in this thread who work or have worked in the music industry are the ones who have the more negative opinion of coke - we've seen what it does, and it's not a pretty sight.
Click to expand...
The Salsa music industry practically revolved around cocaine in the 1980's -- the two industries were joined at the hip in New York City, Colombia and Puerto Rico -- I can't speak about other cities. I saw lots of lives and great talents ruined, or worse. Things are not what it was in those days but the damn thing is that now it's cheaper than it was thirty years ago.
 
AfroCubanPerWor said:
I bet listening to music you love triggers dopamine as well. Not sure that that definition of addiction holds up.
Click to expand...

No it doesn't. Read "This is your brain on Music". The guy who wrote it started out as a music producer and then went into neuroscience. Music affects every part of the brain even regions that are sub-conscious, totally different situation and quite fascinating to neuroscientists.
 
bailar y tocar said:
No it doesn't. Read "This is your brain on Music". The guy who wrote it started out as a music producer and then went into neuroscience. Music affects every part of the brain even regions that are sub-conscious, totally different situation and quite fascinating to neuroscientists.
Click to expand...


In an aside note from another genre.. I taught, on 3 seperate occasions , in different cities, groups of young adults with Downs syndrome. On one occasion, there were 2/3 physicians attending monitoring the effects of music. These were all regular weekly classes . One of the most rewarding teaching experiences of my career
 
bailar y tocar said:
No it doesn't. Read "This is your brain on Music". The guy who wrote it started out as a music producer and then went into neuroscience. Music affects every part of the brain even regions that are sub-conscious, totally different situation and quite fascinating to neuroscientists.
Click to expand...

Sounds very interesting.
 
bailar y tocar said:
No it doesn't. Read "This is your brain on Music". The guy who wrote it started out as a music producer and then went into neuroscience. Music affects every part of the brain even regions that are sub-conscious, totally different situation and quite fascinating to neuroscientists.
Click to expand...

So if ot triggers every part of your brain that would include dopamine production wouldn't it? Music aside, I know exercise does. The mere trigerring of dopamine production does not mean someone is addicted. If some action causes it I suppose it could mean that that action could possibly wind up being addictive, though.
 
DJ Yuca said:
You still don't get it . . . I take it you've never worked in the music biz!
Click to expand...

I understand that in the music business drugs have ruined lives and careers. Myself, I have zero experience from the business and no intent to find out, that however has nothing to do with the drugs itself - you don't have to be an artist to take drugs. What I've seen and heard about random cocaine users, the feedback has been pretty neutral.

But yes you are of course right, I have not seen what you've seen and most likely I am naive over this, but I would still not call anyone addict unless they have really lost it. Has Michel lost it, that is another thing.
 
The video above doesn't really give you "the story f his life" as it says. But what U can say about it is he's the son of Beatriz Márquez and Pepe Maza, Beatriz being more famous than Pepe but he was also a singer. As they show he started singing when he was quite young, 8 in that video. His mother was married t David Calzado for a while which made him Calzado's step-son. I'm not sure the exact age but he was about 15 or 16 when he started singing with CH. And I know that by the time he was 18 he had a drug problem.

The suspension of the Charanga Habanaera after the concert in August 1997 was blamed on his "striptease" up on the scaffolding of the stage, although I think that wasn't the only reason. I think there were a lot of things about the concert that pissed off the powers that be. During the suspension the CH broke up. Danny Lozada stared his band with Juan Carlos Gonzales and shortly thereafter everyone else except for Michel left and created Charanga Forever. Michel stayed with David for a while but then went to CF for a short while (because he was kicked out by David? I don't know).

Anyway he left CF and did some solo stuff for a while. Released a couple of good CDs with Envidia. Also sang as a guest with Revé a few times. And then eventually headed off to Peru, which I felt would be a bad move for him because of his addiction problem Obviously I was right (as I almost always am ;) )

IMO Michel has the most powerful voice among all the young Cuban singers. He has a huge range and unlike most singers whose voices are weaker at the lower edge of their range, his is just as strong wherever he is singing. So really an amazing voice. A talent for ballads maybe from growing up with his mother's influence. Very charismatic on stage.

It's sad to see where he is today. One of the "bright stars" that I expected a lot from who just faded away despite all his talent becasue of his drug addiction.

Michel with his mother @ 8 years
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6LTcWFr-mU

His father Pepe Maza singing in Grupo Laye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq_9RSZLXTg

Michel at the height of CH fame
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0nPxrWFNmo

From one of his solo albums he perform the same song he did with his mom as a salsa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6WJ9AsnqQ8
 
AfroCubanPerWor said:
So if ot triggers every part of your brain that would include dopamine production wouldn't it? Music aside, I know exercise does. The mere trigerring of dopamine production does not mean someone is addicted. If some action causes it I suppose it could mean that that action could possibly wind up being addictive, though.
Click to expand...

Actually cocaine, nicotine, heroin lock in on various receptors of the brain that normally accept dopamin. Dopamin has a very short half life. These stable chemicals last a long time. The endorphins generated by <painful> exercise are also short lived.

So, the exact description in my OP should have been that the drugs of addiction compete with dopamin for receptor sites in the brain and they are more powerful than dopamin at binding to those sites. They can also cause an increase in the number of the receptors available for binding which is why addiction is irreversible. The large number of extra receptors has to be satisfied with ever more drug, naturally produced dopamine cannot possibly satisfy the craving but the body tries anyway, hence the possibility of higher dopamine release in addicted brains.

There are drugs available that inhibit the binding of nicotine and heroin. They can be very effective at controlling the physical effects such as the physical craving caused by addiction but they have no effect on the psychological craving which is just as important.
 
bailar y tocar said:
Actually cocaine, , heroin lock in on various receptors of the brain that normally accept dopamin.
Click to expand...


Ironically, there was a 2hr program on the effects/usage of cocaine, on a TV program last nite. It reconfirmed what we have been saying.. its ADDICTIVE .Lets be quite clear what that means.; maybe theres a small % of people who can "walk " away from the usage, but theres evidence to show that ,theres a large number who dont.
 
bailar y tocar said:
So, the exact description in my OP should have been that the drugs of addiction compete with dopamin for receptor sites in the brain and they are more powerful than dopamin at binding to those sites. They can also cause an increase in the number of the receptors available for binding which is why addiction is irreversible. The large number of extra receptors has to be satisfied with ever more drug, naturally produced dopamine cannot possibly satisfy the craving but the body tries anyway, hence the possibility of higher dopamine release in addicted brains.

There are drugs available that inhibit the binding of nicotine and heroin. They can be very effective at controlling the physical effects such as the physical craving caused by addiction but they have no effect on the psychological craving which is just as important.
Click to expand...

Very interesting. I understand better now.
 
And back to Peru and why I was worried about Michel when he moved there...there was an article in Metro in Stockholm today about how Peru is now the #1 cocaine producing country having passed Colombia. This is not a good place a for a person with a cocaine addiction to live...in terms of getting well.
 
timberamayor said:
And back to Peru and why I was worried about Michel when he moved there...there was an article in Metro in Stockholm today about how Peru is now the #1 cocaine producing country having passed Colombia. This is not a good place a for a person with a cocaine addiction to live...in terms of getting well.
Click to expand...

How long did Michel live in Peru? And as for more offtopic, does Tirso also live in Peru? Though his facebook says Habana but alot of footage of him in Lima.
 
ville said:
How long did Michel live in Peru? And as for more offtopic, does Tirso also live in Peru? Though his facebook says Habana but alot of footage of him in Lima.
Click to expand...

I don't remember what year he went there. It's been a few years at least. His last CD was in 2008 but I think he may already have been living there. So my guess is he's been there for 3-4 years.

Tirso has been traveling a lot. Since he doesn't take his own band, it's easy for him to get promoters to pay a single ticket, and then he uses a local band for backing. That's what Mayito does too. Tirso has also been in Colombia on and off recently. But I think he still "lives" in Havana even if he travels a lot.
 
timberamayor said:
I don't remember what year he went there. It's been a few years at least. His last CD was in 2008 but I think he may already have been living there. So my guess is he's been there for 3-4 years.

Tirso has been traveling a lot. Since he doesn't take his own band, it's easy for him to get promoters to pay a single ticket, and then he uses a local band for backing. That's what Mayito does too. Tirso has also been in Colombia on and off recently. But I think he still "lives" in Havana even if he travels a lot.
Click to expand...

There were yt clips of Tirso performing with Cali based Calibre. Calibre performed at La feria (w/o Tirso unfortunately).

Any updates on Tirso's US tour?
 
bailar y tocar said:
There were yt clips of Tirso performing with Cali based Calibre. Calibre performed at La feria (w/o Tirso unfortunately).

Any updates on Tirso's US tour?
Click to expand...

Nope. I tried contacting one of the guys who was advertising the NJ and one other concert and no answer. The guy behind the SOBs concert might get back to me eventually. I should mail him again and nag a little
 
Woo Hoo! Good news from Lima today! Michel has been cleared of the charges that sent him to jail for the past year. He will be released on August 7.
 
Hola a todos.

Espero como siempre poder aportar todos mis conocimientos acerca de los interesantes temas que se tratan en este foro.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top