April 6th, 2010
Local musician Gouveia to appear on FOX 29 in San Antonio

The cover art for Lata Gouveia’s debut album. Photo by Captiva Records.

STAFF REPORT

Part-time San Marcos resident and United Kingdom native Lata Gouveia will appear Friday morning on FOX 29 in San Antonio at 8:30 a.m.

Gouveia will discuss the release of his debut album, Road US-75, as well as Woody’s Children, a documentary he created with filmmaker Matthew Lochman. The documentary depicts Gouveia’s personal, musical and spiritual journey of transformation against the backdrop of Oklahoma’s rich musical “red dirt” history.

Road US-75 tells a story of an artists’ self-discovery. The lyrical content and musical style of the album knows no boundaries, follows no rules, and has an indescribable musical styling, giving it a distinct Tulsa sound.

Gouveia got his start in the United States in 2007, when Rocky Frisco invited him to Tulsa to take his songwriting back to basics. In America’s heartland, Gouveia experienced a musical rebirth.

“I realized this was my musical home,” Gouveia said. “The music I’ve strived to play all my life belongs to them … a sound and approach which is best described by Okie Red Dirt.”

In Tulsa, Gouveia said he felt an instant connection with Frisco and other members of the Red Dirt music scene, such as Tom Skinner and Randy Crouch, who embraced Gouveia as one of their own.

“He visited us in Tulsa last year and was instantly accepted as a member of the Tulsa music family,” said Frisco. “His demos are better than most studio albums. He writes and sings the kind of songs that become people’s favorites, because he seems to know what’s in their hearts.”

After being accepted and eventually hooked by the sense of community shared by the musicians in Tulsa, Gouveia said he felt compelled to attempt to define the gritty Tulsa sound that began his process of musical re-birth.

In 2009, he embarked on a mission to capture what promised to be the crucial chapter in his understanding of Red Dirt music. The result is a documentary depicting a personally guided journey to the heart of Oklahoma’s music, a journey of self-discovery that takes us from Tulsa to the hills of Tahlequah and the prairies of the Osage and Pawnee Counties.

Through the local label, Captiva Records, Lata has made San Marcos and Tulsa among his homes. While in the States, he travels between the two cities working on his music and finishing up the documentary with Lochman.

Road US-75 was digitally pre-released by Captiva Records late last year. Physical distribution of the album begins mid-April. The CDs are available locally at Hastings in San Marcos and Waterloo Records in Austin.

To learn more about Lata Gouveia, visit www.latagouveia.com or www.myspace.com/latamusic.

(Editor’s note: The above has been revised to say that Gouveia will appear on FOX 29 in San Antonio.)