Jorge Gaxiola has a declaration to make. “I don’t want to have regrets,” the regional Mexican star recently told Billboard.
As the lead vocalist of Voz de Mando, Gaxiola remembers the early days when the band debuted on the music scene, obsessing over every detail to the point that not much mattered except “excessive work.”
“We’ve learned a lot since starting out,” Gaxiola said. “There’s a difference between working hard and working smart, and when you start off in this business, all you want to do is work.”
Keeping up with the genre’s touring demands, the Latin Grammy nominated norteño group decided only a handful of years ago to refocus their priorities.
A friend of the band told Gaxiola that he saw an interview with Vicente Fernandez, who said that a regret that stayed with him through the years during his decades-long career was missing special moments with family that he’ll never get back.
“That idea blew me away,” Gaxiola said. “I began to look at my life and make changes. I decided to streamline our schedules as much as possible in an effort to return home sooner than later as a way to balance career, family and life. I want to spend more time with my children.”
Gaxiola was introduced to Fernandez a couple of years ago during a Hillary Clinton campaign. After meeting the music legend, Fernandez invited the band to record at his private studio in Mexico.
The studio is located on Fernandez’s ranch, which Gaxiola calls extremely relaxing and the perfect setting to record music, as he did for the current album El Que a Ti Te Gusta.
“From Vicente Fernandez’s recording studio you can see his ranch and cows,” Gaxiola said. “The studio equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and you can’t hear anything outside, but you can see the farm animals roam. It’s relaxing.”
Voz de Mando members includes Miguel Gaxiola (bajo quinto, vocals), Eduardo “El Chino” Gonzalez (tuba), Adrian Gonzalez (drums) and Carlos “Charly” Sigala (keyboard).
As part of their touring schedule, the band’s June dates include a sweep of California shows, including a stop at the Staples Center on June 15 with El Potro de Sinaloa, Kanales and headliners El Fantasma y Su Equipo Armado. Check them out here.