An Interview with Out Ariel Aparicio

by bill biss
Ariel Aparicio is a husband, father, restaurant owner and rocker. This dynamo of Rock and Roll energy mixed with his fiery Cuban spirit will take the Latin stage of this year’s San Diego Pride festival stage.
His latest hit on LOGO is called “Lucille” and is a fun spin through the nightlife scene and a few transvestites along the way. Right in the middle of Pride season, Ariel spent a few minutes on the phone from New York with The Rage Monthly.
He’s got a great sense of humor, obvious musicianship and he is furthering exposure to other out gay artists also. For performance time on Pride Weekend, July 17-18, please go to sandiegopride.org or arielaparicio.com.
The Rage Monthly: For someone who had never heard your band before, how would you describe the musical vibe of Ariel and The Hired Guns?
Ariel Aparicio: I call it Rock n’ Roll. Wow. What a surprise huh? My influences run from classic rock, “New Wave” and punk…it’s all in there. I’d rather just generalize it and call it “rock.”
Hopefully those who listen, maybe they’ll come up with their own term of endearment (laughter). It’s constantly trying different things. It probably will never be just one particular sound.
Rage: I really like your latest one called “Lucille.”
AA: Thanks, now “Lucille” sounds totally different than anything else we’ve ever done.
Rage: That recently hit NewNowNext on LOGO. How has the response been so far?
AA: It’s been fantastic. I’m really excited. I’m kind of like a twitter geek and I’m constantly on there and it’s got amazing response. Right after it debuted, it also hit the MTVmusic.com website. It was phenomenal. Just under twenty-four hours, it went to number 21 on the charts. It’s just been great.