After recording her new album with Vineyard producer Tim Goodman, musician Victoria Cardona showed Island high schoolers how she uses a loop pedal to make her tunes.
Musician Victoria Cardona recently took the stage at the Performing Arts Center during the school day while a group of students watched intently. The evening before, Ms. Cardona had performed a sold-out show at the Grange Hall and now, as part of her visit to the Vineyard, she was looking to help the next generation of Island musicians.
Ms. Cardona is a solo artist who uses a loop pedal during her performances to layer in multi-instrument and vocal tracks, effectively creating her own band. She demonstrated this by using various drums to create an impromptu track, and then encouraged students to try looping their own rhythms with a drum kit and other instruments while she accompanied them on her guitar.
“The teaching thing is awesome. I remember being that age and being in band class and having guest speakers come in, and I was so fascinated by all this,” she said, sitting in the seats of the PAC as the students were packing up. “I love having the opportunity to see kids like this that are just kind of getting into this world and their curiosity, to me, is so cool.”
Victoria Cardona's new album, Que Paso, was recorded with Tim Goodman.
Victoria Cardona's new album, Que Paso, was recorded with Tim Goodman.
Ms. Cardona grew up in south Florida, where she currently still lives, but has family roots in New Bedford and so the New England area also feels like home, she said. Plus, her latest album, Que Paso, was produced and mixed in Vineyard Haven by Islander Tim Goodman.
Que Paso was released in June and has been climbing various Latin and world music charts.
Mr. Goodman founded the former country rock band Southern Pacific, and after years of touring and recording, he created his own studio on the Vineyard. He met Ms. Cardona three years ago in her hometown in southern Florida. After listening to her perform, they went for lunch and talked for nearly five hours.
“I said, you know, you’ve got this wonderful factor that I totally love, but you’re kind of a mess,” Mr. Goodman recalled with a laugh. “I can’t understand a word you’re singing but you’ve got something I truly love.”
Ms. Cardona agreed with Mr. Goodman’s assessment and they began working together.
“Before the album, I think I was a little more loosey-goosey in my approach to things. I didn’t have as much structure,” she said. “Tim really helped me with that and learning how to be a little bit more articulate in what I’m delivering.”
Ms. Cardona infuses her Cuban-American heritage into her sound, combining rhythms and techniques often found in Latin music.
Victoria Cardona shows Adagio Esposito how the loop pedal works.
Victoria Cardona shows Adagio Esposito how the loop pedal works.
“My grandfather always had Afro Cuban old standards playing in the house and I loved hearing that, and it really just transpired into me getting very curious about music,” she said. “When I was in middle school, I started playing trumpet, then found a guitar. I found that instrument and it just never stopped. I became completely obsessed with it and wrapped up in it.”
Ms. Cardona said she hopes her passion for music shows in her album and on stage.
“I love being able to make something that resonates with other people. Music has the ability to make you feel things that movies or any other form of media can’t do,” she said. “Something that might mean one thing to me might mean something completely different to another person and that’s just magic.”
Bringing Ms. Cardona to the Vineyard and watching her work with Island students was emotional, Mr. Goodman said.
“My favorite term is it takes a village, and the fact that I’ve been able to introduce her to all these players I’ve known for years,” he said. “Putting it all together and seeing it work is just magic. I never will outgrow that.”
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