“I started playing as soon as I can remember. I took to it right away,” said singer/songwriter Omar Velasco of his musical beginnings. “I didn’t really decide to do it as a career until later in life — about 18 years old.” Now, after six years as a guitarist touring with the band A Fine Frenzy and then with Jonathan Wilson, Velasco has embarked on a solo career. His debut album, Golden Child, comes out this summer.
If the two preview songs on his website ( musicofvelasco.com ) are indicative of the record’s entirety, then Golden Child will prove to be a tantalizing aural experience. “Great Western City” is a galloping number with rich vocals and a lyrical sense of storytelling. “Golden Child” has a jazzy feel with orchestration undertones à la a funkier Seals and Crofts, and Velasco’s warm vocals soothe like a summer breeze.
Velasco lived in different cities and countries while growing up, but the family finally settled in Goleta when he entered high school. His eclectic sensibilities come from his nomadic beginnings and being raised in a multicultural family that listened to a wide array of music. “My mother is Mexican, so there was a lot of Latin-influenced music,” Velasco explained. “My dad would listen to a lot of world music — African, Afro-Cuban, South American. He has a Yiddish background, so a lot of that, too. … Of course [there] was the Beatles and Cat Stevens, more of the popular stuff, which I love.”