Today we’d like to introduce you to Chuck Nelson.
Hi Chuck, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I have been in the Music Business for most of my life. First, as a performer and later as a record executive. After Graduate school, I performed with the band, Sojourn, throughout the ’80s based in Texas. I relocated to Nashville in 1992 and worked for Word Entertainment and its affiliated labels as Vice-President of Creative and Artist Development. In 2005, I launched the band, The Bicho Brothers – a Classic Rock Cover band and continue to perform with them to this day. In 2010, we added the band, Soul Sacrifice Santana Tribute, which continues to perform throughout the country. And this year, I launched a new project with my Wife, Diana Sosa, who is a Latin Percussionist and Vocalist called Diana’s Mambo Maniacs. The Mambo Maniacs feature Classic Salsa / Mambo music from the ’50s and ’60s. All of the bands are under the umbrella of Bicho Music, LLC, which Diana and I co-own.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Well, I guess I would say that life is not always a smooth road and one encounters bumps along the way, but the old saying, “When a door closes, a window opens,” has rung true for me over the years. Finding one’s way through the music business can be a tricky path, but I have been very fortunate to know and work with amazing people along the way who have shepherded me through the process and entrusted me with great creative opportunities.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At this time in my life, I am focused on growing the bands that are associated with Bicho Music. I am organizing projects, booking, managing, as well as performing. I will always be proud of the accomplishments I was able to achieve with Sojourn, with the work I did at Word Entertainment, and the Artists I had the privilege of working with. But I must say I am most proud of the bands that we have created and the musicians I have the honor to perform with night after night. The audiences tell us we are on to something good!
What do you like and dislike about the city?
The thing I like best about Nashville is the creative milieu it offers. The diversity of artistic style, not just in music, but in all art forms. It seems that in every coffee house, pub, and creative corner are groups of amazingly creative people getting together to push the creativity forward.
I guess the thing I like least about Nashville is that with such rapid growth, it seems to have lost some of the charm it had in the earlier days and has become a major metropolitan city.
Contact Info:
- Email: dianasmambomaniacs@gmail.com
- Websites: thebichobrothers.com and thesantanatribute.com
- Instagram: @dianas_mambomaniacs; @bichobrothersband; @santana_tribute
- Facebook: facebook.com/DianasMamboManiacs; facebook.com/thebichobrothers; facebook.com/soulsacrificesantanatributeband
- Youtube: @bichobrothers
