Grab a Track From Pro Skater/SF Native Tommy Guerrero, Who Drops a New Album Today

Tommy Guerrero, now a guitar slingin' jazz man.

​There's a big difference between Tommy Guerrero and most pro-skateboarders still making their go at a music career. Unlike fellow old-schooler Steve Caballero (who played in a deliciously snotty and kinda awesome outfit called The Faction, among other snotty outfits), and old-old-schooler Duane Peters (the absurdly festooned frontman of politi-punk warts U.S. Bombs), Guerrero funnels his musical energies into a genre other* than punk rock. His unlikely choice of speciality? Briskly groovin' jazz.

Let us relieve any cynicism you may understandably have about shredders-turned-strummers. If Lifeboats and Follies, the new album out today, is any indication, Guerrero's mining a fruitful vein. The album's electric-guitar-licked, organ-riding, Latin-flavored tunes were penned by the former street ripper himself. And the two minutes and 17 seconds of "Que S'est-il Passe," which we have for you to download after the jump, sound like Ry Cooder coordinating a jam between Booker T. and the M.G.'s and Los Lobos -- if, of course, no one was singing. (That's one thing Guerrero doesn't do.) It all works pretty well, considering most skateboarders-turned-musicians we know could sooner 50-50 a 15-step handrail than solo through some jazzy chord changes.

Guerrero's jazz isn't exactly heavyweight -- there's lots of basic grooves and repetitive guitar figures in here -- but mass doesn't seem to be what he's going for. Check out the song below and tell us what you think in the comments. Oh, and if you like it, Catch Guerrero's CD release party this Saturday at Cafe Du Nord, featuring guests Money Mark, Ray Barbee, and more.

MP3: Tommy Guerrero -- "Que S'est-il passe"