Hailing from Washington, D.C, Perro Sombra is a rock band with honesty and substance. As self-described “children of the 90s,” one can find hints of the legendary “Seattle Sound” in their often moody and emotional lyrics and compositions. Like the great bands of the “Grunge” era, Perro Sombra has been inspired by the many groundbreaking rock outfits of the 60s, and 70s. With this as their foundation, they continue to evolve by infusing modern rock techniques and sensibilities from the 21st century into their music to create a new and refreshing sound, all their own.
Perro Sombra formed in the fall of 2018. Founding members, Daniel Gomez and Francisco Foschi, had flirted with the idea of working together for years, often running into each other at the various shows they were playing, or attending around the DMV area.
Gomez and Foschi come from diverse musical backgrounds. In addition, both musicians are multi-instrumentalists, often swapping guitar and bass responsibilities on stage during live shows. While Perro Sombra is not the first to keep the audience guessing in this fashion, it is not common practice among most groups and sets them apart.
In 1997 Francisco joined the band Kaoz. The group quickly found commercial success after being invited to play at the MTV Latin-American Beach Parties. Soon after, they would change their name to Los de Adentro and sign a four-record deal with Sony Music Corp. Their self-titled debut charted just weeks after release and went on to become a platinum album in their home country of Colombia. The band toured extensively in South America, and the United States, where they shared the stage with such bands as Creed, who was at the height of its success. Los de Adentro continued to capitalize on the success of their first album. A year after the recording of their second album, “Como Un Nino,” Foschi made the difficult decision to leave the band due to musical differences.
After leaving Los de Adentro, Francisco moved from Miami to Washington, D.C. It didn’t take long before he formed a new band with an old friend and former bandmate. Calling themselves, The Monas, the group signed with Watts Up Records and soon after Foschi again found commercial success. Their self-titled debut won the 2006 Billboard Latin Conference New Artists Showcase. From there they were invited to play the Latin Grammy’s Street Party in Los Angeles. They were the first Colombian band to play the prestigious SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, opening for the Presidents of the United States. They continued to play festivals including headlining at Rock al Parque Indie Rock Festival in Barranquilla. Rolling Stone Magazine gave them three-and-a-half out of four stars.
Daniel grew up in Caracas, Venezuela. There, he discovered music early on. In his teens, he fronted a Latin Rock cover band. Being much younger made booking gigs in nightclubs difficult, and was the catalyst for his eventual departure from the band. Soon after, at the tender age of 16, Gomez moved to the United States where he quickly found his way into the burgeoning “Rock en Espanol” movement around the Washington, D.C area.
During this period the young musician discovered songwriting after being gifted a guitar from his uncle. This would prove to be a pivotal moment in Gomez’s life, and the start of a lifelong love affair with writing. He would go on to write and record more than 13 albums. In several cases, he did all the production work himself. This included, recording/producing, engineering/mixing, and album artwork.
Throughout his early career, Gomez wrote and recorded much of his music independently. However, during this time he founded several bands, all of which recorded music he had written. These included, La Matriz Del Sistema – the first “Latin Grunge” band in Washington, D.C, and Pocket Hero. Pocket Hero formed in North Carolina where Daniel was studying Sound Design at UNC. After graduating from UNC with a degree in Sound Design, Gomez moved back to DC. Shortly after returning to the DMV Daniel formed Botta, The band would go on to record four albums and become a respected independent band in the area. They sold thousands of albums and created a dedicated following. From their debut album the title track, “Pedazos de mi en el Tape,” won “Best Song” from the Indie International Music Awards. With the release of their critically acclaimed third album, Cupido, the band would find its second commercial success. Written by Gomez and the band, and produced by Platinum Producer Jim Ebert at Cue Studios in Falls Church, VA, Cupido became the bands crown-jewel propelling them onto the stage with major international acts including Aterciopelados, Enanitos Verdes, Molotov, and others.
Together, Foschi and Gomez make up a musical dream-team and Perro Sombra is the result.