When are you a fan of music? Was “blame” on the mother?

Yes. Grandpa performed Bethoven's pieces. And from her father, the Ortiz de Zárate would take out any song on the piano. We have always had the habit of singing and playing at home. In addition, being the smallest of a large family, I've received a lot of music from my siblings. When I was 9, I bought an EP from The Beatles on the recommendation of my siblings. After that, I met the symphonic rock. Later, when I was 24 years old, punk broke out and I became completely fond of it. In addition, we knew the DIY formula, the wilfulness and the attempt without knowing how to play. It was important, because until then we heard Genesis. Think about it!

He has come a long way in journalism.

Pedro Espinosa, Josean Cantalapiedra and the three of us started the FM of Radio Cadena in 1983. He starts working on Appendix One, Two, Three by Pedro Egin. Then it started in Radio Vitoria; and I followed in Bat, Bi, Hiru, and in the Araba Zehar section of the same newspaper, making the Musikaz Blai page. I'm still on the radio today.

You were a guitarist for the Potato group. So you're not a frustrated musician…

No, in 3 years I recorded 3 albums: What we share with Tijuana In Blue, Punky reggae party and Rula. Then I left the group and I spent a lot of time with sorrow, because the stage creates dependency: that energy, playing, decibels… The Kike nightmare of Hertzainak was not remembering the songs; and I dreamed it was still on Potato. But I took the path of journalism, I think I did it right. Plus, the more information you have, the better you can do things. If there's the rock encyclopedia in the Basque Country, it's because I've been a musician and because I've seen that many musicians don't remember, that makes me feel bad. Many people remember the RRV, it is believed that it was then when the Basque rock began. But before them there were many other groups. Xabier Saldias, from EGAN, told me that they made a lot of records, but nobody remembers them. The previous one from RRV is not pictured in the press. And that, if you don't remember, will be forgotten forever.

To those who have had groups long ago, I advise them to make blogs for information to spread. It's important to know who Robert Johnson is, but if we don't know how to preserve our heritage, the maleficio that Ez Dok Amairu mentioned will never go away.

Rock has long been an instrument of liberation. Does it have the same potential today?

Yes! For me, rock and music in general is culture. Culture is about trying to understand oneself and others, and that means liberation.

Institutions have already begun to attach importance to rock, right?

In 1975, a great concert was held in Burgos and the Diario de Burgos entitled “The invasion of the chambre”. Compare, for example, what the media are saying about Azkena Rock. Probably because you've seen that they joined the crowd and it's also a big business for the city. Today, when you talk about festivals, you talk about hospitality, and it doesn't matter which group they play. On the other hand, before the Gaztetxes were occupied, they have now been handed over by the city council, the houses of culture also work hard, and the concert halls are decent. Something is done, but museums, universities and foundations can do much more to make music better picked up.

When you took out Hertzainak's book, I told a lot of people, whether or not they liked the group, that it served to describe an era. The same happened to me with the Rock encyclopedia in the Basque Country.

Yes, it's true. That is what we want. To say that it has a bridge or a chorus… Music does not interest me as do-re-mi, as a cultural phenomenon is much more interesting. Now there's Musikene, but there's a lack of cultural studies about music. It is very important to contextualize because in the context there is culture, relationship between things, because nothing happens in isolation; and the music of Euskal Herria is no exception. For example, Ez Dok Amairu existed because in the international context the singing protest was in the mouthpiece, and then youth took power and prominence.

The Women in Rock section in the Encyclopedia broke many prejudices.

I read all the Muskaria and El Tubing Tubes and noted the names of all the women. We have the impression that there have been no women in rock. Perhaps we have not had much prominence, but we have had presence. The importance is given to groups made up of women, but there have been many bassists and keyboards. Some say it's women's fault. To some extent you're right, but look at how the Vulpes was restored. And what Aurora Beltrán said: that women put more standards on us.

A lot of people find it hard to see beyond the physicist. Women have to break these patterns and try to forget what people want to see, but it's not easy. We're much more than we thought. However, it is very difficult to imagine a woman with an expressiveness similar to that of Anari in the 1960s, or Ainara Legardon.

Is music exportable here?

I think so. But what is sung in Basque is not really exported. Hertzainak said for a long time that Basque rock works outside here on marginal circuits, in radical, occupied spaces. Ruper also said that there has been no willingness on the part of public institutions to export music from here.

The role of publications such as El Tubing, Bat Bi Hiru, Devorame, Gazte Algara and Barkatu Ama during the 1980s and 1990s was very important to publicize musical groups. What are the references at present?

To make the encyclopedia, I also frequently consulted Zeruko Argia, especially the page of Gazte Naiz, which was the post that received the most music at one time. In addition to the above, I have used a lot Badok.info, Entzun.com, and Mamorro reformed.

What's now is amazing since the '80s. Some say the Internet is a jungle, but I draw your attention to it because what was before was a desert. At the time of Bat, Bi, Hiru, we often had nowhere to get into the conversations. Now on the Internet, there are no limits. If I was 18, the Internet would be small.

What has rock brought to you?

Some bad things do, but the rest is good. Jim Morrison said rock is our friend, and he was right, it's not a metaphor. Sometimes you're locked, closed, and the music is a window to get out of there. When I look at teenagers with helmets, I think they're isolated, but no, they're connected. Music is energy. We've often thought that sex, drugs and rocanrol go at once, but it's not true, because drugs take away energy from you, especially heroines. Music, on the other hand, is energy, drugs.

Are you preparing a new book?

Yes, the idea of this new book was born when I read the following phrase from Tori Amos: “What worries me most about women is our tendency to despise us.” It's true. So I decided to take out of anonymity many women who have worked hard in the music world. This time I want to move away from concrete dates and focus on the passages and testimonies. I have chosen a number of quite unknown women, such as Begoña Larrañaga, born in Gipuzkoa, but born in Bilbao. In the 1960s, he was dedicated to playing accordion and keyboard in different groups around the world. And Arantxa Gurmendi, from the Biurri group. She will also be with Marivi Ibarrola, Muskaria photographer. Or actress Carmen San Esteban, the voice of Potato, dancing singer, presenter, performance…