By During the first part of the semester, Cal State Long Beach junior Lakin Saucedo, 22, would bounce in Ray Briggs jazz class usually sporting sweats or jogging shorts.
Once the 49ers Big West Tournament bid was ended in the first round by the Cal State Fullerton Titans, the 5-foot-6-inch guard Saucedo, from Riverside, benched the sweats and shorts for good to focus on her true passion: music.
On Sunday evening at Spaghettini’s Bar & Grill in Seal Beach, Saucedo performed two sets of an eclectic mix of music she described as “pop, R&B, jazz and neo-soul”.
“I don’t want to disappoint my audience, so I come prepared,” Saucedo said.
The music major with a focus on jazz studies did not disappoint, as she and her three-piece band briskly worked their way through a catalogue of originals by Saucedo and a few covers by the likes of Norah Jones, NE-Yo and Brian McKnight.
“I don’t get too caught-up in one particular artist or famous names as far as being a die-hard fan. I just pick particular things I like about different artists, like the simplicity of Coldplay, the writing skills of John Mayer or the voice of Mariah Carey in her early years,” she said.
Lakin said her father was the biggest musical influence on her while growing up. Her father, Dio Saucedo, a percussionist, toured with jazz guitarist George Benson for 10 years.
“Me and my older brother were like bar kids, hanging out at venues when my dad was playing in the area,” Saucedo said.
Most of Saucedo’s material focused on relationships, something she said is essential to her creativity.
“I like to write about people and things I see and hear — people write about what they relate to,” she said. One might think that most of her lovelorn pieces are about man/woman relationships, but that’s not always the case.
Her tune, “You’re So Beautiful,” for example, is about God.
“I have a relationship with God, so I write about that also,” she said.
Her vocal styles are reminiscent of Alicia Keys and Tracey Chapman, and especially expressive on neo-soul originals “Thought You Were the One” and “The Good Fight”.
On ending her basketball career at LBSU, Saucedo said, “I didn’t want to contribute just enough to get by. I mean, you’re not really going to be playing your best, and I didn’t think it was fair to the other girls who were fully dedicated.”
She said she and her band, which includes CSULB students Q. Ruttlen (keyboards) and Joseph Salcedo (bass), along with Chris Dominick on drums, will be working on a demo CD throughout the rest of the year and continuing monthly appearances at Spaghettini’s.
If you go, be prepared for a little ambient noise from diners and bar patrons, that is, until Saucedo kicks it up a notch on hard-driving numbers like “A Greater Perspective” — then, the focus is all on her.
