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Behind the scenes with AB Quintanilla.
Standing behind baby sister Selena, strumming on his bass guitar, AB Quintanilla is content with keeping the beat and interjecting a few comments while on stage. But behind the scenes, it's a different story.
Thirty-year-old AB Quintanilla is the driving force behind all of Selena's productions including the English album she's recording for SBK Records. It is the songs he writes, like "Como La Flor," (which won a "Lo Nuestro" award in Miami last year) that we hum to while whizzing on our way to work or play.
AB's songs have been so profitable for EMI Latin that they contracted him as one of their top songwriters last year.
To find out what it takes to make it, we rode on the Selena tour bus and spent time with Both AB and Selena. They shared with us how difficult it was to translate their success in the Tejano market to a break in the English market.
La Prensa (LP): AB, what's your job with Selena Y Los Dinos?
AB: My job is to make sure Selena is set for the year. I make the song selections. I do receive lots of outside songs but I'll customize Selena's album if I don't receive the songs she needs. But really the work is done between all of us, Selena, my father, Suzette, and me.
We started a record company (Q Productions) and merged with Capitol. We inquire about new bands checking them out and presenting them to Capitol. So it saves them a lot of footwork.
LP: That's the Tejano market, but what about the work you've been doing on the English record with SBK Records?
AB: With SBK I'm working with different producers. I was recently in NY working on it. Being a staff writer with EMI, they teamed me up with different songwriters. There are song writers that have written for George Michael, and I may be working with Sheff Pettybone,...