Chaz invited me to his studio in Miami to show me how he works and to teach me about the music industry, specifically what a music producer does. We talk about how The Fliptones was born, what makes Miami such a hotspot for the music industry and how technology plays an integral role in bridging the gap between living on the east coast and working with artists on the west coast.

The Fliptones’ spectrum of talent ranges from hip hop to pop and we’ll be able to hear exactly what they’re capable of as soon as Jason Derulo‘s new album comes out. In the meantime, make sure to follow them on Twitter to keep up with their exciting work.

Their website is under construction, but in case you’d like to check back and see what they’re up to, go tohttp://www.thefliptones.com/

Oh, and thanks to Ulises Orozco and Olive Preston, we have a lighthearted ending to the interview that I decided to not edit out

Interview: The Fliptones 2.20.11 from Agustina Prigoshin on Vimeo.

Steve was born into a musical family and began practicing his skill at a young age with the trumpet and later the french horn. He realized that playing in a symphony wasn’t for him and that he preferred writing and producing music.

Steve had the magnificent idea of creating Palo!, an Afro-Cuban Funk band, back in 2003. He came up with the term “Afro-Cuban Funk” to help give his audience a taste of what they’ll be listening to.

If you’ve ever been to one of their shows, you may know Steve as the band’s keyboardist and background vocalist, but what you may not know is that he is also the producer, “dish washer” and flyer designer extraordinaire.

Palo! is comprised of four more talented musicians: Leslie Cartaya (vocals), Philbert Armenteros (vocals, percussion), Ed Calle (sax) and Raymer Olalde (vocals, percussion).

Palo’s popularity is quickly growing and expanding across the country. They’ve been requested to play in large music festivals such as the Miami Music Festival and they’ve been doing more run-outs – their next one is in New York on February 11.

When Palo! isn’t performing, you can find Steve at Miami Dade College teaching Music Business and Music Production – part of the Associate of Science in Music Business curriculum.

Make sure to like Palo! on Facebook to get the latest updates on their performances. They play the first Thursday of every month at 8 p.m. at D. Rodriguez Cuba at the Hotel Astor in Miami Beach.

You can also follow @gopalo on Twitter to keep up to date with the band and even get to know Steve on a more personal level.

Lastly, make sure to check out their site www.gopalo.com, but I warn you, their music will start playing as soon as the page loads and you may have some difficulty restraining from dancing.

Interview: Palo! 1.23.11 from Agustina Prigoshin on Vimeo.

My favorite part is driving through the city. I absolutely love the architecture. It’s like New York, with a European twist.

I’m jumping on a plane at 10:30 p.m. tonight (9:30 p.m. Miami time) and am sad to go. This trip was filled with tango, sea mammals, glaciers and tons of food!

The only thing I won’t miss is this country’s strange spacial proportions. Check out my dad’s parking garage (with my walking brother)! To park, you drive into the garage and to leave, you have to back up the whole way, haha!

When I first got here, a music festival was already winding down and I got the opportunity to catch some last minute shows.

I went to watch Gary Burton, a very well-known Jazz musician. He plays the vibraphone with four mallets as opposed to the usual two. He teamed up with several other jazz musicians and toured the world, including a stop in Buenos Aires.

Gary Burton got tango stuck in my head and I wanted more. So my friends took me to a milonga in an old warehouse.

A milonga is a type of tango music and dance, but at the same time, it’s a place where tango enthusiasts gather to dance. The dance floor was littered with a mix of experts and novices and the music was hypnotizing.

As soon as I get back to Miami, I’m taking tango lessons. I already spoke to a friend of mine who teaches and she’s waiting for me. I can’t wait!

While still on my tango high, the next night, I met up with my friend, Raul Cabral, a world-famous tango instructor who spends the year circling the globe and teaching tango. Raul invited me to Buenos Aires’ Channel 2 TV station to watch Tanghetto perform live in the studio.

Tanghetto plays electronic tango music:

Here’s another snippet of their performance:

After all that tango, I traveled south:

Visiting Trelew, Puerto Madryn and Puerto Piramides:

I loved the rocky beach:

My brother watched the whales get close to the shore:

And the reason for Puerto Piramides’ name are the pyramid shaped rock structures. This giant rock has several craters that are the result of when the Argentine Navy used it as target practice for their missiles:

I visited Ushuaia and met the most adorable sea lions who performed tricks for us:

I also rode the End of the World Train that actually took us to the end of the world:

Beyond this bay is where Argentina and Chile end, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans collide causing a very impressive and violent current and Antarctica begins:

Vistied El Calafate:

I saw some magnificent glaciers and hiked El Perito Moreno glacier:

Ate glacier ice:

Landed in Bariloche with a broken plane and wandered the empty airport, deliriously, for hours:

Finally back in Buenos Aires and eating as much delicious food as I can before heading back home. Mmm, empanadas and alfajores

Kate was one of the co-stars of Kyle Schickner‘s film, which was premiering that evening, Steam. For this film, she worked alongside Hollywood legend, Ruby Dee and 80′s icon, Ally Sheedy.

My co-worker and partner in crime, Liela Chambers, and I were immediately drawn to Kate… she’s gorgeous, but we weren’t “drawn” that way.

Her charisma took over the screen that night and during the events’ after party, we got to know her a little better on a personal level. The best part about Kate is that her new-found fame (and if you see her on screen, she so-rightly deserves that fame) never went to her head. She’s extremely down-to-Earth and loves sharing her thoughts and experiences with whomever is interested.

During her stay in Miami, Liela and I spent plenty of time showing Kate around and learning about her passion for theater and film.

Kate has the perfect combination of intelligence, talent, drive and beauty.

She recently teamed up with Michelle Nunes to respond to Justin Timberlake and Adam Samberg‘s Saturday Night Live “Jizz in my Pants” skit – it’s called “Puke in my Mouth” and it’s way too funny! She’s the one in the white dress at the beginning and then the yogi:

Gabriel Goldberg is managing Spain’s latest Bachata and R&B sensation, Sonny Monreal. Sonny, just moved to Miami in the hopes of launching his album in the U.S. So, in case you Refreshers didn’t know, you were among a Spanish, pop singing icon, Wednesday.

After Refresh Miami, I went with Schek, Golberg, Sonny and Ulises Orozco to Lime Fresh for some late-night dinner. That’s where Sonny sang along to the radio playing over the restaurants’ speakers. I wanted to ask him to keep singing throughout the meal, but I decided to let him eat, haha!

I’m sure we’ll all be seeing much more of Sonny and hopefully, it’ll be through his successes.

If you know me and how camera-crazy I am, you know I had to take a picture with him