TMN magazine issue 02

Cameron also talked at length about
sustainable practices and lifestyles, citing
electric vehicles as a step in the right
direction. In his song, he talks about "rolling
down the strip with a Tesla grip", in
reference to the auto manufacturer. His
first song – “Back in the Day”, which was
written in 2011, discusses the environment
at length. In that song, he advised that
people should "live like back in the day
when Dinosaurs roamed the earth". In that
song, he continues on rapping: “Don’t live
black, live green.”
At the 2013 event, Cameron Nino and
his band did covers of The Beatles,
Bob Marley, Black Sabbath and Bon
Jovi, an eclectic mix that had the
audience riveted as he went from
playing his acoustic guitar to
shredding Tony Iommi's solo on Iron
Man while singing Ozzie's lines.
So, we wanted to know how he got started
with music. Cameron revealed to us that in
2012, while volunteering at the pastries and
sweets booth at the Blessed Sacrament
Carnival and Food Festival, he was asked if
he wanted to go on stage and play the Star
Spangled Banner on his acoustic guitar. He
had just learned the song about a week
before the event. He agreed to do so. He
enjoyed the experience a lot. In 2013, the
Carnival organizers invited him back. This
time, a group of musicians was assembled
to perform with him at the event. The group
met for the first time on October 15, 2013 to
begin rehearsing for the event. The event
was a huge success, with the then unnamed
group getting a prolonged ovation from the
attendees. Ever since then, the organizers of
the event have continued to invite Cameron
Nino and his band Seventh Nova to perform
every year.
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In early 2014, Cameron Nino caught the
attention of John Branca, one of the
founders of Club 42
(www.club42online.com), a sports nonprofit
that provides opportunities for
inner city youth to compete in Baseball at
the same level as their peers in more
affluent neighborhoods. Shortly after he
caught Mr. Branca's attention, in April of
2014, Johnny 'Buc' Lockwood, one of the
co-founders of Club 42 invited Cameron
to lead their effort in creating a mashup
of select Michael Jackson and The Beatles
songs. The resultant work was titled "All
My People - A Tribute to Michael Jackson
and The Beatles." This body of work is
available on Soundcloud. Cameron's
participation with Club 42 as a guest at
their basketball tournaments afforded
him the opportunity to meet and mingle
with kids from inner city communities,
an opportunity that he would never have
had having spent his entire life in Laurel
Canyon.
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