For my final project of the course CCR 711: Rhetorics of Craft, I will be using a case study of the band Los Petardos! to showcase the individual/collaborative “nature” of this band’s recording process, and life performances that allow them to build a presence in the Puerto Rican indie rock scene, and beyond. I aim to look at their craft by interviewing several of its members, and asking about how they learned to play the instruments they play, how they developed a distinct sound by fusing North American influences, specifically garage punk, with more typically Puerto Rican sounds, and how this has culminated in a particular product: Boricua Rock? Rock and Roll con gandules? The latter will be investigated by performing textual analysis of online and newspaper articles that have been written about the band. The purpose of this study is to consider how Los Petardos! use their craft to create a “sound” that has repercussions in building up a particular rhetoric of nationhood, in addition to the lyrical content of their songs.
A potential timeline for this project is:
- Nov. 1-10: Build up theoretical framework and construct research questions
- Nov. 11-20: Begin collecting textual data
- Nov. 21-28: Conduct interviews
- Dec. 1-10: Data analysis and final write-up
It is worth noting that I will record the interviews, which would allow me to make this a video project. However, due to time constraints I will write the standard academic paper and publish it in a blog that provides the opportunity of incorporating these videos.
Recording Theories 
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