Meet the amazing trio of Paco Arespacochaga, JJ Buencamino, and Michael Abad! These gentlemen are at the heart of Live at Paco’s Place, a podcast featuring people in the community with real stories at the intersection of music and personal experiences. Their mission is to inspire, to inform, and to touch lives and make an impact during the process. When you step into their studio, you can absolutely feel the energy and the positivity radiating from them.

Live at Paco’s Place is the brainchild of Paco Arespacochaga, the drummer of Introvoys–the number one OPM band in North America. Migrating to California in the early 2000s, he was able to convince all his band mates to migrate as well, until eventually they started touring in and around Southern California. In 2018, their performances at the Burbank Bar and Grill drew a huge following, leading to a fully packed house. Their most recent tour included performing in Calgary, Canada. Paco’s stint as the VJ for Wish Bus, planted the seeds of hosting his own platform to feature the stories behind musicians.

JJ Buencamino, the technical director of the group, is also the keyboardist of Introvoys. Where Paco excels as the host, JJ works the magic behind the scenes brilliantly navigating last minute changes with ease and a cool head. He handles all the post production and makes sure the podcast is delivered flawlessly across all platforms.

Michael Abad, the last but not the least of the trio, handles artists relations for Live at Paco’s Place. A fellow musician, he is the drummer of Los Angeles based Indie band, A New Day in August. He met Paco about a decade ago and the two have been really good friends since. He acts as the liaison between guests and is the logistics guru for schedules and making things happen for the podcast.

Live at Paco’s Place aired its first episode in January 2020 featuring Paco’s wife, Jaja Arespacochaga as the first guest. On the maiden episode, they discussed the journey of making this project a reality, the challenges, and the heart and soul that was poured into it. Subsequent episodes featured JJ Buencamino and Michael Abad with a deep dive into both their personalities and their stories.

Right now, Live at Paco’s Place is at episode #150.  It has quickly become a hub for Filipino and Filipino American artists and personalities.  The guest list includes Mark Damian, Janelle So, Drew Hester, Andrew E, Michael Heston, Consul General Edgar Badajos, just to name a few.

The chemistry between the trio is simply phenomenal.  They even finish each other’s…sandwiches.  Tune in to their interview as Meet The (818) brings you to Live at Paco’s Place.