Last September, Larry and I were a part of the Chicano Soul Revue Shows, presented by Ruben Molina and Juan Mendoza. After performing at the same venues as on this current tour, we couldn’t wait to return with The Lonely Knights. The audiences did not disappoint, and especially in Covina, at Nick’s Taste of Texas. The show was a sellout and our arrival in classic Chevrolet lowrider cars was quite the photo-op.
The fantastic Delta Groove Records recording artists from Whittier, CA, Los Fabulocos featuring Kid Ramos, opened up the show with their usual high energy set of Calimex rock. They tour Texas often, so if you have not caught this band, you should definitely check them out.
Larry and the boys took the stage at about 9:30, with Larry educating the crowd on the Highway 90 sound. The people were dancing from song one and some seemed to never leave the floor! The first featured artist was yours truly and I kicked off my turn at the mike with Joe Jama’s “My Life”. It was a thrill to be back on the Taste of Texas stage with Larry and the Lonely Knights. A dream come true!
Next up was Francisco Rico, aka Rico del Barrio, decked head to toe in fine Pachuco style. Rico brilliantly represented the music of the late Dimas Garza of Royal Jesters fame. A fine young man from San Diego, Jonny Benavides, aka Jonny B, who is also a Dimas disciple, delivered a knockout performance of “I’m Trying To Forget”. Then Larry, Jonny and I provided background vocals for the rest of Rico’s set.
L-R: Eddie Roldan of More Room Productions, Jonny B and Rico del Barrio
Next up was the legendary Oscar Martinez, resplendent in his silver sequined jacket and hot pink sequined vest. Oscar really had the crowd dancing with his music, especially on “Me Enchile” and his classic “Tejano Enamorado”. This man is an amazing performer at the age of 76 and a treasure to us all.
Rudy and Steve Salas, The Salas Brothers, created the seminal East L.A. Chicano group Tierra in the early 70s. Tierra’s biggest success came in 1981 with their recording of The Intruders song “Together”. But it all started for Rudy and Steve at the young ages of 7 and 9, when they began performing as The Salas Brothers, eventually teaming with another East L.A. band, The Jaguars. It was with The Jaquars that they recorded the song “Leaving You”, which fell into Larry’s lap about a year ago. It was much later when the discovery was made on who the recorded the track and the history of the artists. In attendance at Nick’s Taste of Texas was Mario Paniaqua, the composer of “Leaving You” and drummer Adrian Sansone , both original members of the The Jaquars. They along with The Salas Brothers, were blown away on how we ever discovered the song, commenting, “It was the B-side of a B-side!”. It was a thrill for us to know how happy they were with the recording of “Leaving You” on “San Antonio Serenade” and our live performance of it that night, just before bringing Rudy and Steve to the stage.
Juan Mendoza backstage with Steve and Rudy Salas
Veteran performers The Salas Brothers appearance brought the crowd to a frenzy The Lonely Knights were a top notch backing band for them, kicking it off with the high energy rhythm & blues tune “My Babe”, then a medley of slow dancing oldies. Rico and I had the privilege of providing background vocals on Junior Walker’s “What Does It Take” and their iconic song “Together” To say the experience was surreal is an understatement – a definite career highpoint for me as was the entire show.
Larry and His Lonely Knights closed out the show with more Highway 90 sounds, closing out the show with the Lalo Guerrero version of “Tequila”. There was a lot of love from the Covina audience, and many did not want to leave when the lights came up. And backstage was a great time too, with members of Los Fabulocos and The 44s who had come out to support. An unforgettable night and more memories to create Sunday with our final show at VFW Hall Post 1944 – stay tuned!
-Joanna Ramirez
