"The Chicano Soul Revue really brought the house down at our opening gala for the museum's American Sabor exhibit. The dance floor was packed all night ! Many thanks for putting together such a great show !"
John L. Lewis
Director of Theaters
The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
Tejano legend Oscar Martinez to sit in with Lonely Knights
By Michael Corcoran | Wednesday, January 6, 2010, 04:31 PM
Larry Lange will have a very special guest when the Moose Lodge hosts the record release party for “San Antonio Serenade” by Lange and His Lonely Knights: 75-year-old Corpus Christi bandleader and songwriter Oscar Martinez. As the trumpet player in Isidro Lopez’ band in 1954, Martinez was there at the start of what would be called Tejano music, when Lopez put words to Mexican polka instrumentals.
Martinez is best known for writing “El Tejano Enamorado,” which has been recorded by more than 30 artists since 1965. He has rarely played Austin in recent years.
Also on the bill are the Nortons, Mariachi Corbetas and Joanna Ramirez.
The FREE show is Sunday Jan. 17, 2- 7 p.m., at the Moose Lodge (2103 E.M. Franklin Avenue, 926- 0043)
Relive West Side sounds of the 60's
In the mid-'60s, the outdoor teenage dances at Patio Andaluz were not to be missed.
On those nights, near the southeast corner of South Colorado and West Commerce streets (at Felan Lane), an illuminated parking lot became the epicenter of the West Side sound.
"It was a neutral site," said Henry Lee Parrilla of Little Henry & the Laveers. The Royal Jesters, Sunny & the Sunglows and Rudy Tee & the Reno Bops ruled there, too.
Juan Mendoza, who attended many of the fabled dances, recalled "wall-to-wall kids."
On Saturday, Patio Andaluz comes alive in sound and spirit at Plaza Guadalupe with Little Henry, Rudy T. Gonzales, Larry Lange & the Lonely Knights, Ernie Garibay, Joe Jama, Ralph Cortez, Rudy Palacios and Chente Montez. Original go-go girls Julie Martinez and Sandy Perez make the scene.
Gates open at 6 p.m.; the music will run until midnight. Tickets cost $10; call (210) 853-7748. The gig is a fundraiser for Jesse Treviño's Hispanic Veterans Monument planned for Elmendorf Lake.
Sadly, last year's Patio Andaluz reunion show was one of the last performances of Royal Jesters singer Dimas Garza, who died Nov. 12.
A tribute to Dimas and the Royal Jesters is planned. "I don't see it dying because it's such a groovy sound," said Jama.
"It's the good memories," added Parrilla, 61.
Parrilla became a star fronting Little Henry & the Laveers, an integrated R&B group formed by his cousin, Jimmy Jimenez. "Most bands didn't have little kids up front," said Parrilla, who was 13 when he started. "It was a novelty." The band scored a hit with "What To Do" in 1963. "Keep Twistin'?" was the flip.
Los Angeles music historian and author Ruben Molina calls such Chicano sounds "the last untapped part of rock ‘n' roll."
"The music is rooted in the community. That's where it draws its power," said Molina, author of "Chicano Soul: Recordings and History of an American Culture." Many of the 45 rpm vinyl records were small pressings.
"It never got too far away from the Mexican American community. The music is beautiful. But on the national music scene you may not have known this music existed," said Molina, who is pushing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to acknowledge the contribution of Chicano rock 'n' rollers.
Joe Nick Patoski, author of "Willie Nelson: An Epic Life," was blown away by last year's Patio Andaluz reunion.
"These guys were as vital and to the point as when they cut the records," said Patoski. "And so was the audience. That's what blew my mind. There were a lot of younger kids, too. And everybody was digging it. For a collector like me, it was getting to see it all come alive."
Find more news, concert info and updates in the Latin Notes Now blog at mySA.com. Keyword: Entertainment.
News from the Brown Side of Town, September 29th 2009
Music, entertainment and chismes in the Land of 1000 Dances
By Frankie Firme ~ Contributing Editor
Published on LatinoLA: September 28, 2009The Land of 1000 Dances continues to sizzle right along with the hot temperatures, as the arts, music, sights & sounds of L.A. continues to make the City of Angels THEE place to ride out this current recession…especially if you're Brown and good looking!
No chismes here this month…there's just too much to print! Ha! I could bad mouth the ALMA Awards & LATIN GRAMMY's all day long for ignoring & snubbing the West Coast & Southwest Chicano artists and musicians AGAIN…but that's another story…so I won't!
So, let's get on with the music & entertainment action, watcha:
If it's the stage you crave, there's no shortage here, as the LATC presents Evelina Fernandez's play "SOLITUDE", about a day in the life of a successful but guilt-plagued Latino Man in L.A. Starring Robert Beltran, Evelina Fernandez, Fidel Gomez, Sal Lopez, Geoffrey Rivas, Lucy Rodriguez, with Semyon Kobialka on cello, this play keeps you on the edge of your seat with outstanding portrayed drama that a lot of us can relate to on an avant garde level. Much more vivid and closer to the heart than a movie, SOLITUDE is one of many Latino Theater Company ( LATC) productions that brings the art of stage drama to you, for you, and about you.
For more info, log onto www.thelatc.org, and experience a stage play first hand! SOLITUDE runs until October 4th.
The PHAT JAM Concert for the Arts at the famous Whittier Radisson Club 201 & Ballroom on October 11th has the attention and word on the street in L.A. Featuring top notch music performers like Chino Espinosa, Johnny Polanco, The Suave Band, Orquesta Son Mayor, The Hindsight Band, The Lucky 7 Mambo Band, Louie Parra & The Mad Latins Band, the Josie Neglia Dance Company, and eight of the best Club DJ's in Los Angeles courtesy of TIME Sounds & Lighting. Three dance floors, a gourmet food restaurant, four bars, luxury hotel rooms, hosted by award-winning actress Kikey Castillo, with honors going out to ABC Eyewitness News reporter Sid Garcia, some of the best stand up comedians in the country like Gilbert Esquivel, Joey Medina, Ernie "G", CISCO, RC Miller, and Tymon Shipp, FREE secure parking and full security, all in the affordable luxurious ambience that is the Whittier Radisson Hotel in support of the Los Angeles School of Music & Art.
LatinoLA proudly supports & congratulates producers Peter Jaramillo and Isela Sotelo in this most noblest of gestures for the future and our children. Your support and attendance is most graciously requested. For more info: www.jegrp.com or www.lamusart.org. PLEASE HELP US ON THIS ONE, MI GENTE !!
And speaking of word on the street, nobody topped it off this weekend like my camaradas Ruben Molina, Gilbert and Rudy Esquivel, and the fine bands that help make L.A. the Land of 1000 Dances!
Ruben Molina's LEGENDS of CHICANO SOUL Show featuring classic Chicano rockers from East L.A. & Texas was off the chain Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I was lucky enough to get into the Friday show at Club Levels in San Pedro, and I gotta say, singers Johnny Hernandez, Rudy "T" Gonzalez, Steve Salas, Greg Esparza, Larry Lange, Ernie Garibay, JoAnna Ramirez, and former the Sunliners band now known as the TRIBUTE Band, joined by L.A. horn legends Bobby Loya and Bobby Navarrete, gave it their all for a screaming, grateful, standing-room only audience.
You could hear the Gente joining in and singing from across the street when Johnny Hernandez hit "Las Nubes" or when Steve Salas hit "Together", as these 2 classic Chicano legends helped make the evening memorable. Johnny was even called back for a second set, and he gave us some nice Oldies but Goodies. You could have heard a mouse pee on cotton when the fabulous Rudy "T" did his classic original "All I could do was cry", and he got a standing ovation when he went to his knees at the end…talk about drama with soul!
Crowd pleasers Greg Esparza and Ernie Garibay showed off their stuff nicely, and Larry Lange (of Lonely Knights Band fame) gave us all a beautiful rendition of "Sometimes I cry when I'm lonely" that got attention from the L.A. homies big time! Opening the show were Rock-a-Billy favorites the Big Manny Band, who impressively made many new fans that night. Word from the LatinoLA road dogs was that Saturday's show at Nick's Taste of Texas in Covina was three times as crowded, and they even ran out of food and beer before midnight.
Ruben Molina arranged to have all performers picked up from their hotels in classic Chicano lowrider "bombs" that made it a true Los Angeles welcome, and a memorable spectacle on the streets of Covina, California. Saturday's show had many extra surprise performers, and the show was one of the best of the year, according to Taste of Texas staff.
Sunday's show in the City of Industry was just as good, although a few disgruntled Tejano fans were upset and had an attitude that Spanish-language ranchera and norteño music wasn't in the mix for the small cowboy hat crowd that attended….sorry 'bout that…but EVERYBODY else was happy and satisfied!...that's why it was billed "Chicano Soul "!!
Larry Lange & the Chicano Soul Revue
Continental Club, Saturday, Dec 6
If it seems these Chicano Soul Revue shows are
increasingly common, they are. Don’t take them
for granted: The recent death of the Royal Jesters’
Dimas Garza left this all-star regional act with a
broken heart. Austin’s Larry Lange & His Lonely Knights
– their sound reminiscent of Doug Sahm with San Antonio’s
West Side Horns in the 1970s – blend with San Antonio’s
legendary Mexican voices for mighty Texas mojo.
The Westside Social Club Pt 2
There’s not really a Westside Social Club but it sure seems like Larry Lange is stepping into Ry Cooder’s role by creating San Antonio’s version of the Buena Vista Social Club. When Lange started the Lonely Knights in Austin several years ago, their direction was aimed directly east, along Highway 90 from the Gulf Coast into Louisiana. Their horn-driven retro sound embraced swamp pop and nuggets from regional radio and local jukeboxes. Somewhere, Lange took a turn into South Texas, and his band took on a whole new purpose. Lange, a veteran bassist on the scene best known for playing with Paul Ray & the Cobras and Delbert McClinton, fell in with many of the musicians written about in Ruben Molina’s 2006 book Chicano Soul. An instant rapport developed with them and thus began a joint effort that culminated in the tribute to Esteban Jordan here during the summer. The combination of Lange’s soulful brass-powered band and these wonderful Chicano vocalists is a match made in cielo.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Saturday, the Patio Andaluz reunion takes place in San Antonio at the Plaza Guadalupe. Larry Lange & the Lonely Knights will be the band behind many of the Alamo City’s most famous voices: Little Henry of the Laveers, Sonny Ace of the Twisters, Dimas Garza and Joe Jama from the Royal Jesters, Rene from Rene & Rene, Ernie Garibay, and Sunny Ozuna. Expect Austin’s own Joanna Ramirez to duet with Dimas Garza again. The surrounding streets will be closed for this event, which serves to not only celebrate the music by remembering the beloved, long-shuttered venue Patio Andaluz, but proceeds go toward San Antonio’s Hispanic Veteran’s Memorial, including a sculpture by Jesse Trevino. This is particularly meaningful to the town's Hispanic musicians, whose own ranks were decimated by Vietnam and the draft during the 1960s and 70s. This isn’t accordion-driven norteno, conjunto, or Tejano – these bands had traded the accordion for the more rock & roll sound of farfisas and Vox organs. Lange describes it as “the swamp pop sound of the Gulf Coast and Louisiana with R&B horns and Mexican lyrics.” And it’s not just old school, it’s old school San Antonio, meaning it is from the wellspring of this music and comes with all that corazon and soul. (This weekend in San Antonio, you can also find the best in accordion music a few blocks away at the International Accordion Festival at La Villita.) And wouldn’t this be the perfect set for an Austin City Limits segment? It strikes at the core of everything musical in the Lone Star state as well as the show’s philosophy. ACL has turned to more alt-rock in recent seasons but this is a homegrown sound that may be more ethnically diverse than any other music around. Nowhere but Texas.
Larry Lange & the Chicano Soul Revue
Continental Club, Saturday, Dec 6
If it seems these Chicano Soul Revue shows are
increasingly common, they are. Don’t take them
for granted: The recent death of the Royal Jesters’
Dimas Garza left this all-star regional act with a
broken heart. Austin’s Larry Lange & His Lonely Knights
– their sound reminiscent of Doug Sahm with San Antonio’s
West Side Horns in the 1970s – blend with San Antonio’s
legendary Mexican voices for mighty Texas mojo.
Live Shots
BY MARGARET MOSER
Steve Jordan
Esteban 'Steve' Jordan Tribute
H&H Ballroom, Aug. 10
Esteban "Steve" Jordan and his remarkable accordion were the reason for the tribute, but the eye-popping lineup was a cultural, racial, and musical tour de force, a confluence found only in Texas. It was also a grand pairing of San Antonio and Austin Chicano musicians, who have virtually paved I-35 with years of touring. Sarah Fox & Joel Guzman pulled a surprise opening act, laying down their unconventional sound between Guzman's accordion pageantry and Fox's sultry vocals. Once known as Shorty & the Corvettes, the contemporary version of Mariachi Corbetas, resplendent in crimson and gold, serenaded many of the 40 or so tables throughout the gymlike ballroom before the Texana Dames' lovely harmonies. Johnny Degollado's old-school conjunto brought out the dancers, as did Los Pinkys, featuring Isidro Samilpa. Ernie Garibay's S.A. Chicano blues was as good as it gets, followed by an outstanding crowd-pleaser of a set by Max Baca's Los Texmaniacs that included an incendiary cover of Sir Doug's "She's About a Mover." Baca, once with Flaco Jimenez, unquestionably ranks with Nunie Rubio among the finest young Chicano talents. Former state Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos read a proclamation for Jordan from the governor, prompting the ailing Tejano legend's first visit to the stage. Garbed in a purple vest with matching shirt, he gave a quietly emotional thank you to the hundreds gathered, including Jerry Avila, the night's emcee and host of Primetime Tejano; members of the Austin Latino Music Association; Alex Gonzales of Eliseo Productions; Rose Reyes from the Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau; and Fiesta Musical host/man-about-town Isodoro Lopez. When co-organizer Larry Lange assembled the Chicano Soul Revue onstage, the evening shifted sweetly into nostalgia. Little Joe's heart-fluttering croon blended with Joanna Ramirez, and the set featured the velvet voice of the Royal Jesters' Dimas Garza. The music is so delicate that it's in constant danger of becoming schmaltz, but the sheer love between the performers and audience kept it visceral. The show was running late when Jordan appeared with his family band, Rio Jordan. He ripped on the accordion a bit before inviting Little Joe up to sing "El Gancho," then "Las Nubes," a Little Joe favorite. Jazzed by the palpable enthusiasm of the all-ages crowd, he played well past the allotted 20 minutes, laying down standards, including the bolero "El Jardinero." El Parche might have gone on forever; instead, he closed with "Ahora Ahora Ahora," an unreleased song, and a glimpse into the future still bright with Steve Jordan.
The Westside Social Club
Tributes and benefits are beautiful things. A while back I was involved with a few that were very successful and one was an epiphany. Right now, I’m on the fringes of another most worthy, the Steve Jordan tribute on Sunday at the H&H Ballroom in Southeast Austin, with the makings of one of those legendary Austin ya-shoulda-been-there nights. Here’s why:
At the Candye Kane benefit in May at Antone’s, Billy Joe Shaver arrived onstage like he always does: ready to entertain. Only this night, he roared like a runaway train bound for hell if he didn’t save himself and the entire audience from damnation and ruination by singing like the devil had come down to Antone’s from Georgia and demanded a duel. Shaver was on fucking fire, blazing and stomping in tent show glory as if the power of music would purify us all. And it did.
In an evening with excellent performances, the realization was that even if the Austin music community is oversaturated with demands on its kind and giving heart, what it gets back is priceless. I’ve seen a dozen fine Billy Joe Shaver performances over the years – this one smoked with an unholy heat. The couple visiting from Belgium was agog and the man from Japan must have filled a memory card with photos. The four folks up from Houston for the weekend danced in a frenzy on the outskirts of the crowd of 200 or so. On that night, Austin delivered its fabled magic to all. Trust me when I say the Steve Jordan tribute will create that same magic, this time laced with the truest Texas music of all, Chicano Soul.
This show didn’t come together without a lot of work from organizers Steve Dean and Deb Fleming of the Oaks, along with Larry Lange and his wife Susie. They ought to dub themselves the Westside Social Club for all their good work. They managed to get assistance from the Austin Latino Music Association, Alex Gonzales at Eliseo Productions, La Voz, and Rock N Roll Rentals, and were smart enough to ask Guero’s Taco Bar, Joey Pena BBQ, and Torchy’s Tacos to help. We at the Chronicle pitched in ad space and organizations such as the Uncle John Turner Foundation have been generous.
Takes place at the H & H Ballroom, 4404 Brandt Road, Sunday, August 10, 3-8pm.
Margaret Moser, Fri Aug 8, 11:36am
Onetime Cobra Larry Lange's love of regional gems and belly-rubbing classics from San Antonio to Lafayette, La., and all Gulf Coast points in between plays like KUT's Twine Time live on this debut CD. Guests such as Little Joe Hernandez and the Lonely Knights' secret weapon, drummer Michael Christian, make this the ultimate date CD for the fiftysomething set or those under-fiftysomethings with good taste.
“Chicano Soul” comes to Threadgill’s June 29
Larry Lange & His Lonely Knights will host several of the 1960s Chicano soul legends that have inspired them at a special show at Threadgill’s South location. Among the guests are Rudy Tee from Rudy and the Reno Bops, Charlie Alvarado from Charlie & the Jives, Dimas Garza of the Royal Jesters, the Sequins, and Sonny Ace.
Interest in the vintage singers has been stoked by a new book called “Chicano Soul” by Ruben Molina.
Lange and his wife Susie are also organizing a benefit for accordion great Steve “Esteban” Jordan, who is undergoing treatment for cancer. Click here to see the greatest Tex Mex accordion player take on some old Johnny Mercer. Little Joe Hernandez has said he’ll perform at the benefit and there are other big names lining up. The Aug. 10 date is tentative.
Austin loves Steve “Esteban” Jordan
The tribute to Steve Jordan, the world’s greatest accordion player, will take place Aug. 10 at the H&H Ballroom (4404 Brandt Rd. 282-1143). Among those saluting the ailing “El Parche” are Los Pinkys, Max Baca & the TexManiacs, Conjunto Aztlan, Ernie Garibay, Mariachi Corbetas (Shorty & the Corvettes), Chicano Soul Revue with Larry Lange & His Lonely Knights featuring Rudy T Gonzales, Sonny Ace, Little Henry, Sauce Gonzalez and Dimus Garza, Ponty Bone, Johnny Degollado y su Conjunto, Latin Legends (formerly Latin Breed), Bobby Fuentes, Texana Dames, and more special guests. But the highlight is sure to be when Jordan and his family band, Rio Jordan, take the stage.
Tickets are $15 at the door. Show starts at 3 p.m. Kudos to Larry and Susie Lange, Steve Dean, Deb Fleming and other Austin music fans for putting together this event.
Here’s the chapter on Jordan from my book “All Over the Map: True Heroes of Texas Music.”
Larry Lange and the Lonely Knights serenade Shoal Creek Saloon.
Lange, who grew up in Victoria, hastily assembled the Knights to play a party at Mother Egan's at last year's South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival. "It came to me in a flash, because that's all the time I had," he says. "Why not play the music I grew up on?"
An exceptional bassist who made his name locally backing Stevie Ray Vaughan in the Cobras, Lange has never fronted a band before, but he takes to the Knight-leading role like he was born to it. His voice sometimes struggles with the high notes, but he gets down the feel of the songs. Go see Lange and the Knights at Shoal Creek Saloon, Evangeline Cafe or La Palapa and watch them turn those venues into a San Antonio dance hall circa 1962.
"Doug Sahm and I fished from the same pond," Lange says of the local legend who knew his way around "triplets" (which he called the 6/8-time songs). Where Sahm went on to perform much of those old chestnuts, even ressurecting the career of Freddy Fender, Lange played bass for a succession of bands, including Delbert McClinton for most of the '80s and Mardi Gras rockers the Vanguards.
He's clearly having a blast in the spotlight at last.
Rounded out by drummer Michael Christian and piano thumper Jack Payne, the Knights have already passed a couple of big tests recently. First, they got Roky Erickson up to sing a few songs at the Shoal Creek Saloon a few Wednesdays ago. Then came an even more impressive seal of approval when the Knights, the only Anglo band on a bill of Tejano and conjunto groups, bowled over the crowd with vintage regional pop hits that such cats as Gene Thomas and Sunny Ozuna almost made famous. The twin saxes were crucial.
"You could see it in their eyes," Lange says of that predominantly Hispanic audience. "The memories just came flooding back and the dance floor filled up."
All this band needs are a few more fast songs like the Sunglows' "No One Else But You" to space out the ballads, which can get repetitious over two hours (unless you're on a date).
Relationship losing its zing? Take your sweetie to Shoal Creek Saloon Wednesday night and you can cancel that appointment with the marriage counselor.
AM/PM: for Lange, Highway 90 is also known as memory lane Larry Lange and the Lonely Knights have built up a loyal following in their first year by playing off a simple concept: They celebrate regional hits from the '50s and '60s that traveled U.S. 90 from San Antonio to Lafayette, La. Oh, how the folks love to slow dance to the Knights' 6/8 rhythm (think "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights") and swing to the swamp pop. When the saxes of Ed Vizard and Brad Andrews are soulfully braying and guitarist Hector Watt (ex-Solid Senders) lays down a Johnnie Allan groove, it's a jolt back to the teen canteen days. The Lonely Knights peel away a layers of jaded.
On a recent Wednesday night at Shoal Creek Saloon, which has a nifty new bandstand and very good Cajun food, former Doug Sahm runnin' buddy Speedy Sparks listened to Lange sing the songs of Cookie and the Cupcakes, Bobby Charles, Sunny and the Sunglows and Roy Head and said, "They're playing my record collection.”
“This is simply the best new band in Austin – well, it’s
hard to say “new” since these guys have
been around for many years – but, they are the Best!”