Chicano rock is rock music performed by Mexican American (Chicano) groups or music with themes derived from Chicano culture. Chicano Rock, to a great extent, does not refer to any single style or approach. Some of these groups do not sing in Spanish at all, or use many specific Latin instruments or sounds. The subgenre is defined by the ethnicity of its performers, and as a result covers a wide range of approaches.
In the United States, California is commonly associated with the film, music, and arts industries; there are numerous world-famous Californian musicians. Hardcore punk, hip hop, country, and heavy metal have all appeared in California. Furthermore, new genres of music, such as surf rock and third wave ska, have their origins in California.
Illinois, including Chicago has a wide musical heritage. Chicago is most famously associated with the development of electric blues music. Chicago was also a center of development for early jazz and later for house music, and includes a vibrant hip hop scene and R&B. Chicago also has a thriving rock scene that spans the breadth of the rock genre, from huge stadium-filling arena-rock bands to small local indie bands. Chicago has had a significant historical impact on the development of many rock subgenres including power pop, punk rock, indie rock, emo rock, pop punk, and alternative rock.
John Nommensen Duchac, known professionally as John Doe, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, poet, guitarist and bass player. Doe co-founded LA punk band X, of which he is still an active member. His musical performances and compositions span rock, punk, country and folk music genres. As an actor, he has dozens of television appearances and several movies to his credit, including the role of Jeff Parker in the television series Roswell.
Wax was an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California. Wax emerged during the pop punk resurgence of the early 1990s, and includes Joe Sib, Tom "Soda" Gardocki, Dave Georgeff, and Loomis Fall. The band is best known for their MTV buzz clip video "California", directed by Spike Jonze.
Lee James Jude Capallero, known professionally as Lee Ving, is an American musician and actor.
Thomas F. Kelly is an American musician, best known for his songwriting partnership with Billy Steinberg. Steinberg and Kelly co-wrote numerous hit songs for popular music artists, including five number-one singles on the Billboard Top 100 chart in the 1980s.
Howard McGhee was one of the first American bebop jazz trumpeters, with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for his fast fingering and high notes. He had an influence on younger bebop trumpeters such as Fats Navarro.
Jennifer Finch, born August 5, 1966, is an American musician, designer, and photographer most notable for being the primary bass player of the punk rock band L7. Active in L7 from 1986 to 1996, Finch also wrote music and performed with her bands OtherStarPeople and The Shocker in the interim before joining the reunited L7 in 2014.
Darrin Michael Pfeiffer is an American musician, record producer, band manager and radio personality. He has played drums in the pop punk bands Goldfinger, Sum 41, and The Salads.
Adam Levy is a jazz guitarist who was a member of Norah Jones's band.
Loomis Fall is an American songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician, actor and stunt performer who has performed with several rock and punk bands, most notably with Wax, an early-1990s California pop-punk band, which was compared to the likes of the Ramones and the Pixies. Fall has performed as a cast member in the Jackass and Wildboyz television shows and movies. He has also had gallery shows in Los Angeles for his paintings.
Since the mid-1970s, California has had thriving regional punk rock movements. It primarily consists of bands from the Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County, San Diego, San Fernando Valley, San Francisco, Fresno, Bakersfield, Alameda County, Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, Oakland and Berkeley areas.
Humberto "Tito" Larriva is a Mexican/American songwriter, singer, musician, and actor. He came to prominence leading The Plugz, one of the earliest Los Angeles punk rock groups. Since the 1990s, his main musical outlet has been the Tito & Tarantula.
Mark Durante is an American musician and songwiter who is based in Chicago.
As well as being one of the most important cities in the world in the film industry, Los Angeles, California, is also one of the most important places in the world for the recorded music industry. Many landmarks in Los Angeles – such as Capitol Records, which resembles a stack of albums – are representative of this. A&M Records long occupied a studio off Sunset Boulevard built by Charlie Chaplin. The Warner Bros. built a major recording business in addition to their film business.
Oscar "Ozzie" Cadena was an American record producer with Savoy Records and Prestige Records who recorded gospel and jazz music in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and helped popularize jazz music in Los Angeles.
Kyle DiFulvio is an American singer–songwriter and musician. He is noted for his work in American rock bands Scarling., The Studdogs, and Skeleteen.
The Brat was a Chicano punk rock ensemble originating from the barrios of East Los Angeles, California. Its three core members were lead singer Teresa Covarrubias, lead guitarist Rudy Medina, and alternate lead and rhythm guitarist Sidney Medina. From their conception in late 1978 to their eventual break-up in 1985, The Brat contributed to the customization and intermeshing of multiple musical and cultural models that culminated in the distinct East Los Angeles, Chicano punk sound.
The San Gabriel Valley encompasses a large part in the Northeast region of the Greater Los Angeles area. This region played a major role in the music of Los Angeles, and California. The San Gabriel Valley remains home to several influential performing groups, such as, Van Halen and the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra.
