El Tri (band)

Last updated
El Tri
Also known asThree Souls in My Mind
Origin Mexico City, Mexico
Genres Rock, rock and roll, psychedelic rock, hard rock, acoustic rock, blues-rock, blues, latin rock, Rock en espanol
Years active1968–present
LabelsDiscos Cisne/Raff, WEA International
Members Alex Lora
Chela Lora
Lalo Chico
Oscar Zarate
Charlie Valerio
Felipe Chacon
Lalo Toral
Rafael “Wea” Salgado
Alejandro Alvarez
Antonio “El Danzante” Alba
Website www.eltri.com.mx

El Tri is a Mexican rock band from Mexico City fronted by Alex Lora. It is a spinoff of Three Souls in My Mind, formed in 1968. The group is regarded as influential in the development of Mexican rock music.

Contents

Over the years, El Tri's sound has touched on several different styles including rock, psychedelic rock, hard rock, acoustic rock, blues-rock, and blues. The group has enjoyed moderate success, garnering numerous gold-certified albums in Mexico.

Band history

Three Souls in My Mind

Band founder Alex Lora, on stage with the band in 2006 Alex Lora.jpg
Band founder Alex Lora, on stage with the band in 2006

The name "Three Souls in My Mind", now commonly noted by its initials TSIMM, was initially chosen as a nod towards conventions for long band names in rock and roll. [1] Originally composed of Alejandro Lora on bass, Memo Berea on rhythm guitar and vocals, Ernesto de Leon on lead guitar, and Carlos Hauptvogel on drums, the band has been accompanied on some albums by Arturo Labastida on saxophone and Carlos Martinez on trumpet. Sergio Mancera also played guitar on some albums. They performed their first public engagement in October, 1968, [2] and released 15 albums on the RAFF record label before officially changing their name and lineup in 1985.

As rock in Mexico was originally seen as 'inauthentic' when sung in Spanish, Three Souls mostly sang covers of American rock and blues songs in English. However, at the Festival de Avándaro, often called "Mexico's Woodstock," they crossed over, singing first in English, then in Spanish. From then on they recorded primarily in Spanish, writing most of their own songs. When asked why they switched to Spanish, Lora replied that it was important for the audience to understand the messages of the songs. Though Three Souls had a popular following among the younger generation while singing in English, changing attitudes toward rock pushed the band to perform in the 'hoyos fonquis,' where the lower classes held semi-chaotic rock shows. [3] Singing in his original language and for a new, energetic, young, and discontented audience, Lora's songs began reflecting more of the reality of the daily lives of average Mexicans.

El Tri

In 1985, TSIMM split into Three Souls in My Mind with Carlos Hauptvogel and El Tri with Alex Lora. Under Hauptvogel, TSIMM went to record four studio albums and one compilation with considerable success, and under Lora El Tri became the first Mexican rock band to have a Gold certified record with their album Simplemente , which contained their first single, "Triste Canción" and a cover version of "Metro Balderas", originally by Rockdrigo González. In 1986 their song "Vicioso del rocanrol" became a hit in Peru, topping radio charts, which opened the way to two concerts in Plaza de Toros Acho, where they returned a year later for a tour in seven cities. In the same year the band was invited by Miguel Ríos to participate in the First Iberoamerican Rock Encounter at the Sports Palace of Madrid, Spain, alongside the most representative bands of countries like Chile, Venezuela, Argentina and Spain. By 1992, the band's albums were consistently going Gold in Mexico. [4] In 1993, the band released one of their signature songs, Pobre Soñador, which became their breakout song for the South American market, specifically Argentina. The promotional video gained heavy rotation on the music channels.

The United States has also been an important part of their career, since they have had many concerts in New York City, Chicago, Houston, and all around the state of California, such as in San Francisco at The Fillmore, and in the city of Los Angeles, in venues such as Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, The Olympic Auditorium, Pico Rivera, The Palace, The Hollywood Palladium, and The Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. In New York City they sold out two consecutive concerts at the Roseland Ballroom. In 2003, they were nominated for "Best Album" at the Latin Grammy Awards, broadcast from Miami. [5]

In 2004, Los Angeles Times writer Marla Dickerson noted that the band had "legions of loyal fans" and had "sold tens of millions of albums in Latin America", but that in spite of their success they lost their recording contract because their record label could not compete with counterfeiters. [6]

Themes

El Tri's songs cover a wide variety of subjects. Many songs reflect the personal experiences of founder Alex Lora, but frequently topics for songs are suggested by fans. [7] In an interview with Hispanic music website batanga.com in 2006, Alex Lora said, "the fans, they tell me, 'Hey, write the song of the Pope! Hey, write the song of Che Guevara! Write the song of truck drivers, write the song of taxi drivers, of how it would be if Mexico won the soccer World Cup, write the song of prostitutes...'" and he complies, so that their audience may "feel they wrote it themselves". [7]

Overall, the band is known for a left-wing political stance and a critical perspective of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional, which has been featured on many of its songs and albums. [8] In spite of their political protests, El Tri maintains a steadfast loyalty to Mexico. [9]

Legacy

The 2008 Lonely Planet guide to Mexico calls El Tri "the grandfathers of Mexican rock." [10] 2006's Rock en Español characterizes them as "Mexico's quintessential working-class rock outfit." [11] They have been described in press as "Mexico's answer to the Rolling Stones": "Ancient, raunchy, but still hugely popular." [12]

Discography

2017 Concierto de la Semana de las Juventudes (Sabado) (26619608759).jpg
2017

Three Souls In My Mind / El Tri

1 Three Souls In My Mind (1970) Renamed Colección Avandaro 1 Versiones en Inglés

2 Three Souls In My Mind II (1971) Renamed Colección Avandaro 2 Versiones en Inglés

3 Three Souls In My Mind III (1975) Renamed Oye Cantinero

4 Chavo de Onda (1976) Renamed Adicto al Rock'n'Roll/Three Souls Boogie

5 Es lo Mejor (1977)

6 No Hay quinto Malo (1978) Renamed La Devaluación

7 Reclusorio Oriente (En Vivo) (1978)

8 Qué Rico Diablo (1979) Renamed Oye Diablo

9 El Blues del Eje Vial (1979)

10 Bellas de Noche (1980)

11 D'Mentes (1981)

12 Viejas Rolas de Rock (1982) Renamed Ron & Roll

13 Renovación Moral (1983)

14 Simplemente (1985)

15 Hecho en México (1986)

16 El Niño Sin Amor (1987)

17 Otra Tocada Mas (1988)

18 En Vivo!!! En la Cárcel de Santa Martha (1989)

19 21 Años Después, Alex Lora y El Tri (1989)

20 Una Leyenda Viva Llamada El Tri (1990)

21 En Vivo!!! Y a Todo Calor (1991)

22 Indocumentado (1992)

23 25 Años (1993)

24 Una Rola Para los Minusvalidos (1994)

25 Un Cuarto de Siglo (En Vivo) (1995)

26 Hoyos en la Bolsa (1996)

27 Cuando Tú No Estás (1997)

28 Fin de Siglo (1998)

29 Sinfonico (En Vivo) (1999)

30 Lora, Su Lira y Sus Rolas (1999)

31 No Podemos Volar (2000)

32 Sinfónico II (Compilation: The Themes with Symphonic Orchestra) (2001)

33 No Te Olvides de la Banda (2002)

34 Esclavo Del Rocanrol (ODS Compilation: Themes and Interviews) (2003)

35 Alex Lora: 35 Años y lo Que le Falta Todavía (En Vivo) (2004)

36 Unplugged (En Vivo) (2004)

37 Más Allá del Bien y el Mal (2005)

38 En Directo Desde el Otro Lado (En Vivo) (2006)

39 A Talonear (2007)

40 Nada que Perder (2008)

41 De El Three A El Tri (Compilation: 2008 Versions of Tracks)

42 4 Decadas (En Vivo) (2009)

43 Libertad Incondicional]] (En Vivo 2011)

44 Ojo por ojo (2013)

45 45 Años (En Vivo) (2014)

46 Sinfónico III (En Vivo) (2015)

47 Nacimos Para Rodar (2017)

Compilation albums

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Álex Lora</span> Mexican musician and composer

José Alejandro Lora Serna, better known by his stage name Álex Lora, is a Mexican musician and composer. He has been the frontman of the Mexican rock band El Tri for over 50 years, since October 12 of 1968 when he founded among Carlos Hauptvogel and Guillermo Berea the Three souls in my mind band, but because of differences with Carlos, Alex decided to create a new band called El Tri, as the followers of Three souls in my mind used to call them. In 2006, Hispanic music website batanga.com characterized Lora as "legendary", noting that among his honors and awards he has been named a "Distinguished Pueblan Citizen" in his home city and has been given the keys to the city in Miami, as well as having a day and a statue in his hometown Tequela,Nayarit.

Los Dug Dug's is a rock group from Durango, Mexico, best known for their work in the 1960s and early 1970s. Los Dug Dug's is one of the first Mexican bands to show The Beatles' influence, and noted as one of the first Mexican rock bands to write their own songs in English, as well as cover songs by British and American acts in English, breaking what had up to then been an unwritten rule in Mexican rock. The band continues to perform today.

The Festival Rock y Ruedas de Avándaro was a historic Mexican rock festival held on September 11–12, 1971, on the shores of Lake Avándaro near the Avándaro Golf Club, in a hamlet called Tenantongo, near the town of Valle de Bravo in the central State of Mexico. The festival, organized by brothers Eduardo and Alfonso Lopez Negrete's company Promotora Go, McCann Erickson executive and sports promoter Justino Compean and Telesistema Mexicano producer Luis de Llano Macedo, took place at the height of La Onda and celebrated life, youth, ecology, music, peace and free love, has been compared to the American Woodstock festival for its psychedelic music, counterculture imagery and artwork, and open drug use. A milestone in the history of Mexican rock music, the festival has drawn anywhere from an estimated 100,000 to 500,000 concertgoers.

Toncho Pilatos was a Mexican 1970s rock band. Along with Three Souls in my Mind and Los Dug Dug's, it was one of the most representative predecessors of the "under" scene of Mexican rock. Developed as so-called "hoyos funkies"; their music transcended their live performances rather than commercial success.

<i>Simplemente</i> (El Tri album) 1984 studio album by El Tri

Simplemente (Simply) (1984) is the first studio album by the band originally known as Three Souls in My Mind and the first one as El Tri. The name comes as a direct reference from the way the fans called the band Tri, which is the way Three sounds in Spanish, hence Simply The word Tri.

<i>En Vivo!!! En la Cárcel de Santa Martha</i> 1989 live album by El Tri

En Vivo!!! En la Cárcel de Santa Martha (1989) is the fifth album by the Mexican rock and blues band El Tri. The album is the first one recorded live with this incarnation of the band and the second one along with seventh album Three Souls in My Mind.

<i>21 Años Después, Alex Lora y El Tri</i> 1989 studio album by El Tri

21 Años Después (1989) is the sixth studio album by Mexican rock and blues band El Tri.

<i>En Vivo!!! Y a Todo Calor</i> 1991 live album by El Tri

En Vivo!!! Y a Todo Calor (1991) is the eighth album and second live album by Mexican rock and blues band El Tri.

<i>25 Años</i> (El Tri album) 1993 studio album by El Tri

25 Años (1993) is the tenth studio album by Mexican rock and blues band El Tri.

<i>Una Rola Para los Minusvalidos</i> 1994 studio album by El Tri

Una Rola Para los Minusvalidos (1994) is the eleventh studio album by Mexican rock-blues band El Tri.

<i>Un Cuarto de Siglo</i> 1995 live album by El Tri

Un Cuarto de Siglo (1995) is the twelfth album and third live album by Mexican rock and blues band El Tri. It records a concert held on the 25th anniversary of the bound's formation under their original name "Three Souls in My Mind". In the booklet Alex Lora thanks its followers as follows:

Thanks to all the people who had supported us all this years and followed without prejudice our concerts, thanks for passing to your sons, as inheritance, the joy for our music

<i>Hoyos en la Bolsa</i> 1996 studio album by El Tri

Hoyos en la Bolsa (1996) is the thirteenth studio album by Mexican rock and blues band El Tri. The album cover references the songs on the album.

<i>Lora, Su Lira y Sus Rolas</i> 1999 studio album by Alex Lora

Lora, Su Lira y Sus Rolas (1999) is the fifteenth studio album by Mexican rock and blues singer Alex Lora and the first one solo, as a separate project of his band El Tri. The main single is Lora's signature song "Triste Canción" in a slower tempo and with a trio

<i>Sinfónico</i> (El Tri album) 1999 live album by El Tri

Sinfónico (Symphonic) (1999) is the sixteenth album and fourth live album by Mexican rock and blues band El Tri. The recording was the first with an orchestra as a celebration of the 30 years of the band.

<i>Sinfónico II</i> 2001 compilation album by El Tri

Sinfonico II (2001) is the eighteenth album and first compilation album by Mexican rock and blues band El Tri. Is the second one to contain collaboration of a symphonic orchestra.

<i>No Te Olvides de la Banda</i> 2002 studio album by El Tri

No Te Olvides de la Banda (2002) is the nineteenth studio album by Mexican rock and blues band El Tri.

<i>Los Número Uno</i> 2003 compilation album by El Tri

Los Número Uno: Éxitos 1968-2003 (2003) is the twentieth album and second compilation album by Mexican rock and blues band El Tri. Going back to the end of the Sixties when the band was only a trio known as Three Souls in my Mind the compilation take a couple of songs 30 years old as well as hits up to the latest albums.

<i>Alex Lora: 35 Años y lo Que le Falta Todavía</i> 2004 live album by El Tri

Alex Lora: 35 Años y lo Que le Falta Todavía is the twenty-second album and fifth live album by Mexican rock and blues band El Tri. It was released in 2004.

<i>MTV Unplugged</i> (El Tri album) 1996 live album by El Tri

MTV Unplugged (1996) is the twenty-third album and sixth live album by Mexican rock and blues band El Tri. Recorded 10 years earlier the album was released as one more compilation.

<i>En Directo Desde el Otro Lado</i> 2007 live album by El Tri

En Directo Desde el Otro Lado (2007) is the twenty-fifth album and seventh live album by Mexican rock and blues band El Tri.

References

  1. Delgado, Celeste Fraser (28 November 2002). "Don't Fade Away: Mexican classic rock will never die". Miami New Times . Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  2. Geura, Erasmo (10 December 2007). "El Tri: 39 and 'rockeando'". New York Daily News . Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  3. CBS Interactive. "Three Souls in My Mind" . Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  4. Fernandez, Jose Enrique; John Lannert (17 October 1982). "Homegrown Mexican Rock Thrives Against the Odds". Billboard : 58.
  5. Candelaria, Cordelia; Peter J. García; Arturo J. Aldama (2004). Encyclopedia of Latino popular culture. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 692. ISBN   978-0-313-33211-1 . Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  6. Dickerson, Marla (18 July 2004). "For Mexican musicians, a sad song; Piracy exacts toll on an industry with proud past". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  7. 1 2 Fasani, Romina (April 2006). "El Tri, Alex Lora...Uncensored". Carmen Rosa de Armas (English translation). batanga.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  8. Pedelty, Mark (2004). Musical ritual in Mexico City: from the Aztec to NAFTA. University of Texas Press. p. 266. ISBN   978-0-292-70231-8 . Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  9. Pedelty (2004), 266-267.
  10. John Noble (1 September 2008). Mexico . Lonely Planet. p.  81. ISBN   978-1-74104-804-9 . Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  11. Lechner, Ernesto; Saul Hernandez (1 June 2006). Rock en Español: the Latin alternative rock explosion . Chicago Review Press. p.  244. ISBN   978-1-55652-603-9 . Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  12. Grow, Doug (22 August 2004). "Crossing the borders at Mexican concert; Rock band El Tri draws some fans not bound by age or nationality". Star Tribune .