The Blazers | |
---|---|
Origin | United States |
Genres | Pop, rock, blues, Latin alternative |
Years active | 1993-current |
Labels | Rounder Records, Little Dog Records, CRS Records Ltd |
Members | Ruben Guaderrama, Raul Medrano |
Past members | Ruben Gonzalez, Lee Stuart, Jesus Cuevas, Mike Molina, Manuel Gonzales |
The Blazers is a rock and roll, blues and Latin alternative band, based out of East Los Angeles.
Original band members were Manuel Gonzales, Ruben Guaderrama, Ruben Gonzalez and Lee Stuart. The current members are Ruben Guaderrama, and Raul Medrano. Ruben Gonzalez, Lee Stuart, Jesus Cuevas, Mike Molina and Manuel Gonzales all were formerly members of the band, but left to pursue their own music. [1] Cuevas left the band to play more accordion. He would later join Cali-Mex band Los Fabulocos. [1]
They are signed to Rounder Records, but they have released albums through CRS Records Ltd and Little Dog Records. [2]
Both Manuel Gonzales and Ruben Guaderrama were the original founding members of the Blazers and were the core of the group, as it was always tough to find band members that were dedicated. The two were lifelong friends from their early school days in (Theodore Roosevelt High School) in the City of Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles. Both Manuel and Ruben grew up on the rough streets of East Los Angeles and because of their mutual love of music that strengthens them they became influential musicians for those inspiring young musicians that grew up in the same conditions. The Blazers influenced many local bands like La Terra and helped create that unique soulful sound of Mexican American Rock n Roll also known as East Side Soul or Chicano Rock, as pioneered by famous groups like Los Lobos. Cesar of Los Lobos saw this talent and potential that The Blazers had and not only inspired them but produced their first two records: Short Fuse and East Side Soul .
Tejano music, also known as Tex-Mex music, is a popular music style fusing Mexican influences. Its evolution began in northern Mexico.
Los Lobos is a Mexican-American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños. The band rose to international stardom in 1987, when their version of "La Bamba" peaked at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, and several other countries. Songs by Los Lobos have been recorded by Elvis Costello, Waylon Jennings, Frankie Yankovic, and Robert Plant. In 2015, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2018, they were inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. They are also known for performing the theme song for Handy Manny. As of 2024, they have been nominated for twelve Grammy Awards and have won four.
David Kent Hidalgo is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Los Lobos. Hidalgo frequently plays musical instruments such as accordion, violin, 6-string banjo, cello, requinto jarocho, percussion, drums and guitar as a session musician on other artists' releases.
Chicano rock, also called chicano fusion, 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.
Los Super Seven is an American supergroup which debuted in 1998. According to Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "Los Super Seven isn't a band, per se – it's a collective, organized by manager Dan Goodman, who comes up with a concept for each of the group's albums and assembles a band to fit." The collective has released three albums to date, with wildly varying personnel. Only Ruben Ramos and Rick Trevino are featured on all three releases.
La Mafia is an American five-time Grammy Award-winning musical group. It has its roots in the Northside neighborhood of Houston, Texas, and has charted a course as a Latin music band.
The Ride is a studio album by Los Lobos. It was released on May 4, 2004, by Hollywood / Mammoth Records. It features numerous guest musicians, including Bobby Womack, Tom Waits, Rubén Blades, Dave Alvin, Richard Thompson, Elvis Costello, Mavis Staples, and Garth Hudson. The album contains new material and also new versions of earlier Los Lobos songs.
La Pistola y El Corazón is the fourth album by the Mexican American rock group Los Lobos, released in September 1988 on Slash/Warner Bros. Records. The mini-album is dedicated to Tejano/Mariachi folk music. It won a Grammy Award in 1989 for Best Mexican-American Performance.
The Neighborhood is the fifth album by the rock band Los Lobos. It was released in 1990 and includes contributions from Levon Helm and John Hiatt, among others.
The Hacienda Brothers is an American alternative country band composed of Chris Gaffney, Dave Gonzalez, Dave Berzansky, Dale Daniel, and Hank Maninger. They have been described as "the finest country rock band since the Flying Burrito Brothers in their prime," and were called "the best country band of the decade." Their music blends soul, blues, rockabilly, country, Tex-Mex and rock and roll. They themselves call it "western Soul." The band was hailed as making a "groundbreaking blend of country, rock, blues and accordion-anchored Americana" and by the time founder Chris Gaffney died in 2008 had made three studio albums and one live album.
Christopher F. Gaffney was an American singer and songwriter from the Southwest. His career, both as a solo musician and as a member of several bands, was as eclectic as his musical tastes. Although he never achieved widespread fame, Gaffney, who died at the age of 57 from liver cancer, left his mark on country, rock, soul, and other forms of American music. In its obituary, the Los Angeles Times described Gaffney as "a peer of [Dave] Alvin, Los Lobos, X and the Red Hot Chili Peppers in chronicling the life of Southern California."
Dave Gonzalez is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter from Southern California and, with Thomas Yearsley, founding member of the roots rock/rockabilly band The Paladins in the early 1980s, and then co-founder with Chris Gaffney of the Hacienda Brothers.
Sí Se Puede! is a 1977 various artists charity album featuring Los Lobos and various vocalists, including the Salas Brothers of the band Tierra. Proceeds from the album went towards the United Farm Workers of America. "Sí, se puede" is the motto of the United Farm Workers of America.
The Paladins are an American roots rock-rockabilly band from San Diego, California. Founded in the early 1980s by guitarist Dave Gonzalez and his high school friend and double bass player Thomas Yearsley, they have recorded nine studio albums and built a reputation as a hard-working live band.
Los Fabulocos is an American, Cali-Mex band that is led by Jesus Cuevas, a vocalist and accordion player who used to be with the Blazers, an East Los Angeles–based group. It also features Kid Ramos, who has in the past worked with the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Like, Malo, Los Lobos, El Chicano, the Blazers, and Tierra.
Piñata Protest is an American punk rock band from San Antonio, Texas. The band is noted for their amalgamation of Tex-Mex and punk music with lyrics both in Spanish and English.
Cha-Cha-Cha Boom! is a 1956 American musical film starring Dámaso Pérez Prado, Stephen Dunne, the Mary Kaye Trio, Helen Grayco, Luis Arcaraz and his Orchestra, Lucerto Bárcenas, and Manny López and his Orchestra. It was produced by Sam Katzman for Columbia Pictures and directed by Fred F. Sears and was their immediate follow-up to Rock Around the Clock. Filming started 14 May 1956.
Mexrrissey is a Mexican band co-founded by Camilo Lara and Sergio Mendoza. Inspired by Morrissey and The Smiths' songs, Camilo and Sergio along with: Ceci Bastida, Jay de la Cueva, Alejandro Flores, Chetes and Ricardo Nájera began this musical project in 2015. Their album No Manchester (2016) contains Morrissey songs translated into Spanish with a mix of Latin beats and sounds added to the music. After their first show in Mexico City, the band began with a UK tour in April 2015. During the spring of 2018, Mexrrissey conducted a UK tour promoted as "La Reina Is Dead".
The 8th annual Billboard Latin Music Awards which honor the most popular albums, songs, and performers in Latin music took place in Miami.
East Side Soul is the second album by the American band the Blazers, released in 1995. Although often compared to Los Lobos, the band considered themselves to be more of a standard four-piece rock and roll band. The band supported the album with a North American tour.