The Plugz | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Punk rock, rock |
| Years active | 1977–1984 |
The Plugz (also known as "Los Plugz") were a Latino punk band from Los Angeles that formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1984. They and The Zeros were among the first Latino punk bands, although several garage rock bands, such as Thee Midniters and Question Mark & the Mysterians, predated them. The Plugz melded the spirit of punk and Latino music.
The band was formed in 1977 and was a contemporary of the bands featured in the film The Decline of Western Civilization . [1] Their songs reflected the anger and angst of growing up Chicano, and this was reflected in their sardonic hi-speed version of Ritchie Valens' "La Bamba". The Plugz are generally acknowledged as being the first D.I.Y. punk band in L.A., having started their own PLUGZ RECORDS and later Fatima records.
The band was initially composed of:
This lineup recorded the band's first album, Electrify Me, [1] produced and engineered by Alan Kutner, and released in 1979. The Plugz melded the spirit of punk and Latino music. [1]
After McBride left (sometime in 1979–80), he was replaced by John Curry from The Flyboys, who left to form Choir Invisible less than a year later. [2] Larriva and Curry wrote the title track to the second album Better Luck. The musicians on the band's second album, Better Luck (1981), were:
Guests:
Tony Marsico joined the band in late 1980, and Steven Hufsteter began playing lead guitar with the group in 1984.
With the addition of Steven Hufsteter on lead guitar, The Plugz also feature prominently on the soundtrack to the movie Repo Man . [3] The group performed "Hombre Secreto," a Spanish version of Johnny Rivers' "Secret Agent Man", "El Clavo y la Cruz" and original instrumental background music for the film, [4] part of which appears on the soundtrack as Reel Ten. [3]
Plugz bassist Tony Marsico and drummer Charlie Quintana together with their friend, guitar player JJ Holiday, [5] accompanied Bob Dylan on his appearance on Late Night with David Letterman on March 22, 1984, for three songs: "Don't Start Me Talkin'" (by Sonny Boy Williamson), "Jokerman", and "License to Kill". [6] [7]
In 1984, The Plugz name was retired and the three members continued as the Cruzados with Steven Hufsteter.
The Plugz reunited the three founding members for The Masque 30th Anniversary Party and Book Release show on November 11, 2007, at The Echoplex in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles, California. [8]
Repo Man is a 1984 American science fiction black comedy film written and directed by Alex Cox in his directorial debut. It stars Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez, with Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash, Sy Richardson, Vonetta McGee, Fox Harris, and Dick Rude among the supporting cast. Set in Los Angeles, the plot concerns a young punk rocker (Estevez) who is recruited by a car repossession agency and gets caught up in the pursuit of a mysterious Chevrolet Malibu that might be connected to extraterrestrials.
Andalucia is the fourth studio album by Los Angeles rock band Tito & Tarantula, released in 2002. The album marked several line-up changes in the band, which had previously consisted of lead singer/rhythm guitarist Tito Larriva, lead guitarist Peter Atanasoff, and drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez. This album featured the debut of lead guitarist Steven Hufsteter – who had previously played with Larriva in the Cruzados, bassist Io Perry, and keyboardist Marcus Praed.
Los Lobos is an 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 Ritchie Valens' "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.
Infidels is the 22nd studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on October 27, 1983, by Columbia Records.
The Quick were a mid-1970s power pop band based in Los Angeles. The Quick were influenced by 1960s British Invasion bands and 1970s British glam bands, as well as by fellow Angelenos Sparks.
The Cruzados were a 1980s rock band from Los Angeles, California.
The Flesh Eaters are an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1977. They are the most prominent of the bands which have showcased the compositions and singing of their founder, punk poet Chris Desjardins, best known as Chris D. While Desjardins is the group's only continual member, the Flesh Eaters' lineup has drawn from some of the most famous bands of the L.A. punk scene, such as the Plugz, X, the Blasters, and Los Lobos.
Gonzalo Quintana III, also known as Charlie Quintana or Chalo, was an American rock and punk drummer. He is best known as a founding member of the band The Plugz and as the drummer for the punk rock band Social Distortion from 2000 to 2009.
"Secret Agent Man" is a song written by P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. The most famous recording of the song was made by Johnny Rivers for the opening titles of the American broadcast of the British spy series Danger Man, which aired in the U.S. as Secret Agent from 1964 to 1966. Rivers's version peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #4 on the Canadian RPM chart, one of the biggest hits of his career. Numerous covers and adaptations have been recorded since then with the song becoming both a rock standard and one of Johnny Rivers's signature songs.
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 Tito & Tarantula.
Cruzados is the 1985 debut album of Los Angeles rock band the Cruzados. It featured the band's "classic line-up" of Tito Larriva, Steven Hufsteter, Tony Marsico, and Chalo Quintana. It also featured the band's best known songs, such as "Motorcycle Girl" "Flor De Mal" and "Just Like Roses".
Mexican Spaghetti Western is a studio album by Robert Rodriguez's band, Chingon. Originally released in 2004 exclusively on the band's website, it became available in stores on April 10, 2007. The original non-digi-pak release of the album did not include the song "Cielito Lindo".
Tito & Tarantula is an American chicano rock/blues rock band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1992 by singer/songwriter/guitarist Tito Larriva.
After Dark is the second album by the American band Cruzados, released in 1987. "Bed of Lies" reached No. 4 on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart; "Small Town Love" peaked at No. 39. The band supported the album with a North American tour that included a leg opening for Fleetwood Mac. They broke up the following year.
The Flyboys were an American pioneering Californian punk rock band, founded in 1975 before the first wave of American punk. The act was prominent in the Los Angeles punk rock scene around 1976 and 1977. Their second release was the debut output for Frontier Records. The band broke up in 1980.
Tarantism is the debut album by Los Angeles rock band Tito & Tarantula, released in 1997.
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.
Tony Marsico is an American bassist/composer best known as co-founder of the rock and roll band the Cruzados formed in 1983. . Marsico has also recorded and toured with Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Marianne Faithfull, Roger Daltrey, Joe Ely, Willie Nelson, Linda Ronstadt, Dr. John, Susanna Hoffs, The Thorns, The DiVinyls, John Doe, Peter Case, Juliana Hatfield, Paul Jones, Rick Vito, Barry Goldberg, among others. Marsico has co-written songs that appear in the motion picture Desperados. In addition, Marsico was the bassist for indie pop singer Matthew Sweet for over 10 years. Marsico recorded the soundtrack to the Oscar winning film Session Man.
"Jokerman" is a song by Bob Dylan that appeared as the opening track of his 1983 album Infidels. Recorded on April 14, 1983, it was released as a single on June 1, 1984, featuring a live version of "Isis" from the film Renaldo and Clara as its B-side.
Repo Man is the soundtrack album to the eponymous 1984 film, Repo Man. The soundtrack features songs by punk rock acts such as the Plugz, Black Flag, the Circle Jerks, Suicidal Tendencies, Iggy Pop and others. The film score was created by Tito Larriva, Steven Hufsteter, Charlie Quintana and Tony Marsico of the Plugz. Iggy Pop volunteered to write the title song after his manager viewed a screening of the film.
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