Music review
Shelly Lares Reigns Radio Airwaves and Concert Stages
Shelly Lares has grown up.
She is not longer the little 12-year-old singer with Hot Tamales this writer met in 1983 and had yet to record her first single with said band until 1986 before being signed to Colores followed by RP/Sony Records and Manny Guerra releasing her first long-play vinyl album in 1991.
To date, the two time Grammy Award nominee and business savvy songbird has been a restaurant owner, a radio personality, is now the owner of her own record label and as for her future, the sky’s the limit with the Divine guidance of God.
A.B. Quintanilla’s All Starz Hypnotize with “Hipnótika”
A.B. Quintanilla’s All Starz is no understatement because an all-star ensemble participated in “La Vida De Un Genio,” his latest musical production.
His own All Starz are vocalists Jason “DJ Kane” Cano and Lee “JR” Gómez, Chris Pérez, guitar; Gilbert “Gipper El Animal” Nieto, accordion; Robert “Bobbo” Gómez, keyboards; Nick Banda, keyboards; Liz, congas; and Joey Jiménez, drums.
However the list of Class-A international all-stars which recorded on different tunes in his most recent compact disc are José Feliciano, Jon Secada, Gilbert Santa Rosa, Marciano Cantero of Enanitos Verdes, Shaila Dúrcal, Julio Ramos, artistically known as Voltio, Jorge Celedón, Alex Lora of El Tri, Albita, Luis Enrique, Reyli Barba plus other surprise artists.
The Best Guitarist in Mexico Calls San Antonio Home
Gilberto Puente and his twin brother Raúl rank among the “Worldwide Top Five” in the history of Mexico’s Golden Age of Trios.
Aside from that honor, maestro Rubén Fuentes, a classically trained musician, who has served as composer, producer, arranger and director with Mariachi Vargas, the “World’s Best Mariachi” for sixty years, named Gilberto “La Guitarra de México.”
In addition, Gilberto is also considered one of the best requinto players in the world. That’s quite an accomplishment for someone born in the small town of Anahuac, Nuevo León, México and whose parents, Gilberto Puente Quintero and mother Amparo González had no musical inclination.
Small World Jazz Jam at Olmos Pharmacy
Story and photos by Joseph Martinez
On the corner of McCullough and Hildebrand you will find the beautiful Art-Deco building illuminated with bright green and red neon lights. Once Known as the “Olmos Pharmacy”,
The Night was cool as I walked in on a Monday night. I found out it was “Small World Jazz -Jam “. For a short moment I thought I was in Boston and saw “Norm” from the TV Show “Cheers” Actually It was more of a ambiance feeling I had walking through the doors.
Whatever Happened to David Marez?
Photo and story by Roberto Álvarez
This crooner has not disappeared, there’s just less airplay plus fewer and fewer Tejano music venues.
When David Marez sings, his smooth yet raspy voice glides effortlessly through each song as though his throat was naturally coated with honey. Lyrically, he dissects and hones each song to perfection.
His romantic vocal delivery is as flawless as Dyango, Emmanuel and Roberto Carlos. However international fame has eluded him because the quality of his voice is lost with cumbia and ranchera musical arrangements which mask and take away from his vocal prowess.
Retono Sprouts New Conjunto Sounds
Retune is the newest sprout in conjunto music.
Samuel Ramos Jr., vocals and bajo sexto; Salomon Ramos, accordion and vocals; and Pablo Ramos, bass sprouted from the music seed of Samuel G. Ramos, accordionist and vocalist with Los Tesoro’s. Then there’s their cousin Armando Villela on percussion and drums.
Born in Brownsville, reared in Edinburg and now living in San Benito, Texas, their primary influence was their famous father and their uncle Rolando Ramos, who played bajo sexto. On their mother’s side, their uncle is Juan P. Moreno of the Renegades.
Bobby Esquivel Takes Liberty with his Band
Roberto Guerra Esquivel, the band leader of one of Tejano music’s most enduring bands, is unique in that he is unlike any other musician.
“There are no musicians or singers in either side of my parent’s families and I can’t say I was influenced or inspired to become a musician,” Esquivel said during an interview at the Hispanic Entertainment Archives.
“In fact, I don’t even know why I signed up to take band in middle school,” he continued with a puzzled look.
After racking his brain, he had to call his mother to find out what motivated him to take band in Truman Junior High School.
Denzel Washington is a hero in the River City
Editor’s note: This story is based on a popular e-mail that has made the rounds of the Internet several times, gaining untruths in the telling. For the full story, see the article on Snopes.com. It has also been addressed by the San Antonio Express-News.
Subject: Denzel Washington, and Brooke Army Medical Center.
Al Reed’s Visit to SA Was a Flashback to the Past
Al Reed is among the last of the Mohicans when it comes to true Chicano rock’n’roll music legends.
This means the January 1958 Fox Tech High School graduate – born Albert Gonzales — preceded the Royal Jesters plus Little Joe and Sunny Ozuna, who with Isidro López are considered to be the “Founding Fathers of Tejano Music,” in recording his first single.
“My Padrino (Godfather) sparked my interest in music when he gave me a guitar and my first performance was when I sang Hank Williams’ ‘Jambalaya’ during a talent show at Ira Ogden Elementary School,” the 72-year-old vocalist said during an interview at Mi Tierra Café.
It was Rapping at Noche Caliente
By Jonathan Liles
Surprise!!! Its Devin The Dude!
River City Attractions (RCA), received an invite to Noche Caliente at the last minute on October 29, 2010. We were expecting to see a concert with San Antonio Hip Hop artist King Kyle Lee as the main event. However Kyle Lee along with Swishahouse Legend DJ Michael “5000” Watts were actually there to host and promote for Devin The Dude. Devin the Dude is an underground rap artist well known for his unique rapping style and 15 year relationship with Houston based Rap-A-Lot Records (ended in 2008). The experience of the show itself was indeed unique. When Devin The Dude performed all the fans surrounded him in a big circle as he performed music from his latest album Suite 420. River City Attractions would like to give special thanks to Kyle Lee, Michael “5000” Watts, Devin The Dude, Core, Big Q and Noche Caliente for putting on a great show.