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Music review

Sources: Tejano legend Emilio Navaira dead at 53

Tejano legend Emilio Navaira has died, according to multiple sources and colleagues.

The singer suffered a “massive heart attack” Monday, the sources said. He was 53.

Fans and fellow Tejano musicians began expressing condolences late Monday night on Facebook.

“Rest in paradise my Friend Emilio Navaira. I was just with him and Raulito 5 de Mayo weekend laughing about old times. My heart goes out to all his familia. Gonna miss you brother,” A.B. Quintanilla posted.

Quintanilla is the brother of the late Selena, who recorded the ballad “Tu Robaste Mi Corazon” with Navaira.

Oscar de la Rosa, lead singer for Tejano group La Mafia, called Navaira “mi amigo y compañero, uno de los grandes en nuestro genero” — “my friend and companion, one of the greats in our genre.”

Navaira was the Tejano Music Awards’ male vocalist of the ’90s. In addition to that honor, he won 21 Tejano Music Awards, including male entertainer of the year five times.

He won a Grammy Award in 2002 for best Tejano album for “Acuerdate.”

From 1989 to 1992, during Tejano music’s boom years, he placed three albums in the top 15 of Billboard’s Regional Mexican chart, “Emilio Navaira and the Rio Band,” “Shoot It” and “Unsung Highways.”

“Like Selena, Emilio was very humble and performed in concert at Memorial high school back in 1989 when many Tejano artist avoided playing in high schools”

Navaira nearly died on Easter Sunday 2008 in Houston when his tour bus crashed into traffic barrels on Loop 610. He was behind the wheel and was ejected through the windshield.

He suffered massive brain injuries and endured several operations. He pleaded guilty to drunken-driving, resulting in a fine, house arrest and probation.

In time, he made a miraculous recovery and got back to touring and recording. A duets album, “Juntos,” was released in 2015.

“I’m really sad right now with the passing of a great Tejano artist, and friend. Rest in Paradise Emilio Navaira,” wrote David Delagarza, keyboard player for La Mafia.

Singer Shelly Lares said she was “sincerely saddened by the news of the passing of my good friend Emilio Navaira.

“He has been a friend since I was 10 years old, and we not only performed so many places together he and his amazing family are friends. I pray for strength for his kids and entire family.”

photos: Ramon Hernandez

Mother Ship, Tribute to led Zeppelin

Mother Ship,

A Tribute to led Zeppelin

True to the style of “Led Zeppelin” Mother Ship rocked all night. The set begins with that all too famous song “Kashmir” It was wall to wall waves of adoring fans attended at “Sam’s Burger Joint. Belting out lyrics was front and center is “Sean Finch” handling the lead vocals. As the melodic deep tones of the cello rumbled, Sean in his black leather pants and suede boots brought the Audience to frenzy. Besides the excellent tunes that played all night long. One observation I noted that the age range of was 20 something to 50 years young. Does this mean that classic rock will never die? Judging by what I see, most probably not. It will endure. One generation leads  to the next.

The fog machine pouring a fine mist and illuminated by colorful lights made the show experience one to remember.

Bass Guitar Brent Ferguson ,

Drums Mary Bolner,

Keyboards Nicole Cabello

Guitar Albert Steves

Many songs play. So many favorites

The immigrant song

Heart breaker

Stair way to heaven

And so many more

If you are in to Led Zeppelin music, Mother ship is the band to go see.

https://www.facebook.com/events/566887273449837

Story and pictures by Joseph Martinez

River City Attractions, San Antonio ,Tx.

the LATINO VOTE

Stats

If one hopes to analyze current trends and anticipate where we’re going, one must understand where we’ve been. Below, you’ll find the Hispanic voter breakdown for presidential elections from 1980 to present.
◾1980 Jimmy Carter, 56% Ronald Reagan, 35% +21
◾1984 Walter Mondale, 61% Ronald Reagan, 37% +24
◾1988 Michael Dukakis, 69% George H.W. Bush, 30% +39
◾1992 Bill Clinton, 61% George H.W. Bush, 25% +36
◾1996 Bill Clinton, 72% Bob Dole, 21% +51
◾2000 Al Gore, 62% George W. Bush, 35% +27
◾2004 John Kerry, 58% George W. Bush, 40% +18
◾2008 Barack Obama, 67% John McCain, 31% +36
◾2012 Barack Obama, 71% Mitt Romney, 27% +44

The changing Latino demographic has been chronicled extensively throughout the last few election cycles. The Hispanic voting block has been expanding for some 20+ years as more and more immigrants become citizens and attain voting rights.

The growth in the Latino electorate has shifted over time from immigrants to the young with US born Latinos turning 18 and becoming eligible to vote. Roughly 500 – 600,000 Latino voters are added to the voting rolls each year. Predictably, this occurs in greater numbers in states such as Texas and California however it is also happening in states with smaller Latino populations, states such as Florida, Nevada, and North Carolina.

While there are differences in viewpoints with each generation, immigration is the issue that drives the Latino electorate. The economy and jobs are of concern too, as evidenced by recent polls suggesting that Latinos are very concerned about the level of Federal spending. Still, immigration is the tail that wags the dog.

Despite President Obama’s record on immigration (he had deported more immigrants in his three years as president than any other in history), his announcement of the DACA shifted opinion amongst the Latino community and along with that, his poll numbers. In the 2012 race for the White House, this shift resulted in Barack Obama collecting 71% of the Latino vote.

This next election cycle, there will be candidates of Hispanic dissent for both major parties, all having interesting ideas and attributes, all worth our consideration. Ted Cruz (R – TX), Marco Rubio (R – FL), Julian Castro (D – AR), or Susanna Martinez (R – NM) all have been mentioned as being possible candidates on their respective party’s ticket.

There is a great deal of diversity without the Latino community so it isn’t unrealistic to think that any of the above can have a chance to make some noise in the 2016 general election. Here are some recent numbers that all candidates will be paying attention to in their attempt to vie for votes among their peers in the Latino community:
◾16% of the US population is Latino. This represents 10% of registered voters.
◾By 2050, projections indicate that 29% of the US population will be Latino.
◾62% of Latinos believe that there should be a path to citizenship for any illegal immigrants who have no criminal background, meet guidelines and learn English.
◾30% of Latino registered voters are not affiliated with a party (independent).
◾A recent poll by Latino Decisions indicates that if Marco Rubio ran in 2016, he could likely expect to receive roughly 54% of the vote including half of those who voted for Obama in 2012.

When one considers that the battleground states for the upcoming election cycle are expected to be Florida, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado (all of whom have a heavy Latino voting block), 2016 could shape up to be a watershed year for Latino voters.

 

source: www

Jean-Pierre Reveals His Alamo City Roots as He Prepares for a Comeback

EXCLUSIVE: Long Hidden Secret of Garibaldi Finally Revealed

By Ramón Hernández

Jean-Pierre Reveals His Alamo City Roots as He Prepares for a Comeback

Not only will you, the reader, learn what happened to Jean Pierre Korngold, but also one of the biggest secrets in Mexican showbiz in this exclusive interview during which he reveals a never-known fact about the “All-Mexican” musical group that performed to sold-out arenas, stadiums and festivals throughout the Latin Hemisphere and Spain. And it’s something that will make San Antonio proud.2015-JeanPierre-Sitting (3)

The original Garibaldi wore a free version of the tradition mariachi charro outfit because of the fact that their name comes from Mexico City’s Plaza Garibaldi, the home of numerous mariachi bands, hence the take-off of the mariachi outfit.

This musical group, created by Luis de Llano Macedo in 1989, produced five actors (Rafael Amaya, Sergio Mayer, Víctor Noriega, Charly López and Xavier Ortíz), five actresses, radio and television hosts (Patricia Manterola, Pilar Montenegro, Ingrid Coronado, Luisa Fernanda and Katia Llanos), as the Mexican version of Puerto Rico’s young, all-male Menudo singers. However these were a mix of sexy, good-looking male and female vocalists/dancers.

As Menudo, they also went through several members, who in 1998 were renamed Garibaldi XXI to indicate they were to be the 21st century version of this popular teen group. Most important is the fact that they had great pride in their nationality and were therefore touted as an all-Mexican group.

“Little did the world know that I was born in Lima, Peru to Isidoro Korngold and Mina née Grunfeld,” Jean Pierre revealed over lunch at El Ceviche de Waldito, his favorite Peruvian hangout at 5526 Evers Rd.

Jean-Pierre sang and danced along with Rafael Amaya, Agustin Arana and Stefano Bosco, who we recently learned was Italian. However, this is what we are now finding out.

“I was four months old during the devaluation of the Peruvian currency, the Sol, and my father moved the family to San Antonio.” That was this artist’s second shocker.

For seventeen years, no one knew that this internationally-famous ex-Garibaldi grew up and went to school in the Alamo City.

“That’s right, our first home was in the Turtle Creek area, I was raised here and I don’t mind being called Tex-Mex or Tejano,” Jean-Pierre said with local pride. As a matter of trivia, Jean-Pierre’s great grandfather was a Moroccan Jews and his grandparents, who were from Germany, Poland and Austria, fled to Lima, Peru to escape the war in 1939. Now he’s proud to also be identified as a Texas and San Antonio has claim to another world-famous celebrity and the following – in a nutshell — is how it all came to be.

“My mother, Mina, whom played accordion and piano by ear, loved to sing and we would sing together all the time, at home and in the car, but without my father’s knowledge. At five, my parents bought me a Kawai grand piano, but my dad’s reason for me to take lessons, was so I could entertain his clients.  Shortly thereafter, I began entering talent contests and would win every single one of them; and at six, a professor at Solomon Schechter School noticed my vocal talents.

“At ten, I won a fifth grade talent contest with ‘The Tiger Song,’ my own piano composition. And at 13, I was able to sing without having to look away from my father since I was intimidated by his mere look. But when I became a member of the Jewish congregation at my coming of age Bar Mitzvah, I sang a Hebrew song with so much emotion and so much passion, he was touched.”

After Jean-Pierre, who is fluent in Spanish, Hebrew and English, graduated from Tom C. Clark High School, he did one semester at the University of Tel Aviv, Israel and one semester at the University of Seville, Spain. Then he came back to the Lone Star state and graduated with a Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) from the University of Texas at Austin because his father wanted him to follow his steps in the family’s wealth management business.

“After I graduated from UTA in the top ten percent of my class, I told dad, ‘thank you for my education, but I can, I am and I’m going to become a singer. Now I’m ready to go to New York to pursue and live out my dream and I don’t care if I have to take a bus to get there.’ This was in 1995 when my mom became paralyzed and I taught her how to walk,” Jean-Pierre continued.

Much to his son’s surprise, his father saw his determination and had a change of heart. He knew Guideon Waldrop, then the dean at the Julliard School of Music, and they flew to New York. To make a long story short, Beverly Johnson, the head of the music department, accepted the proposal for Jean-Pierre to be home-schooled with a team of Julliard professors that consisted of Pei-Wen Chau, music composition; Helen Hobbs Jordan, music theory; and Robert White, vocal training.

Mrs. Jordan, an exacting and tart-tongued music teacher who instructed generations of performers including Tony Bennett, Bette Midler, Paul Simon and Melissa Manchester was 95 when she took Jean-Pierre under her wing. She died at 99.

In addition, he also took acting classes from William Esper and music composition from Doris Eugenio.

Two years later, Jean-Pierre was vacationing in the Dominican Republic with his mother when he met William “Willie” Spanbleochel, who put him in a video and promised to record a two-song demo if Jean-Pierre would go to Austria. The result was “Adios María” and “Si Puedes Entenderme” (“If You Could Read My Mind”) and while he was in Austria, Jean-Pierre went to Madrid and Galica, Spain where he met Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco and his older brother, Mohammed VI, who is now the King of Morocco, who he says, “were just like family, we became lifelong friends and I love them.”Garibaldi-Composite (3)

Demo in hand, Jean-Pierre went back to the Big Apple, dropped out of his Julliard classes and told his father that he was ready to go knock on doors in Mexico. His well-known, high-profiled business savvy father got him the plane ticket and now pushing him said, “Okay, you want to sing now? Go and paint the art.

“Thanks to my dad and my stepmother, Rosario, I got in the door to meet with Luis de Llano Macedo, who wanted to reinvent Garibaldi because all the original members had moved on to solo careers or had become actors.

A little known fact is that Llano Macedo has a San Antonio connection since it was in 1962, that the then 17-year-old started out as a technician at KWEX-TV, Channel 41.

Now getting back to our story, Jean-Pierre said, “After he heard the demo, he asked if I wanted in and of course I said ‘yes.’ That’s he started all over from the bottom, when I came in — in July 1997 along with Rafael “Rafa” Amaya, Agustin Arana and Stefano Bosco, and the female side consisted of Ana, Rebeca, Paola and Alyn.

The group needed no jump-start for fans were anxiously awaited to make the new Garibaldi XXI an overnight sensation. Dicho y hecho (Said and done), after some intense rehearsing and lessons from vocal coach Seth Riggs in Hollywood — whose clients include Luis Miguel, Barbara Streisand, Madonna, Josh Groban, Michael Bolton, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Natalie Cole and countless other superstars — Jean-Pierre and the group started touring all over Mexico.

“Sometimes we would do two Mexican states in one day; and we had so much business because of the hits off our first compact disc that sometimes the only sleep we would get is when we would board our private jet to go perform throughout Spain, the Caribbean, Central and South America.

For a sample of the Garibaldi fever plus to her and see Jean-Pierre in action, check out two of their hits, “Las Mujeres Dicen” at www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qzT_suy0hU and “El Ombligito” at www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaymsrWmWew.

“We were on the go 18 hours a day and having to do three hours of workouts at the gym because we couldn’t show one inch of fat, but when you are doing what you love, that is not work,” Jean-Pierre said.

Asked how he felt about saying he was Mexican, the muscular, six-foot-tall artist said, “The truth is that because of my father’s business, I have been going back and forth to Mexico since I was five, so I feel very Mexican. Besides, that country gave me the opportunity to enter the world of show biz. This is where I got my first break and I was so excited to live my dream. Therefore I love and thank Mexico for that.”

After almost three years of performing before tens of thousands of adoring fans screaming at the top of their lungs at the mere sight of him, or being mobbed for autographs and pictures, teen mag centerfolds, beefcake calendars, countless radio, television and newspaper interviews plus magazine covers and full-color, multi-page layouts in national publications, Jean-Pierre now yearned to be a solo artist, so on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1999, he told the group he was leaving to go on his own.

“They gave me their blessing and I was off to pursue my dream.” He was soon replaced by Ricardo (last name unknown).

Following one disappointment after another, Jean Pierre decided to fill in the gap by working for his father, where he dealt with numerous high net worth individuals and companies.

“I hated it and never could get out the fact that my soul and love for music was taken away from me.”

Along the way, there were movies offers because of his leading-man looks, but as he said, “I’ve never wanted to be an actor.”

Nonetheless, one has to financially survive and the singer-songwriter-musician-dancer eventually entered the mortgage business. Meanwhile there were intermittent sparks of hope from José Felicano’s manager, Phyllis Kietien plus César Lemos in Miami, Nora Barragan, Patrice Villastrigo and Arturo Álvarez García in Hollywood, who Jean-Pierre paid to record an eleven-song CD. However, nothing came to fruition and he continued in his lucrative business as an insurance broker.

Nevertheless, the music bug is still there and as one who loves to give back to the community Jean-Pierre has, for years, been a regular volunteer at Golden Estates as an active participant in Shabbat service, playing the piano, organizing activities and playing games with the residents. And he also did a piano recital for Lee and Dr. Philip D. Zinn, MD in honor of Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan.

While this Pisces’ vocal talent was suppressed and dormant, he says that he felt that he was like in a jail and a prisoner in his head; and now it’s time to take action by releasing his long-awaited CD on his own label.

“All of a sudden there’s a renewed interest in me and everything seems to be falling into place,” Jean-Pierre said during a second interview at the Hispanic Entertainment Archives.

The video to his first single as a solo artist, “Loco Enamorado,” can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=mygG5X5-C7E and it generated enough interest to warrant an in-depth 24-minute interview — www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBMmgIYGrDM — on TV de Houston, Canal 43.3 with Marcela Rodríguez.

     Another interesting video is a 13-minute piece taped when the entire Garibaldi group stopped to visit his mother’s house in Peru. This one is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuAchabAiWw.

Yes everything is starting to click and as Jean-Pierre reiterated, “It’s not over until it’s over. Don’t ever stop fighting for your dreams and your goals. Always tell yourself, ‘I am, I can and I will.

For more information or to book Jean-Pierre, call (210) 317-2835

It’s Smooth Sailing for Jonny Martinez

It’s Smooth Sailing for Jonny Martinez

By Ramón Hernández

He was born John Martín Martínez and he could have easily chose Jon Martin as his stage name. Instead, this four-time Grammy Award nominee remained true to his roots settling on Jonny Martínez.JonnyMtz042

     He followed in the footsteps of his father, Tejano Music Hall of Fame inductee, Anselmo “Chemiro” Martínez as a singer, songwriter, composer, arranger, and producer. Then he tacked on to that radio personality, recording engineer, ESL teacher, Chief of Operations (COO) for the yearly Tejano Legends cruises; and facilities manager at Texas State University since 2014.

   Not one to lack inspiration, Jonny wrote and recorded “Jamaican Me Crazy” shortly after last year’s cruise to Montego Bay, Jamaica.

“This catchy tune has a Caribbean sound, the reggae and all,” Jonny said an interview at the Hispanic Entertainment Archives.

“I sing it in Spanish and the bridge is in English. My son, John Michael Martínez, actually did the engineering and played percussion on this recording, which is No. 49 on the NM1 (New Music 1) charts. NM1 is a subsidiary of MTV and this is an impressive showing when you consider that these charts are worldwide.”

Martínez’s first influence was obviously his father and as he says, “I know what I know because of my dad and when you go into an industry, you have to know the basics and he taught me everything. He even introduced me to all the musicians throughout the years. In fact, my dad coached me and took me to my first interview with Johnny Canales. He also took me to the Zúnigas, but I also learned by osmosis.

Growing up, the vocalist known for his enthusiastic attitude and positive outlook said that he followed his father’s philosophy of hanging out with positive people, “if they are successful, you too will be successful.” So while attending Southwest High School and playing football with the Dragons, he hung out with Ty Detmer and also became good friends with his father, Sonny Detmer.

“Ty was the quarterback and I was one of the receivers,” Jonny said. “I got a football scholarship to Missouri Valley College and Ty went on to play for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Green Bay Packers, the San Francisco 49ers, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Cleveland Browns.

One year after graduating from Southwest High School in 1987, Jonny started recording for Joey International; and in 1989 was hired as a DJ at KEDA, Radio Jalapeño, followed by KRIO.

“The promoters, the program directors and the old club owners were all gone by the time I went out on my own, so from that point forward, I had to take the reins since the new, young PDs and promoters didn’t know my dad. So I continued the musical education by learning on my own.”

In 2001, Jonny formed AMI Records, his own label, and recently released his seventh compact disc. He has performed his party-hearty songs with boundless enthusiasm in 39 states plus Monterrey, San Luis Potosi and Durango, Mexico.

As for Jonny’s numerous achievements and accomplishments, this writer could rephrase what is on-line at www.jonnymartinez.net, www.facebook.com/jonnymartinez2 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonny_Martínez. Instead he will bring you up-to-date with his latest CD.

It is obvious that the leader of Grupo Bravo looks up to his father and it is because of his admiration for him that he chose to record many of his father’s hits and why he titled his seventh compact disc, “Admirando a Mi Padre.”

‘”Dad, let’s record all your favorite songs and the only one we didn’t record was ‘Nadie Nos Separa.’ But it was hard to do this album because he sang with an orchestra so we had two trumpets and two saxophones while my style is accordion and bajo sexton,” the vocalist who earned an MBA from the University of Phoenix said. “

So it was very difficult for me because of the orchestrated arrangements. Not knowing how to handle a different register and the potential of what the horns do was also very difficult. So I want to give Mario Vigil credit for the entire album because he did the rhythmic arrangements and for his musical contributions since he played guitar, bass, guitar, keyboards and even accordion on this production. And he’s so fast you want to work with him more.

A few months later, they held a CD Release party and after the father-son joined voices to sing every other verse of “Los Laureles” and “Caminos Chuecos,” Martínez says, “Dad was overwhelmed with emotion and so content that he was teary-eyed as he sang the last verse. Then looking at me straight in the eye, he asked, ‘Is this my last performance?’ in a wonderment sort of way.”

No way, since truth be told, Anselmo Martínez will be singing “Caminos Chuecos,” which has incidentally been recorded by 62 groups/bands, plus other hits during the upcoming 2016 Tejano Music Legends Cruise.

Other songs in this CD are “Amorcito Consentido,” one of Anselmo’s favorites and “Un Ratón,” which has a double connotation – just listen to it and figure it out. A hint is that it refers to the part of the body where the sun doesn’t shine. The list continues with “Mi Nombre Completo,” “Hasta Que Llegaste Tu,” an old Aguilares hit, “El Paraiso,” a gospel song Anselmo wrote, but recorded with a La Fiebre feel to it, and the beautiful, haunting “No Olvides Que Te Quiero,” which Anselmo sings in duet with Crystal Caballero.

“Then there’s ‘Anoche’ which dad wrote as a bolero and we did as a ranchera. We did happy-go-lucky lilt ala Jay Pérez with lots of progressive chords and it came out bad ass,” Jonny explained.

“I wrote the lyrics to ‘Te Quiero Dar Mi Amor’ for my fiancé when I was with her. I’m thinking, ‘I’m going to be married to her,’ so I say, ‘mi esposa.’ It’s very poetic and my son was going to do a little rap on it, but it didn’t happen. This is the single that I’m promoting right now.

“As for ‘Mi Ranchito,’ it’s about that place that is sacred to one because that’s home and that’s kind of the way that I wanted my dad to be,” said the 46-year-old artist.

Today, he could change that title to “Mi Crusero” since cruise ships is where Jonny and an impressive list of Tejano artists, plus his father have been entertaining Tejano music fans for three years.

It all came about after Jacob Dominguez jumped ship and abandoned the original crew. “Wild Bill” Perkins, who plays trumpet with Rubén Ramos and leads Calle Seis, decided to continue the project, but lacked the necessary financial backing – enter Al Duarte, a prominent label owner, plus a travel agent and they were ready to set sail. Cruise Connection, a company that caters to fans who love to cruise and listen to live Tejano music, was formed with Perkins as CEO, Jonny, COO and Duarte as CFO.

Little Joe boosted their attendance last year and this year, it is virtually sold-out with Grammy Award winner / living legend, Sunny Ozuna, headlining this year’s roster of most-popular stars.

The good news is that there’re still a few vacancy cabins.

Other Tejano artists slated to perform during this cruise are Grammy Award winners, Rubén Ramos, Hugo Guerrero, Ricardo Castillón, Chente Barrera and Jess López; Latin Grammy Award winning Joe Posada, Latin Grammy Award nominee David Marez plus Patsy Torres, Joe Jama, René and Jessy Serrata, Chris Rivera, Nikki López and Crystal Caballero.

And don’t forget that you can get up close and personal with all the stars at the meet-and-greets, the question-and-answer sessions, photo ops, autograph parties, plus after each performance during the Carnival Tejano Legends seven (7) day cruise, hosted by two-time Grammy Award winner, Raulito Navaira.

For more information, go to www.cruiseconnectionlive.com, call (512) 375-5711 or email media@cruiseconnectionlive.com.Jonny-MontageBW2

ANSELMO MARTÍNEZ: A TRUE MUSIC PIONEER

ANSELMO MARTÍNEZ: A TRUE MUSIC PIONEER

by: Ramon Hernadez

Anselmo “Chemiro” Martínez was a star before music was termed conjunto, orquesta música tejana, la onda Chicana or Tejano music.

Martínez was born on April 21, 1927 in Donley, Texas and raised in Hondo. As for his nickname, Chemo, as he was called at home, said it came about as the result of a first grade school Valentine Day’s party.2015-Anselmo-Jonny-CD-2

“You see, I got his card from my cousin Juanita ‘Janie’ Alcorta; and when the teacher read the name on the envelope, she pronounced it ‘Chemiro’ and it stuck,” Martínez said during an interview at his Westside San Antonio home.

Then without wasting one minute as he showed this writer dozens of rare photographs and records, he began to talk about his roots.

“In the 1930’s we had no newspapers, no radio, no television, no nothing. The only songs I heard were those my father and uncle sang without a mike at the bailes en los cuatro vientos (open air dances) in the ranches.”

His father, Jesús Martínez, played a 12-string guitar and sang in duet with his uncle, José Martínez, who played accordion and did second voice. Cruz Ramírez, also on accordion; and Isidro Sauceda, on violin, made up the rest of the group.

“I learned the songs they sang, ‘Clavelito,’ ‘La Malcornadora,’ ‘Las Gaviotas’ and ‘El Corrido de Los Barrientos,’ he continued. “The corrido, which was a way for people to get their news, was based on an actual 1928 story, which happened in Hondo.”

He was seven when his mother died and his father put his guitar in a flour sack and hung it on a nail on the wall. After mourning his wife for a year, his father took down his guitar.

“That’s when I started tinkering with it,” Martínez said. At 11, he made his artistic debut singing “El Rancho Grande” and “Adios María” at St. John’s Catholic Church in Hondo. From that day on, he sang Spanish-language hymns at Mass each Sunday.

In 1945, he was drafted into the Army-Air Force. During this period, he recorded “Ventanita Reja De Oro” and “Luna Platiada” direct to acetate. “It was just me and my guitar,” Martínez said.

“In 1946, I wound up in Chicago where there was one radio station that had two hours of Spanish music on Saturdays; and another station that had one hour on Sunday.”

Upon his return home, he formed El Conjunto Guana de Anselmo Martínez with Ernesto Gauna, on accordion; and Reymundo García, on drums. Not losing any time, they recorded “Bella Paloma” backed by “En Hondo Me Enamore,” then “Mi Chevrolet Coupe” backed by “Estrellita De La Vida.”

In 1948, he made his radio debut at KVOU in Uvalde. “I had to do 30 minutes and I couldn’t talk,” Martínez said laughing at the recollection. “I was shaking all over and I froze. I could only show the disc jockey a paper with the song titles – which he read. The first song I sang was ‘Comprame.’ ”

By late 1949, he had become known as “El Trovador Tejano” and he modernize his 12-string guitar with an electric pickup. In view of the word “Tejano” in his title and asked if he was the first Tejano singer, the music pioneer said, “Tejano is not a style. It just meant you came from Texas.”

In 1955, he decided to make San Antonio his home and purchased a home on Irma Avenue in the city’s Westside. However, he kept his full-time job in Hondo. That same year, he became part of the “Compositores y Vocalistas de Texas” one-hour live-television show where he sang “Todavia Yo Existo.” Other artists featured on this program, hosted by Maber, were Rosita Fernández, Lydia Mendoza, Las Hnas Mendoza, José Morante, Emma Hernández, Ada García, Daniel Garzes, Hilda Jiménez, Andy Álvarez and Trio Las Conquistadores.

Then Rosita Fernández invited him to appear on a WOAI-TV program hosted by Nick Paul. “This opened the doors for me to appear on other programs,” the Tejano Music Hall of Fame inductee said. “Programs such as ‘Red River Dave,’ who asked me if I had a charro outfit, I didn’t have one. But I went to Laredo and bought one to do the program. I guess he thought all Mexican singers had to wear a charro suit.”

Martínez also appeared on the “Arthur Godfrey Talent Show” and was invited to appear on the “Ed Sullivan Show,” but was unable to accept.

In 1956, the 88-year-old living legend joined the Pete Portillo Orchestra, where he sang and played guitar, and started touring all over Texas until 1958. Up to this time, Martínez had not recorded as El Trovador, or with Portillo’s orchestra.Anselmo-Montage-2

Noting the success of Isidro López, Juan Colorado, Balde Gonzales, Chris Sandoval, Mike Ornelas and other orchestra leaders, on January 10, 1959, after rehearsing a group of six musicians, the Anselmo Martínez Orchestra joined their ranks and made their debut at the Olmos Dinner Club.

“It was easy to get gigs without people hearing the orchestra because they had already seen and heard me sing with Pete Portillo,” Martínez said.

Martínez, vocals and guitar; Jimmy Carranza, bass; Paulino Olguin, trumpet; Jesse Olguin, saxophone; Robert Felan, saxophone; and Ernesto Flores, drums; made up the orchestra.

According to Martínez, the first single he recorded was “Te Vi La Prueba” and “Vuelve A Mi Vida” for Jaimé Wolf’s Rio Records, who only used one microphone for both vocalist and orchestra. Still both songs became hits.

Next came “Lloro Por Ti” and “La Trinidad Polka,” a 78 rpm single, on Manuel Rángel’s RMC (Rángel Music Co.) label aka Corona Records.

“This time we recorded the single with one microphone for the vocalist and a second mike for the entire orchestra,” Martínez recalled.

“Nadie Nos Separara” and “Caminos Chuecos” followed and the latter became their all-time greatest hit. It is a tune that has been recorded by, at last count, 65 different vocalists and groups. By now Rángel had 24 singles he could package into albums and the company released four albums on the RMC label.

His second album for RMC contained “El Chemiro,” an instrumental with such a unique rhythm that it became a new popular dance.

“I created a two-step dance. We had dancers and even printed a bunch of bumper stickers with the steps to the ‘Chemiro’ dance.

It was during this period that Anselmo and Jimmy Martínez recorded an album for José Morante’s Sombrero label. Next the two brothers plus Trini Martínez united to record La Muerte de José album on Del Mar Records as Los Famosos Hermanos – Los Tres Martínez.

“My music had a style that couldn’t be copied,” Martínez said. “Although my forte was the romantic bolero, I could play to a Cuban or Puerto Rican audience.”

The Tejano Music Hall of Fame inductee was so popular, Antonio Aguilar, who had met with Martínez at the Gunter Hotel here, flew him to Mexico City where he offered him a part in “El Mujeriejo,” but Martínez was afraid to leave the security of his full-time job in Hondo. Little did Martínez realize he would be so much in demand, that he would wind up quitting the next year and go on to make tens of thousands of fans happy from coast-to-coast in forty states.

In 1965, Martínez formed Chemiro Records. Four albums and over 100 singles later, he was unable to keep up with the demands of touring and heading a record label. So his brother Trini Martínez took over and changed the label’s name to BEMA after his wife, Bertha Martínez.

During his lengthy career, Martínez shared the stage with Bill Haley and the Comets, Trio Los Panchos, Celia Cruz y Sonora Mantancera, Pablo Beltran Ruiz, Mike Laurie, Irma Dorantes, Sonora Santanera, Lalo Guerrero, Maríano Merceron and Vicente Fernández to name a few.

“The youngest of my four children, John Martín Martínez, was born in 1969 and my wife started taking him to my dances since before he could walk and by four, he would take his toy guitar and stand between my guitar and bass players. He was never shy; and years later he would play the güiro,” the hall of fame inductee said of the recording artist we now know as Jonny Martínez.

 

As a band-leader, Martínez was responsible to giving many of today’s best known musicians their first chance, when they were just wet-behind-the-ear kids. Some of those musicians are Henry Balderrama, Dimas García and Danny Pérez, guitar; Cruz Hernández, bass; Joe Revélez, keyboards; Al Gómez and Charlie McBurney, trumpet; Louie Bustos and Abel Hernández, alto and tenor saxophone; plus Lencho Trujillo, accordion and bass. And even Joe Farias even recorded with Martínez.

Asked who he owed his success to; Martínez answered, “I have a daughter that’s a nun. She’s always prayed for me. And I believe that if I reached the top, it was because of her prayers. She is Sister Betty Ann Martínez, now mother superior in Newton, New Jersey,” the unstoppable 88-year-old musician said.

“I also got all my musical talents from my father. When I sing the songs I learned from him, I can still actually hear his voice; and I try to sing those songs as I remember him singing them.”

The last version of his orchestra, Martínez, vocals; Larry, accordion; Rubén García, guitar; Tony, bass; Tony Muñiz, saxophone; his nephew Jerry Martínez, trumpet; Max González, trumpet; and his oldest son Ricardo “Rick” Martínez, drums; officially called it quits in 1978.

During his long career, Martínez also recorded for the Cobra, Aguarela, and Magda labels.

So whatever happened to Anselmo Martínez? Truth be told, Martínez has not really stopped recording, or performing.

In fact, he and his son Jonny just held a CD Release Party at the Cadillac Bar on September 22 to introduce Admirando A Mi Padre, which includes seven of Chemiro’s compositions/hits from “Caminos Chuecos,” “Anoche”from the Sombrero album, “Mi Nombre Completo” from the Del Mar DM-1003 album to the hauntingly beautiful “No Te Olvides Que Te Quiero” ballad, the latter in duet with his granddaughter, Crystal M. Caballero – also “El Paraiso,” an awe inspiring gospel tune from his Christian CD.

As for the rest of the many Anselmo Martínez Orchestra musicians, the near-90 bandleader lowered his head and pointed to an album cover as he sadly said, “Jesse Herrera (trumpet player) and I are the only two remaining members from this production. So we’re all fading away.”

As for his next live performance, the pioneer orchestra leader and Jonny will be performing as part of the Tejano Legends seven-day cruise on a Carnival ship that sails from Galveston on Saturday, January 9 and returns on Saturday, January 16.

For more information, go to www.cruiseconnectionlive.com, call (512) 375-5711 or email media@cruiseconnectionlive.com.

Roxanne is Divine

Roxanne-CD2Roxanne is Divine

By Ramón Hernández

Roxanne hails from Devine. She is a fox and is delightfully divine.

The adjective is also fitting because this young songbird has truthfully and honestly been the recipient of lifesaving divine intervention, but more on that later.

For starters, Henry Balderrama of La Patria is her maternal cousin and his son, Rick, is her second cousin. Therefore, she was born into a musical family.

“Henry lived in Castroville, but I was five and living with my grandmother, Arcilia Balderrama née Guajardo Gonzales in Devine when his entire band would show up for backyard barbeques, set up and perform. And I was always amazed with the sound they created because their style was first, second and third voices. So I was just in awe of their harmonies,” Roxanne said during an interview at the Hispanic Entertainment Archives.

Growing up, she loved to sing as she cleaned her room, but she did so with her door tightly shut; and it was not until Christmas Eve 1989, when her little sisters and cousins put on a show for the family, and as they finished, they pointed to her and said, “It’s your turn.” Then, to entice her, they started pulling out money.

“I chose to sing ‘Crazy’ by Patsy Cline. However, I sang with my back to them because I was that shy. When I finished, everyone was very quiet and I was thinking, ‘say something, do something’ because I didn’t know what to think of their silence. Then they burst out clapping,” Roxanne said of the evening her family found out God had blessed her with a voice.

Highly impressed with her vocals, her mother’s brother, Albert Gonzales, who played bajo sexto with El Conjunto de Beto Sáenz brought her some David Lee Garza tapes and numerous Tejano records; and after listening to them was influenced by Laura Canales.

“He told me that I needed to sing Tejano because it was hot, yet I never imaged myself singing, much less in Spanish,” Roxanne recalled.

Two months later, the then 11-year-old warbler auditioned for and was hired by Brown Image, a country-and-western group founded by the four Gonzales brothers.

Recalling the first time she sang in front of an audience, Roxanne said, “That moment you set foot on stage, you forget all about the entire world because it’s just you, the microphone, the crowd and the vibration of the live music behind you motivating you, giving you the drive and the energy that music brings to you. And I love to dance as I sing. So I’m all over the stage.”

In October 1990 and now 12, she became Roxie T., the lead vocalist for Cariño, a Pearsall, Texas-based Tejano band featuring David Rios, bandleader and drums; Tony Gonzales, accordion; Fernando Ortega, keyboards; Manuel Del Toro, guitar; and Albert Valdez on bass.

“It was complete dedication and good preparation for what was ahead, so I practiced even if I was sick, but I never neglected my studies and still did my homework.”

A year later, when Tejano music was in full bloom, she recorded “Con Permiso Por Favor, “written by her cousin and vocal coach Jesse “Chuy” Flores. Also “La Lamparita,” as a demo for Manny Guerra. It was so good that a week later, Manny asked her mother, Hazel, if he could sign her.

“I always had my books with me and he could see that my education was very important to me. So he thought about it, decided I was too young, that I should finish school because there was still plenty of time for the music.”

In 1992, the now 14-year-old female vocalist joined La Distancia, another Pearsall-based Tejano band. This one featured Rick Chávez, keyboards; Art Rodríguez, guitar; Albert Valdez, bass; and Leo Ortegon on drums.

Next came a six-month stint with Latin Sounds and after this, her fourth band, in late 1994, she decided to form her own group with Tony Gonzales, accordion; Joe Rángel, keyboards; Del Toro, guitar; Moses Garza, Jr., bass; and Ortegon on drums.

By 1995, her band had evolved into Rudy Cortez, accordion; Jessie Martínez, keyboards; Jessie Flores, guitar; Art Hernández and Leonard Esquivel on bass; Javier Villarreal, sax; and Jimmy Edward Treviño, Jr. on drums and Manny released “Descubreme” (“Discover Me”). The single made #1 in Lubbock, where it stayed on the charts nine weeks.

Roxie T and her hit generated a lot of press as the San Antonio Tejano Review and the Corpus Christi Tejano Review wrote rave reviews on the record and full-page articles on who was then, the president of the Business Professionals of America and high school percussionist.

La Prensa de San Antonio’s write up described her voice as sweet and her spirit free … “The moment you hear her sing, the second you see her energetic performance, you’ll agree she’s going to make it big in the Tejano music world.” Then the article ends with “Watch out, because with a wink, a smile, and a song, Roxie will steal your heart.”

In May 1996 and as can be expected, the National Honor Society member graduated from Devine High School with honors. Now she was free to pursue her dreams and goals. The Tejano market was in a slump, but she forged ahead despite fewer venues.

In 2002, the voluptuous singer replaced Missy García as the lead vocalist for La Ralea, which was made up by the former musicians from Cariño and La Distancia – Gonzales, Rángel, Rodríguez, Valdez and Ortegon – in what seemed to be divine intervention.

Then came that inevitable, fatal day on July 31, 2003 when she was jogging and struck down by an F-350.

“A couple that stopped to help the driver look for me found my tennis shoe in the road, but they couldn’t find me. After the police and sheriff’s deputies arrived, they led volunteers on a search party and it took them three hours to find me on the other side of the road. I had landed on a fire ant mound and it served as cushion for my head, but the ants were crawling all over my face and neck. My left leg was broken in three places, I had bled out through my femoral artery and my left arm was pretty bad.

“I was also DOA when they found me. The lady who stopped to help happened to be a nurse and revived me with CPR. Air Life was called, than up in the air, in the helicopter, my heart stopped again and flight nurses revived me again. I was flown to University Hospital where my heart stopped one more time,” Roxanne said.

“After I was revived a third time, a team of doctors decided my body needed to rest and induced me into a coma. After a few days they gave me a blood transfusion and I woke up all by myself.”

When she was released, doctors told her that she would not walk for two to three years and eight months later she proved them wrong by taking her first steps that led to her full recovery.

God had given her the precious gift of life four times. Now he touched and healed her physical ailments. What we do with his gifts is up to us, we just have to keep on praying and never lose hope.

Faced with medical bills, living expenses, other mounting bills and being unable to perform, much less walk, it was time to reassess her priorities and decide how to take care of her earthly problems.

“I’ve always been very spiritual, but when something like this happens, you have to stop to reflect. Every test builds character and I’m a work in progress,” Roxanne said, her words coupled with a sweet smile and a mesmerizing gaze.

“I got home and immediately started researching nursing schools and determined I could become an LVN in one year as opposed to going for RN, which requires three to four years of studies. In winter of 2006, I passed the boards, was certificated and went to work for Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a civilian nurse for STDC (the South Texas Detention Complex).

“After I became an LVN, it was not a question of never singing again. It was going to get done.”

Fate stepped in 2010 when Randy Caballero included Roxanne in two recordings in the movie soundtrack of “In Search of the American Dream.” She sang “Bello Amor” with actor-scriptwriter-director Baldemar Rodríguez plus co-wrote and sang “What It Takes” in duet with Hugo Guerrero.

The following year she rejoined La Ralea with whom Roxanne stayed until 2012. Then the band started to record, but the project never came to fruition, so in September 2013 she decided to take action and entered Gilbert Velásquez’s studio. The curvaceous songbird performed a couple of her new tunes at the 2014 Tejano Music Convention in Las Vegas and her compact disc, which was released on J-Rod Records, was released last October. A month later, she sang alongside Rubén Ramos and David Marez during the grand finale at the Tejano Music Awards.

Not one to procrastinate, she formed her own band with Marcelo Gauna on accordion; Chris Guerrero, keyboards; Jimmy Castillo, guitar; Red Balderrama, bass; and Joe Posada, Jr. on drums; immediately after the awards show.

“Siete Dias,” the first single off this singer-songwriter’s “Desperté Soñando” CD is presently on KXTN’s playlist and now she is promoting “No Te Voy a Rogar” all over Texas and the rest of the United States.

This writer’s personal picks are her heartfelt renditions of Henry and Ricky Balderrama’s “Perdonarte No Puedo” and the poignant “Lo Que Me Lastimaste,” her own composition.

“Today I look at myself in the mirror and I think that God was good to me. I love what I do and my hope is to go as far as I can go, to go above the bar because what I bring to Tejano music is that I sing each song as it has been lived. That’s why I picked tunes that I could relate to for the album, because I want every song to be believable to my audience. I want to make them feel the hurt, the happiness or the passion in every word that comes out of my mouth.

For an insight into Roxanne’s psyche and credo, one must read the inspiring liner notes in her CD which began with “All honor and glory belong to our heavenly Father … for always being there and shinning a path to this unbelievable place … This project began in a dream and He did the rest.”

“I’ve lived all kinds of different situations and circumstances; and because I’m a survivor, I want to incorporate my nursing and visit hospitals and help people. In fact, I’m starting a health blog on YouTube. It’s called Cardio Cumbia and Wellness combining activity and diet,” the thirty-something starlet added.

Roxanne has had her share of discouraging setbacks, but thanks to God, has conquered countless difficulties and obstacles, therefore we at StreetTalk & River City Attractions  know that with her tenacity, determination, and perseverance, Roxanne is going to achieve the stardom she deserves.

So there’s much more to Roxanne, but only a few inches of newspaper space to share so much more, as the fact that in spite of her youth, she has a son, Daniel, who plays guitar, has a pretty good vocal tone and will most likely follow his mother’s footsteps.

If you’ve never seen her in action, Roxanne will be performing at the First Annual Hunter’s Festival Friday in Pearsall, Texas on Friday, September 18.

For bookings, contact Hernando “Spiderman” Abilez at (210) 772-1271. You can also e-mail him at dj_spyder2002@yahoo.com.

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Cruising with Sunny

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Cruising with Sunny

Story and photo by:  Ramón Hernández

Remember the mid-1970s when la palomia started cruising in downtown San Antonio in their lowriders and other vehicles with their speakers blaring out Sunny and the Sunglows/Sunliners hits being played from their “8 Track” & cassette decks. “Back then there wasn’t  ITunes,  mp3’s,  Cds”. With a cassette deck we created something that should have been called “MY TUNE”s !

The same was happening from El Paso to Odessa to Corpus Christi, only the name of main drag changed, but the music was the same – “Talk to Me,” “Put Me in Jail,” “Runaway,” “Smile Now, Cry Later,” and other great lowriding rolas.

Now Sunny Ozuna is taking his fans on a different cruising scene — on a Carnival ship that sails from Galveston on Saturday, January 9 and returns on Saturday, January 16.

“This will be my first cruise, so I’m excited, especially about the places that we’re going to see,” the Grammy Award winner said during an interview at his Northeast San Antonio home.

The Caribbean Sea port calls for this cruise are the Mahogany Bay silky sand beaches and diamond-clear seas in Isla Rotan; Honduras; Belize, a former British colony on the eastern coast of Central America; and Cozumel, off the eastern coast of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

“We (Sunny and his wife, Janie) were just in Las Vegas and for the first time caught a couple of burlesque shows and I understand the ship features some Vegas-style shows, so we also look forward to seeing those at sea.

During this cruise, Sunny and every artist will be backed up by Calle Seis, the official Tejano Cruise band. Jimmy Edward had nothing but great things to say about his experience, solo que con mas ganas quiero hir (that’s all the more reason I look forward to going).

Another piece of good news is that this Tejano music hall of fame inductee is already in the studio working on his next album and hopefully it will be out in time to buy it as a Christmas present.

Remember when he would release an English album followed by a Spanish album and vice versa; and when he had various titles? i.e. “Little Brown Eyed Soul,” “El Monito de Chocolate,” “The Versatile …,” “El Charro Chaparro,” Young, Gifted and Brown,” “El Internacional,” “El Preferido,” and “El Orgullo de Texas.” Well, this one is titled “El Cancioncero” for his own Keylock record label.

“Es todo (It’s all) Mexicano and a little mariachi, like ‘No Te Vayas Palomita,’ which I originally wrote for Jimmy Edward. Joe Revelez did all the initial tracks on this variation of mariachi, conjunto and Tejano. Then there’s a great beer drinking song titled “’Botella Maldita.’ That means it will have horns with a little bit of accordion,” Sunny explained.

“It certainly has to have actual instruments because electronic generated sounds can never replace what a human musician can produce with has fingers. So when people hear, as an example, ‘Los Chismes,’ which I also wrote, they will go, wow!

“While I prefer the human touch, I want to go into a different level with some of the instruments. So the flutes and some voices will be duplicated electronically for a different upbeat effect that again, will have listeners going, wow. How was that sound created?”

This should whet your appetite on this production. As for the “Gira de Las Leyendas 2015” with Freddie Martínez, Augustine Ramírez, Carlos Guzmán and Joe Bravo, if you or any of your friends missed any of their shows in Texas, they will close out the year with a New Year’s Eve Dance at Casino del Sol in Tucson, Arizona.

The legends would also love to perform in your state, and/or area. All you have to do is to call Freddie at (361) 992-8411 or Sunny at (210) 653-4802.

In closing, don’t forget that you can get up close and personal with Sunny at the meet-and-greets, the question-and-answer sessions, photo ops, autograph parties, and after each performance during the Carnival Tejano Legends seven (7) day cruise, hosted by two-time Grammy Award winner, Raulito Navaira.

Other Tejano artists slated to perform during this cruise are Grammy Award winners, Rubén Ramos, Hugo Guerrero, Ricardo Castillón, Chente Barrera and Jess López; Latin Grammy Award winning Joe Posada, Grammy Award nominee Jonny Martinez, Latin Grammy Award nominee David Marez plus Anselmo Martínez, Patsy Torres, Joe Jama, René and Jessy Serrata, Chris Rivera, Nikki López and Crystal Caballero.

For more information, go to www.cruiseconnectionlive.com, call (512) 375-5711 or email media@cruiseconnectionlive.com.

SKYROCKET!! The Band

 

SKYROCKET!! The Band

A rocking fun loving -band. On a typical hot sticky night at SAM’S BURGER JOINT, It’s Skyrocket the band.

I had a super time listening to some awesome classic rock songs executed to perfection.

With a common love of the music of the seventy’s. Sky rocket dose a it right. The place was packed and the music as they would say back in the day was RIGHT ON. .

There was up to seven members on a tightly pack stage and no miss steps. With over 300 songs to choose from there play list, the responsibility did not fall on just one or two members to do the singing. Depending on the tune being played, the person that best fit the song was center stage.

What I mostly like was I never could predict what song was next,

Hook on a feeling, Blondie’s “Heart of glass”, Tom Petty’s “Don’t do me like that”, Abba “Dancing queen” even one song that got me swaying, “Gangsters paradise”.

A sign that you have a good band is by looking at the audience. Feel the VIBE. Jumping up and down, and singing along. Yup that’s what was going on that evening.

After the gig, I talk to some of the band members. Then ask,

How many gigs a year. About 100 to 110 gig’s a year.

Do you play San Antonio often? , about 4 times a year

How did you find the audience tonight? , Terrific a, it was a great night.

If you were to pick your favorite song, what would it be? It’s always changing there is no one song.

Band members are

Benjamin Hotchkiss – vocals, percussion, guitar Darin Murphy – drums, vocals, guitar Johnny Goudie – keyboards, vocals, guitar Kyle Crusham – guitar, keyboards Cory Glaeser – bass guitar, vocals Paul English – guitar, vocals Trish Murphy – vocals, guitar, percussion Chris Gebhard – vocals, guitar, percussion

What type of band would call Sky Rocket? A cover band Or a party band? Some would say both. I say it’s a dam good band. I can’t wait for you guy’s to come on back.

Thanks Sky Rocket.

Story and pictures by:  Joseph Martinez

Need more information? Click below.

http://www.skyrockettheband.com/

https://www.facebook.com/skyrockettheband

https://twitter.com/skyrocketing

https://instagram.com/skyrockettheband/

Alamo City Comic Con, Sept 11

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Alamo City Comic Con, Sept 11-13