| Introductory
Article: Mark Guerrero
by Mark Guerrero
In 1998,
I was asked to do a column for a local Palm Springs, California
rock newspaper by a long-time friend, drummer/recording engineer,
Leon Becken. At first I was very reluctant because I'm
so busy with my musical and personal activities and don't
enjoy the pressure of deadlines. However, after much
prodding from Leon, I came to realize it could be a unique
opportunity. I decided I'd like my column to be about
Chicano music and musicians. Aside from the fact that
I am a Chicano musician who writes and records what I define
as Chicano rock, I know there are many talented Chicano musicians
who have not received their fair share of mainstream attention
in the music industry and the media. In my experience
I've found that if you're Chicano and you want to record mainstream
rock, the record companies don't think you'll be accepted
nationally, and if you want to record Chicano music, they
think there's not a big enough market for it. So you
are neither fish nor fowl and you wind up either not recording
or recording and not promoted because they don't know how
to market you. Despite these obstacles, some have enjoyed
a certain amount of notoriety such as Los Lobos, Tierra, and
El Chicano to name a few, but you don't really hear them on
the radio or see any of them on MTV or VH1 either. Therefore,
the following articles are to spotlight various Chicano musical
artists, many of whom I've known or worked with over the years.
When I started my website in December of 1998, it made sense
to put my articles up on internet to reach a wider audience.
At this point I would like it understood that I love rock
& roll, reggae, r&b, and country music and have
performed and written songs in all those genres. The artists
that most influenced and inspired me are The Beatles, Bob
Dylan, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young,
James Taylor, and Steely Dan. On the other hand, I grew
up in East L.A. in the midst of a musical renaissance in the
60's that produced Chicano rock groups such as The Premiers,
The Blendells, and Cannibal & the Headhunters. All
these groups enjoyed national hits and Cannibal & the
Headhunters even toured with The Beatles in 1965. I
had a popular teenage band at the time called Mark & the
Escorts, who was managed by Billy Cardenas, the same manager
of the aforementioned groups. Also my father is Chicano
music legend Lalo Guerrero.
By way
of introduction, I'll give you some of my musical background.
In the 70's, I recorded as a solo artist for Ode Records,
produced by the legendary Lou Adler, who also produced The
Mamas & the Papas and Carole King. I also recorded
solo for Capitol Records and, with my group Tango, for A&M
Records. My song "Pre-Columbian Dream" was
recorded by Herb Alpert in 1983 and I've written and recorded
many songs with my father. I've performed live with
my dad many times, the most memorable being a concert in Paris,
France in February on 1998 and a show in his hometown of Tucson,
Arizona in May of 1999. I've also performed live with
artists such as Eric Burdon, Ry Cooder, and Flaco Jimenez,
in addition to recording with Chan Romero, Harry Nilsson,
and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos. I'm one of the featured
artists in a book called "Land of a Thousand Dances"
by Tom Waldman and David Reyes, which chronicles the history
of Chicano rock in Southern California. It's published
by University of New Mexico Press (1998). I also have
two songs on a CD entitled "The Chicano Alliance"
on Our Town Records (1998), which also features recordings
by Tierra, Malo, and El Chicano. In January 2001, an
album was released entitled, "Eastside Sound, Vol. 2,
Featuring Mark & the Escorts" on the Dionysus record
label. It contains four songs recorded by my teenage
band, Mark & the Escorts, in 1965. Articles I've
written on my website have appeared in magazines in the U.S.
and England, as well as on other websites. I look forward
to introducing you to many interesting and talented artists
on my website and hope that meeting them through my articles
will lead you to their music.
Update
In 2002,
I put together a band as a vehicle for my original music called
Mark Guerrero & Radio Aztlán. We've performed on
the bill with Tierra, Malo, El Chicano, Thee Midniters with
Special Guest Little Willie G., and Quetzal, at venues including
The Galaxy Theater in Santa Ana, CA, The Hop in Puente Hills,
CA, La Placita Village in Tucson, Arizona, The Gene Autry
Museum in Los Angeles, The John Anson Ford Amphitheater in
Hollywood, CA, and The Kodak Theater in Hollywood, CA.
In 2003, I performed as a member of the legendary Chicano/Native
American band, Redbone. In 2004, I had two more of my
songs covered; Trini Lopez, "Oh Maria," and Chan
Romero, "Rockin' Like There's No Tomorrow."
For more information and further updates click here
to see my bio.
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