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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, the 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'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.  In 2002, I put together a compilation CD, called "On the Boulevard," that contains my best recordings from 1972 through 1988. The "Eastside Sound" and "On the Boulevard" CDs are available on the "Mark Guerrero Recordings" page of this website.

    I look forward to introducing you to many interesting and talented artists and hope that meeting them through these articles will lead you to their music.

Contact me at:  info@markguerrero.net

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