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Tierra:  Funkafied Salsa 

By Mark Guerrero

    Tierra is a Chicano band from East L.A. who at their commercial peak had a hit song, "Together," which reached number 18 on the national charts; appeared on numerous national television programs, such as, "American Bandstand," "Soul Train," "Solid Gold" and the "American Music Awards; and did an east coast tour, which included a performance at Carnegie Hall.

    Tierra was formed in 1973 by the Rudy and Steve Salas, brothers who had been singing together professionally since the early 60's when they were pre-teens.  I saw them perform for the first time at St. Alphonsus Auditorium when I was still in junior high. I would guess Steve was about 12 and Rudy 14.  I remember being impressed with their voices and tight harmonies.  They were wearing suits and ties and were fronting a band called the Jaguars, who were very musically polished and probably in their mid to late teens.  I had already formed my first band, "Mark & the Escorts" and had been playing around East L.A. My band and The Jaguars with the Salas Brothers eventually played the same venues, such as, the Big Union and Little Union Halls, Rainbow Gardens in Pomona, the Alexandria Hotel in downtown L.A. and the aforementioned St. Alphonsus Auditorium.  We eventually had the same manager, Billy Cardenas, and recorded for producer Eddie Davis, who released many records by Eastside groups at the time.  In 1966, Eddie put out a compilation album entitled, "West Coast Eastside Revue," which had cuts by the Salas Brothers, Mark & the Escorts, the Blendells, the Premiers and Cannibal & the Headhunters, among others.

    In the early 70's our paths crossed again as we once again shared the same manager, Art Brambila, who happened to be their uncle.  Steve and Rudy Salas had formed Tierra and I was a solo artist at the time, backed by a band that would later become my group, Tango.  Art helped me secure a record deal with Capitol Records, while Tierra signed with 20th Century Records.  Brambila had a third group, Yaqui, who recorded for Playboy Records.  Tierra's first album, "Tierra," was very inspired and energetic. It may not have been as polished as later efforts, but I think it's their best.  The album had a lot of good songs, the best being "Barrio Suite," an all-time classic Chicano anthem.  The original Tierra had many talented musicians. Their keyboard player, David Torres, is presently musical director of Poncho Sanchez' great salsa band, and Conrad Lozano, who played bass on some cuts, shortly thereafter joined Los Lobos, with whom he still plays.

    The word "Tierra" means earth, land, soil, in Spanish. It was chosen for its rootsy back to basics connotation and it fits.  Tierra's style has always had many different musical elements, including, R&B, doo wop, Latin and rock. They've managed to survive as a group for over 25 years, although Steve Salas has been in and out of the group in the last 10 years.  For a while Steve had a group called Los Rebels, and sang rock in Spanish, and later formed another band called Steve Salas and the Original Members of Tierra. Steve Salas has one of the best and most recognizable voices to come out of the Chicano rock scene.  Aside from his own hit with Tierra, he sang the lead vocal on El Chicanos' 1972 hit, "Brown-Eyed Girl," a cover of Van Morrison's 1967 classic song.  On the other hand, Rudy Salas is an excellent lead guitarist and producer/arranger.  Steve and Rudy have also written some good songs, together and separately.  Personally, I would like to see them together in Tierra, but they're both valid musical artists together or apart.

    Tierra has recorded for many record labels, including the aforementioned 20th Century, Salsol, Boardwalk, Satellite, Fiesta and currently, Thump Records.  They have been on the same bill with Ruben Blades, Tito Puente, The Miami Sound Machine, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Bob Dylan and Chuck Berry.  In 1995, they did an album of doo wop-style music, mostly cover tunes, called "Street Corner Gold," and recently recorded a live album with El Chicano and Malo entitled, "Latin Legends Live," both released by Thump Records.  The three groups toured jointly in support of the latter album.  Their latest studio CD entitled "Dos Mundos-Two Worlds," released in 2001, is Tierra's first totally bilingual album.  It features a song written by and featuring Little Joe, and the first single off the album is called "Lady In the Moonlight."  This album and a recently released "Tierra- Greatest Hits" collection are also available on the Thump label.  All in all, I think the Salas Brothers have done quite well for themselves for a couple of kids from East L.A.  Look for CDs by Tierra at your local record stores or order from their current label, Thump Records, whose phone number is 1-909-595-2144 and website is www.thumprecords.com.

Update

     On July 20th and September 22nd of 2002, my new band, Mark Guerrero & Radio Aztlán, performed on the bill with Tierra, and Malo, at The Galaxy Theater in Santa Ana, CA and The Hop in Puente Hills, CA.  On November 1, 2003, we played with Tierra, El Chicano, Thee Midniters with Special Guest Little Willie G., The Premiers, and others at the Latin Oldies Festival 2003 in San Bernardino, CA.

Real Audio Sound Bytes

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Barrio Suite - Tierra 1973

Lady in the Moonlight - Tierra 2001

Contact me at:  info@markguerrero.net

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