What's New- Page 5

Pepe Marquez- excellent singer from Santa Barbara, California has a new CD out called "Dance Mamacita." Highlights include the title track and a cover of the classic "Never Can Say Goodbye." Most of the songs on the album were written by Carlos Guillen, who's an excellent writer in many styles. The songs on the CD are a mix of r&b, salsa, and some nice ballads, both in English and in Spanish. Pepe's previous CD called "Just For You" featured covers of "Grazing In the Grass," "That's All," Debarge's "All This Love," and Neil Sedaka's "Working On a Groovy Thing." My favorite track on this collection is a cumbia called "Juana La Cubana/Mambo U/K. Pepe has been singing for over 20 years and has opened for artists such as Malo, Tierra, and Little Joe y La Familia. For more information visit www.pepemarquez.com

La Banda Skalavera- A nine-piece Los Angeles band managed by East L.A. music pioneer Max Uballez. Max was the leader of 60s Eastside band, The Romancers, who are featured on this website. The music of La Banda Skalavera is best described in their bio as being "firmly rooted in rancheras and rock & roll, brimming with ska and punk attitude, a dab of reggae, cumbia, and heavy metal interwoven with a Raza groove." I haven't heard them live yet, but I understand they have a lot of energy on stage and are very exciting. They also write all their own songs. Their CD, "No Esta Mal," was just released in December of 2004 with national distribution. A national tour is in the works. For more information on La Banda Skalavera, contact Max Uballez at makzrecords@aol.com or xelaco@aol.com.

La Banda Skalavera
"No Esta Mal" (2004)

Anthony Prieto- A smooth r&b vocalist from Southern California, who can best be described as a romantic singer, since most of the tracks on his self-titled CD are love songs. His music also has pop and Latin influences. Anthony Prieto has performed on the bill with some of the top Chicano artists such as Malo, Tierra, Kid Frost, and A Lighter Shade of Brown. He's also got a new CD out called "Life, Love, & Desire" (2004). For more info visit www.lacimamusic.com or check out his link at www.amazon.com.

Anthony Prieto
"Anthony Prieto" (2000)

Kings & Priests- Excellent Christian band with roots in the Eastside Sound of East L.A. Their first CD, "Somebody Loves You" has ten strong tracks including "Christianized" covers of classics such as "Gloria" ("J.E.S.U.S."), "Suavecito" ("Jesu Cristo"), The Young Rascals' "I've Been Lonely Too Long," and "Slippin' Into Darkness." Kings & Priests have an excellent lead singer in Art "Tudy" Delgado and the band can play. They have a second CD, "Kings & Priests II" and are part of a compilation CD called Christian Oldies "Heaven Bound," which also includes tracks by Little Willie G., Gene Chandler, and others. For more information on Kings & Priests and to purchase their CDs, visit www.kingsandpriests.com.

Kings & Priests
"Somebody Loves You"

Robert "Froggie" Camarena- Check out the website and new CD by the former member of Ruben & the Jets. The CD is called "Ride Y etto Ride" and has 11 songs written, arranged, and sung by "Froggie." The songs are r&b and Latin flavored and you can hear excerpts in MP3 or Real Audio formats on his site. Some titles include, "Cruisin' (Mi Barrio Loca)," and "Sancho." The web address is www.quixoteproductions.com.

"Ride Y etto Ride" Robert "Froggie" Camarena (2004)

The Armenta Brothers- a new CD entitiled "Lifetime Achievement" has just been released by Brown Bag Records by the legendary pioneers of Chicano rock. The band from East L.A. goes back to the fifies when they played venues such as the Zenda Ballroom and El Monte Legion Stadium. This CD contains both instrumentals and vocals, covering classic songs such as "Pachuco Hop," "Night Train/All Night Long," "Corrido Rock," and "Stardust." The album also features guest vocalists Rudy Salas of Tierra, Steve Salas, Hank Castro, and Sal Chico. It also has an intro by legendary dj, Huggy Boy. The Armenta Brothers can still rock. My favorite cut is Frogman Henry's "Ain't Got No Home" with an excellent lead vocal by Rudy Salas. For more info on the CD or to order it visit, www.brownbagrecords.com. See CD below.

"Lifetime Achievement" The Armenta Brothers (2004)

The Sleepwalkers- Excellent band from the San Diego area that have been active in Southern California, South Texas and Mexico since the 80s. Their influences are rock & roll, blues, jump blues, rockabilly, country, with a splash of Tex Mex. They've headlined many shows and have opened for artists such as the Texas Tornados, Freddy Fender, Flaco Jimenez, Big Bad Voodoo Daddies, Link Wray, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Graham Parker, the Blazers, and the Blasters, among others. They've been written about in periodicals around the U.S. as well as in Europe. Their 1999 CD "Can't Stop Rockin,'" on Relampago-go Records, reminds me of the early Lobos in its rootsy, rockabilly style. These guys can play, sing, write good songs, and are continuing to evolve. Their bass player, "Action" Andy sent me an audio cassette with rough mixes of the songs they're currently recording for their next CD, and they're branching out into other genres, including some Latin-flavored grooves. Other members of the band are Johnny Valenzuela, vocals; Sean Styles, drums; and Gig Fortier, guitar. For information on the band contact Andrew Rasmussen at: (619) 474-4182 or Jaras101@cs.com.

"Can't Stop Rockin"
The Sleepwalkers (1999)