The Men from
S.O.U.N.D.: My East L.A. Band 1966-68
by Mark Guerrero
My first band, Mark & the Escorts, changed its name in
1966 because, in the words of Bob Dylan, the times they were
a-changin'. Names like the Escorts, the Playboys, and
the Sensations were no longer in vogue. The swingin'
sixties were now in full bloom with the British Invasion,
Motown, Stax-Volt, teeny boppers, mini skirts, and long hair
on men. So in the spirit of the times, Mark & the
Escorts became the Men from S.O.U.N.D. The name was
a play on the name of a popular spy television show, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The "Sound"
part came from a British horn band, Sounds Incorporated,
who were one of the opening acts for the Beatles on on their
1965 U.S. tour. I attended the show at the Hollywood
Bowl that year, a concert that included my hometown musical
compatriots, Cannibal & the Headhunters. The letters
in S.O.U.N.D. didn't really stand for anything, but we made up some raunchy ones for our own amusement, which
shall remain classified in the interest of good taste.
The Men from S.O.U.N.D. had at least three incarnations as
far as band members and sound. At this time we were
all between fifteen and seventeen years of age. Richard
Rosas on bass and Ernie Hernandez on drums, were a fixture
in all my bands in the 60s and all the way through 1974.
The first version of the Men From S.O.U.N.D. was made up of
members of the final version of Mark & the Escorts.
Aside from the core members of myself, Richard and Ernie,
we had Rick Mojarro on guitar, vocals, and harmonica, Richard
Morin on guitar and vocals, and Joe Cabral on Farfisa organ.
The gig that stands out for this first version of the Men
From S.O.U.N.D. was when we backed up singer Dobie Gray, who
was riding the crest of his first hit record "In Crowd."
It was a dance and show at the Big Union Hall in the city
of Vernon. He even came to a rehearsal with us during
the day. We were pretty excited, being a band in our
mid-teens, that we got to back up a singer with a major hit
record.
The first big change for the better for the Men From S.O.U.N.D.
was the addition of vocalist George Ochoa. By this time,
I was already singing lead vocals, as was Ernie and Rick Mojarro,
but I felt we needed an up front, stand alone, lead singer
to add to the mix. George was already well-known on
the Eastside as one of the Slauson Brothers vocal group.
George and his brother John would perform around the
circuit, usually backed by the Impalas. They also had
a record out, "Rosalie," which later found its way onto the
now classic "West Coast Eastside Revue" album, first
released in 1967. At 15 years of age,
George was already a very good singer with some good chops.
I was particularly impressed by the way he sang r&b tunes
such as The Temptations' "Ain't Too Proud To Beg."
After Joe Cabral, Richard Morin, and Rick Mojarro left the
band (over a period of a few months and I don't remember how
or why), we added Tony Rodas on Farfisa organ. We met
Tony through our drummer, the aforementioned Ernie Hernandez.
Tony was a talented keyboard player, who had some formal training
on the instrument. This second version of the Men From
S.O.U.N.D. with a lineup of myself , George Ochoa, Tony Rodas,
Ernie Hernandez, and Richard Rosas, became the best band I
had in the 60s. We had three strong lead singers, lots
of harmony, and a solid rhythm section. We did everything
from British Invasion and Motown, to r&b and doo wop.
We played virtually every weekend on the Eastside circuit
and were very popular. Our most memorable performance
was at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, where I was
then a junior. It was for a two-part assembly, which
accommodated the entire student body. There were four
bands on the bill, the Men From S.O.U.N.D., our chief rivals
the Exotics, Euphoria (led by Conrad Lozano, later to be
bassist of Los Lobos), and another band, whose name I can't
remember. We played a set that included "See See Rider" by The
Animals, "96 Tears" by Question Mark & the Mysterions, the
doo wop classic "I Only Have Eyes For You," the
aforementioned "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" by the Temptations,
and "Taxman" by the Beatles. We were gigging
every weekend and battle tested, so we burned through the
set and played and sang very well. Perhaps it's a
testament to how memorable the experience was that I
remember what songs we did forty years later. We
received an overwhelming response from the audience, which
included girls screaming as if for a British Invasion band.
To perform and get that kind of reaction at ones own high
school was very meaningful and satisfying. We went
over so well that the
boy's vice principal, who was feared by the male student body
since he was not beyond using corporal punishment in the form
of a solid wooden paddle, carried my amp across the lunch
area in full view of my fellow students, as I walked behind
carrying my guitar. It was definitely a triumphant
day for me and the band.
The third incarnation of the Men From S.O.U.N.D. was composed
of myself, Ernie Hernandez, Richard Rosas, Steve Verdugo,
and Richard Morin, who returned for his second stint with
the band. Steve Verdugo played keyboard, guitar, and
was a lead vocalist. He was a talented singer and songwriter,
who later made at least one solo record for Eddie Davis' Gordo
Records and subsequently was a member of Olde Tyme Religion,
who recorded two singles for Warner Brothers Records in the
early 70s. Interestingly enough, George Ochoa, our former
singer, was also a member of Olde Tyme Religion and on those
recordings. George wrote and sang one side
of each of the 45 rpm singles and Steve wrote and sang the
flip sides. This last version of the Men From S.O.U.N.D.
lasted about six months to a year, ending in late 1968.
We did songs like "Magical Mystery Tour" by the
Beatles and songs by Cream, Steppenwolf, and Buffalo Springfield.
The psychedelic period was in full swing and we were caught
up in it. We played a lot of gigs, but the most
significant was a concert at Alhambra High School on the bill
with the Standells, who had a big hit with "Dirty Water,"
and he Second Helping, whose lead singer was Kenny Loggins.
Unfortunately, none of the versions of
the Men From S.O.U.N.D. made a record. However we did do one demo in 1968, after Steve Verdugo left the band, composed of two of my songs, "The
Peddler" and "Lovely People." "The
Peddler" was about a drug dealer and was influenced musically
by Steppenwolf and Cream. "Lovely People"
had an acoustic guitar and was influenced by the Beatles and
the Lovin' Spoonful. Ernie Hernandez sang lead on "The
Peddler" and I did the lead vocal on "Lovely People."
I still have the acetate. After the departure of Richard
Morin, Richard Rosas, Ernie Hernandez, and I played as a trio
for a while before adding Tony Rodas back into the band.
By this time we had changed our name to Nineteen Eighty-Four,
based on the title of the classic novel by George Orwell.
Members of
The Men From S.O.U.N.D. (1966-68)
Mark Guerrero- lead
vocals, lead guitar
Richard Rosas- bass
Ernie Hernandez- drums, lead and harmony vocals
Tony Rodas- Farfisa organ
George Ochoa- lead vocals
Richard Mojarro- lead vocals, guitar, harmonica (1966)
Richard Morin- lead vocals, guitar (1968)
Steve Verdugo- lead vocals, electric piano (1968)
Men
from S.O.U.N.D. Gallery
The Men from S.O.U.N.D.
(1966)
(left
to right-
Tony Rodas, Richard Rosas, Mark Guerrero,
George Ochoa, and Ernie Hernandez)
The Men From S.O.U.N.D.
Band Card (1966)
The top
image aobve is the inside of the card. The bottom
image above is the outside of the card, which folded
to the right of the image of John Lennon. The
Man From U.N.C.L.E. television show, which inspired
the band name, used a silhouetted image of a man with
a gun as a logo. We used a silhouette of Lennon
with a guitar.)
The Men from S.O.U.N.D. (1966)
(top
left- Richard Rosas, top right- Tony Rodas)
(center- Mark Guerrero)
(bottom left- George Ochoa,
bottom right- Ernie Hernandez)
The Men
From S.O.U.N.D. Phase One (1966)
The Men from S.O.U.N.D. back Dobie Gray Big Union Hall- Vernon, CA (April 9, 1966)
(left
to right- Richard Rosas {out of frame}, Richard
Morin, Ernie Hernandez,
Dobie Gray, and Richard Mojarro, and Mark Guerrero)
Richard Morin, Dobie Gray, and Ernie Hernandez Big Union
Hall- Vernon, CA (April 9, 1966)
Banner on the El
Monte Community Center (1966)
(Thee
Enchantments and The Men From S.O.U.N.D. on bill)
The Men from S.O.U.N.D. (1966) (El Monte Community Center- El Monte, CA)
(left
to right-
Richard Morin, Ernie Hernandez, Mark Guerrero,
Richard Mojarro, and Joe Cabral)
Mark Guerrero (1966) (El Monte Community Center)
The Men from S.O.U.N.D. (1966) (El Monte Community Center- El Monte, CA)
(left to right- Mark Guerrero, Richard Rosas,
and Ernie Hernandez)
(At left with blue vest is the late Eddie
Serrano of Thee Enchantments, who later would
sing with Olde Tyme Religion, Yaqui, and
Cannibal & the Headhunters.)
The Men from S.O.U.N.D. (1966)
(left to right- George Ochoa, Mark Guerrero,
Richard Mojarro, and Ernie Hernandez)
Men From
S.O.U.N.D. Phase Two (1966-67)
The Men From
S.O.U.N.D. (1967)
(left
to right-
Richard Rosas (half out of frame), Mark Guerrero, George Ochoa,
Ernie
Hernandez, and Tony Rodas)
The Men From
S.O.U.N.D. (1967)
(left
to right-Richard Rosas {behind microphone), Mark
Guerrero, George Ochoa,
Tony Rodas, and Ernie Hernandez)
The Men From S.O.U.N.D.
(1967)
(left
to right- Richard Rosas, George Ochoa, Mark
Guerrero, and Tony Rodas)
The Men From S.O.U.N.D.
(1967)
(left
to right- Richard Rosas, Mark Guerrero, Ernie
Hernandez, and George Ochoa)
The Men From
S.O.U.N.D. (1967) (Alhambra High School gymnasium)
left
to right in band- Ernie Hernandez, Mark Guerrero, Anthony Baray,
Richard Rosas, and George Ochoa)
(Anthony Baray of The Emeralds
was sitting in for Tony Rodas)
Men From
S.O.U.N.D. Phase Three (1968)
The Men from S.O.U.N.D.
(1968) (Northridge, CA in the San Fernando Valley)
(left
to right-
Richard Morin, Steve Verdugo, Mark Guerrero,
Ernie Hernandez, and Richard Rosas)
Steve Verdugo, Ernie
Hernandez, and Richard Morin
(1968)
The Second Helping was a
band led by Kenny Loggins, who had attended nearby
San Gabriel Mission High School. Four years
after this show,
Kenny burst upon the national music scene with
Loggins & Messina.
The Men From S.O.U.N.D. (1968)
(left
to right-
Ernie Hernandez, Mark Guerrero, Richard
Rosas, Richard Morin, and Steve Verdugo)
