Cruzados
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| Cruzados | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Genre(s) | Rock, Chicano rock |
| Years active | 1984-1988 |
| Label(s) | Arista |
| Associated acts | The Plugz, Tito & Tarantula, The JuJu Hounds, The Psychotic Aztecs |
| Former members | |
| Tito Larriva (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) Marshall Rohner (lead guitar, backing vocals) - deceased Steven Hufsteter (lead guitar) Tony Marsico (bass, backing vocals) Chalo Quintana (drums, percussion) |
|
The Cruzados were an 1980's rock band from Los Angeles, California. The Cruzados was formed by the former members of punk band The Plugz; Tito Larriva, Tony Marsico, and Chalo Quintana. Where The Plugz were punk, the Cruzados were a bluesier and more introspective Chicano rock band.
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[edit] Formation and success
The Cruzados were formed in 1984 by former Plugz members Tito Larriva, Tony Marsico, and Chalo Quintana. Later they recruited guitarist Steven Hufsteter. Although they were often picked as "the next big thing" by both their musical peers and music critics, the group would remain together for only a pair of albums, Cruzados and After Dark[1]. During their brief four-year span, the Cruzados opened shows for the likes of Fleetwood Mac, INXS, and as well as appearing at Farm Aid (singing "This Land Is Your Land," with such renowned artists as Neil Young and Arlo Guthrie). The two albums that the quartet issued for the Arista Records label, received praise from the likes of Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, David Byrne, Brian Setzer, and Billy Joel, but the group disbanded in 1988.
[edit] Cruzados
The band's self-titled album was released in 1985. Though essentially a rock album, it featured the blues-style trained Steven Hufsteter on lead guitar, making many of the songs on it (such as "Wasted Years", "Rising Sun", "Hanging Out in California", "Cryin' Eyes", and "Just Like Roses") into a mix of blues and rock, similar to the style of legendary guitarists such as Angus Young and Jimmy Page.
[edit] After Dark
Following the release of the Cruzados, Hufsteter was replaced by Marshall Rohner, who would appear on the After Dark, released in 1987. Since Hufsteter had been one of the main songwriters on the debut album, all of the songs were written by Larriva or in collaboration with Marsico, with the exception of the song "Last Ride"--written by Larriva, Rohner, and Marsico.
[edit] Disbandment
After the release of After Dark, the band broke up in 1988. Little is known about the reasons why they split up, but Larriva says,
"The Cruzados I guess it was at the tail end of what I would call the punk scene, you know sort of the third stage or something. At that stage of my band we were I think just realizing that this was something we were gonna to do for the rest of out lives probably. It wasn’t just something that we were doing to pass the time or something. So we were working hard at the time and I think that the audience in LA we had been around for a long time so they were very enthusiastic, but at the same time they were unforgiving."[2]
[edit] Life after The Cruzados
In 1989, the film Road House featured Larriva, Rohner, Marsico, and Quintana as the band performing during the opening credits and credited as the "Crusades".
In 1991, Quintana became the drummer for Izzy Stradlin & the JuJu Hounds. Marsico became bassist for Matthew Sweet in 1993 until present and recorded sessions with Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Roger Daltrey and Marianne Faithfull, among others.
After the band ended, Larriva continued on to form the band Tito & Tarantula. On their debut album, Tarantism, Charlie Quintana and Tony Marsico made contributions as session musicians on several tracks. Marsico also co-wrote one track on Tarantism with Larriva, Charlie Midnight, and his own wife, Valerie Marsico; the song "Back to the House That Love Built", which was later featured in the film Desperado.
Tito & Tarantula also performed their own version of a rare Cruzados song called "After Dark", written by Hufsteter and Larriva. The Tito & Tarantula version appeared on Tarantism and the From Dusk Till Dawn soundtrack[3]. The Cruzados version remained unreleased until 2001's Unreleased Early Recordings album. Hufsteter later contributed to Tito & Tarantula's third album, Little Bitch, as a session musician and co-songwriter. In 2002 he joined the band as one of the its lead guitarists and co-songwriters, and has been a member ever since. However, the only Tito & Tarantula album he has played on so far is 2002's Andalucia.
Shortly after the Cruzados' disbandment, Rohner became a guitarist for the band T.S.O.L but died in October 2005 of AIDS-related causes.
In 2001, a Cruzados compilation album was released called Unreleased Early Recordings. It featured a few previously unreleased tracks, along with several alternate recordings of various tracks from the first album, including a recording of "Rising Sun" featuring Bob Dylan on harmonica.
[edit] Covers
Jenny Morris included a cover of the Cruzados song Rising Sun on her 1987 album, Body and Soul.
[edit] Personnel
| 1984-1987 Original line-up |
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|---|---|
| 1987-1988 Members at the dissolution of the band |
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[edit] Discography
| Title | Year | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Cruzados | 1985 | Studio album |
| After Dark | 1987 | Studio album |
| Unreleased Early Recordings | 2001 | Post-disbandment compilation album |
| Mexico and Mariachis: Music from and Inspired by Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi Trilogy | 2004 | Various artists compilation album, features "Flor De Mal" and "Just Like Roses" |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- thecruzados.com: The website by bassist Tony Marsico
- Social Distortion: Drummer Chalo Quintana from themusicedge.com
- IMDB site for Tito Larravia
- VH1.com listing for the Cruzados
- Tucson Weekly article on Tito Larravia
