Wikipedia

Los Illegals

Los Illegalsis an AmericanChicano punkbandfromLos Angeles.

Los Illegals
OriginLos Angeles
GenresChicano punk "Chunk Rock"
Years active1979 – present
LabelsA&M records "Internal Exile" produced by Mick Ronson and Los Illegals, Executive producer David Anderle
MembersWillie Herrón
Bill Reyes
Manuel Valdez
Tony Valdez
Jesus Velo

Formed in 1979 artist/muralist Willie Herrón (keyboards, vocals), civil rights activist Jesus "Xiuy" Velo (bass), drummer Bill Reyes, and guitarist brothers Manuel and Antonio "Tony" Valdez (who also perform with their Mariachi parents & relatives). They were one of the early framers of U.S. Roc en Espanol in the early 1980s.

TheSmithsonian Institutionexhibition, American Sabor, called Los Illegals "one of the most important East L.A. bands of the 1980s".[1]

Background

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Released in 1981, the song "El Lay" featured Herron singing about his stepfather's arrest for washing dishes in L.A. The song became aRazaAnthem and brought the group's rising notoriety to Europe and Japan.[citation needed]Its cover art was meant to evoke the danger of the punk rock movement and the cultural roots of the group.[citation needed]The group was the first of the Club Vex groups to sign with a major label releasingInternal Exileproduced byDavid Bowie'sMick RonsononA&M recordsin 1983. The song "El Lay" was included in the album. But the relationship soon soured after the label rejected their next LP (Burning Youth) and partnership with UK's Stiff Record's producer Wally Brill (999,Elvis Costello) for its experimentation with Mexican instrumentation coupled with the band's unwillingness to use stereotypical icons (velvet Elvis paintings etc.) for publicity. Tied to a label unwilling to release it, and in debt for the LP's recording costs, they then illegally distributed it on cassette only in Mexico—for free.[citation needed]

The band struck a deal with theFranciscan nunsto open and run the legendary Club Vex atSelf Help Graphics,Catholic Youth Organizationbuilding in East Los Angeles.[2]There, they booked and introduced Eastside to Westside groups (such asThe Brat,X,Bad Religion,andThee Undertakers) to open up new horizons and enable themselves and others to play and tour with other major 1980s groups includingThe Clash,Bauhaus,The Motels,andBerlin.A visit to the club byLos Lobos(then an acoustic traditionalist Mexican folk group) convinced the band to rethink itself, return electric, and follow the path set by Club Vex. They were contemporaries ofThe Plugzfrom Texas andThe Zerosof San Diego. The venue's street credibility kickstarted a music and art renaissance crossing cultural and geographical boundaries. For this, theLA Weeklynamed them among the ten best bands from East L.A.[3]

In the early 1980s they were one of the first Chicano bands touring into Mexico playing alongside and meeting pioneer rockeros likeEl TriandTijuana No,Jaguares and Maldita Vecindad gaining respect on both sides of the border despite the original hostility displayed against them. They were actually being pelted on stage in both the U.S. (being called "wetbacks") and Mexico (this time being called"Pochos"- not truly Mexican). They shared experiences and knowledge with the fledgling scene winning the first" Outstanding Roc En Espanol Artist "California Music Award (BAMMY) from the Critics and Readers polls of theBAM/RocketandTower Pulsemagazines.[citation needed]

Outspoken diplomatically and politically, the band has finally been receiving its long overdue accolades and is featured in various prominent music history and university textbooks. Most notable areBarrio Rhythm,[4]andLand of 1,000 dances: The History of Chicanos in Rock & Roll.[5]

In film, itsAgnès Varda's French Masterpiece "Mur Murs",the Soundtrack forStand and Deliver,and with Chuck D. ofPublic Enemy,Laurie Anderson and Cassandra Wilson in the D.A. Penebaker documentary and soundtrack:Searching for Jimi Hendrix(Capital).[citation needed]Also appearing alongsideSantana,War, & Los Lobos on the historical compilationAy Califas! History of Raza Rock of the 70's & 80's.[6]

In the face of anti-illegal immigrant legislation they are on the move again this time as "cultural collaborators": beginning with the highly praisedCD,Concrete Blonde y Los Illegals[7]on Miles Copeland's ARK-21/Virgin label. The vocals were primarily in Spanish. They accompanied the release of their CD with a performance withConcrete Blondeat the House of Blues on May 5, 1997.[8]In that show, the band changed the refrain for "Still in Hollywood" to "Still in the Barrio", and featured covers ofLed Zeppelin's"Immigrant Song" andJimi Hendrix's"Little Wing". MTV credited Los Illegals for "not only sav[ing] the show from the depths of sentimentality but also [giving] it meaning and resonance beyond that night."[9]The album, however, seemed to have been less well-received.Los Angeles Timesreviewer Enrique Lopetegui rated the album 2-½ out of 4 stars, opining that "there are plenty of good moments here" but "very few strong songs"; he singled out the "Chicano rap" record "Ode to Rosa Lopez", about a witness in theO. J. Simpson murder case,for praise as the "riskiest" track on the album.[10]Jae-Ha Kim of theChicago Sun-Timesrated it 1-½ out of 4 stars, finding a lack of cohesion and a failure to showcase Napolitano's distinctive voice.[11]Thom Owens ofAllMusic's rating was 2-½ out of 5 stars, finding the project to be "a stylistic departure that reads better than it plays" due to weak songwriting.[12]

They also collaborated withTijuanapunk legends "Mercado Negro" for the Rockefeller US/Mexico Culture Fund sponsored compilation CD,MexAmerica[13]produced by Rubén Guevara for Angelino Records, later with Emmy winning journalistRuben Martinezand Rock en Espanol stars "Maldita Vecindad"for the theater piece" Border Ballad "[14](the companion to his Book "Crossing Over: Tales From the New Frontier" ), also writing, and performing with new talent (i.e. the EMI soundtrack of the Showtime series "Resurrection Boulevard" as their alter egos "The Chizmosos" ). Lately they co-produced a series of racially diverse SRO "no coffee or bongos" electronica/noise poetry theater performances ( "The Spine of Califas" ) with ofSan Diego's legendaryTaco Shop Poetsand several other performers/artists to which a college tour, book, CD and short film are in the offering and planning stages. The group is the subject of two documentaries of their history as Pachuco punks one entitled "Destined to fuck up"[15]and the other a National PBS documentary special on Chicano Rock & Roll for airing in 2006.[16]

It has been said about the group that in this era of disposable pop culture where "commitment and consciousness" are words passed around and marketed all too casually, "Los Illegals have a history of actively and physically proving the power of music to unite people."[2]

Discography

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See also

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References

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  1. ^"Los Illegals".American Sabor.Smithsonian Institution.RetrievedJuly 31,2018.
  2. ^abThreadgould, Michelle (2016)."Iconic East LA Punk Band Los Illegals on Why Chicano Punk Is an Act of Resistance".Remezcla.
  3. ^Whiteside, Jonny (November 3, 2016)."The 10 Best Bands From East L.A."L.A. Weekly.RetrievedJuly 31,2018.
  4. ^Loza, Steven (April 1, 1993).Barrio Rhythm: MEXICAN AMERICAN MUSIC IN LOS ANGELES.University of Illinois Press.ISBN978-0252062889.
  5. ^David Reyes; Tom Waldman (March 16, 2009).Land of a Thousand Dances: Chicano Rock 'n' Roll from Southern California.University of New Mexico Press.ISBN978-0826347220.
  6. ^Various Artists (January 13, 1998). "Ay Califas: Raza Rock of the 70's & 80's" (Audio CD). Rhino.ASINB000003458.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  7. ^"Concrete Blonde Y Los Illegals".Archived fromthe originalon May 10, 2008.
  8. ^Doss, Yvette C. (May 3, 1997)."More 'El Lay' Stories".Los Angeles Times.ISSN0458-3035.RetrievedJuly 31,2018.
  9. ^"Concrete Blonde y Los Illegals Rock L. A."MTV.May 8, 1987. Archived fromthe originalon March 5, 2014.
  10. ^Lopetegui, Enrique (May 3, 1997)."A Chicano Celebration".Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^Jae-Ha Kim (May 4, 1997)."Spin Control".Chicago Sun-Times.Archived fromthe originalon April 2, 2015 – via highbeam.
  12. ^"Concrete Blonde y Los Illegals".AllMusic.RetrievedMarch 3,2015.
  13. ^Mexamérica.Los Angeles.OCLC78725248.{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help)
  14. ^Miller, Tim (June 28, 2000)."A Multimedia Migrant Experience".LatinoLA.
  15. ^Buenrostro, Eliana."'Destined to Fuck Up': Los Illegals, Chicano Punk and the Immigration Politics and Art of 1980s Los Angeles "(MA Project).{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  16. ^"Chicano Rock! The Sounds of East Los Angeles".PBS.Archived fromthe originalon December 17, 2008.
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