Santa Fe and The Fat City Horns, and friends: September 3rd, the Gutierrez throw-down

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

September 3rd, the Gutierrez throw-down

Wow. Was that ever fine! Ronnie Gutierrez and his Dad Mike are two talented and classy, delightful people. We were blessed by their breathtaking generosity after the band's gear was stolen, and now we are blessed to have them share their talents with us. The crowd absolutely loved it.

It was salsa / percussion heaven tonight. I joked that the stage was the Sam Ash Percussion Warehouse Annex tonight.

Above, David Romero (another Earth, Wind & Fire alum, currently with Wayne Newton) gets down on cowbell. Also in the house last night, the esteemed Bernie Dresel.

Maybe it was the high intensity salsa groove that set the tone for the evening, or maybe it was that plus that the band has a new sense of confidence and renewal now that the new CD is mixed and mastered and at the replication plant. Dunno. All I know is that the energy level and crispness was possibly at an all-time high. The band ripped into the new originals and played the cover tunes with in-your-face abandon.

Regarding the new CD, you are gonna be thrilled and proud. I am wearin' out my dub, studyin' every lick. It is wonderful.

BTW- Joerg, our most kinetic Santa Fe fan (and lead performer in the fabulous Cirque "Ka" show at MGM Grand), got remanded to the Seat of Funk tonight -- where he actually sat for about a half second, LOL!

Below: More shots from a glorious evening.

Yeah, man. It was great fun. Don't forget, Santa Fe and The Fat City Horns will be in concert at Spring Mountain State Park this Friday evening at 7 pm. Be there.

BTW- I put together a quick YouTube video in iMovie to promote the upcoming Sons of Champlin dates at South Point on the 18th and 19th. Really cool to see that Bill's peeps have posted it both to Bill's website and The Sons website. Flattered. I used a few pics from Champlin night with Santa Fe and Bill and Jerry in the studio. The tune excerpt is "Soul Explosion" from the Sons' badass new CD "Hip Li'l Dreams."

TUESDAY UPDATES

Jerry, Rochon, and Eddie Garcia of Santa Fe on a German TV show with Bill Champlin in 1994. Awesome.

Also, from Robert Conti, "No T-shirts on stage," an audio clip site purportedly of Paul Anka going off (doing his finest "Casino" flick Joe Pesci) on one of his band cats. LOL!

Then, this link from my hip Cuz Jojo over in Pacific Grove in the Peoples' Republic, Casiopea, Japanese fusion band.

WEDNESDAY UPDATE

A cool email Jerry got (reprinted w/permission of the sender):

Hi Jerry,

Just wanted to drop you a line and tell you what an inspiration you and the guys in Santa Fe are! I'm a musician, a sax player, and I've been working professionally since I was about 16, the last 12 years. I am currently the Musical Director onboard a Cruise Ship and live in Long Beach, CA. Every time I am home I make the "pilgrimage" to Las Vegas to come and check you guys out whenever I can. I saw you guys open the Pearl Theatre on my last break, the next time I saw you guys Bobby Shew was there hanging out with Tom Dilebrio and then I came back a few weeks later and there was Tom Scott! Every musician who comes through by band out here gets to check out your DVD and you have a huge following out here at Royal Caribbean - there are 32 musicians on this ship at any one time. A whole bunch of the guys are are planning a trip out to Vegas in early January, largely to see you guys, possibly the tightest band most of us have ever heard. Seeing you guys play 2 full sets after doing your regular gig, (Clint Holmes, Mama Mia etc...) is incredible, knowing that the 2nd set is really your third of the night! It really re-enforces my faith that I made the right decision pursuing music as a career every time I see your band.

I have "Mosaic" on the ship this week, of course I saw them open for you at the Pearl, and we hung out talking and admiring your band. Every time I come to one of your gigs I always bump into Sean from Mosaic, usually with his dad!

I could go on, but I just want to thank you for inspiring not only me but every musician that comes through my band and every musician that has ever seen you guys play. I can't wait to get my fix of Santa Fe when I get off this ship in November!

Thanks again Jerry,

One of your many fans,

- Alex

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