Los Cruzados
Encyclopedia
The Cruzados were a 1980s rock band from Los Angeles, California
. The Cruzados evolved out of the punk
band The Plugz
; Tito Larriva
, Steven Hufsteter, Chalo Quintana
and Tony Marsico.
, members Tito Larriva
, Steven Hufsteter, Chalo Quintana
and Tony Marsico. They were picked as "the next big thing" by both their musical peers and music critics, they received praise from the likes of Bob Dylan
, John Fogerty
, David Byrne
, Brian Setzer
, and Billy Joel
. The Cruzados would record three albums for Arista Records
but only two would be released, Cruzados
and After Dark
., the group disbanded in 1990. The Cruzados also performed the song Don't Throw Stones at the beginning of the 1989 movie Roadhouse.
, Hufsteter left the band. He was replaced by Dino's Revenge guitarist Marshall Rohner
, who would record on the second album After Dark
, released in 1987.
started his current band Tito & Tarantula
Known for their appearance in the 1995 cult classic "From Dusk Till Dawn" written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Robert Rodriquez From Dusk Till Dawn
soundtrack.
Steven Hufsteter went on to form his own band in 1985 called Shrine which was the reason he left the Cruzados.
He recently started playing with Tito again in Tito & Tarantula
.
In 1991, Quintana
became the drummer for Izzy Stradlin & the JuJu Hounds
and is currently the drummer for Social Distortion and Mike Ness's solo touring band. 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, Rohner
became a guitarist for the band T.S.O.L but died in October 2005 of AIDS
-related causes.
.
Jimmy Amason - lead guitar
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. The Cruzados evolved out of the punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Plugz
The Plugz
The Plugz were a Mexican-American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 1977. They and The Zeros were among the first Chicano punk bands, although several Latino garage rock bands, such as Thee Midniters and Question Mark & the Mysterians, predated them...
; Tito Larriva
Tito Larriva
-Early life:Larriva was born in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska, and El Paso, Texas. As a child he played the violin in the school orchestra and sang in the church and school choirs where he met his wife Janet Carroll. In 1972 Larriva snuck into Yale University for a full...
, Steven Hufsteter, Chalo Quintana
Charlie Quintana
Charlie Quintana was born in 1962, in El Paso, TX. Quintana was A drummer for the old school punk band Social Distortion, who joined in 2000 as the replacement of Chuck Biscuits , following the death of the band's former guitarist Dennis Danell...
and Tony Marsico.
Formation and success
The Cruzados were formed in 1984 by the 3rd incarnation of the PlugzThe Plugz
The Plugz were a Mexican-American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 1977. They and The Zeros were among the first Chicano punk bands, although several Latino garage rock bands, such as Thee Midniters and Question Mark & the Mysterians, predated them...
, members Tito Larriva
Tito Larriva
-Early life:Larriva was born in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska, and El Paso, Texas. As a child he played the violin in the school orchestra and sang in the church and school choirs where he met his wife Janet Carroll. In 1972 Larriva snuck into Yale University for a full...
, Steven Hufsteter, Chalo Quintana
Charlie Quintana
Charlie Quintana was born in 1962, in El Paso, TX. Quintana was A drummer for the old school punk band Social Distortion, who joined in 2000 as the replacement of Chuck Biscuits , following the death of the band's former guitarist Dennis Danell...
and Tony Marsico. They were picked as "the next big thing" by both their musical peers and music critics, they received praise from the likes of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, John Fogerty
John Fogerty
John Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest...
, David Byrne
David Byrne (musician)
David Byrne is a musician and artist, best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the American new wave band Talking Heads, which was active between 1975 and 1991. Since then, Byrne has released his own solo recordings and worked with various media including film, photography,...
, Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He first found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly revival group The Stray Cats, and revitalized his career in the late 1990s with a jazz-oriented big band.-Career:Setzer was born in Massapequa, New York...
, and Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
. The Cruzados would record three albums for Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
but only two would be released, Cruzados
Cruzados (album)
Cruzados is the 1985 debut album of Los Angeles rock band the Cruzados. It featured the band's "classic line-up" of Tito Larriva, Steven Hufsteter, Tony Marsico, and Chalo Quintana...
and After Dark
After Dark (Cruzados album)
After Dark is the second and last album by Los Angeles chicano rock band Cruzados, released in 1987. This album is lesser known to its 1985 preceder, as is the line-up for the band, which features guitarist Marshall Rohner in the place of Steven Hufsteter...
., the group disbanded in 1990. The Cruzados also performed the song Don't Throw Stones at the beginning of the 1989 movie Roadhouse.
After Dark
Following the release of the CruzadosCruzados (album)
Cruzados is the 1985 debut album of Los Angeles rock band the Cruzados. It featured the band's "classic line-up" of Tito Larriva, Steven Hufsteter, Tony Marsico, and Chalo Quintana...
, Hufsteter left the band. He was replaced by Dino's Revenge guitarist Marshall Rohner
Marshall Rohner
Marshall Lambert Rohner was a guitarist whose credits include: TSOL, The Cruzados, Jimmy and The Mustangs, Kenny Brown and Dino's Revenge....
, who would record on the second album After Dark
After Dark (Cruzados album)
After Dark is the second and last album by Los Angeles chicano rock band Cruzados, released in 1987. This album is lesser known to its 1985 preceder, as is the line-up for the band, which features guitarist Marshall Rohner in the place of Steven Hufsteter...
, released in 1987.
Disbandment
The band recorded one more album for Arista records that was never released (no title).The Cruzados went through many line up changes but the band finally fizzled out by 1990. Little is known about the reasons why they split up, but Larriva says,"The Cruzados started at the tail end of the punk scene, the way I see it, we were punk rockers at heart and in true punk rock fashion we said fuck you to the punk establishment because for us it was over. We changed our name from PlugzThe PlugzThe Plugz were a Mexican-American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 1977. They and The Zeros were among the first Chicano punk bands, although several Latino garage rock bands, such as Thee Midniters and Question Mark & the Mysterians, predated them...
to the Cruzados and went in a totally different musical direction. I felt we were on to something but like most bands in the mid 80's, coke and too much fun cut the ride short".
Life after The Cruzados
After the band broke up, LarrivaTito Larriva
-Early life:Larriva was born in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska, and El Paso, Texas. As a child he played the violin in the school orchestra and sang in the church and school choirs where he met his wife Janet Carroll. In 1972 Larriva snuck into Yale University for a full...
started his current band Tito & Tarantula
Tito & Tarantula
Tito & Tarantula are a chicano rock band formed in Hollywood California in 1992. The band is best known for its songs, "After Dark", "Back to the House That Love Built", "Strange Face of Love", and "Angry Cockroaches", as well as for its role in Robert Rodriguez's film From Dusk Till Dawn as the...
Known for their appearance in the 1995 cult classic "From Dusk Till Dawn" written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Robert Rodriquez From Dusk Till Dawn
From Dusk Till Dawn
From Dusk till Dawn is a 1996 horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino. The movie stars Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino and Juliette Lewis.-Plot:...
soundtrack.
Steven Hufsteter went on to form his own band in 1985 called Shrine which was the reason he left the Cruzados.
He recently started playing with Tito again in Tito & Tarantula
Tito & Tarantula
Tito & Tarantula are a chicano rock band formed in Hollywood California in 1992. The band is best known for its songs, "After Dark", "Back to the House That Love Built", "Strange Face of Love", and "Angry Cockroaches", as well as for its role in Robert Rodriguez's film From Dusk Till Dawn as the...
.
In 1991, Quintana
Charlie Quintana
Charlie Quintana was born in 1962, in El Paso, TX. Quintana was A drummer for the old school punk band Social Distortion, who joined in 2000 as the replacement of Chuck Biscuits , following the death of the band's former guitarist Dennis Danell...
became the drummer for Izzy Stradlin & the JuJu Hounds
Izzy Stradlin
Jeffrey Dean Isbell , known by his stage name Izzy Stradlin, is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, which he left at the height of its fame in 1991. Following his departure, he led his own band Izzy...
and is currently the drummer for Social Distortion and Mike Ness's solo touring band. Marsico became bassist for Matthew Sweet
Matthew Sweet
Sidney Matthew Sweet is an American alternative rock/power pop musician. He was part of the burgeoning Athens, Georgia music scene in the early and mid-1980s before gaining commercial success during the early 1990s...
in 1993 until present and recorded sessions with Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Roger Daltrey
Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey, CBE , is an English singer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also...
and Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
, among others, Rohner
Marshall Rohner
Marshall Lambert Rohner was a guitarist whose credits include: TSOL, The Cruzados, Jimmy and The Mustangs, Kenny Brown and Dino's Revenge....
became a guitarist for the band T.S.O.L but died in October 2005 of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
-related causes.
Covers
Jenny Morris included a cover of the Cruzados song Rising Sun on her 1987 album, Body and SoulBody and Soul (Jenny Morris album)
Body and Soul is the first solo studio album by New Zealand singer Jenny Morris, released in July 1987 by Warner Music Group.-Track listing:#"Body and Soul" – 3:17...
.
Personnel
| 1984-1987 Original line-up |
|
|---|---|
| 1987-1988 Members at the dissolution of the band |
Tito Larriva -Early life:Larriva was born in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, and grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska, and El Paso, Texas. As a child he played the violin in the school orchestra and sang in the church and school choirs where he met his wife Janet Carroll. In 1972 Larriva snuck into Yale University for a full... - rhythm guitar Rhythm guitar Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... , lead vocals Charlie Quintana Charlie Quintana was born in 1962, in El Paso, TX. Quintana was A drummer for the old school punk band Social Distortion, who joined in 2000 as the replacement of Chuck Biscuits , following the death of the band's former guitarist Dennis Danell... - drums Drum kit A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... , percussion Percussion instrument A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... Bass guitar The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... , backing vocals Marshall Rohner Marshall Lambert Rohner was a guitarist whose credits include: TSOL, The Cruzados, Jimmy and The Mustangs, Kenny Brown and Dino's Revenge.... - lead guitar Lead guitar Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... , backing vocals |
Discography
| Title | Year | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Cruzados Cruzados (album) Cruzados is the 1985 debut album of Los Angeles rock band the Cruzados. It featured the band's "classic line-up" of Tito Larriva, Steven Hufsteter, Tony Marsico, and Chalo Quintana... |
1985 1985 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1985.-January–March:*January 1 - The newest music video channel, VH-1, debuts on American cable. It is aimed at an older demographic than its sister station, MTV... |
Studio album Studio album A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or... |
| After Dark After Dark (Cruzados album) After Dark is the second and last album by Los Angeles chicano rock band Cruzados, released in 1987. This album is lesser known to its 1985 preceder, as is the line-up for the band, which features guitarist Marshall Rohner in the place of Steven Hufsteter... |
1987 1987 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... |
Studio album Studio album A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or... |
| Mexico and Mariachis: Music from and Inspired by Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi Trilogy | 2004 2004 in music See also:* 2004 in music Record labels established in 2004-January:*January 1**The Vienna New Year's Concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti.**Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol.... |
Various artists compilation album, features "Flor De Mal" and "Just Like Roses" |