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Santiago Alonso Durango (born 1957) is a Colombian–American attorney and retired musician. He is best known for his work with the 1980s punk rock groups
A graduate of the Illinois Criminal Law Digest
March 2003. URL retrieved 13 August 2009. Durango was an
Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun was one of the first, one of the longest running, and one of the most recognized Chicago punk bands. They are considered by many to be the most important band in the history of Chicago punk rock and credited with creating “the Chi ...
and Big Black.
Life and career
Durango is the son of a Colombian doctor. His family moved toChicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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in the US when he was ten years old.
A graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois ...
, Durango was an original member of Naked Raygun
Naked Raygun was one of the first, one of the longest running, and one of the most recognized Chicago punk bands. They are considered by many to be the most important band in the history of Chicago punk rock and credited with creating “the Chi ...
, one of Chicago's first punk rock bands. Naked Raygun fan Steve Albini
Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal ...
was forming a band called Big Black and asked both Durango and Raygun lead singer Jeff Pezzati to join. Durango remained a member until the group broke up in 1987. Critic Mark Deming of AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
describes Santiago and Albini as a good pairing musically; "his muscular guitar sound was the ideal match of Albini's jagged, metallic tone."
After Big Black ended, Durango attended law school. During that time he formed a new band called Arsenal with bassist Malachi Ritscher
Malachi Ritscher (Mark David Ritscher; January 13, 1954 – November 3, 2006) was an American musician, recording engineer, human rights activist, and anti-war protester. He gained fame through his self-immolation, an act of protest against the 200 ...
. Together they released the ''Manipulator'' EP on Touch and Go Records in 1988. In 1990, Durango teamed up with Pierre Kezdy
Pierre Kezdy (January 4, 1962 – October 9, 2020) was an American bass player, known for playing with various Chicago punk bands, including Naked Raygun, Pegboy, Strike Under, Arsenal, and Trial By Fire. He was also the younger brother of ...
of Naked Raygun on bass to record and release a second Arsenal EP entitled '' Factory Smog Is a Sign of Progress''.
After law school, in his first case he helped recover Cynthia Plastercaster's bronze casts of the genitalia of various rock and roll artists, including that of Jimi Hendrix. He handled some litigation for Chicago's Touch and Go Records
Touch and Go Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois. After its genesis as a handmade fanzine in 1979, it grew into one of the key record labels in the American 1980s underground and alternative rock scenes. ...
. As of 2003,March 2003. URL retrieved 13 August 2009. Durango was an
appellate
In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...
defender based in Ottawa, Illinois
Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the navigable Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The Illinois River is a conduit for river barges and connects Lake Michigan at Chicago, to the Mississippi Ri ...
.
In 2006, Durango participated in a brief Big Black reunion to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Touch and Go Records.
Durango's first wife was singer Cath Carroll
Cath Carroll (born 25 August 1960)Larkin, Colin (1997) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music'', Virgin Books, , pp. 96–7 is a British musician and music journalist.
Career
Carroll was born in Chipping Sodbury, England, but raised in Swa ...
. His second wife was children's book author Julia Durango; they are divorced and have two sons, Kyle and Ryan.
References