Los Illegals
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Los Illegals is an American
Chicano punk Chicano rock is rock music performed by Mexican American (Chicano) groups or music with themes derived from Chicano culture. Chicano Rock, to a great extent, does not refer to any single style or approach. Some of these groups do not sing in Span ...
band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...
from
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. 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. The
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exhibition, American Sabor, called Los Illegals "one of the most important East L.A. bands of the 1980s".


Background

Released in 1981, the song "El Lay" featured Herron singing about his stepfather's arrest for washing dishes in L.A. The song became a Raza Anthem and brought the group's rising notoriety to Europe and Japan. Its cover art was meant to evoke the danger of the punk rock movement and the cultural roots of the group. The group was the first of the Club Vex groups to sign with a major label releasing ''Internal Exile'' produced by
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
's
Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session music ...
on
A&M records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
in 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 Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
) 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. The band struck a deal with the
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to open and run the legendary Club Vex at
Self Help Graphics Self-Help Graphics & Art, Inc. is a community arts center with a mix Beaux-Arts and vernacular architecture in East Los Angeles, California, United States. The building was built in 1927, and was designed by Postle & Postle. Formed during the cul ...
,
Catholic Youth Organization Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) is an international Catholic youth movement founded by Bishop Bernard Sheil in Chicago in 1930. It would become a major factor in the development of race relations in the US Catholic Church following World War ...
building in East Los Angeles. There, they booked and introduced Eastside to Westside groups (such as
The Brat ''The Brat'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code comedy film directed by John Ford, starring Sally O'Neil, and featuring Virginia Cherrill. The film is based on the 1917 play by Maude Fulton. A previous silent film had been made in 1919 with Alla Nazim ...
, X,
Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...
, and Thee Undertakers) to open up new horizons and enable themselves and others to play and tour with other major 1980s groups including
The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
,
Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...
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The Motels The Motels are an American new wave band from Berkeley, California, that is best known for the singles "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer", each of which peaked at No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, in 1982 and 1983, respectively. In ...
, and
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. A visit to the club by
Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, ...
(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 of
The Plugz The Plugz (also known as "Los Plugz") were a Latino punk band from Los Angeles that formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1984. They and The Zeros were among the first Latino punk bands, although several garage rock bands, such as Thee Midniters an ...
from Texas and The Zeros of San Diego. The venue's street credibility kickstarted a music and art renaissance crossing cultural and geographical boundaries. For this, the ''
LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...
'' named them among the ten best bands from East L.A. In the early 1980s they were one of the first Chicano bands touring into Mexico playing alongside and meeting pioneer rockeros like El Tri and
Tijuana No Tijuana No! is a Mexican ska, rock and punk band from Tijuana, Baja California, México. The band is considered a punk rock, ska band in Mexico and influenced by The Clash, Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols and Black Flag. In the beginning their n ...
, 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 "
Pocho ''Pocho'' (feminine: ''pocha'') is slang in Spanish used in Mexico to refer to Mexican Americans and Mexican emigrants. It is often used pejoratively to describe a Mexican expatriate or a person of Mexican ancestry who lacks fluency or the ab ...
s"- 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 the ''BAM/Rocket'' and ''Tower Pulse'' magazines. 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 are ''Barrio Rhythm'', and ''Land of 1,000 dances: The History of Chicanos in Rock & Roll''. In film, its
Agnès Varda Agnès Varda (; born Arlette Varda; 30 May 1928 – 29 March 2019) was a Belgian-born French film director, screenwriter, photographer, and artist. Her pioneering work was central to the development of the widely influential French New Wave film ...
's French Masterpiece " Mur Murs", the Soundtrack for ''Stand and Deliver'', and with Chuck D. of
Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...
, Laurie Anderson and Cassandra Wilson in the D.A. Penebaker documentary and soundtrack: ''Searching for Jimi Hendrix'' (Capital). Also appearing alongside
Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...
, War, & Los Lobos on the historical compilation ''Ay Califas! History of Raza Rock of the 70's & 80's''. In the face of anti-illegal immigrant legislation they are on the move again this time as "cultural collaborators": beginning with the highly praised CD, ''
Concrete Blonde y Los Illegals An album produced as a joint effort between Johnette Napolitano and James Mankey, previously founding members of alternative rock band Concrete Blonde, and L.A. pachucho punk band Los Illegals. It contains a blend of hard rock and Latin music. ...
'' on Miles Copeland's ARK-21/Virgin label. The vocals were primarily in Spanish. They accompanied the release of their CD with a performance with
Concrete Blonde Concrete Blonde was an American alternative rock band from Hollywood, California. They were initially active from 1982 to 1995, and reunited twice: first from 2001 to 2004, and again from 2010 to 2012. They were best known for their album ''Bloo ...
at the House of Blues on May 5, 1997. In that show, the band changed the refrain for "Still in Hollywood" to "Still in the Barrio", and featured covers of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" and Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing". MTV credited Los Illegals for "not only sav ngthe show from the depths of sentimentality but also
iving Iving may refer to: *Intravenous therapy Intravenous therapy (abbreviated as IV therapy) is a medical technique that administers fluids, medications and nutrients directly into a person's vein. The intravenous route of administration is commonly ...
it meaning and resonance beyond that night." The album, however, seemed to have been less well-received. ''
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'' reviewer 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 the
O. J. Simpson murder case ''The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson'' was a criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court starting in 1994, in which O. J. Simpson, a former National Football League (NFL) player, broadcaster and actor, was ...
, for praise as the "riskiest" track on the album. Jae-Ha Kim of the ''
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'' rated it 1-½ out of 4 stars, finding a lack of cohesion and a failure to showcase Napolitano's distinctive voice. Thom Owens 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 databas ...
'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. They also collaborated with
Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and
< ...
punk legends "Mercado Negro" for the Rockefeller US/Mexico Culture Fund sponsored compilation CD, ''MexAmerica'' produced by Rubén Guevara for Angelino Records, later with Emmy winning journalist Ruben Martinez and Rock en Espanol stars "
Maldita Vecindad La Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del Quinto Patio (, usually called only "La Maldita") is a band formed in Mexico City in 1985. They are pioneers of rock en español and one of the most influential rock bands in Mexico. They first made an impac ...
" for the theater piece "Border Ballad" (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 of
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
's legendary
Taco Shop Poets Taco Shop Poets is the name of a poetry and spoken word collective formed in 1994 at a Poetry Series, Taco Shop Poetry, hosted by Adolfo Guzman-Lopez at the Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park, San Diego. It grew to a collective of over ...
and 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" and the other a National PBS documentary special on Chicano Rock & Roll for airing in 2006. 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."


Discography

*Albums ** Internal Exile -1983 **
Concrete Blonde y Los Illegals An album produced as a joint effort between Johnette Napolitano and James Mankey, previously founding members of alternative rock band Concrete Blonde, and L.A. pachucho punk band Los Illegals. It contains a blend of hard rock and Latin music. ...
-1997 *Singles **Ellay – 1981


See also

* Chicano music


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Hardcore punk groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Chicano rock groups Musical groups established in 1979 1979 establishments in California