Presidio High School Prom: some thoughts

The next Resonators gig is one that most of our fans won't get to take in, but it's worth mentioning: a high school prom. Yes, we actually have the opportunity to do our thing in front of an audience (read: teenagers) that don't know a whole lot about us. Recently we played a quinceanera ( a sort of Mexican "sweet 16") that went very well, so I think that we have the material to keep the party-goers hoppin'. Often, though, when you're the "home-town" (fill in the blank), it's not nearly as cool as if you came from 200 miles away.

The Resonators have been around for over five years, now, and it's interesting to consider where we've been. The group basically began with musical inspiration coming mainly from Los Lobos and The Blazers. We started in a little tool shed at a rent house in Alpine. Soon thereafter we move rehearsals to another tool shed at another rent house, also in Alpine. The only difference was we added Lucy to the group, with accompanying material that had her on vocals. We slowly began to build a fan base, playing just about any gig we could.

We won a 2nd place at a "Battle of The Bands" in Odessa in 2004. The judges were really impressed, but they openly admitted they couldn't categorize our music. I guess when you play a set of Average White Band, Santana, and Pedro Fernandez, it might be a little tough to put your finger on it!

From 2004-2007 the band continued to emphasize a Latin rock sound, with as many cumbias and polkas thrown in as we could think of. At this time, we were mainly playing in Alpine, so our forays into dance halls wanting music heavy on cumbias, Tejano and country, were met with polite, but not real rave reviews.

In the spring of 2007, due to some changes in the band line-up, the band's direction also changed. Along with what we started with, we also really tried to bring in music for folks who were wanting some country. This, along with more emphasis on Mexican dance music seemed to be the right mix for the band. In the end, it was about pleasing our audience.

Along the road these past five years have been many highs and a few definite lows, but I'd like to think we're moving forward and giving folks a reason to want to hear us play. We've had opportunities to learn from some other great bands along the way, so we hope we can transform all this into something worth coming to see the next time we play for you.

Lets see what the kids say at the prom...