Make music!

Thanks for visiting The Resonators blog.  Between Facebook kind of edging this page into obscurity and me not having my act together like I need to, I finally put something new up today!  When I first looked at this page, it was kind of embarrassing to realize that it has been 14 months since the last post.  Between then and now there's been lots going on with the group- happily, all good.  So my apologies to any of you who have stopped by and thought we forgot about it.  Check us out on Facebook.  It is much more dependably updated.

We have a couple of public performances coming up soon.  We'll be in Ft. Stockton, Texas on July 3rd at Rooney Park.  Then on July 4th, come catch us at Kokernot Park.  Both gigs are afternoon/evening times.  If you are a fan of the group, try and come see us play.


New to the group are Molly Ferguson on vocals and Latin percussion, and Ramon Deanda on sax, accordion and vocals.  It won't be long before you see both of these two making noise in their respective professions- they are extremely talented.  In the meantime we'll try and squeeze as much music out of them as we can. 

Taro has just retired from a LONG teaching career, but isn't slowing down at all musically.  I think retirement will be good for him because he deserves a change of pace after 45 years of teaching.  Other than that, we are good.  Busy, but good.  Lucy sees herself coming and going with her responsibilities directing band at Presidio High, Middle School, and Elementary!  It's amazing she has anything left outside school.

In the end, though, when the group makes music, it's really cool.  There is a mutual fondness and respect between all members of the band as well as for our audiences, so carrying on after eight years is still a pleasure and privilege.  Viva Resonators!

One long year

I guess you could say that The Resonators have officially survived and put up with me over the past year. What I am referring to is an obligation to my "day job", one that kept me pretty inaccessible since last July. Sure, we have kept fairly busy and the group continues to put on great shows. However, behind the scenes we have been like a racehorse waiting for the gate to open, anticipating our chance to bolt forward again. That time, thank goodness, has arrived.

You will be able to see lots more attention to detail on the website, plus I hope to get a Facebook page up and running shortly. It should be a great year. It feels good to be back.

Marfa Dance Cancelled

Sorry to everyone planning to ring in the new year with us in Marfa, but the dance has been cancelled. Our good friend, Joe Cabazuela, event organizer said that there were some issues that arose over use of the MAC Building, so they decided to call the event off. Would have been a great time, but we'll just have to wait until 2011 to see everyone again.

It's been a great 2010 and we're looking forward to 2011 even more!

Happy New Year! Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Van Horn on September 24th

Happy September! Having been a high school band director for 20 years, I never really got to "stop and the smell the roses" much during this time of the year. It is generally really busy during September with football games, parades, and marching festivals if you're associated with a high school band. Anyway, September and October in the Big Bend are great months to savor living here, and it helps to have a little more free time.

Playing as a warm-up act for Michael Salgado on September 10th was great fun. The Resonators played with all the passion we could muster, and it appeared the audience enjoyed our two sets. Thanks to the Border Patrol for inviting us to perform. We hope you guys and gals were pleased with the way the evening came out.

Once again, we have a whole new set of ears to play for coming up on September 24th in Van Horn. We'd like to thank Ruben Florez Jr. and the church committee for extending us an invitation to play. You're going to get a great show, the likes you haven't seen in a long time!

As the end of the year nears, it has been so gratifying to look back over the numerous opportunities The Resonators have had to play. The economy still keeps limping along, but people seem to have enough faith in us to justify spending the money for live entertainment. I hope that our friends that we have played for can tell that we are thankful for every opportunity we get to perform. It's been a great year so far, and we still have three months to go!

A consideration that runs parallel to our attitude about playing is our repertoire. Over the years we have evolved in our focus of music: what our audience wants. Goodness knows how many songs get tossed around as additions to our repertoire, within the band. Many times we'll get a request to do a tune from our early days, but for whatever reason we just don't play that song anymore. However those songs that repeatedly get requested, you'll probably see re-appearing in the near future (Black Velvet, This Love are two that get requested a lot). Anyway, our appeal has dramatically increased over the years as we pay more attention to what our audience really wants.

We have a couple of new additions to the face of the group that you'll be seeing more and more. First of all, Jesus Hernandez (Huevo, Eggy) will more and more be handling vocals on some of our hottest tropical repertoire. Jesus has been with us for quite some time, and we are looking forward to your feedback with him handling more of the vocals. Second, is Molly Ferguson. She'll be doing quite a bit of singing as well, freeing up Lucy to play more horn parts on our tropical music.

We hope to see you soon at an upcoming performance. It should be a blast!

It was a terrific summer. Michael Salgado show next!

I remember a while back when it looked like performance opportunities might become few and far between due to a slow economy. What transpired, though, is that we have been busier than ever, and I know why: we love to play and we share that love with our audiences! It probably doesn't hurt to be affordable and to always try to be fresh, but we are thrilled to have been able to play for as many people as we have over the past year.

We played for a wedding reception in Santa Fe, New Mexico over Labor Day weekend for some very wonderful people. They were all so friendly and in good spirits. The evening was just about as fun as it could be. We made the 21 hour round trip up there in the course of 2 days, so we were pretty tired, but glad the "church van" made it in one piece! Nothing like pouring $300 worth of gas into the tank, but I guess that's the price we pay for going on tour!

Next up is the chance to open for Michael Salgado on Friday, September 10th in Alpine. We shared a great show with him just two years ago, so we are honored to do it again. Michael is a really nice guy and he has one of the best norteno bands anywhere. I know how I feel about warm-up acts generally: I came to hear the star, not some upstarts! Therefore, we are going to pour everything we have into getting the audience revved up and make the Gallego Center one rockin' place!

Thanks for stopping by. We look forward to seeing you soon (maybe Friday!).

Return to Padre's on August 13th

It's been a fun summer for The Resonators, and we want to invite everyone to Padre's in Marfa, Texas this coming Friday, August 13th for a great night of music. If you haven't been to Padre's before, you should check it out. Owner David Beebe has created a really soulful place to eat, drink, and dance in Padre's. And if you want to catch The Resonators live in the Big Bend, we can't recommend this place too highly. Before the show, give yourself some time to enjoy some of the delicious fare. So far I've had a bowl of chili and a burger, both of which were great!

Like I said, the band is playing great, and each show is a privilege to be able to put on. Whether it be the extraordinary vocals of Lucy or Alfredo, Marty and Tony ripping it up on guitar, or Taro calling upon his encyclopaedic knowledge of music of Western civilization, getting to be on stage with these guys (and gal) is a treat. We hope you'll enjoy...