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 We found out at the last minute that we were to be the only band for the evening. So, just before we left my house in Denton to head into Dallas, we hurriedly dusted off a couple old Latino rock tunes and quickly rearranged them in a 45 minute rehearsal to suit our style a little more: a mildly salsified version of “Together” by Tierra, “Suavecito” by Malo, and a slow cumbia version of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. With David De La Garza’s Envoy and my Corolla stuffed with gear and us, we headed into Dallas.
The Deep Ellum Arts Festival one street over just about sucked the life out of Elm Sreet. Hoping that we’d get some “walk-ins”, LSV set up to a room with a couple of hands full of old friends, well new to Los Super Vatos. The room was a bit cavernous, but had it not been for these new chosen 12 disciples, it would have been a bust. Well, actually there were a few more that came and went as we realize we may not be for everybody, but we appreciated their vow of faith by paying their tithe and entering. “Faith without works is dead”, sayeth Robert Tilton. And, at least, neither we nor they were dead, yet. Huh, I guess I’m kind of talking in a religious tone since for one, it’s Sunday and two, El Papa died yesterday. (Gosh, he was running the Catholic Church for about 28 years.)
At one point in the night, I realized that David and I were distracted by any motion at the door, just hoping for that bus load to walk in at any minute. I was really wishing to make the 3 Houston Vatos’ trip worthwhile. However, somewhere around the 8th or 10th song, I noticed our little family of friends out there and the reality hit that this was going to be our audience for the evening. I thought okay, this is our little family gathering and the hell with the fast pace Las Vegas type rock show that we aren’t anyway. If that’s one thing Los Super Vatos isn’t, its fast paced. When we cook, we cook with the day old grease abuelita would save and use to refry the beans for breakfast the next morning to be eaten with a fresh batch of hot flour tortillas.
Los Super Vatos are very grateful to those who withstood our barrage of new tunes that we’re still in the process of getting tight. We realize it takes special people to hear a set of new songs they’ve never heard. Amongst these folks were some travelers from Houston, Chicago and Austin that came just to hear what we were about. Also present were a small contingency of Brave Combo Bucketheads. We, Los Super Vatos and the audience, decided that when this group shows up to our show they will be called Vatonoids. However, I kind of like Vatonians, or Vatonianos. Hmm, Vatonianos from the exotic tropical country of West San Vatonio where volcanoes snore peacefully with their snow capped peaks rising into the heavens in the winter, and in the summers pour forth a mild stream of velvety crimson lava flow, and where flora and fauna grow naked and wildly in the valleys year round; yeah,….Flora and Fauna.
Our new friends and fans can call themselves whatever they want when they come to our shows, just as long as they do come and dance.
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