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Rock ‘n Roll Texican Style An Interview with Henry Garcia of Los Lonely Boys By Steven Kalnasy

At 28, Henry Garcia fronts one of rocks hottest groups, and even with all the fame and riches that have come with success, the singer/song writer/guitarist from San Angelo, Texas has managed to keep his feet firmly on the ground, and his focus where it belongs – on family and playing music.

Along with brothers Jojo [on bass] and the aptly named Ringo [on drums], the trio make up the Grammy Award winning (Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group in 2004 for “Heaven”) “Los Lonely Boys”.

On the heels of two highly successful releases (“Los Lonely Boys” and “Heaven”), and their current release “Sacred”, the “Texican Style” rockers, as Henry describes their sound are making their way to Hawaii for their first public show here.

“We did a show a long time ago in Hawaii called ‘Destination Stardom’, and we’ve been to Maui with Willie [Nelson]. It was a lot of fun. He [Willie] brought us out to his house and we hung out for a few days. It was a great time – a really great experience,” said Henry.

Self identified as, “…fusion of electric blues and Texas roots, of soulful grooves and good old-fashioned rock ‘n roll,” Los Lonely Boys sound has something for everyone. If you’re a rocker, you will swear Billy Gibbons and Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Carlos Santana collaborated to their sound. If you’re into blues, jazz, you will find a home in Los Lonely Boys smooth soulful rythyms. Of course, it’s the unmistakable South of the Border influence that they inherited from their long lineage of country and conjunto musicians. For the listener, Los Lonely Boys provides a montage of musical styles without their losing originality. “

Like most musical prodigy, the Garza brothers were heavily influenced by the music they heard as children, and for Los Lonely Boys, their father’s musical proclivities ensured they would be provided all the tools necessary to be successful. Of course, having friends like Willie Nelson never hurts either…

Prior to writing this piece I had never heard Los Lonely Boys, but after listening to their three original recordings, I have found a new sound to enjoy and appreciate, and when they make their way to Honolulu at the end of this month, I will be up front and center so that I can experience the band live.

Earlier this month, during a break from performing in New Mexico, I had the opportunity to speak with Henry Garcia, and now I have the pleasure of sharing our conversation with all of you.

Hawaiian Chopper (HC): This first question is kinda lame, but I figure it’s a good ice breaker, Uma Thurman or Angelina Jolie?

Henry Garcia (HG): “[Laughing] Shoot man, me personally? If I had to pick one man, I’d have to take Angelina Jolie. Actually it’s kinda tough man. See, Uma’s got that sweet, nice, tough sexy, hot thing about her, ya know? [Laughing again]”

HC: Maybe if you had them both it would make the decision a little easier.

HG: “Sure man [Laughing], best of both worlds you know…”

HC: Why Los Lonely Boys?

HG: “Well, Steve, that actually came from a song that our father wrote man. When we were little he wrote a song called [begins to sing] “I’m just a lonely, lonely boy, do to do.” It wasn’t out on the radio or anything, but he wrote it for us to sing, and that’s kinda where the name originated from. One day we were gonna do a show, I think at a restaurant somewhere, and my dad said, “We gotta have a name for the band. We gotta call ourselves something.” And we all said, ‘Los Lonely Boys’. But really it didn’t have a big meaning, just for the fact that it was just a song, and see, we ain’t got nothing to do with that lonely shit. I got my wife and my four kids [laughing]…”

HC: Do you look forward to going out on tour?

HG: “Well, we enjoy touring, but hate leaving family. That part really sucks… Its tough being away from my family, but I enjoy hanging with the crew guys, and everybody hanging out on the road, you know? But, just getting on stage and being able to play, that’s what we look forward to when we go out on tour. We love performing, and everything else is just the best time, you know. Driving on the bus, going down the road, city to city, different locations…”

HC: So it’s just a job?

HG: “Naw man, it’s not really that big of a deal. We just look at, like it’s our way of survival, ya know? We get to bring people joy and memories. That’s a magic that you can’t even put science to.”

HC: Do you remember the first song you heard when you decided to become a guitarist? You know, a song that made you say, wow, I got to do that…

HG: ‘Ya, well, it was my Dad actually playing, cause he’s the one who actually taught us growing up. But I remember the first thing I wanted to play was ‘Peter Gun’. He began teaching me when I was like four or five years old. I remember playing the rythem ‘Nana, nana, nana, nana…’ [sounding out the Peter Gunn theme]. Then I began to expand into other things like the boogie-woogie, ya know, Ray Charles (Henry breaks out into a lyric from Charles, and vocalizes guitar licks). It’s stuff like that for me that I can remember made me excited about the guitar, but it was Richie Valens’ La Bomba that was the first song I knew I had to learn. I was just a little kid back then. I was like seven years old…”

HC: You guys are seen a lot with Willie Nelson. How has he helped you?

HG: “Au man, Willie’s like [laughing], like Yoda brother… I mean, he’s like the guy in the business that, when you think you been doin it long, there’s someone comes along been doin it longer. He gives us a lot of hope that we’re gonna be alright, so we keep our head straight, ya know. Keep our heads focused on the music.”

HC: Has he helped you to avoid some of the pitfalls in the music industry?

HG: “Ya man, I mean, he just basically told us, ‘don’t let anybody change you. Don’t let Anybody change the music…’ He only had to say it once, because that’s what we believe too.”

HC: It sounds like he made a big impact on you?

HG: “Ya man, I mean, he’s been a big inspiration. He’s like family—like our God Father man, he took us under his wing, and because of him people have taken notice of us. It kinda raised everyone else’s eyebrow, you know?”

HC: When you were growing up playing music, did you ever think you would make it to where you are today?

HG: “We didn’t grow up the like average kids man. We grew up struggling to pay the bills, and put food in our stomachs as a family. We were moving all over Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee, and playing music, just trying to survive. We didn’t know or expect any success to come out any of this, but we hoped and dreamed that it would happen.”

HC: I’ve read that you guys are into cars and bikes. Do you have a bike yourself?

HG: “Ya, I own a Sportster 1200 man. I had customized, ya know. I lowered the back end and put some 10” apes on the front, and its all chromed out… It’s just a real nice looking bike. It’s got a small peanut tank, and it’s got that bobbish look to it, ya know? I’m kind of a slim dude man, and I like to have a little bit of control over it man. My brother Ringo has a bad ass Softail Deluxe. It’s a new one, like a 2006, and Jojo got him a 2007 Softail Standard.

You know, my dream bike is that damn bike in the new movie “Ghost Rider”. Shit, that’s the bike I want man! I’ve been looking on the internet man, and talking to people about how to get that damn kit to put that bike together.”

HC: I know a few people who build some cool bikes. I’m sure I can help you find someone who can build it for you.

HG: “Shoot man, that would be cool.”

HC: Well, you keep selling record the way you have been and you can buy anything you want. You could even get the bikes they used in that movie.

HG: “Ya man, we’ve been very fortunate to be able to take care of our families the way we can. That’s the best and most important thing to us. Everything else will just come after that…”

HC: Thanks Henry. I really appreciate that you took the time out your tour to share some thoughts with my readers and I. We’re all looking forward to your show on September 20th.

HG: “Hey man, Aloha, and God bless you brother. I look forward to meeting with you and hanging out a bit…”

Los Lonely Boys Perform in Honolulu on Thursday, September 20th
Tickets Available at Ticketmaster: Ticketmaster.com

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