Memo & Friends from left to right are Peter Vela, bass player; Memo Martinez, timbales, vocals; Poncho Vasquez, guitar; Carlos Corona, congas, trumpet; and Martin Rojo, drums. Not in the photo is the special guest artist Cougar Estrada, on keyboards. Courtesy photo.
By Frank X. Moraga / Amigos805
When the 29th annual edition of the California Strawberry Festival rolls around this coming weekend, the sounds of “Smooth Latin Soul & Raggae” will be heard from the Festival Stage come early Sunday afternoon when local favorite Memo & Friends begin performing.
And for those fans of the group, the Strawberry Festival gig is just one of a few limited performances by the band each year.
Memo Martinez started the group because he felt there was a niche to fill in the local music scene.
“I felt there wasn’t a band that covered a lot of different styles of music,” he said. “I would go to a professional concert and it was salsa all night and I would say to myself ‘It would be nice to hear some rock ‘n roll.’ Then I would go to a rock ‘n roll concert and I would say to myself ‘It would be nice to hear some Raggae.’ ”
Memo wondered why there wasn’t one local group that could provide the audience with a mix of music.
“How come people don’t mix the music up, maybe a band that would combine different styles — Reggae, Soul, Rock ‘N Roll all together?” he asked. “We live in SoCal and in the United States. We are a melting pot and so this is a place you can have an all-American breakfast, Chinese food for lunch and have Italiano for dinner.
“So I said let’s make a band that reflects Southern California and reflects our lifestyle,” he said. “One day I will go to a Mexican wedding and you will hear Mariachi music, the next day I go hang out with surfers and all you hear is Rock ‘N Roll and then I hang out with my Chicano friends and you hear Oldies and R&B.”
Memo has brought his own style to the Reggae music performed by the band.
“I’ve heard a lot of Raggae around the world, listened to Raggae bands from Russia and Japan,” he said. “They all sound great but they all have just the Raggae beat. I decided to mix in some Spanish, sort of like if half of Carlos Santana’s band got together with half of Bob Marley’s band and you had a guest singer like Boy George.”
Memo’s love of music goes back to his childhood.
“I was born in Mexico and came here when I was five years old,” he said. “I used to sing for Braceros at the labor camps. My brother and I would sing mariachi songs” from the age of five until he was 10 years old.
“Then I grew up in a different culture and stayed away from the cultura,” he said of his time growing up in Fillmore. “Then in high school as a Chicano trying to find my identify, I grew up listening to Santana, Malo and I loved that music.”
Memo, who lives in Oxnard, started the band when he was 25 years old.
“I didn’t want to play night clubs, just concerts. Play maybe four or five times a year,” he said. Many of his band members have come and gone over the years.
“I switch band members every three or four years,” he said. At the Strawberry Festival, “these are all guys who have played with me. They are the best musicians in Ventura County. I have two friends playing with me for 15 years, including Eddie Castro on sax.”
Another former band member rejoining the group is Cougar Estrada on drums, who has been touring with Los Lobos.
“He’s coming back so that will be a reunion,” Memo said of the band, which plays a number of original music. “We haven’t played for a while, but knows most of the material.”
The “Smooth Latin Soul & Raggae” sounds of Memo will be heard at 1:40 p.m. Sunday, May 20 at the Festival Stage at the 2012 California Strawberry Festival.
The festival itself will be held Saturday and Sunday, May 19 and 20 at Strawberry Meadows at College Park in Oxnard. Tickets: $12 general admission, $8 for seniors age 62 and older, $5 for children 5 to 12 years of age, with children 4 and under free. Active military and dependents with ID are $8. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Advance tickets available at www.strawberry-fest.org
Call 1-888-288-9242 for more information.
Courtesy photo