Welcome to the 8th annual Border Legends of El Paso Rock n' Roll Concert!

Every year this unique extravaganza gets bigger and better. Our venue, which we have used since 2012, the El Maida Shrine Auditorium, welcomes us for another fantastic year. Its 10,000 square foot show room made it possible for us to add tables & dance floors to what has been termed as "El Paso's Greatest High School Reunion and Concert" with El Paso's Best Bands of the 60's and 70's - and a few surprises.

Previous years:
2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015

The Sacred Mushroom

When I first met Blaine Taylor he was just about to leave his house. Steve Rios, who had brought me over to meet Blaine, didn’t even get a chance to introduce me when Blaine opened up a men’s magazine that he was holding up to an advertisement. What showed was a good looking male model with Beatle’s style suit with slim pants, wearing ankle boots and Aviator sunglasses. "What’d you think?" Blaine asked. "Nice outfit", I said as I figured that was what he wanted to hear. Then Blaine rattled off where he was going to pick up these very fashion items, and that he had to run. He got into his new 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner car, and was gone. And for me that was the beginning of the strange trip of the band, The Sacred Mushroom.

Blaine was the lead guitar player, Don Mehl and Rick Kern were the drummers (can’t remember who came first), Ken Reynolds on bass (though I think Ed Clore might have been too), Don Parsons on rhythm guitar and me on keyboards. At that time, 1969, the British Rock era was making way for the psychedelic one, especially after the Beatle’s album, Sergeant Pepper’s, and Blaine came up with the concept of The Sacred Mushroom band. He had the vision and concept whirling around in that energetic mind of his. He came over to my house with a song he had written on notebook paper. It wasn’t just lyrics and chords, but was actually notated, albeit on notebook paper and I was impressed as I could read music from my church music background. He had the idea that we should delve into some kind of Renaissance rock, complete with velvet costumes. It was a revolutionary idea indeed! It didn’t end up quite that way. We performed the tunes popular at the time, "Born to be Wild", early Grateful Dead, etc.

Another thing, Blaine purported to be previously part of The Who. And he was so convincing and had the tunes so down pat, that we actually came to believe him (except Don Parsons), and in spite of never seeing any credits on the albums. My boyfriend at the time, Bob Young, was a DJ on KINT and interviewed Blaine at an outdoor promo at Northgate Shopping Center where he touted his infamous history to the whole town.

The Sacred Mushroom put on a show though. Blaine made sure we were backed up by a wall of speakers, some actually plugged in, and most borrowed from friends. Blaine used a Super Vox, he had the new toys. Besides our charismatic showman Blaine, we had a group of guys from El Paso High, called The Little Lobster Boys, and they manned an impressive light show. Just like the big groups on the West Coast. I set to work on my sewing machine and fashioned Nehru Jackets and a Faux Hair Shirt for Blaine, and silky things for myself. Strobe lights and liquid colors poured on top of us as we played, Vanilla Fudge’s, "You Keep Me Hanging On".

I can’t remember how or why it all ended. It was the summer after graduation I think, as we all moved on in different directions. Never knew what happened to Blaine, and no one else seems to know either, and I’m not surprised. There are no photographs that I know of to show. Just the colors, dreams and the short memory of The Sacred Mushroom.

Jay Nye

Jay Nye started playing guitar when he was 11. His first well-known band was from Austin High School: the Wild Ones. The group consisted of Jay Nye on rhythm guitar, Roy Moore on drums, Frank Sotelo on lead guitar and Paul West on bass. The second Wild Ones had Kenny Smith on lead guitar and Bobby Sotelo on bass. Jay had the experience of traveling up and down the California coast with a band called The Red Barons. The group consisted of Jay, Roy Moore on drums, Kenny Smith on bass, Mile Ciccarelli on lead. This band backed up Bobby Sherman of Shindig and Hullabaloo fame and also backed the Drifters (using the name Bobolinks). Jay also had some road time in Oklahoma City with a band called Smokestack Lightnin'.

His last full band was an all-lawyer band called The Fabulously Foreclosures. They played for practically every charity in town, including the Sun Bowl host parties and the post Miss USA pageant party the year the pageant was held in El Paso. In recent years, Jay has played with various combinations of the old Wild Ones, playing for reunions and the first Border Legends Concert eight years ago. The combination for this year's Border Legends show will include legendary veteran musicians Glenn Leffler on guitar, Gary Leeah on bass, Andre Castillo on keyboards and Ben Guerrero on drums.

Terry Manning

Terry Manning is a music producer, songwriter, photographer, recording engineer and artist known for work in rock, rhythm and blues, and pop music genres.

Manning began in the music industry in El Paso, Texas, where he played guitar and sang with several local bands, notably The Wild Ones, and on a couple of occasions sat in with his friend Bobby Fuller. Upon leaving El Paso, he moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he worked for years at both Stax Records and Ardent Studios as an engineer and producer, recording and mixing such artists as Isaac Hayes, Ike & Tina Turner, Booker T. & The MG’s, Eddie Floyd, Al Green, Rufus Thomas, Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, The Boxtops, Percy Sledge, The Staple Singers, Johnnie Taylor, Leon Russell, Ronnie Milsap, and many others. Manning was a principal part of Stax owner Al Bell’s production team for The Staple Singers, responsible for such hit records as "Respect Yourself", and "I’ll Take You There".

In 1970, Manning licensed release of his own solo album, "Home Sweet Home", on Stax's Enterprise label, re-released with extra tracks by Sunbeam in 2006 and on vinyl in 2015.

Later working as an independent, Manning produced or engineered recordings by Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, Joe Cocker, James Taylor, Leon Russell, Lenny Kravitz, Jimmy Buffett, Shakira, Mariah Carey, Alex Chilton, Big Star, George Thorogood and The Destroyers, Joe Walsh, Johnny Winter, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Molly Hatchet, Shania Twain, Bryan Adams, Widespread Panic, and many others.

In the mid 1980s Manning moved to London, and worked for a year out of Abbey Road Studios.

As a photographer, Terry Manning has become well known in gallery and artistic circles for his "evocative urban landscapes" (Boston Globe) and "Americana documentary" art photographs, which are shown in galleries and Museums across the world. He was one of the last to photograph his acquaintance, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the day before the assassination. Manning has also photographed Chuck Berry, Marvin Gaye, Lenny Kravitz, Procol Harum, Steppenwolf, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Dusty Springfield, and many other musical artists of the rock period, as both an independent and as a writer/photographer for New Musical Express of London.

1991 saw him founding Lucas Engineering, a boutique audio company which makes professional audio recording gear; this company expanded in 2008, adding microphones to their arsenal of products. Lucas Microphones, under Manning’s guidance, have since become amongst the top high end recording devices in the audio world.

In 1992, Chris Blackwell of Island Records fame sought out Manning as a partner to revitalize Blackwell's famous Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, which Manning operated successfully for over 20 years.

Manning’s newest music releases as an artist are the ECR Music Group/Lucky Seven Records release of Manning’s newest (August 2016) album "PLANETS", his 2015 album "Heaven Knows", and "West Texas Skyline", A Tribute To Bobby Fuller, released in October 2013.

Route 66

The Original band Route 66 was formed here in El Paso approximately 12 years ago by Angelo. Since then we have had several players leave the El Paso area. Todays members are Alex Estrada on Bass, Greg Reid on Rythem and lead and back up vocals, Dan Swanberg on Lead Guitar and Lead and back up vocals, Matt Sistrunck on Alto Sax and back up vocals, and Angelo Amoriello on Drums, lead and back up vocals.

Greg Reid was born in Southern California, and has been playing and writing music since 1970. His blend of music consists of Folk, Blues, Rock and Christian. Greg is an accomplished musician who has written over 100 songs and has also written 12 books. Greg sang at a wedding back some time ago with Keith Green a very prominent Christian singer. Greg has been with Route 66 for the past 9 years.

Guitarist Dan Swanberg plays the guitar as well as keyboards and a little bit of Violin. He is the newest member of Route 66, but has played in various bands since the early 80s. These include an El Paso band known as Panacea - a Christian Rock Group for which Dan composed several songs. He has also been playing worship music at Del Sol church for the past two decades. Dan's day job is in the medical product field, where he is a Design Engineer for Medical Products. Happily married for a number of years to his lovely wife Joani with whom he shares two boys and a girl; as a family, they enjoy hiking, white water rafting, hunting and fishing together, along with Dan's first love of music.

Matt Sistrunck who was a West Point Graduate is originally from Ohio and is currently residing in El Paso. Matt plays the Alto Sax and has been playing since 1995. Matt also sings back up and some lead with the band. Matt got into music mainly as therapy while going thru a very trying time during his divorce. Matt has dedicated his life and musical talents to the Lord who has opened the door to multiply his many talents. Matt has been with the band for the past 1.5 years.

Alex Estrada has been playing with Route 66 for the past 9 years and is also a very accomplished musician. Alex plays Bass with the band and is always very willing and able to handle whatever challenging new songs may arise.

Angelo Amoriello was born in New Jersey and was stationed in El Paso during his 2 year tour with US Army. He met the love of his life, Joanie, who was born and raised in El Paso and decided not to go back to Jersey. Angelo has been playing drums since he was 14 years old and played in many bands back in Jersey. One of the bands he was in was called The Statics Revue. They played back up to singer Lou Rawls at Memorial Stadium in Phila. Our manager was 1st

We never quite believed our manager Bob Cristophe, until one day while we were practicing at my aunt's basement lo and behold, Frankie Valle came down the basement stairs to listen to us. That had to be at the top of one of the most exciting things to ever happen in my life besides meeting my wife for the first time.

Route 66 has played events in the El Paso area to include Alfresco Fridays, The Signature room at Sunland Park Casino, Amigo Air show 3 years in a row, Several Real Estate conventions at the Civic Center, Zin Valle winery a number of times, along with private parties and several encore performances at Dominics Italian restaraunt.

Champagne Jam featuring Andy Anderson

"Sarge" Mike Preston

Sargeant Mike Preston is an Iowa native, and is El Paso’s longest tenured radio personality, on El Paso’s airwaves since 1975. "The Sarge" started his career in 1971 and became a Program Director in 1976, and has programmed several of El Paso’s top-rated radio stations in a variety of formats.

El Pasoan’s hear Sarge weekday mornings from 5:30-10 as one-half of the dynamic duo of "Double Trouble", with partner Mojo JoJoe. He has been on 92.3 the FOX since 1988 and has a real passion for all types of music, especially Levon Helm, The Beatles, John Fogerty, Ray Charles, Santana, Johnny Cash & Pat Benatar… plus is a huge fan of the incredible El Paso local music community.

Mike‘s favorite thing to do is hang out with his family, and in his spare time he loves watching all sports, especially College Basketball, Football, Auto Racing & Major League Baseball, and is an avid reader.

Twisted Hams

Twisted Hams is a rock 'n' roll band from El Paso, Texas. The band was formed by three local science teachers and has expanded to a five-piece group. The current members are Nicole O'Leary, Paul Hyder, Ron Lambert, Randy Russ and Mike McFee. Although the name was originally derived from a sandwich, it is really indicative of the bands quirky music and showy attitude.

The band is diverse in its musical influences and styles. Mostly, just good ol' feel good rock 'n' roll. These styles are blended in a smooth and pleasing way that attracts a wide range of listeners. Some of our songs have tongue-in-cheek lyrics that come off as being slightly irreverent.

As we like to say... "We take our not-so-serious music seriously". We have been playing together for over 7 years and have produced two CDs - Taking It Back at El Adobe Studios and Twisted Hams at Sweatshop Studios. The Twisted Hams play at many local and regional venues.

- See more at: http://twistedhams.com

Rick Kern

Birdogs

The Birdogs have been 'Rockin & Rollin' since 1989. Original members include Jay Olivas - lead guitar & vocals, Bernie Carrillo - drums, and Gino Forti - lead vocalist, all from El Paso, Texas. Current bassist - Brett Multz, from Covina, CA., replaced 10 year veteran of the band, Tony Canales, who passed away in Oct., 2014. Gino states "Our sound is like a very good garage or bar band, very raw and loose". We are heavily influenced by a wide range of artists - from Buddy Holly, the Beatles, Stevie Ray Vaughn, the Ramones and Buck Owens, to name a few. In the early days, the Birdogs played many gigs up and down Dyer St. - a great place to hone your skills. We also did many backyard parties, bazaars and other private functions. In 1991, we opened for Canned Heat at the Old Mesa Inn Bar. We've also played some gigs in Alpine, Tx, Roswell, and Las Cruces, NM. We currently like to play classic country, rockabilly and some classic Tejano. We feel by expanding our genres we will appeal to a wider audience and so far it has worked. We are booked to the end of the year and feel very lucky to have a loyal following.

Rod Crosby

If there's one El Paso rock musician who deserves to be called an icon, unquestionably its Rod Crosby. He has performed more good music for more people and for a longer time, than any other local musician. For over 55 years Rod has appeared on El Paso stages in every imaginable venue, from smoky rock n roll bars to the big stage with nationally known acts. He's respected by his peers for his wide vocal range, tasteful guitar playing and laid-back management style.

As a boy in California, Rod started out playing Gospel Music on the Hawaiian lap steel guitar, but soon switched to electric guitar. Gifted with a great voice, by 1960 he was performing in El Paso as lead singer and lead guitarist for The Intruders, which eventually became Rod Crosby & The Intruders. Over the years he has performed with all of the area's top musicians, playing various styles from Rock to Country. On stage, he has always demanded high quality sound, and this has led to his current venture.

Crosby Sound Production (www.rodcrosbysound.com) provides concert sound, lighting and video systems, backline equipment rentals and related audio services. Rod runs the company with his wife, Patricia. For young, up-&-coming musicians, he offers priceless technical expertise based on years of first-hand performing experience. Rod also co-produces the Border Legends Concert Series with Rick Kern. Rod handles the backline, lighting and sound, while Rick focuses on show development, talent and promotion. Fortunately for us Rod still occasionally performs on stage, as he will at this year's Border Legends Concert in October.

Appearing in Rod's band are: Rick Benitez - drums & vocals, Paul Dillon - lead guitar & vocals, Ed Clore - bass & vocals, and of course Rod Crosby - lead guitar, steel guitar & vocals. Dove, consisting of Patty Tiscareno (photo to the right), Ponce Yanez, Louie Lobo, John Davis and Rod Crosby, were together from 1974 to 1977. Tonight, Patty Tiscareno will be joining Rod, Glenn Leffler - guitarist/vocalist, Rick & Ed to do two of Dove's signature songs.

Monica Gomez

Mónica Gómez has made her living in the arts, communications and broadcasting. Born in Mexico and raised in El Paso, she’s an award-winning writer, teaching artist, motivational speaker, martial artist, voice talent and broadcaster.

As a singer/songwriter, Mónica recorded three CDs and traveled extensively – from China’s Meet in Beijing Arts Festival to Mexico City as Texas Commission on the Arts’ cultural emissary with the Governor’s Trade Delegation. ASCAP recognized the unique prestige value of her musical performances with fifteen Special Awards.

As a news reporter with KVIA TV-7, Mónica specialized in covering arts and human- interest features, earning accolades for scriptwriting, video editing, and camera presence.

A public broadcasting advocate, she volunteers with NPR affiliate, KTEP 88.5 FM, hosting State of the Arts, and moderates annual PBS affiliate, KCOS TV-13 live broadcasts of the National Issues Forum.

Her work has been published in numerous anthologies including Red Boots & Attitude: The Spirit of Texas Women Writers. She twice received the El Paso Writers’ League’s Best of Best poetry award and has been featured on NPR’s Theme and Variations.

Over time, Mónica transitioned from performing for audiences to the interactive work of teaching about creativity and the arts, incorporating elements of her music, her lifelong interest in martial arts and T’ai Chi, and creative writing.

Distilled from many hours of deeply meaningful work with diverse populations, Mónica’s book, EXPRESSERCIZE: Write Answers Creative Writing Workbook contains more than 100 exercises in expression and self-discovery. Her book is in use at the El Paso County Juvenile Probation Department, Ft. Bliss Warrior Resilience Center for soldiers with PTSD, Da Vinci School for Science and the Arts.

Mónica has received multiple grants from the El Paso Museums and Cultural Affairs Department and Texas Commission on the Arts to present her workshops in the community, and a TCA Arts Respond and El Paso Community Foundation grant to teach at the Juvenile Probation Department.