Randy Garibay Chicano Blues Man CD

CHICANO BLUES MAN

Randy Garibay
&
Cats Don't Sleep

Album Description
Randy Garibay and his band, Cats Don't Sleep, play Chicano blues, a blend of Tex-Mex themes; lyrics that can be English, Spanish or both and blazing Lone Star guitar. Garibay's music is an honest expression of the man himself and the trials, tribulations and triumphs of his life. Garibay delivers all hues of blues from a personal perspective unlike any other on the scene, creating a cross cultural musical experience uniquely his but still open to all who have a song in their heart and a longing in their soul.

About the Artist
Randy Garibay and members of his band, Cats Don't Sleep, are experienced and talented. Randy Garibay is a living San Antonio, Texas legend, considered by his musical peers as the "Godfather" of San Antonio blues. He is possibly the first and most experienced Chicano Blues singer-songwriter-guitar player in Texas. Garibay is a Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Artist; South by Southwest showcase performer; winner of the West Side Rhythm & Blues Award and Pura Vida Hispanic Music Award. His band members are: Ernie Garibay, Randy's younger brother Ernie Garibay on bass and vocals; Al Gomez on trumpet and flugle horn; Rocky Morales on saxophone and harmonica; and Urban Urbano on drums.

Track Listing:

1. Still Singing The Blues OR MP3

Randy's comments: Is sort of a self portrait. Being a recovering alcoholic, 14 years sober, I can't tell you how many times I put on the gloves and took on that firewater, but you know that damn bottle never lost a fight.

Randy Garibay/BMI Angelita Mia Publishing Co.

2. To The Bone

Randy's comments: "To the Bone"--is a Latin rhythm and blues song--very typical of blues in the 50's. As a writer of blues songs, I guess I'm a traditionalist. No surprises. Just good lyrics and good music.

Randy Garibay/BMI Angelita Mia Publishing Co.

3. Cabeza

Randy's comments: "Cabeza" is a Sunday morning barrio song. In the Mexican American culture, it is a tradition to invite family and friends over for Barbacoa (steamed cow's head; cabeza is head in Spanish) on Sunday morning followed by a trip to church or watching sports on TV. (I love sports!)

Randy Garibay/BMI Angelita Mia Publishing Co.

4. You've Lost That Loving Feeling & Guantanamera

Randy's comments: "You've Lost that Loving Feeling" and "Guantanamera" are cover songs (Guantanamera is within "You've Lost that Loving Feeling") and with permission of publisher, I changed a couple of lines to "Guantanamera" my arrangement.

Berry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Phil Specter/BMI Screen Gems EMI.

5. Mean Ass Woman OR MP3

Randy's comments: "Mean Ass Woman" is my way of writing about a style of music that I grew up listening to back in the 40's and 50's. My favorite groups were Louis Jordan and the Tympani Five and Cab Calloway.

Randy Garibay/BMI Angelita Mia Publishing Co.

6. Funny Not Much

Phillip Broughton, Bob Merrill, Hughie Prince, Marcia Neil/BMI Publisher Shapiro-Bernstein.

7. Toke y Toke

Randy's comments: "Toke y Toke"--is a story about a guy who runs into an old friend and asks him for a cigarette but the only one his friend has is wrapped in funny paper. The guy never smoked a joint before and when he does, he forgets where he's parked, can't find his keys, can't find his legs, finally, he finds his car but gets lost on the Westside of San Antonio, and on and on and on...

Randy Garibay/BMI Angelita Mia Publishing Co.

8. Que Me Puede Ya Importar

Balde Gonzalez and A. Ramirez.

9. Fender Bender OR MP3

Randy's comments: "Fender Bender" is a song I wrote about the Austin music scene. I've played Austin many times and I'm always amazed at how many good blues guitar players I've seen Derek O'Brien, W. C. Clark, Doug Sahm, the list goes on and on.

Randy Garibay/BMI Angelita Mia Publishing Co.

10. Movida

Randy's comments: "Movida" is a Mexican bolero that speaks about broken hearts and new found love. (Ugh! Ugh! I think I am getting sick!)

Randy Garibay/BMI Angelita Mia Publishing Co.

11. Your Tender Lips OR MP3
Howard Beggs, Joseph Brisbon/BMI Unichappell Music Inc.

12. I'd Give Anything I Could To Be In Texas

Randy's comments: "I'd Give Anything I could to Be in Texas" is about a man that leaves his family and joins the bad crowd and winds up killing a man. The midnight special never shines it's ever loving light on him. He is eventually put to death in prison and finally brought back to Texas in a pine box.

Randy Garibay/BMI Angelita Mia Publishing Co.

13. Chicano U.S.A. OR MP3

Randy's comments: "Chicano USA" is a personal protest song, It was initially inspired by protest marches in San Antonio (where Mexican Americans are over 65% of the population) and elsewhere over city's refusal to honor Cesar Chavez, who in my eyes was and is the patron saint of the migrant farm worker. It reflects my Chicano pride and my anger. The first verse is about farm workers; the second verse is about Mexican Americans that served this country honorably; and the third verse is about fighting men and women of every race and color that served in Vietnam only to have our government turn its back on the very people they asked to defend us. War is Hell! To Hell with War!

Randy Garibay/BMI Angelita Mia Publishing Co.

Liner notes:

So, you think you've heard it all,

No matter how widely traveled your ears are and how adventurous your musical tastes are you're wrong to think so unless you've spent time in scenic San Antonio, soaking up the sounds of Chicano blues man extraordinaire Randy Garibay.

In this era of mass media and instant communication there aren't too many blues secrets left and since you're reading this there's one less. How someone with such conspicuous talent as Randy Garibay could remain a regional secret for so long is an intriguing question but the music he's making now is more important than the mystery of why it took so long to get heard.

Randy Garibay plays much more then just blues from the barrio, although that stylistic niche is a decidedly unusual and significant one by itself. His four decade career cuts an impressive arc through early soul, the golden era of rock, the blossoming of the blues and the coming out of latino culture as an influence and inspiration. His marvelously malleable music effortlessly mixes and matches all manner of styles, resulting in a modernized version of the quintessential San Antonio "icehouse" sound, one where R&B classics, tejano pop and down home blues intermingle at neighborhood juke joints where the cerveza is always cold and music is always hot.

Randy Garibay, like most Texas blues men worthy of the title, is a guitar slinger of serious proportions. His hot guitar licks energize and enliven the music throughout but his voice, permeated with hard-won life wisdom, is his secret weapon. The vocal comparisons by his peers, ranging from former band mate Doug Sahm to blue-eyed soul singer Bill (Righteous Brothers) Medley, include everyone from Jackie Wilson to Bobby "Blue" Bland. Such comparisons are well-intentioned and even occasionally accurate, but they miss the point entirely. Garibay sounds just like Garibay and that's the reason this disc is so special and so satisfying.

Randy Garibay's music is not a carefully calculated marketing concept. It's instead an honest expression of the man himself and the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of his life. Garibay delivers all hues of bleus from a personal perspective unlike any other on the scene, creating a cross-cultural musical experience uniquely his but still open to all who have a song in their heart and a longing in their soul.

Michael Point, Down Beat

Musicians:

Randy Garibay
&
Cats Don't Sleep

Randy Garibay - guitar, vocals
Ernie Garibay - bass, vocals
Al Gomez - trumpet, flugle horn
Rocky Morales - saxophone, harmonica
Urban Urbano - drums

Guest Musicians:

Duke Anthony - drums, timbale, vocals
George Prado - acoustic bass
Eddie Lalo Torres - accordion

keyboards

Arturo "Sauce" Gonzales
Anthony Hernandez
Joe Piscatelle
Jim Waller - Vocals

Produced by: Randy Garibay
Sound Engineer: Jay Fletcher
Recorded at:
Eagle Music Productions Inc.

Review
John Morthland, Texas Monthly, June, 1999
Though barely known outside music circles, Randy Garibay has been a cornerstone of all things blues and R&B in San Antonio for four decades now. He and his band, Cats Don't Sleep, play what Garibay calls "Puro Pinche Blues", a blend of Tex-Mex themes; lyrics that can be English, espanol or both; and blazing Lone Star guitar. The opening track, "Still Singing the Blues," is a seasoned, swinging shuffle that features Garibay's guitar pared down to its essentials and his growling vocals; on "Mean Ass Woman." he uncorks a masterfully short, stinging solo. He's not above slipping bop or Elmore James licks into a piece, either. He can cover a ballad like "funny Not Much" that evokes his years in Las Vegas, but his smooth, sweet vocals are even more convincing on sensuous doo-wops like "Your Tender Lips." Sax man Rocky Morales and trumpeter Al Gomez provide stirring mexicano reshaping of the classic Duke-Peacock horn sound throughout.

Customer Comments

A music fan from San Antonio, TX , July 8, 1999
Garibay is a treasure!
Randy Garibay is a legend around here and this versatile collection showcases his many talents. I have always been a fan of the ballads that Randy sings. "Funny Not Much" is an obscure tune that Randy and his ensemble, Piscatelle, Gomez and Prado in particular, help to make a lush, sensual classic...wow...goose bumps. A new standard has been born! Give us more of those slow, sexy, throaty vocals, Randy. How about an album of standards? The rest is down home Texas material...makes me glad to be part of this diverse part of the country.

imacias@gateway.net from San Antonio, Texas , June 21, 1999
A diverse tract CD by a talented Randy Garibay and band.
Randy Garibay showcases his wonderfully gifted voice and musical talents demonstrating to all that he and his swinging "Cats Don't Sleep" are indeed a Texas music treasure.

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E-Mail: randygaribay@uschoice.net for this must have "CHICANO BLUES MAN" CD for your own collection. $15.00 ea. Cassette $5.00 ea. Plus $2.00 S&H. For a limited time only get FREE with any order a "Pura Pinche" Bumper Sticker.